Genesis 45:5
And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Genesis 45:1-28 and John 17:20-26
Today we finish up with Joseph’s story. The famine has arrived and his brothers set out for Egypt to find grain to eat. They purchased grain from Joseph in Egypt but Joseph didn’t reveal who he was and sent them back home. Upon their second trip back to buy more grain, Joseph plants his silver cup in Benjamin’s grain sack before sending them off to return home again.
Joseph’s plan was to catch them stealing and hold Benjamin hostage in order to get his brothers to bring his father Jacob to fetch him. But Joseph can’t go through with his plan and we pick it up there in chapter 45. Joseph can’t contain his emotions and reveals himself to his brothers.
Parallels I see between Joseph and Jesus are:
- Joseph was revealed to his brothers on their second trip as Jesus will be revealed to the world on his second coming (Matt 24:30-31)
- Joseph forgave his brothers for the evil they did to him (Luke 23:34)
- Joseph saved Israel (Jacob) from death (Acts 13:23)
- Joseph united the tribes of Israel (Rev 7:4-8)
If you read the rest of Genesis, there are lots of themes we could focus on today. It’s a feel-good story that stirs up all the good emotions. The family survives the famine, Joseph is reunited with his father and Benjamin, he extends forgiveness to his brothers, they get to live in the best parts of Egypt, etc. They live happily ever after.
It reminds me a lot of the second coming of Christ. He will come back to earth as the King of Kings and will call his people together to live with him for eternity. No more death, no more famine, no more mourning, etc. All the themes in Revelation are very similar to the experience Joseph’s family had when arriving in Egypt to find their brother was essentially the ruler of the world and would save them from death.
But I’m most drawn by the forgiveness and unity that Joseph brought to his family. His brothers did a very evil thing. By my count, we are nine years into Joseph’s rule over Egypt which should put him around 39 years old. That means he’s been separated from his family for at least 22 years. Joseph could’ve done anything to his brothers when they arrived in Egypt. They hated him and he owed them nothing.
But Joseph loved his father. And because of Joseph’s love for his father, he forgave his brothers for their sins. Not only did he forgive, but he gave them the choicest land, plenty of food and were even put in charge of Pharaoh’s livestock. They were given abundant grace.
You see the parallels. Because we love the Father, we are to extend forgiveness to those around us who hurt us and even hate us. We are to give grace in the same way that God has given us grace through Jesus. And we are to be unified. Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35) And then Jesus later said that he came “so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
The world will know we are disciples of Christ because we love one another and because we are unified. We don’t have to do miracles or travel to foreign lands to evangelize the remote parts of the world. Some are called to that and God will work through them. But for most of us, we can show the world the love of Christ by simply forgiving those who hurt us, love those around us and being unified in our mission to do those things. Just like Joseph did and just like Jesus did.
Christ in the Old Testament 
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