Genesis 45:16
And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, Joseph’s brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, Joseph’s brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
Genesis 45:16 reports that word that Joseph's brothers had arrived reached Pharaoh's household and pleased Pharaoh well and his servants. It belongs to the account of Joseph's reunion with his brothers and with his father's family after a great famine. It belongs with verse 2, where Joseph wept aloud so that the Egyptians heard and the house of Pharaoh heard, and shows the effect the news concerning Joseph's brethren had upon Pharaoh and his house.
The pleasure expressed in Pharaoh's house reflects the favor Joseph had gained in Egypt and the welcome extended to his family. That favorable welcome made it possible for Joseph's family to come to Egypt and helped preserve their lives and Israel's family from famine. Their favorable reception formed part of God's providential direction of Israel's journey into Egypt, where His people would be preserved from famine and tried, while Egypt would continually have before it representatives of God's truth.
Pharaoh's favor toward Jacob's family for Joseph's sake pictures God's favor toward people for Jesus' sake, for when they come with Jesus God is pleased with them because Jesus is His beloved Son. Joseph's guidance and deliverance in his youth proves that the God of Israel befriends children and youth, is found by those who seek Him early, and guards them by angels in the time of trouble. The verse shows God bringing Joseph to what He intended for him by guiding him rightly though by a roundabout way, so a person may safely trust God to bring him to what God intends for him.
As part of the life of Joseph, the verse supplies underlying principles for dealing with the contingencies of life, showing by example how to act when called to pass through a similar experience. Those practical lessons are to be known as familiarly as one's own name for personal good and for giving counsel to others in similar difficulties, making the Bible a guidebook to trust to the very end.