Genesis 45

[WELCOME]

GENESIS 45:1-5 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. And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. 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. And Joseph said unto his brehtren, 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."

SAVIOR!

It has been said of Joseph that he was a type of Christ because he saved his family from the drought. When Joseph heard Judah's pitiful plea he could hide his feelings no longer. He had the room cleared except for his brothers and himself and then revealed himself to them. He told them not to grieve over what they had done to him for even though they had meant him harm, God had intended for him to eventually save their lives. Joseph's brothers were speechless. I'm sure they were afraid and they really had good reason to be. It was within Joseph's power to put them in prison or even have them executed as spies but he meant them no harm now. I told you last week I would give you my opinion as to why Joseph went to all this subterfuge. I believe Joseph may have originally intended to get his brother, Benjamin, to come to Egypt and reveal himself to him only after the other brothers had gone home. In this way he could have punished his other 10 brothers while, at the same time, having his whole brother (who had nothing to do with him being sold into slavery) with him in Egypt. This is only my opinion, though! If this was the case, his soft heart would not let him carry the plan through.

After Joseph broke down, he told his brothers to go home and tell his Father that he was alive and lord of all Egypt (I would love to have seen the look on old Jacob's face when he heard this news!). He told them to gather up all they had and return to Egypt in haste for there were to be five more years of famine. He first hugged his brother, Benjamin and cried then kissed all his brothers and cried. This let them know they had nothing to fear from Joseph, all was truly forgiven. This, in my opinion, is another way Joseph is a type of Christ. He forgave his brothers the terrible thing they had done to him just as Jesus forgives us for all our transgressions. We would do well to learn a lesson of forgiveness from Joseph. Life is much to short to hold grudges, especially against family members. We each need all the family we can get to help us through the droughts in life. If you are not communicating with someone, let me encourage you to call them and try to make it right. Whether they accept and agree or not, you will feel much better for trying!

Pharoah heard that Joseph's brothers had come and it pleased him. He was very happy to be able to do something to repay Joseph for saving Egypt during the famine. He told Joseph to give them wagons and provisions for the journey and for them to bring all their family and come dwell in Egypt. Joseph sent his brothers home with beasts ladden with all manner of goods for his father. When Jacob learned of all that had happened, he said "It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die." He had feared he would lose Benjamin and instead he was getting his long lost Joseph back. Just imagine his joy!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

How do you think the brothers felt after learning that the governor of Egypt was their brother, Joseph? Do you think they remembered Joseph's childhood dreams about them bowing down to him?

Thank you so much for doing the
Bible Study with us this week.
I hope you enjoyed your visit.

BE SURE TO BOOKMARK THIS PAGE
SO YOU CAN FIND YOUR WAY BACK.

LOVE, MEME

Take the test!

Now you can take a test after each 5 chapters.
Click here to go to Exam 9

Click below to send this Bible Study to a friend!

Click your browser back button to return to this page!

View or Post to our Message Board!

For more Christian Sites like this one, click below.

Search the Bible:

HELP