22 Genesis 45 Joseph Reveals Himself

What a wonderful and exalted thing it was when the patriarch Jacob passed the promise of the
Messiah on to his son Judah! It was quite unexpected, because it did not go to Reuben, the
first born, nor to Simeon, the second, nor even to Levi, third in line, but to Judah, the fourth.
He was in part being rewarded for protecting Joseph, for following his Christian conscience.
Strangely enough, though, the promise did not go to Joseph. That is something of a surprise to
us because 1) Joseph was the first born of Jacob's dear and favorite Rachel; 2) the Holy Ghost
spends so many chapters of His divine book on the life of the Christ-like Joseph, so that we
expect to hear the promise will surely pass to him. Yet it passes to Judah instead. Joseph is
highly exalted, nevertheless, even apart from his worldly exaltation as ruler of Egypt. He is
privileged to be the savior of his family and through them of all Israel, and so to be a type of
Christ.

Many of us Christians, being sinners, are afflicted with sinful pride and lust for honor. We want
to be recognized of God and man as great and noble characters. Like the Pharisees, we love to
sit in the place of honor. We feel hurt when someone else is elevated when we think we
should be. We do not like being ordinary, lowly members of the Church. We have visions,
sometimes, of doing some great and noble work in the church: being a great preacher, a great
missionary, a witness who converts thousands, a bounteous, unsparing contributor, a leader, a
high church official making important decisions to advance the church, or being at least the
"power behind the throne." We want to be generals, not privates. Had we been Joseph, we
might have said: "Surely I should be the father of the Messiah as a reward for my deeds."

Thoughts like that are the thoughts of a work-righteous and sinful mind and heart. They come
from the old Adam and not from the new man. They are not the thoughts of Christ in me, but
thoughts against which the Holy Spirit strives within us by His Word. For example, in Mal 3 God
scolds His people because "Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we
have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts?"

A Christian heart is a lowly heart; the new man is humble and not vainglorious. A Christian is
not after honors but knows he is a sinner, who deserves only everlasting punishment for his
sins. Such a heart rejoices in Christ his Savior and is also glad to do whatever God gives him to
do, be it a noble work or a lowly, dirty, routine, or monotonous job. It takes heed to the word
of Scripture that says, "Whatsoever thine hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." With such
a heart God is well pleased, and He promises great reward to such Christians. Those who have
for the love of Christ done their duties, though small, insignificant, and un-noticed, and
perhaps very hard work, shall be highly rewarded. If they go to work every day, do their job as
best they can, look after their families and make theirs a Christian home, love God and His
Word and Church, love their neighbors and do them good, provided they do it because they
appreciate the great mercy of God and the sacrifice of our Christ, then God notices it all, and
they shall not go unrewarded. Peter asked, "Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee;
what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said, Ye which have followed me, in the regeneration
when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel." On another occasion He said, "Whosoever shall give to
drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say
unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward."

Joseph did not expect honor or reward from his brothers, though they had done him wrong.
He did not say, "See! my dream came true; now bow before me." He exhibited a charitable and
forgiving Christian heart, and, like Christ, he was delighted to be of service to them. Let us
listen in and see how Christ- like he is in his forgiving spirit, in his kind fellowship with his
brothers, and in his love for his father.

I. His forgiving spirit. Joseph had been pretending to be a harsh Egyptian lord, for he wanted to
bring his brothers to the point of repentance. He wanted them to acknowledge their sin and
know the fear of God. To absolve them or even befriend them when they were impenitent
would only have worked wrath and evil in their hearts, and they would not have received
forgiveness by faith. In our age we seem to have everything upside-down: we avoid making
anyone feel bad, however terribly he has behaved; so we do not preach law, sin sin and
repentance but become "supportive." Parents do it with children; brothers and sisters and
friends do it; employers often do it; even the police sometimes do it. Worst of all, it is done in
churches. Do we think that will work grace in their hearts, or are we just afraid of those
people? Jesus taught that if your brother offend against you, you should not excuse it but
should "go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone; if he shall hear thee, thou hast
gained by brother." Notice that He says this is the way to gain your brother, both for the
kingdom of God and for yourself. If you excuse him, you do not gain him. He knows he can take
advantage of you, and he does not change his ways. Showing him his sin is not the "mean"
thing to do, but the kindest thing.

