1 Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.
4 So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 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 the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 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. 9 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 tarry. 10 You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.’ 12 And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. 13 You must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” 14 Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. After that his brothers talked with him.
16 When the report was heard in Pharaoh's house, “Joseph's brothers have come,” it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. 17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan, 18 and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’ 19 And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 20 Have no concern for your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”
21 The sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. 22 To each and all of them he gave a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five changes of clothes. 23 To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey. 24 Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way.”
25 So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. 26 And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. 27 But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”
Everybody loves reunions. This is especially true after a prolonged period of separation from our loved ones. It could be a reunion with our loved ones after their overseas assignment or a reunion with our children after their overseas exchange programme. It could also be a reunion with our friends and relatives whom we have not seen for a long time. Reunions are always a blessed event that all look forward to.
In the story today, we witnessed a great reunion of Jacob’s family. It was a reunion that came much later but it was never too late.
After concealing his identity from his siblings, Joseph could no longer control his emotions. He ordered everyone else to leave and there he finally revealed his identity to his brothers. We can imagine why Joseph lost control of his emotions. It was a long time since he had seen his loved ones. All these years in Egypt, we could imagine how much Joseph had missed them and now they were standing right before him.
However, we see a different reaction from his siblings. Instead of feeling happy to be able to reunite with Joseph, they were feeling afraid and guilty. They knew that they had sold Joseph to Egypt. Now, since Joseph is the Prime Minister of Egypt, they were afraid that Joseph would take revenge on them given his high position.
We see that Joseph forgave his brothers and he even told them not to be guilty as he saw this as God’s plan to preserve the family. All that had happened to him is part of God’s bigger plan and blessing. If Joseph was not sold to Egypt, then he would not have the chance to become Prime Minister and during this famine, the entire family may have died of at Canaan.
In this reunion, we can see that Joseph chose to see the adversity that has happened to him as part of God’s bigger and beautiful plan. Instead of being angry and taking the opportunity to get revenge, Joseph chose to see things from God’s angle and that made him able to cherish this reunion.
What will your reaction be?
Will we be like Joseph’s brothers, feeling afraid and guilty? Guilt and fear cripple our lives. If we choose to focus on the guilt and fear, then we will miss out on God’s beautiful plan for us.
Or will we be like Joseph, seeing the adversities in our life as part of God’s bigger plan? We can choose to see things from God’s perspective. We trust that nothing that occurs in our life happen by chance. They are all part of God’s plan to bless us and to fulfil His mission for us.
Instead of burying ourselves in guilt and fear, let us learn to see things from God’s perspective, we pray for the Holy Spirit to open our Spiritual Eyes to be able to see things from God’s perspective. When we see how our life events fit in to God’s bigger and beautiful plan, we will rejoice and look forward to the reunion with God our Father.
