Verses 1-2 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. 2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
People in Biblical days expressed their joy or grief loudly, unlike most Western cultures today who tend to hide their emotions from others. The whole palace knew something was going on with Joseph and the Hebrew men.
Verses 3-8 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. 4 And 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. 5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. 6 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. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
Joseph showed complete forgiveness of his brothers as he realized that all along he was in the plan of God to preserve a people according to the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Application: Luke 23:34 records Jesus’ words while dying on the cross. “Then said Jesus, Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Joseph, being a type of Christ, forgave his brothers because he believed they knew not what they were doing. He knew that everything that had happened was part of the plan to provide salvation, not just for his family, but for all of Egypt and the other nations around Egypt affected by the famine. Jesus Christ forgave all the people who hated Him and plotted to kill Him. He knew it was part of the plan to provide salvation for all mankind.
Verses 9-13 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: 10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: 11 And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty. 12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. 13 And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.
Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Just as Joseph bade his brothers to go and get their families and come to him, Jesus wants all who are willing to come to Him and be His children. He will nourish and care for all who come to Him in faith.
Verses 14-16 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him. 16 And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, Joseph’s brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
Pharaoh was indebted to Joseph. Pharaoh trusted Joseph with his life and the lives of all Egypt. Therefore he was pleased that Joseph was pleased that he was finally reunited with his family.
Verses 17-20 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan; 18 And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. 19 Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 20 Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.
Pharaoh provided the transportation for Israel to bring all of his family to Egypt and he promised to provide good land for them to dwell in. For a pagan world leader to do this for a few Hebrew people, it had to be a miracle from the LORD.
Verses 21-23 And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way. 22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. 23 And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.
By providing a large quantity of gifts, Joseph would be able to convince his father that he was indeed alive and well and sending for him. Israel knew his sons well enough to not trust what they said as they had lied to him in the past. Israel started the family trait of deception so he knew what his sons were capable of. Joseph knew that when Israel found out he was alive and that his brothers had sold him into slavery, it would be a difficult story for him to believe. Having a bunch of Egyptian wagons and gifts would help to convince him of the truth.
Verse 24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.
Joseph’s parting instructions to his brothers was for them to not fight and argue on the way back to their homeland. Joseph had experienced their rivalry and jealously and wanted to make sure that this behavior was not going to happen on the way home. They were a family and needed to act in unity of purpose as a family.
Application: All believers are part of the family of God. Yet squabbling and rivalry can be seen in many churches today. Believers need to heed Joseph’s warning and learn to get along and not fall out by the way on the journey through this life to the next. Believers need to remember that they are part of the family of Christian believers and cherish each other.
Verses 25-28 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father, 26 And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not. 27 And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived: 28 And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.
Application: Israel believed his son, Joseph, to be dead. Then he experienced the joy of learning that his son was alive. Jesus, like Joseph, was dead to His followers and then He arose from the dead and is alive today, sitting at the right hand of the Father in Heaven, providing intercession for His people. This should bring joy to all believers.