Genesis 42:1 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, Why do you just keep looking at each other?
There was no grain in Canaan, due to the famine, so Joseph sent his sons to Egypt to buy some. It had been over twenty years since Joseph was sold into slavery, and his brothers considered him dead. The last thing they expected when they went to Egypt was to run into Joseph. When they saw him, in fact, they didn’t even recognize him.
But Joseph recognized them and, instead of revealing himself, he accused them of being spies, and threw them in prison. There they had time to think and began to reflect on their sin. Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that is why this distress has come on us (Genesis 42:21), they said.
This is the pain of a guilty conscience. The brothers saw the desperate look in Joseph’s eyes, when he pleaded for his life, and they never forgot it. Many nights, perhaps, they woke up in a cold sweat regretting what they had done. Now, at last, they were getting what they deserved. Judgment Day had finally come.
Genesis 45:4 Then Joseph said to his brothers . . . I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!
The brothers were overwhelmed. The dream Joseph had as boy of seventeen was coming true before their eyes. Was this really happening? What would happen next? Joseph could’ve left them in prison but, instead, he kissed all his brothers and wept over them (Genesis 45:15). After so many years they were a family again.
Pharaoh was pleased, and promised Joseph’s brothers the best land in Egypt (Genesis 45:18). He gave them carts to bring their families down, along with their father Jacob. He gave them ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other provisions for [their] journey (Genesis 45:23). It seemed like a dream to them. Instead of being punished for their sin, they were being blessed!
This, in fact, is what Jesus Christ has done for us. Instead of being punished for our sins, we are blessed . . . with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3), wrote Paul. And if we have the spiritual blessings, we’ll also have the material blessings. Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world (Matthew 25:34), he’ll say. Joseph’s brothers were overwhelmed, but our amazement will never cease.
Genesis 45:13 Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt.
Joseph had all the honor of Egypt, and all the wealth of the world, but he also wanted his father’s approval. He’d done well for himself, and wanted his dad to be proud of him. His father would soon rejoice that Joseph was alive, and Joseph would receive the approval that he longed for.
Sadly, there are many who crave their father’s approval who never receive it. I’ve sat with men in their sixties who were still deeply pained because of their Father’s disapproval. You’ll never amount to a bottle of piss, one recalled his father saying. A day seldom passed when he didn’t think about that.
But Christ has promised his approval to all who truly believe in him. Well done, good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:21), he will say. Given our many failures, this is hard to imagine. How could Christ give his approval to ordinary Christians who fail every day? The answer is found God’s word. He forgave us all our sins (Colossians 2:13), and will reward each one for whatever good they do (Ephesians 6:8), wrote Paul. If Christ forgives all our sins, and remembers all our good deeds, then we’ll hear him say, Well done, good and faithful servant! What could be better than that?
Genesis 48:1 Some time later Joseph was told, Your father is ill.
After many years in Egypt, Joseph’s father was dying. But just before he passed, he gave a prophecy that Messiah would come from Judah. The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his (Genesis 49:10). We might expect Jesus Christ to be descended from Joseph, but his genealogy shows that he was descended from Joseph’s brother, Judah (Matthew 1:2, 16), just as Jacob foretold.
By looking at Joseph carefully, however, we can see the shadow of Jesus Christ. Joseph was the special son of Jacob, and Jesus is the special Son of God. Joseph was rejected by his brothers, and Jesus was rejected by his brothers (John 7:5). Joseph was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry (Genesis 41:46), and Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry (Luke 3:23).
Joseph ruled Egypt under Pharaoh, and Jesus rules the world under his Father. Joseph fed the people with grain, and Jesus fed the people with bread (John 6:10-11). Joseph suffered before he was exalted, and Jesus suffered before he was exalted. Joseph’s brothers were saved by coming to him, and we are saved by coming to Christ. These surprising parallels are like fingerprints that reveal the Bible’s author.
Genesis 50:15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?
Joseph’s brothers were still afraid because of what they’d done to him. So they came to Joseph and said, we are your slaves (Genesis 50:18). Joseph had power over his brothers, and could’ve caused them harm. His many years of suffering might have made him bitter but, due to his theology, they didn’t. You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good (Genesis 50:20), he said.
This is the climactic verse of the story and makes an important point: God turns evil into good. It didn’t seem good to Joseph when he was sold into slavery, or when he was rotting in prison. But looking back it was clear: if he hadn’t been sold into slavery he couldn’t have saved Egypt, or his family, or been promoted to such a high position.
Paul probably had this in mind when he wrote . . . in all things God works for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28). It won’t appear that way when your house burns down, you get laid off from your job, and they repossess your car. But if you love Jesus Christ, nothing bad can happen to you that God hasn’t planned for your good. This is a wonderful comfort in all the trials of life.
Reflection and Review
Why were Joseph’s brothers troubled by their sin?
Why did Joseph want his father’s approval?
