The story of Joseph reaches its emotional peak in the 45th chapter of Genesis. when Joseph and his brothers are finally reunited and reconciled. Today, on Turning Point, Dr. David Jeremiah guides us through this moving moment in Bible history. filled with valuable insights we can apply to our lives today.
From the series, God Meant It For Good. the story of Joseph. Here's David to introduce Joseph reveals his identity. And thank you so much for joining us today. We are grateful to have you along as we continue our discussion of the life of Joseph.
And the lessons we're learning are multiple. They're life-changing if we allow them to intersect with our lives, and I hope you're doing that. Today, we are going to begin a two-day discussion on Joseph's. revelation of his identity to his brothers. This is uh very, very emotional.
I remember just reading this and crying because I was so moved by the emotion of it. And you're going to feel the same way, I'm sure. And we'll get started with the lesson in just a moment. First, let me remind you that during the month of September, we're offering this beautiful calendar, this 14-month calendar called Following in His Footsteps. It's a wall calendar, and it is beautiful.
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Well This is like any drama that you watch. This is the moment when Joseph reveals his identity. Let's begin. Letters were Elizabeth Barrett Browning's first love. and her final heartbreak.
As the oldest of twelve children, The nineteenth century poet faced more than her share of hardship. At fifteen a mysterious illness left her struggling with her own health. By 22, she had lost her mother. and her father's strict control offered her little comfort. Then came 1840, a year that brought double tragedy.
One brother, Samuel, was taken by fever, and another, Edward, was lost to drowning. In one year. But in her darkest moments, Elizabeth Barrett Browning. found light in poetry, and were also glad, for she graced us with some great verse. Her verses caught the attention of fellow poet Robert Browning.
That's how she got her last name. Because it sparked a love story that would defy her father's wishes. And in 1846, Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning. were married in secret and they fled to Italy chasing dreams of a new life together. The cost of it.
Her father's letter of disinheritance. He disinherited her. And for years after, Elizabeth wrote to him, hoping to mend what was broken. And when she finally returned to London years later, Her father's response was devastating. He simply returned to her all of her letters unopened.
Each sealed envelope told the same story.
Some bridges. cannot be rebuilt. Elizabeth was ready to forgive. But those unopened letters taught her one of life's toughest lessons. While one person can offer forgiveness, Reconciliation requires two.
As someone has said, forgiveness and reconciliation are often mistaken for each other. But each has a unique purpose. Forgiveness is God's call to let go. A personal act of grace. that frees you from resentment and bitterness.
regardless of the other person's actions. But reconciliation is a shared journey. It requires both people to listen, to speak honestly, to apologize, and rebuild trust together. What an important lesson for us to note. And we all know it's true.
forgiveness and reconciliation are not the same. They're close together, maybe one on one side of the coin and one on the other. But many of you know the pain of forgiveness without reconciliation. even as Elizabeth Therap Browning did. While her letters stayed sealed forever, the story we are in the midst of is different.
It's a story of estranged brothers who find their way back to each other. guided by God's unseen hand.
So we turn to Joseph's story again. Twenty-two years have passed since we began. 22 years since he was torn from his family, twenty two long years without seeing a familiar face or hearing a beloved voice. His own brothers, fueled by jealousy, had sold him into slavery, setting him on a path none of them could ever have foreseen. In the years that followed, their lives took radically different directions.
His brothers remained shepherds in the quiet hills of Canaan. And Joseph's path led him from the depths of an Egyptian prison. to the height of Pharaoh's court. Once intertwined, now seemed set on courses that would never meet again. Who could have imagined the story that we are studying?
Who could have made this up? This is a God story, and we know that. God had other plans. A severe famine swept through the land driving Joseph's brothers to Egypt in search of food. And there they bowed before a powerful government official, not knowing that he was their own brother.
the young dreamer they had betrayed. And though Joseph had forgiven them in his heart, reconciliation was still a work in progress.
So, as we turn to Genesis 45, our text for today, the moment has come for Joseph. to finally reveal his true identity. to his brothers, this is what we've been waiting for. The story of reconciliation that unfolds in the next 15 verses. is one of the most moving.
stories in all of the Bible. In some cases, you can hardly read it without tears. It comes in three parts, a revelation, a reconciliation, and finally a responsibility. Notice, first of all, the revelation of Joseph.
Now after a long and winding path filled with unexpected twists and turns, Joseph's story has reached its climax. Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him. And he cried out, Make everyone go out from me.
So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians in the house of Pharaoh heard it. And Joseph said to his brothers, I am Joseph. Does my father still live? But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence.
And Joseph said to his brothers, Please come near to me.
So they came near. And then he said, I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here. For God sent me here before you to preserve life. For these two years, the famine has been in the land, and there are still five more years.
where there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth. to save your lives by a great deliverance. And so now it was not you who sent me here, but God. And he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
Joseph Finally, he reveals himself to his brothers in a scene that is so sublime. hardly seems real. This loving man who has come to recognize the hand of God in his life. reaches out to the very brothers who thought so little of him that they sold him into slavery. And so there's some things to notice about this.
