Joseph Reveals Himself

Today I read Genesis 45 where Joseph make himself known to his brothers. What a meeting that must have been! By the reactions his brothers have had to their treatment when they were in Egypt it was clear they all felt guilty about what they had done to Joseph, but it is not made clear if they thought he was dead or not. But the scriptures state that when he makes himself known to them they are a little standoffish, which is to be expected. The last time they saw him he was being sold as a slave, no doubt screaming to them for help but was ignored, perhaps even laughed at.

I imagine the only thing that could be better to Joseph than finally telling them who he is, is the prospect of seeing his father alive again. The rest of the chapter is about him and later Pharaoh making plans with Joseph's brothers to bring their families out to Egypt. What joy and anticipation Joseph must have been feeling! He had not seen his father in over 22 years and finally in just a few short weeks he would be seeing him again. He must have been overjoyed at the very idea. He was probably really looking forward to showing his wife and sons off to his family and especially his father.

Joseph was truly a humble man. As I stated several days ago when we started reading his story, it is not clear if he was always that humble when this whole ordeal started, but he is, for all intents and purposes, the 2nd most powerful man in the world at this point. And yet he does not let it go to his head, but rather is concerned with helping his family and making sure they are taken care of. He forgives them for their treatment of him and lets them know that God used it as a way to prepare a way to save their lives. He strikes me as an optimist, always looking on the bright side of things.

From this chapter it is also clear to me that Pharaoh really liked Joseph. We know that he puts Joseph in charge of everything, but we don't really hear about him again until now. It would be easy to assume that Pharaoh put Joseph in charge and then just forgot about him, but I don't think this was the case. I think Joseph worked with him closely and grew to really like Joseph. I think Pharaoh might even have been a little excited to meet Jacob, who knows?

Joseph had a really interesting life. The first part of his life was a real challenge, but it sure sounds like he met that challenge head on and was able to overcome it. We can learn a lot from him on how to deal with adversity and how to handle our trials. If were all like Joseph, I think the powers of hell would be very frustrated indeed and the world would be a pretty amazing place. Until tomorrow.