Episode 316 "Pharaoh becomes a blessing to Israel" - Genesis 45:16-28

Gen. 45:16 When the report was heard in Pharaoh’s house, “Joseph’s brothers have come,” it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. 17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan, 18 and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’ 19 And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 20 Have no concern for your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

Gen. 45:21 The sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. 22 To each and all of them he gave a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five changes of clothes. 23 To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey. 24 Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way.”

Gen. 45:25 So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. 26 And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. 27 But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

Joseph had finally revealed his identity to his brothers, and in the process, he told them that it was God who had sent him to Egypt to preserve their lives so that they would not starve during the famine. In other words, God was in control all along and acting for the good of even those who were acting evil. What grace! However, while the focus is on the preservation of God’s chosen people through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel), and now his descendants, let us not overlook that God was also preserving the lives of many Egyptians and others who came to Egypt to acquire grain. They were only able to do so because God gave the dreams to Pharaoh, gave the interpretation of the dreams to Joseph, and caused Pharaoh to accept the interpretation. Subsequently, he put Joseph in charge of managing the storage of grain during the bountiful years and distributing it during the famine. Why would God care about Egypt? Wasn’t God aware of what Egypt would later do to the Israelites? I believe the answer lies in God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” God is choosing to bless Egypt because when God revealed a dream to Pharaoh, Pharaoh accepted the interpretation and blessed Joseph. In turn, they are surviving because of how they are treating Joseph.

So, what we see in our text for this week is that Pharaoh is informed that Joseph has been reunited with his brothers, and he insists that all of Jacob’s family come to reside in Egypt in order to be saved from the famine. Furthermore, Pharaoh is not going to just let them survive; he will give them “the fat of the land” (v. 18) and the “best of the land” (v. 20). God’s grace and blessing upon Egypt, I believe, is due to how Pharaoh and the Egyptians are treating Joseph and now his family. What about that part of God foretelling Abraham that his descendants would be in bondage in a foreign land for 400 years? Well, we’ll get to that eventually.

For now, Joseph sent his brothers with plenty of provisions to sustain them on their trip, as well as a return trip that will make his father’s travel as easy as possible. In fact, it appears that Joseph sent along enough to make it clear to his father that the message his brothers were bringing that Joseph was still alive was legitimate. The abundance they returned to their father was significantly more than what the money they took would have purchased.

I’m slightly amused by Joseph’s parting words to his brothers as he sends them away. He said, “Do not quarrel on the way!” Why does he say this? I think he knows that his father still doesn’t know what they did to him. They had led Jacob to believe that a wild animal had killed Joseph. What would happen when Jacob arrived and Joseph showed no signs that he had been mauled? At some point, Jacob is going to figure it out. But that never comes out in the text. Why? I would suggest that the important point is that everyone is learning or being reminded that the LORD is sovereign. He’s in control. Secondly, the LORD is good. In fact, it’s not uncommon for him to show his kindness even when his people are not kind. The bottom line is that the LORD is preserving the promised “seed” that is yet to come.

The last paragraph in this chapter is succinct but rich. Joseph’s brothers return to Jacob, their father, and tell him that Joseph is alive and ruling all of Egypt. Jacob doesn’t believe them at first. Who would? To have grieved for years in the absolute belief that your child is dead, and then to be told in a moment years later that he or she is alive is not something that can be so quickly accepted. But the items Joseph had sent for their provision supported that revelation, and Jacob began to believe it was true, so that the text says that his spirit was revived. Jacob has a purpose for living. He is going to see his son Joseph.

This story is not over. But there are so many things we can learn from it. Redemption, God’s sovereignty, forgiveness, . . . We could go on. What is impressed upon me in this section is God’s faithfulness to fulfill what he has promised. What the LORD revealed to Abraham is coming true. The dreams he gave to Joseph are being fulfilled as this story unfolds. We can trust the LORD!