Joseph, the man of dreams and the man of faith, finally became the second-in-command at the age of 30. A miracle occurred. Bible calls it grace. I pray that you would experience this grace and miracle.
Thinking of Joseph make us have a higher expectation of our own dream and faith. Joseph faced death at the age of 17 by his own brothers. Overnight, Joseph became an orphan. Then he was accused of a crime by a woman and spent 20 years in jail. How was Joseph able to become the second-in-command in the midst of all these unfortunate circumstances? Why was Joseph blessed?
The reason is not Joseph’s intelligence, but he was blessed because God was with him. When God was with him, his wisdom and intelligence shined and his life was filled with blessings. We must only depend on God. God was pleased with Joseph. Joseph was filled with the Holy Spirit. He was honest in all circumstances and he grew in his dreams.
He did not carelessly accept the dreams given to him by God. Keep the word of God in your heart. You must be touched by God. You will be touched when you read the Bible, when you listen to the sermon, or when you pray. Do not consider being touched by God as a passing event, but keep it in your heart. Learn from Joseph that one day the dream will be fulfilled.
Joseph experienced many changes in his circumstances. However, he never had a bitter feeling towards God. We also experience changes in circumstances; at times we face trials and at times we face a loss. Joseph was blessed when he did not hold a grudge against God even in the difficult moments. God blessed Joseph with intelligence and wisdom because Joseph’s spirit was clear and pure.
Those who are close with God have a clean spirit. I met many elderly people in Korea who were not educated. However, when I talked to them, I was surprised. They spoke with wisdom and intelligence because they were filled with the Holy Spirit. People with clear spirit make the right judgment because God gives them the wisdom the people of the world does not have. This wisdom allowed Joseph to interpret the dreams of the baker, cupbearer, and the Pharaoh. I pray that you would be filled with the intelligence and wisdom from the Holy Spirit.
After becoming the second-in-command, Egypt had seven years of prosperity. Storage was built to store crops over the years of prosperity. Then after the 7 years of prosperity, 7 years of famine followed. The storage was opened and supplied Egyptians with crops. The dangerous famine was not a problem for Joseph. The danger is not a problem to those who pray and are prepared. Disaster greets the unprepared. The famine did not occur only in Egypt. The nearby countries also faced famine; Jacob and his family faced famine in the Promised Land also.
It is written in verse 42:1-2, 1 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” 2 He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”
The people in the Promised Land ran out of food and had to risk their lives in search for food in the foreign countries. God’s providence begins here through famine-God created an opportunity for Joseph to meet his brothers through famine.
It is written in verses 3-5: 3Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him. 5So Israel's sons were among those who went to buy grain, for the famine was in the land of Canaan also.
Those who went to Egypt to buy food were the ten brothers who wanted to forget Joseph. However, we later realize that they were not able to forget Joseph. Like Joseph’s brothers, some people drink, do drugs, or have other habits to forget about their guilt.
Jacob was afraid to lose, Joseph’s brother, Benjamin, so he did not send Benjamin to Egypt. We see the fear of the father who lost a son. Jacob was still filled with pain of losing Joseph. It is written in verses 6-7: 6Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the one who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. 7As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.” Then brothers came before Joseph and bowed down;
Joseph’s dream at the age of 17 was being fulfilled. Joseph’s brothers did not know the dream was being fulfilled. This is God’s providence and His method. Joseph immediately recognized his brothers. However, his brothers did not recognize him. We see God’s hands at work; he allowed Joseph and his brothers to meet. They did not meet out of coincidence. Joseph’s brothers lived their lives pretending to have forgotten, but their hearts were fixed on the moment when they sold their brother Joseph as a slave. Time had passed, but they were not able to forget. Sin does not go away after a while. Guilt does not fade. One who is not forgiven is filled with fear and pain. Still, the brothers did not try to resolve their sins and search for Joseph. So, God opened an opportunity for them.
There was famine and the brothers headed for Egypt in search for food. Unexpectedly they stood before Joseph. This event cannot be planned by humans; it occurred by God’s interference. Verse 8 says, “Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.”
