1 “Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. 2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians heard, and the house of Pharaoh heard. 3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. 4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph, your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. 5 And now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for God did send me before you to preserve life. 6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land; and there are yet five years in the which there shall be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in the earth, and to save you alive by a great deliverance. 8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God; and He hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: and thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast. 10 And there will I nourish thee: for there are yet five years of famine; lest thou come to poverty, thou, and thy household, and all thou hast. 11 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. 12 And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither. 13 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. 14 And he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.”
Golden Text.—“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” Rom. 12: 21.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) What is said of Joseph's emotion before his brethren? Verse 1. Note 1. (2) How were his deep feelings expressed? Verse 2. (3) What did he say to his brethren? How were they affected by this announcement? Verse 3. Note 2. (4) How did he seek to quiet their fears? Verses 4, 5. Note 3. (5) What information did he give them in regard to the famine? Verse 6. (6) What further comforting assurance did Joseph give his brethren? Verses 7, 8. Note 4. (7) What urgent command did he give them? Verse 9. (8) What promise accompanied this invitation to his father? Verses 10, 11. (9) To what evidence did Joseph refer as proof that it was indeed their brother that spoke to them? Verse 12. (10) What further command did he give? Verse 13. Note 5. (11) Then how was Joseph's tender affection for Benjamin displayed? Verse 14. (12) How did he further manifest his love for his other brethren? Verse 15.
NOTES.
1. Joseph Could not Refrain.—Between the last lesson and this one lies the history of Joseph's brethren coming to Egypt for food, and their return home without recognizing him. See the article, “The Sure Word of Prophecy,” on page 6.
2. “They Were Troubled.”—Naturally they feared that Joseph would now retaliate upon them for their cruel treatment of him.
3. Joseph's brethren had evidently shrunk back from him through fear when they saw that they had met in the person of a powerful ruler, the brother whom they sold into slavery. Joseph could not take vengeance, for he had been sent on a mission of mercy. Christ, of whom Joseph was a type, said, “The Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save.” His prayer for His executioners was, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
4. “Great Deliverance.”—That is, by a signal interference. But the word rendered “deliverance” more exactly signifies that which escapes, and means the same as “remnant” in the previous clause. There the words seem to forebode that only a few would escape; in the second clause (“a great deliverance,” or remnant) there is the assurance of their surviving in such numbers as to be able to grow into a great nation.—Ellicott.
5. “All My Glory in Egypt.”—This was not a boast on the part of Joseph. It was necessary that his father should be impressed with his son's ability to fulfil all his promises. In sending out His disciples, Christ first assured them that He had all power in heaven and in earth. Therefore in His name they could do all that He commanded them to do.
