Getting a Nation to Egypt

 Read Genesis 45

Had Joseph exacted revenge on his brothers, he would have probably never seen his father again.  Even if he released Benjamin but enslaved or killed the 10 brothers who did him wrong, what sort of relationship could he have with his father.

Do you remember how much Jacob loved Joseph? Do you remember what we like to call the coat of many colors?  Joseph and Benjamin were Dad’s favorites, but that didn’t mean you could have your revenge on the other 10 and still have a good relationship with Dad.

Besides, Israel’s family needed to go live in Egypt.  This remnant would grow and prosper in Egypt.  They would likely die in what would be called the Promised Land if they remained where they were living at that time.

God wanted the people he would call his own to survive.  He would give them not only the land promised but laws and directives about how to live. He had already given them the sign in the flesh that separated them from many people.

God would give these few descendants of Israel the distinction of being his people, but first, he had to preserve them. They must go to Egypt.

The first half of the chapter gives us an account of Joseph revealing himself to his brothers.  The second half is about logistics—getting Israel’s family to Egypt. That’s our focus here.

Joseph told his brothers to go get his father and the whole family and return to Egypt.  He would give them some prime real estate.  He said there is no choice in the matter, you will perish with this famine which won’t run its course for 5 more years.

Joseph’s servants had heard him crying and must have been a little nosey because they found out that his brothers had come.  These men whom Joseph told his servants to put silver in their sacks and then his own personal cup were his brothers.

This had to be reported to Pharoah.  Pharoah and his court were delighted to hear this.  Think about it.

The man who had saved your bacon had been reunited with his brothers and was sending them back to get his father and the rest of the family.

Ain’t no way that Joseph was sending for his family to come to Egypt.  No!  His family would be delivered to Egypt in style.  The Pharoah would send limos.  Back in the day, those limos looked like carts, but you get the idea. Joseph’s family wouldn’t have to worry about bringing too much luggage.  Pharoah and Egypt would take care of them.

CEOs come and go, but Joseph was the CEO who couldn’t be lost to someone else.  He was the franchise player. Had the Human Resources Department put out a job description for what Joseph did—all of his knowledge, skills, and abilities—no one would have applied.  Joseph was a one-of-a-kind find.

Pharoah knew what he had in Joseph and though Joseph had not asked for more perks and benefits, the Pharoah knew to bless him as much as he could for what he had done and hoped he would do going forward.

You don’t lose a guy like this! The empires of Babylon and Persia were centuries away, but there was always somebody looking to one-up you in the political world.  Joseph was a game changer, to use our VBS syntax.

God used not only Joseph but the pharaoh as well to move the nation of Israel into Egypt.

Joseph had some awareness of what was happening.  We see that in the first half of the chapter where he told his brothers that God had sent him to Egypt ahead of them for the work that he was now doing.  God sent Joseph ahead of them, meaning that Joseph realized it was God’s plan to bring all of Jacob’s family into Egypt.

I’m sure the brothers knew that they had sinned against Joseph, their own father, and God, but Joseph told them that what they did was necessary.

Think ahead to a time when a man named Judas would betray Jesus.  Oh, how the disciples hated Judas. Oh, how necessary his actions were to get Jesus to the cross.

Joseph had acquired eyes to see God’s plan.  Joseph accepted God’s plan.  You might say he embraced it to include all the bad stuff he had to endure.

The Pharoah didn’t have eyes to see God’s plan but he had the human wisdom to know that Joseph was the best thing that ever happened to Egypt and he would do whatever he could to keep him happy.

The Pharoah likely didn’t understand this God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but he understood that whoever this God was, Joseph as in good standing with him. Pharoah wanted to be in good standing with Joseph.  Here was a golden opportunity.

Israel and family would come to Egypt. God had used the evil intentions of 10 brothers, the evil intentions of Potiphar’s wife, the forgetfulness of the Pharoah’s cupholder, the ongoing trust of Joseph, and the secular wisdom of the Pharoah to make this happen.

There was some disbelief among the brothers at first.  There was some disbelief with Dad, but all came to believe and all would come to Egypt.

There is a rabbit trail you might want to chew on in those 10 unscheduled minutes that you have each month. As the brothers left to go pick up the entire family, Joseph gave them these parting instructions:  Y’all don’t argue with each other.

What would they have to argue about? Who would start an argument?

How about young Mister Innocent?  How about Benjamin?  Surely, he would ask: “What’s with this cock and bull story about my brother being eaten by a wild beast?”

We don’t have the transcripts from the trip home. I bet there was some finger pointing nonetheless. That’s a rabbit trail.

For our understanding of what happened, know that God used those in the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as well as those who were pagan to accomplish his purpose.

Israel would become a sizeable nation in Egypt.  It took many people and many actions—not all of them without some evil intent—to make this happen.

God will use everything for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose.  You may hear that again before we conclude Genesis.

Amen.