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1 Joseph couldn't hold himself in any longer, keeping up a front before all his attendants. He cried out, "Leave! Clear out - everyone leave!" So there was no one with Joseph when he identified himself to his brothers. 2 But his sobbing was so violent that the Egyptians couldn't help but hear him. The news was soon reported to Pharaoh's palace. 3 Joseph spoke to his brothers: "I am Joseph. Is my father really still alive?" But his brothers couldn't say a word. They were speechless - they couldn't believe what they were hearing and seeing. 4 "Come closer to me," Joseph said to his brothers. They came closer. "I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into Egypt. 5 But don't feel badly, don't blame yourselves for selling me. God was behind it. God sent me here ahead of you to save lives. 6 There has been a famine in the land now for two years; the famine will continue for five more years - neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 God sent me on ahead to pave the way and make sure there was a remnant in the land, to save your lives in an amazing act of deliverance. 8 So you see, it wasn't you who sent me here but God. He set me in place as a father to Pharaoh, put me in charge of his personal affairs, and made me ruler of all Egypt. 9 "Hurry back to my father. Tell him, 'Your son Joseph says: I'm master of all of Egypt. Come as fast as you can and join me here. 10 I'll give you a place to live in Goshen where you'll be close to me - you, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and anything else you can think of. 11 I'll take care of you there completely. There are still five more years of famine ahead; I'll make sure all your needs are taken care of, you and everyone connected with you - you won't want for a thing.' 12 "Look at me. You can see for yourselves, and my brother Benjamin can see for himself, that it's me, my own mouth, telling you all this. 13 Tell my father all about the high position I hold in Egypt, tell him everything you've seen here, but don't take all day - hurry up and get my father down here." 14 Then Joseph threw himself on his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. 15 He then kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Only then were his brothers able to talk with him. (Genesis 45:1-15 The Message Bible)
Dear Friend, how are you? I trust you're doing well and enjoying and celebrating life with God's favor upon you! Never give up on God's grace to bless you in awesome ways! If you need prayer, please reach out to me and I will gladly pray for you! Become a person of prayer; pray for those whom are in need.
Jesus said that wherever are two or more gathered, there could be trouble, and if those two are related, you can count on there being trouble! Okay, Jesus didn't say it, but honestly, He didn't have to! We may all have, or are, living it! Friends, we are at the end of one of the most painful, but powerful stories among brothers in the Bible. It's an evil plot and has made for several movies to have been made about this story; it's ending is a God-only ending. It is an ending that only with God's hand on it could turn out the way that it did. In the setting where it takes place anything could have happened that would please the world's desire to revenge and comeuppance. Joseph could have revealed himself and wreaked violence upon his brothers. But what we have is Joseph's revelation to be as it is shared here.
Joseph’s moment of revelation to his brothers is an epiphany of grace, love, and divine purpose. The brothers, who had once betrayed him, now stand in the presence of the very one they had wronged—yet instead of vengeance, Joseph offers forgiveness and restoration.
This passage reminds us that God’s plan is often bigger than our pain. What seemed like a tragic betrayal was actually the setup for salvation. Joseph doesn’t ignore his suffering, but he recognizes God’s hand in it, transforming his pain into a purpose greater than himself.
Like Joseph’s brothers, we sometimes stand before our past mistakes, fearful of what will come next. But Joseph’s response mirrors God’s grace toward us—offering reconciliation instead of retribution, love instead of punishment. His story is a foreshadowing of Christ, who embraces us even in our failures and invites us into new life.
Today, let Joseph’s epiphany be ours: that forgiveness is possible, reconciliation is powerful, and God’s hand is always at work, even in the hardest seasons.
PRAYER: Loving merciful God, Your grace is beyond what we deserve, and Your plans are greater than we can imagine. Help us to see Your hand in our lives, even in difficult times. Teach us to forgive as Joseph forgave, to trust as Joseph trusted, and to love as You love us. May we be instruments of reconciliation and vessels of Your grace in the lives of others. In Jesus’ strong name, Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Take a moment today to reflect on a past hurt or conflict. Ask God to help you see His hand at work in it. If possible, reach out to someone with whom reconciliation is needed, extending grace as freely as it has been given to you.
I love you and I thank God for you!
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