Still, it is hard to do. It was hard for Joseph. Finally, when his brothers were terrified, and when
Judah pleaded not to kill their father by keeping Benjamin in Egypt, Joseph could no longer
refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he : cried, Cause every man to go out
from me. He was about to burst into tears, and did not want to I embarrass himself before his
Egyptian servants. eBesides, what was about to happen was a private family matter and a very
solemn thing. So, too, Jesus e deals with each of us in a private, personal way, despite the fact
hat He proclaims His love for us publicly in church and before the world. He speaks personally
to each heart with His consolation and His tender words of love. The Bible teaches that the
Church is invisible, since no one can see faith in the heart. Neither can we see Him work in
hearts. Occasionally there might be a tear, or a smile here or there, but generally the inside
does not show on the outside. "The kingdom of God is within you," Jesus said, "The wind
bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it
cometh and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit." Or, as the Christmas
hymn says,

How silently, how silently

And he wept aloud. He broke into tears for love of his brothers. He was moved with
compassion for them as Jesus "was moved with compassion on [the multitudes] because they
fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd." Joseph said unto his
brethren, I am Joseph. The pretense was over. No longer could he be hard on them. And his
brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. Now conscience really
troubled them, but Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came
near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not
grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to
preserve life. He assures them of his forgiveness, just as our Lord Jesus assures us by inviting us
to come near to Him in holy Communion and eat and drink His body and blood. When Joseph
mentions that their sin of selling him as a slave was really God's doing, that was not to make
light of it, not to excuse them and say it was God's fault, but to assure them that He held no
anger in his heart toward them, but truly forgave them. They do not need to fear that he will
turn on them in anger after all. Forgiveness is permanent. So our Lord Jesus has no anger
toward us, either, but forgave us when He bore our sins on the cross. Now He absolves us,
assuring us that He does not count our sins against us.

II. His kindness to his brothers. Joseph bade his brothers draw near to him. Up close, he
explained that God had brought him here for the very purpose of saving their lives as well as
others. Pharaoh's dream and the vast project of saving food in Egypt was not for the sake of
the Egyptians, but for them. He explains, For these two years hath the famine been in the land:
and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God
sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great
deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God. How mighty a thing God has
done just for you, just as he still rules the whole world, moves mountains and seas and armies
all for the sake of His little Church.

Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked
with him. Joseph received them back into fellowship or brotherhood with Him. So does our
Lord Jesus. St. Paul writes, "Ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our
Lord." We are united with Christ and with each other, for we together have forgiveness of sins.
There is a close, personal bond among us; "bands of love" tie us together. Jesus Christ is our
brother, and we are all brothers together. Joseph gave them wagons for their goods, 2 suits of
clothes and food, and to Benjamin 5 suits and 300 pieces of silver. And just as Joseph treated
his brothers with special favor, our Lord Jesus treats all of us, His brethren, with special favor
and with great blessing.

III. His love for his father. The first thing he asked was, doth my father yet live? His first
direction: Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God
hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: And thou shalt dwell in the
land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me. With Pharaoh's hearty approval he arranged
the best part of Egypt for his father to live in. Joseph honored his father and loved him truly. It
broke his heart to hear of his father's grief, just as it should break our hearts to know we
offend and grieve our Father in heaven.
Jesus loves and honors His Father. He honored Him with obedience, even unto death; He
prayed to Him: He always gave credit to the Father. He said, "I seek not mine own will, but the
will of the Father which hath sent me." "I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I
of myself, but he sent me." "I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he
gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak." "If I do not the works
of my Father, believe me not." "My Father is greater than I." Though He is entitled to equal
honor with the Father, yet He gave the honor to His Father, especially by humbling Himself to
be our Redeemer. So we should also honor God the Father, and God the Son, our Redeemer,
and God the Holy Ghost, because they all, all three in One, are Our Father in heaven. And we
should also not fail to honor our fathers and mothers here on earth. Imitate Joseph. Imitate his
forgiving spirit, even as Jesus has forgiven you. Imitate his kindness to his brothers, as your
brother Jesus is kind to you. Imitate his honor for his father, as your Father in heaven has
honored you by counting you as His dear children, and counting you righteous and worthy of
eternal life because of the obedience of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Amen