Revealed Love

September 27, 2020 Background Scripture: Genesis 43; 45:1 – 15 Lesson Passage: Genesis 45:1 – 8, 10 – 15 I must admit, I cannot read the biblical account of Joseph’s life and maintain my composure. It is an epic story of the good guy winning in the end. The account is filled with imagery that can fascinate the reader. In today’s lesson, the time arrived for Joseph and his brothers to be reunited as a family. At this point, we see Joseph’s life story unfold with full knowledge of the situation from Joseph’s perspective and with his brothers being completely oblivious to what is happening. Put another way, this is a family reunion that Joseph knows about, but his brothers don’t know it. When Joseph was a teenager, his brothers were stronger than him. Now, as a leader in Egypt, Joseph has more power and influence than all his brothers together. Many have attempted to capture Joseph’s story in a topic: “From Rags to Riches”, “The Devil meant It for bad, but God meant It for Good”, “You can’t keep a good Man Down”, and so many more. None of those topics capture the fullness of the biblical account. The Bible relates Joseph’s life in a way that brings the awesomeness of God front and center. We see the “omni-” characteristics of God at work. God’s omnipresence, His omniscience, His omnipotence, and especially His sovereignty, are made evident in the biblical account. In fact, God’s hand is evident throughout Joseph’s life—and yet Joseph is not aware of it until the point in the biblical narrative that is found in today’s lesson. Although the text of this lesson is not the end of Joseph’s story, it is certainly the apex of it. Joseph’s revelation of himself to his brothers is simply awe inspiring to me. Joseph was dressed like an Egyptian and used an interpreter to communicate with his brothers. His brothers were kept in total suspense. They had no idea who Joseph was. Finally, after having his brothers fear for their lives in his presence, Joseph sent all the Egyptians out of the room. Then Joseph broke down and cried openly and loud enough that the Egyptians heard him crying. Joseph revealed himself to his brothers by speaking directly to them in their native language. This thirty-nine-year-old man standing before them as a ruler in Egypt is their brother they had not seen since he was seventeen years old. Joseph’s brothers could not wrap their minds around this reality. They had given him up for dead many years ago. Twenty-two years ago, they had rid themselves of Joseph and his coat of many colors. They had not been irritated by Joseph’s dreams for the last twenty-two years. They accepted that Joseph was long dead by this point in time. Yet, Joseph was standing before them and speaking in the tongue of the Hebrews—without the interpreter being present. What a surreal moment. They were confronted by the worst thing they had ever done, and yet it was all good. In fact, Joseph told them that they did not sell him into Egypt, but rather God sold him into Egypt for the preservation of the family. What a mature perspective for Joseph to have about the many difficult circumstances of his life. Joseph kissed each one of his brothers. He gave them all a change of clothes. Then he sent for their father to come into Egypt to enjoy the abundance God had provided as the famine continued to rage for five more years. Joseph recalled all that had happened to him, but he was not angry or bitter. Joseph still loved his brothers. On that day, Joseph revealed both his identity to them and his love for them. Robert C. Hudson September 14, 2020