15. Joseph Reveals His Identity (Genesis 45:1-46:7).

by Wesley Blackburn

So now, the story of Joseph draws to an amazing conclusion.

After spending all this time with his brothers, Joseph could no longer bear to hide his identity from them. He reveals that truly he is their long lost brother, and that he'd like for his brothers to come and join him in Egypt.

This is a moment where many of us (including myself) would probably crumble. Joseph had all this power; in fact, he was the second most powerful man in the entire known world at the time. He could have used this power to get back at the brothers that had so terribly wronged him many years ago. Who would have blamed him?

But as Joseph drew his brothers near, he told them, "Do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you... God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance" (Genesis 45:5, 7).

Man, I am blown away by the maturity in that statement. After all the junk that Joseph went through: being sold into slavery by his brothers, being unjustly accused of raping a woman and then thrown in jail, and even helping a man get out of jail and then being forced to wait for two long years, Joseph had a right to be angry. He had all the right into the world to have his brothers at least thrown into jail, if not killed.

But Joseph understood the truth of Romans 8:28 before it was even written: God uses all things for the good of those who love Him. One of the things I've personally been wrestling with lately is the issue of the justice of God. I believe God is good and loving, but my heart just absolutely breaks when I seem to hear story after story lately of how God is apparently absent in people's lives. Joseph's a prime example. How could God allow Joseph to be treated so poorly by his brothers? How could God allow Joseph to get thrown into prison unjustly? How could God allow Joseph to sit in prison for years, despite doing everything right?

But in thinking through the story of Joseph, I thought about what would have happened had Joseph not been thrown into prison. What would have happened if Pharaoh's cupbearer had remembered Joseph? Well, Joseph would have been let go, and probably would have travelled home. He would be nowhere to be found when Pharaoh's dream would have happened, and surely this severe famine would have killed many, many more people. Furthermore, Joseph would never have become second-in-command over all of Egypt, and the nation of Israel would not have been given a place to grow and prosper like they did in Egypt under the protection of Joseph.

It's so tough to remember, but we need to have an attitude like Joseph's; even when we are in the waiting rooms of life, we will still be seeking how God wants to transform us and use us in every circumstance. It's this understanding that allowed Joseph to declare at the end of his life to his brothers that "you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives" (Genesis 50:20).

Joseph was truly one of the most incredible men of the Bible. I only hope that one day, God can transform my heart, mind, and attitude to be a little bit more like his.