[And He Walks With Me] Genesis 45

5-8        When Joseph revealed his identity, the brothers must have thought they were doomed. Yet, Joseph here revealed that God figured their wicked plan into his own plan to save Israel. Therefore, even though the earthly reason for his ordeal was that they had thrown him in a well and sold him into slavery, he recognized the larger truth: God sent me ahead of you to preserve life. Three times in these verses, Joseph asserts this notion, and we can be reassured that it remains true today. Often, people do terrible things to each other, and terrible things just happen in this broken world. Yet, God has known about these things from before time began, and he has engineered his redemptive plan to account for them. This is the same reason why Job could proclaim that, despite all the terrible things he had experienced, he knew that his Redeemer lived (Job 19:25), and it is the same reason why believers must always look for the good that God is doing in spite of – or even because of – the bad we see in the world.

6        Once again, we get a landmark to help us gauge the passing of time. Joseph was 17 years old when sold into slavery (37:2). After 13 years of slavery, he entered the service of Pharaoh (41:46). This was followed by seven years of plentiful harvests, and now two years of famine. Joseph, then, was about 39 years old when he was reunited with his brothers. This is astonishing because, contrary to the common belief that time heals all wounds, it is far more likely that unattended wounds fester over time. Joseph’s positivity toward his brothers, therefore, is quite surprising.

8        Joseph’s intention here was neither to blame God nor to excuse his brothers for their sin. He was rather encouraging his brothers, who had demonstrated remorse and repentance, to see the good that God was able to bring out of their bad decisions.

10        The land of Goshen is located in northeastern Egypt on the Nile River Delta. This is the part of Egypt which is closest to Canaan. Also, the area is known for its fertile soil which made it ideal for grazing large flocks and herds such as those held by Israel. It would later be known as the “district of Rameses” (47:11).^[111]

24        Joseph’s parting exhortation to his brothers, Don’t argue on the way, was probably intended to prevent them from pointing fingers at each other for what they did to Joseph.^[112]

[111] Keener and Walton 2016, Genesis 45:10; Sproul 2016, Genesis 45:10

[112] Sproul 2016, Genesis 45:24