First of all, it was a private revelation. Verse one of chapter forty-five says that Joseph. could not restrain himself. And he cried out, make everyone go out from me. This was such an intimate moment.
that Joseph did not want any of the Egyptian people to be present.
So he made everybody leave. And the only people now left in the room where Joseph and his brothers. It was also a painful revelation. And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it. And Joseph said to his brothers, I am Joseph.
Does my father still live? And his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. And Joseph said to his brothers, Please come near to me.
So they came near. And he said, I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.
Now, if you've been following along in this story, You know that Joseph has been on the edge of emotion. And just about every chapter of his life. This has been an emotional nightmare for him. At times he almost had it together. thinking he was in control, but then something would happen and he'd fall apart again.
Usually, when this happened, he would slip away somewhere private to cry where no one would hear him or see him. But today, there is no more hiding. There is no more Need to conceal his emotions. Joseph cannot conceal or control his feelings any longer. and the beauty and simplicity of this moment is remarkable.
After everything that has led up to this, you might expect Joseph to be ready with a speech. instead of tears. ready to tell his brothers how wrong they were for what they had done to him. How they had ruined his life for the last 22 years with no one from the family. to talk with.
But when the moment of revelation arrives, this is how he does it. He simply says, I M. Joseph. That's it. I am Joseph.
So simple. Yet those three words in English, or just two in Hebrew, struck dismay into his brothers' hearts. Can you imagine what that was like? I am Joseph.
Just think about the silence that followed those words. Look at the brothers' mouths as they drop open and stand there stunned and wondering. Could this really, truly be Joseph? Then they realize something has shifted. in their conversation.
Watch carefully. Until now. Joseph has spoken to them through an interpreter. using Egyptian. But now in clear Hebrew, they hear him say, I am Joseph.
No interpreter. No Egyptian words. Only Hebrew. The simplicity of his words, paired with his concern for his father. Does my father live?
overwhelms his brothers with fear. And in one of the biggest understatements of the Bible, The Bible says they were dismayed. The word dismayed carries a huge meaning. It barely captures what was happening in their hearts. They were more than dismayed.
They were crushed and terrified. by this revelation.
So, to reassure them, Joseph invites them to come close.
So they could see him better, and then he reminds them of a shared secret. That only they would understand. I don't know if you've noticed this, but watch this. I am Joseph, your brother. whom you sold into Egypt.
Uh oh.
Now they knew. It was truly him. Imagine their hesitancy as they inch toward him. taking small tentative steps. As they draw near, they began to see his face a little bit clearer.
noticing hints of their shared heritage. His lighter skin beneath Egyptian dress and customs. And when they look into his eyes, They are looking into the eyes of Benjamin. his birth brother. This really must be Joseph.
A private revelation, a painful one. Notice also how powerful was this revelation. Verse 5, Joseph says, But now Do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here. For God. sent me before you to preserve life.
I don't know the spiritual shape of Joseph's brothers, but I can promise you they weren't prepared for what he said. They had no idea that these words were about to come out of Joseph's mouth. Joseph didn't rebuke his brothers. He didn't point a finger and say, now I will get even with you for what you did to me. He was in a powerful position and he could have done that.
He didn't give them any reason to think he was angry. Instead, he tells them not to be upset with themselves. for what they had done. And then he gives a little speech on the sovereignty of God. One of the best ones in the Bible.
He told them, You worried about all this, you know what you did, but let me tell you something, brothers. I know how this all worked out. God sent me ahead of you to preserve your life. What did Joseph mean by that? He simply meant that he hadn't been the prime minister of Egypt at that moment, Jacob's family would have starved during the famine.
They would not have survived without the food that God arranged. One of the secrets of Joseph's life was this, listen to me, Joseph was a vertical man. Not a horizontal one. Everything about Joseph. was Joseph and God.
Joseph and God. God was in everything that Joseph did. I want to show you that as just we look at this text together. One of the secrets of his life was his sensitivity to God's involvement. He was conscious of God in every experience.
Remember, The scene with Potiphar's wife When she tried to seduce him and Joseph refused, this is what he said in chapter 39 of Genesis and verse 9: How can I do this great wickedness? And sin against God. Joseph knew that if he yielded to her temptation, It would not only be a sin against Potiphar, And a sin against her, and a sin against himself, but primarily it would be a sin against God. Joseph. was a vertical man.
In that moment, it wasn't just Joseph and Potiphar's wife in that room. Joseph understood that God was there too. Then in Genesis 41, we see Joseph standing before Pharaoh. Remember Pharaoh had those dreams and he couldn't find anybody to interpret them? And finally they remember Joseph and he's brought before Pharaoh so he can do that.
