Genesis 45

"I am Joseph" (Genesis 45:3)

The brothers of Joseph have finally been emptied of all their self-centredness and their self-importance. God has been gracious to them, and now they are ready for the great revelation of the identity of the governor, in whose presence they have stood, cried, eaten and waited.

With a wonderfully human touch, this chapter tells us that Joseph could restrain himself no longer. He had to let them know. He had been able to identify them from the start, but they had no idea that the brother they had sold as a slave could have risen to such eminence and importance in the land of Egypt. Their fortunes turned on the events recorded in this chapter.

The Truth Revealed

"I am Joseph" he said. It took a while for the truth to sink in, and when it did, talking mingled with tears and weeping with laughter. The whole household of Pharaoh was moved at the events taking place around them. Joseph had been hated by his brothers, sold by his brothers and, to all intents and purposes, lost to his brothers. But now, in the company of his brothers, he reveals himself to them. They did not know the brother they had rejected. But he knew them, and loved them still.

On more than one occasion we have noted that the significance of the Joseph story lies in its portrayal of Jesus as much as in its portrayal of Joseph. A greater than Joseph is here! If it was true that Joseph was hated, rejected and betrayed, how much more was that true of Jesus? And if it was true that Joseph alone provided the food they needed in time of famine, how much more is that true of Jesus?

And if it was true that Joseph needed to reveal himself if they were to know him, how much more is that true of Jesus? By our sins and our disobedience against God we are implicated in the crucifixion of the Prince of Glory. His blood is on our head too. Yet the Messiah whom we rejected and despised is the one of whom the Bible spoke prophetically when it said "I will declare your name to my brothers" (Psalm 22:22). The writer to the Hebrews picks up that prophecy and sees it fulfilled in Jesus Christ in Hebrews 2:12. He was not ashamed to become identified with the sinners he came to save. He took their nature -- our nature -- and took our place and our curse. And he did it in order that he might reveal himself to his brothers.

Becoming a Christian means knowing the Lord Jesus, whom we rejected. It means coming to see him for what he is -- the risen, exalted and glorious Lord. It means bowing before him, like Thomas did, and saying, 'My Lord and my God!' It means acknowledging that he is the supreme governor and ruler of all, and yet rejoicing in the fact that he is a brother to us! This is the Gospel according to Joseph!

The Purpose Revealed

In speaking to his brothers, Joseph explains the Providence that brought them all to this place and this point in their lives. "God sent me before you," he says, "to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here but God..." (verses 7-8).

There is a touch of irony, as well as beauty, in the event described here. After all, part of the reason that his brothers hated Joseph was because of his ability to interpret dreams. Now they stand listening to his interpretation of the Providence of God in their lives over the period since last they saw Joseph. And part of Joseph's gracious purpose in revealing these things to them was to keep them from the despair that comes from self-condemnation. What they had devised for evil, God had planned for good. And God's good purpose is what has dealt with their evil purpose.

These events foreshadow and anticipate the very cross itself. On the day of Pentecost, as Peter proclaims the Gospel to an audience now pricked in their conscience at the realisation of the implications of their rejection of the Messiah, Peter explains to them that God had ordained and appointed the very things of which they were guilty, in order that by these events their very guilt itself would be dealt with. Christ was 'delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God' yet 'you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death' (Acts 2:23). God's provision of a Saviour was mediated through their rejection of that Saviour!

So it was with Joseph. His brothers had rejected him, and were responsible for his coming to Egypt. Yet, he tells them, it was God who sent Joseph ahead of them (see Psalm 105:17), in order to preserve them all alive. The very act of rebellion became the only act of salvation.

The cross of Jesus Christ stands as an indictment on the human race -- it is the great symbol of the world's refusal to bow before the God of the Universe. Yet it is also the great symbol of the only way of salvation that there is, provided by God for a rebellious and sinful world. Our hearts condemn us for our obstinacy, our rejection of Christ, our sins and our misdeeds, but God is greater than our hearts. He justifies the ungodly who believe in Jesus!

The Promise Revealed

Joseph reveals the purpose of God to his brothers, which had an immediate end in view -- that they would be kept alive. But it also had an ultimate end in view; Joseph says in verse 7 that God intended to keep the sons of Jacob alive in Egypt in order "to preserve for you a remnant in the earth". In other words, God's purpose goes beyond the immediate events in the lives of Jacob's family to events that will yet unfold. God has his eye on the future -- on the preservation of a 'remnant' -- a concept which Paul will take up and use to such great effect in Romans 11:6, where he talks of the remnant that remains according to God's sovereign choice.

The truth of the matter is that in preserving Jacob's family, God has his eye on the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham -- that his seed would be numerous in the earth, and that the people of God would be like the stars in the sky for multitude. God will gather his elect together, and will bring sinners into his kingdom. He will preserve his people, and will have a church. God has preserved the brothers of Joseph alive, through an act of common grace (there was food in Egypt which many enjoyed), in order that sinners might be saved, through an act of special, saving grace.

Common grace is always in the service of saving grace. The sun shines on the righteous and on the wicked -- by an act of kindness, benevolence and grace, God supplies the needs of all. And he does so because his eye is on the future, when his people will all come to know the blessings of redemption in their fulness.

The Gifts Revealed

Joseph sealed all of this with gifts, first to his brothers, to whom he promised the best of the land of Egypt (verse 20), and then to his father, to whom he sent chariots laden with riches and gifts. Lonely, desperate, depressed, Jacob sat wondering what had become of his family. But one day, over the horizon, chariots came. The sight of them was enough to raise his flagging spirits. "It is enough," he cried, "Joseph is still alive" (verse 28).

These gifts were visible, tangible signs and tokens of the truth of what Joseph had explained. They were evidences of the purposes of God at work in their lives. God does not simply give us bare promises -- he gives us evidences in our lives and in our experience of the truth of these promises. He confirms them to us by events in our lives and in the lives of others.

Do we know the One of whom the Bible says that he was despised and rejected of men, yet who now has universal lordship and sovereignty? The Messiah whom the world despised, and yet who now commands universal obedience because he holds universal dominion and lordship? What a blessing belongs to those who had discovered the true value of the Christ of the cross, and who have bowed before him saying, "My Lord and my God!"