Genesis 45:1-8 "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 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. 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: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt."
In the last part of chapter forty-four, Judah relates to Joseph how he (Judah) had pledged his life for Benjamin. He went on to speak of how leaving Benjamin behind would destroy his father, Israel. Finally, he begged Joseph to keep him as his bondman in Benjamin’s place and let Benjamin return with the others. After seeing what the loss of Joseph (whom the brothers still did not know) had done to their father, Judah could not bear the thought of returning to him without Benjamin.
It is at this point that chapter forty-five begins. Joseph was overcome with pity and love for his brothers who stood before him. He commanded that everyone else should leave so he would be alone with his brothers to reveal himself to them. Joseph was so moved that he wept aloud to the point that it was heard by others outside his house. The news of Joseph’s lament soon spread all the way to Pharaoh’s court.
I can well imagine the astonishment of Joseph’s brothers at this revelation. They were speechless to the point that they could not answer his question when he asked if Israel was still alive. It is likely that fear also played a part in their inability to speak. They stood before the only one who knew exactly what they had done.
Joseph called his brothers to come close to him. Once they had drawn closer, he told them again that he was their brother whom they had sold into Egypt. He revealed so much of himself to them that they could no longer doubt who he was. Then he did something that surely brought much relief to them: he forgave them.
He told his brothers to not waste any more time on feeling guilty and ashamed for what they had done. It was not their action, but rather God’s purpose, which had come about through all of this. He declared to them that God had sent him to preserve their lives. He was there to secure their future, and to show them great deliverance.
The reason we have insight into the things that Joseph’s brothers must have felt that day is because we who love Jesus have experienced it first-hand. When Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, first revealed who He was, we were left in utter astonishment and fear, knowing the things we had done. What mercy was ours when He called us to come close and spoke to us of His mercy and forgiveness. What joy and peace, when He declared that He came to do the Father’s will by saving us with a great deliverance! May the will and purpose of God for us through His son Jesus bring you great hope and joy today!