2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it.
3 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.
3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they 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.
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you 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.
5 And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent 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.
6 For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing 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.
7 God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.
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.
8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
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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:
10 You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have.
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.
11 I will provide for you there—since there are five more years of famine to come—so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not 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.
12 And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to 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.
13 You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.”
14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
14 Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck.
15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.
MAIN THOUGHT: Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. (Genesis 45:5, KJV)
Sometimes one is overwhelmed by tragic events in his or her life. What can keep hope alive after the struggle ends? Joseph told his brothers what they meant as harm was God’s plan for saving them, a remnant of God’s people.
INTRODUCTION
Love conquers all! Because God is love. And, when love is applied to our life situations, nothing can withstand its power. As Christians we are to master love and be mastered by it, acquiescing completely to its influence. When God’s love rules over our hearts, it purges soul stains. It empowers us to love ourselves so we can love God and others. Unfortunately, although it empowers, love can be painful.
Such was the kind of love that eventually liberated Joseph’s heart. Incarcerated by the pain of being sold into the hands of a foreign nation by the brothers who stood before him, Joseph’s heart finally was freed of its agonizing when it was touched by love. Love was his heart’s deliverer. After a passionate plea from Judah that Joseph take his life in place of Benjamin’s, Joseph got emotional because of Judah’s love for their father and youngest brother. The charade was over. It was time to come clean.
EXPOSITION
I. AN AUTHENTIC EXPOSURE (GENESIS 45:1–8)
At the forefront of this text, the attentive reader will notice this was the first time in the narrative that Joseph’s siblings were called his brothers by the narrator since their reintroduction in chapter 42 (Gen. 45:1). In the preceding references they were called the men, the brothers of Judah, the brothers of Benjamin,
СКАЧАТЬ
