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Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, ‘Send everyone away from me.’ So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 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. 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. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 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. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, “Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. 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. 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.” And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. You must tell my father how greatly I am honoured in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.’ Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him. (Genesis 45: 1-15)
Happy Thursday, dear Friend! I pray this finds you well and ready for the day. I thank you for your prayers for Nellie and me; we will leave today having decided the demands of yesterday and the rain were not the ideal conditions for leaving. We will travel slowly with hopes of arriving in St. Louis on Friday afternoon. Pray for one another, pray for yourselves.
There were no matching t-shirts at this reunion. In fact, the majority of the family half-expected prison orange jumpsuits given the situation. This was the great reveal! Joseph would now shock his brothers with letting them know it was him after all these years and after these exchanges they had had with the second in command in Egypt. Joseph ordered everyone out of the room except his brothers. It was a very emotional moment that the writer describes as "he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard, and the household of Pharaoh heard it." He identifies himself and then asks about his father. Their shock did not easily disappear and again he has to say that he is Joseph and begins to explain how he understood God to be at work in even their diabolical scheme. God was involved in bringing good ultimately after the initial evil done by the brothers.
Oh, dear one, how this story could have gone a completely different way. Imagine if it had been you in Joseph's sandals? Or me? Many of us respond to hurt and anger in different ways, and sometimes even in the way God would like; but I would fear that the anger might get the best of me or you. Yet, given Joseph's heart and all that he had seen, he learned valuable lessons on the way. He learned to never forget where he had come from. The nights of fear and hunger. The menacing dialogues thrown at him in languages he did not understand. To realize he was not now, and possibly never, going to be free again. To be sold as a houseboy into a home where the Missus did not behave and to have her lie about him, and once again thrown into captivity. He never forgot his family and all they had been to him at one time. Though he was one of the youngest and the brunt of many a joke, he still loved and accepted them. The love and counsel of his father, he never forgot; and he longed to see him and his little brother, Benjamin. Then the day he became the second in command of the most powerful and prosperous nation in the known world; to enjoy freedoms and liberties like never before; luxuries and wealth. All of these combined, made him, better said, kept him as a true man of God.
What about you dear friend? What lessons have gotten you to where you are? And have all things worked for good because you love the Lord? Or, do you find yourself miserable, lonely, or sad because things could be a little better? Friend, if you are a man or woman of God, just wait; God is not finished with you!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You know my heart. I ask to be re-affirmed as a person of Your heart. If my heart, or the heart of this dear reader is low, lift it high with the promises of victories and joys that are coming our way if we but serve You. Open our eyes and ears to hear the work needed by us all around us. And this we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen!
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be a man/woman of God in all you say, think, and do this day!
Eradio Valverde