And he probably could have easily said, I'm finally here. Here I'm the guy you've been looking for. I'm the dream interpreter. But that's not what he said. When Pharaoh said something to him about interpreting his dream, Joseph responded, Genesis 41, 16.
It is not in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer. Once again, Here's God right in the middle. of Joseph's life. He made God central to every part of his life.
God was the reason he refused to sin. And the one who deserved the credit when he interpreted dreams, and then in Genesis 45. as Joseph addresses his brothers. Here's God in the center again. Listen once more to Genesis 45 and verse 5.
Do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me. before you to preserve life. In verse 7, He adds, God sent me before you to preserve posterity. In verse 8, he emphasizes: it was not you who sent me here, but God. Joseph then instructs his brothers to go back to their father.
And tell him all that has happened, and to say to him, verse 9. Hurry up and go up to my father and say to him, Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me Lord. Have you noticed this in all of these verses? Joseph gives credit to God. He takes no credit to himself.
In Joseph's life, God was central. God was everything. And this is so instructive to us, is it not? In everything that's going on in our lives, God is involved. He's not a distant God.
He's not a God afar off. He's a close at hand God. He's a God in your life, walking with you and through you every day. This week, if you've walked in fellowship with God, He's been involved in your life. And God has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us.
While we may sometimes walk away from Him, He never walks away from us. Even in the tragedies we don't understand. He's there. And in the triumphs we must remember not to take credit. Because it's always God.
God does it. In these passages, we see the reason. that Joseph could withstand so many challenges because he never did it alone. When he was in prison, God was with him. when he was wondering how to manage all the things that were put in his lap.
as he took this new position in Egypt. He had a partner, and his partner was God, the creator of the universe. He refused his boss's wife. and was jailed. He interpreted the dreams of the butler and the baker only to be forgotten.
Yet Joseph never lost sight of the fact That God was a part of his story. As Christians, We sometimes give God credit during good things. But God is at work both in the triumphs and in the trials. And we know that. When we go through those things, I remember.
back almost more than twenty years ago now when I had lymphoma cancer and had been away from the church for many weeks. and I was coming back for the first Sunday. And I was really worried about that because I didn't know what I was going to say. And I remember praying and asking God to help me know what to say. I can tell you right now what I said.
I stood in the pulpit and before I said anything else, I said, God is enough. And I remember saying that. I want you to say it with me. God is enough. And he is.
He's enough for whatever we're going through. He's always with us. He never leaves. When it looks like everybody else has turned their back on you and you're stuck all by yourself, or you're in a room. Late at night in the darkness, and you're feeling the emptiness of everything that's happened to you.
I promise you God is there. He never leaves us. He never forsakes us. Then I want you to notice It was a passionate revelation. This wasn't some detached objective revelation.
Joseph was emotional. The Bible says he fell on his brother's. neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. Moreover, he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him. Kissing In the Old Testament was much different than it is today.
It was the form of expressing affection. When you met somebody and you loved that somebody, usually you pecked them on both sides of the cheek and that was the way you said hello or said, I love you. And the Bible tells us that Joseph kissed All of his brothers. He kissed Reuben, who was as unstable as water. He kissed Simeon and Levi, the two guys who were always getting into trouble.
He kissed Judah who first made the suggestion to sell him into slavery. And when he got to his little brother Benjamin, he didn't just kiss him. The Bible says he wept all over him. And Benjamin wept all over him. What a moment this was.
One of the most emotional moments recorded in the book of Genesis. You see, Joseph was a passionate man. It's amazing to see how many times he cried in Scripture. He wept in the pit. He wept when he was sold.
He wept when he heard his brothers talking about their sin. He wept when he asked about Benjamin.
Now he's weeping over Judah's speech. Later we'll see Joseph weeping upon seeing his father and then weeping again at his father's funeral and weeping again when he makes the statement. to his brothers. that this was God's working. You know, there's no such thing as life without tears.
We just recently uh produced a big um A television uh special on heaven. Built with music from some of our best friends and a big choir and orchestra. And when you came in for this event, Everybody got a little package of tissues, and the package on the front said, There will be no tears in heaven, but in the meantime, you might need these. And uh, I'm sure many people did. I know I did.
I was the narrator for that event, and I had a hard time keeping my composure because of the emotion of it. The Christian life is filled with emotion, both joy and sorrow, but emotion is not a bad thing, and emotion fills today's story and tomorrow as well. I hope you'll be with us for part two of Joseph revealing his identity and get all the other details tomorrow, right here on this good station. I'm David Jeremiah. Thank you for joining us.
Have a great day. See you next time. For more information on Dr. Jeremiah's series God Meant It for Good. Please visit our website where we also offer two free ways to help you stay connected.
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You can also purchase the Jeremiah Study Bible in the English Standard, New International and New King James Versions. Available in your choice of durable and attractive cover options. Get all the details when you visit our website davidjeremiah.org slash radio. This is David Michael Jeremiah. Join us tomorrow as we continue the series God Meant It for Good: The Story of Joseph on Turning Point.