Joseph immediately recognized his brothers. However, he pretended to not know them not because Joseph was angry at them. Joseph already forgave his brothers. Salvation’s secret is hidden in Joseph’s behavior towards his brother. If Joseph spoke up to his brothers, the brothers would not have the chance to repent their mistake.
It is written in verses 9-13: 9Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.” 10“No, my lord,” they answered. “Your servants have come to buy food. 11We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.” 12 “No!” he said to them. “You have come to see where our land is unprotected.” 13But they replied, “Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”
Joseph called his brothers spies so the brothers would tell the truth. It is written in verses 15-16: 15And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth.
The brothers faced a difficult situation. They were in distress because they could not make the request to their father. However, Joseph made that specific request. Joseph sent nine brothers into jail and sent one to bring Benjamin. Then he put them in jail for three days. It is written in verses 18-20: 18On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: 19If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. 20But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” This they proceeded to do.
Joseph changed his mind in three days. Instead of nine, he put one in jail and sent the rest with crops back home for the starving households.
Verse 21 says, “They said to one another, ‘Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that's why this distress has come upon us.’”
The work of the Holy Spirit is revealed from verse 21. The reason for suffering began to reveal. They thought they were being punished because of Joseph. The more difficult the trials, the more they revealed their sins. This is God’s purpose; this is suffering. The suffering made them remember their sins. I hope you remember the sins you committed in the past. Even though you forgot, I hope you remember and resolve it. Hatred, bitterness, and grudge must be broken. Then God’s blessing will flow and you will bear fruits. The brothers think their current suffering was to compensate for the suffering Joseph faced because of them. They knew the meaning of suffering. God used not just Joseph but the rest of Jacob’s sons to build Israel. God was opening the brothers the chance to repent so they can be lifted up. I hope you would know the meaning of your sufferings. Have you ever harmed others in the past? It is easy for people to be dull towards the harm we bring to others. However, we must remember them. If Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, the brothers would not have repented. They would not be able to deepen their faith. The superficial faith is a problem today. Many people only think of the grace and seek romantic faith. Therefore, they commit sins. Their faith is shallow. The depth of repentance is the depth of faith. Those who shed tears because of their sins do not commit the same sin. Without completely revealing sins, great blessings do not follow. Without repentance, complaining to God becomes easy when experiencing difficult circumstances. David was one of God’s people, but he committed great sins against God. His repentance and suffering is written in Psalm 32:1-4. 1Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. 3When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah
To David, the experience was like bones wasting away. Whenever David committed sins, he felt the heavy hands of God upon him. David is not great because he defeated Goliath, but because of his repentance.
It is written in verses 24-25 in today’s passage: 24He turned away from them and began to weep, but then turned back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes. 25Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to put each man's silver back in his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. After this was done for them,
Joseph loved his brothers. He turned away and cried but he dealt with his brothers harshly in front. Joseph seemed scary to his brothers. Joseph put Simeon in jail, but he gave them grains. But that was not his intention.
It is written in verses 26-28: 26they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left. 27At the place where they stopped for the night one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack. 28“My silver has been returned,” he said to his brothers. “Here it is in my sack.” Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”
Joseph secretly gave them their silvers back. The brothers discovered the silver on their way back and responded, “What is this that God has done to us?” In their perspective, they could be accused of stealing from Egypt during famine. They began to think clearly. They began to think of all the circumstances God-centered.
In verses 29-34, the brothers explain to their father Jacob all that happened.
It is written in verses 35-38: 35As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man's sack was his pouch of silver! When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened. 36Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!” 37Then Reuben said to his father, "You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back.” 38But Jacob said, “My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow.”
Even though Jacob is one of the ancestors of faith, we see the side of him without spiritual discernment. He was not able to see God’s providence. So he thought everything was against him.
I pray that you would look at all circumstances in the God-centered perspective. Do not look at the circumstances in your own perspective.
If you believe in Jesus Christ and became God’s child, all circumstances are blessed circumstances. If you look at the times you have been wrongly blamed and harmed in God’s perspective, you will be greatly blessed like Joseph. God does not bring ruin to his own people. Look towards the great blessings God will bring. Remember that God will even use your failure to bless you. I pray that we would only look at God’s providence in our lives. There is no coincidence in the lives of Christians. All occur according to God’s plans.
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