How did God use the sin of Joseph’s brothers?
There was no grain in Canaan, due to the famine, so Joseph sent his sons to Egypt to buy some. It had been over twenty years since Joseph was sold into slavery, and his brothers considered him dead. The last thing they expected when they went to Egypt was to run into Joseph. When they saw him, in fact, they didn’t even recognize him.
But Joseph recognized them and, instead of revealing himself, he accused them of being spies, and threw them in prison. There they had time to think and began to reflect on their sin. Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that is why this distress has come on us (Genesis 42:21), they said.
This is the pain of a guilty conscience. The brothers saw the desperate look in Joseph’s eyes, when he pleaded for his life, and they never forgot it. Many nights, perhaps, they woke up in a cold sweat regretting what they had done. Now, at last, they were getting what they deserved. Judgment Day had finally come.
Genesis 45:4 Then Joseph said to his brothers . . . I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!
The brothers were overwhelmed. The dream Joseph had as boy of seventeen was coming true before their eyes. Was this really happening? What would happen next? Joseph could’ve left them in prison but, instead, he kissed all his brothers and wept over them (Genesis 45:15). After so many years they were a family again.
Pharaoh was pleased, and promised Joseph’s brothers the best land in Egypt (Genesis 45:18). He gave them carts to bring their families down, along with their father Jacob. He gave them ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other provisions for [their] journey (Genesis 45:23). It seemed like a dream to them. Instead of being punished for their sin, they were being blessed!
This, in fact, is what Jesus Christ has done for us. Instead of being punished for our sins, we are blessed . . . with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3), wrote Paul. And if we have the spiritual blessings, we’ll also have the material blessings. Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world (Matthew 25:34), he’ll say. Joseph’s brothers were overwhelmed, but our amazement will never cease.
Genesis 45:13 Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt.
Joseph had all the honor of Egypt, and all the wealth of the world, but he also wanted his father’s approval. He’d done well for himself, and wanted his dad to be proud of him. His father would soon rejoice that Joseph was alive, and Joseph would receive the approval that he longed for.
Sadly, there are many who crave their father’s approval who never receive it. I’ve sat with men in their sixties who were still deeply pained because of their Father’s disapproval. You’ll never amount to a bottle of piss, one recalled his father saying. A day seldom passed when he didn’t think about that.
But Christ has promised his approval to all who truly believe in him. Well done, good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:21), he will say. Given our many failures, this is hard to imagine. How could Christ give his approval to ordinary Christians who fail every day? The answer is found God’s word. He forgave us all our sins (Colossians 2:13), and will reward each one for whatever good they do (Ephesians 6:8), wrote Paul. If Christ forgives all our sins, and remembers all our good deeds, then we’ll hear him say, Well done, good and faithful servant! What could be better than that?
Genesis 48:1 Some time later Joseph was told, Your father is ill.
After many years in Egypt, Joseph’s father was dying. But just before he passed, he gave a prophecy that Messiah would come from Judah. The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his (Genesis 49:10). We might expect Jesus Christ to be descended from Joseph, but his genealogy shows that he was descended from Joseph’s brother, Judah (Matthew 1:2, 16), just as Jacob foretold.
By looking at Joseph carefully, however, we can see the shadow of Jesus Christ. Joseph was the special son of Jacob, and Jesus is the special Son of God. Joseph was rejected by his brothers, and Jesus was rejected by his brothers (John 7:5). Joseph was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry (Genesis 41:46), and Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry (Luke 3:23).
Joseph ruled Egypt under Pharaoh, and Jesus rules the world under his Father. Joseph fed the people with grain, and Jesus fed the people with bread (John 6:10-11). Joseph suffered before he was exalted, and Jesus suffered before he was exalted. Joseph’s brothers were saved by coming to him, and we are saved by coming to Christ. These surprising parallels are like fingerprints that reveal the Bible’s author.
Genesis 50:15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?
Joseph’s brothers were still afraid because of what they’d done to him. So they came to Joseph and said, we are your slaves (Genesis 50:18). Joseph had power over his brothers, and could’ve caused them harm. His many years of suffering might have made him bitter but, due to his theology, they didn’t. You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good (Genesis 50:20), he said.
This is the climactic verse of the story and makes an important point: God turns evil into good. It didn’t seem good to Joseph when he was sold into slavery, or when he was rotting in prison. But looking back it was clear: if he hadn’t been sold into slavery he couldn’t have saved Egypt, or his family, or been promoted to such a high position.
Paul probably had this in mind when he wrote . . . in all things God works for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28). It won’t appear that way when your house burns down, you get laid off from your job, and they repossess your car. But if you love Jesus Christ, nothing bad can happen to you that God hasn’t planned for your good. This is a wonderful comfort in all the trials of life.
Reflection and Review
Why were Joseph’s brothers troubled by their sin?
Why did Joseph want his father’s approval?
How did God use the sin of Joseph’s brothers?