45:1 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.
45:2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
''No stranger was allowed to witness this sacred scene.
What stranger could understand or appreciate it? We are here called to witness, as it were, divinely wrought conviction, in the presence of divine grace: and we may say, when these two come together, there is easy settlement of every question.'' [CHM]
45:3 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 {ie., terrified} at his presence.
45:4 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.
45:5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. {cp. 50:20}
45:6 For these two years [hath] the famine [been] in the land: and yet [there are] five years, in the which [there shall] neither [be] earing nor harvest.
45:7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity {lit., a remnant} in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. {cp. Isa 1:9; Rom 11:5}
45:8 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 a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
45:9 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:
45:10 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:
45:11 And there will I nourish thee; for yet [there are] five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.
45:12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that [it is] my mouth that speaketh unto you. {cp. 42:23}
45:13 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.
45:14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
45:15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
held no bitterness against their brethren for their treachery. v.4,5; 50:20; Luk 23:34
Come near... God did send me before you... Ye meant it for evil... God meant it for good.-
''This is grace indeed, setting the convicted conscience perfectly at rest. The brethren had already most thoroughly condemned themselves, and hence Joseph had only to pour in the blessed balm into their broken hearts.'' [CHM]
Notice that in the following chapters, Joseph hid their sin from Pharaoh, and owned them as 'my brothers.'
were sent by God to save the remnant of Israel. v.5-8; Rom 11:5,25-27
The Lord Jesus provides eternal spiritual salvation for those who trust in Him (Zech 13:1), and physical preservation for a remnant of Israel through the time of Jacob's Trouble (Zech 13:8,9).
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.
45:17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;
45:18 And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.
45:19 Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.
45:20 Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt [is] yours.
45:21 And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.
45:22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred [pieces] of silver, and five changes of raiment.
45:23 And to his father he sent after this [manner]; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.
45:24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.
Both Joseph and Jesus...
would bring harmony between their brethren. v.24
Jacob's sons had often ''fallen out'' in disagreements between each other.
Once, their guilt concerning Joseph's blood had torn them apart (eg., Gen 42:21,22), but now, having received his forgiveness, they were united as brothers. cp. Psa 133:1-3; Joh 13:34,35; Eph 4:31,32; Col 3:12,13
45:25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,
45:26 And told him, saying, Joseph [is] yet alive, and he [is] governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not.
45:27 And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived: {cp. Hos 6:1-3}
45:28 And Israel said, [It is] enough; Joseph my son [is] yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.
The heart of Jacob had fainted long before,
when he was consumed with hopeless grief, at the loss of Joseph. Gen 37:33-35
The news that Joseph was alive and in a powerful position, seemed beyond belief. But as he came to believe the report of God's faithfulness, Jacob arose out of his depression, to stand again as 'Israel' (v.28).
Like Abraham, Jacob received his son back from death, in a figure (cp. Heb 11:17-19). For Abraham, the restoration of his son was God's provision, for proven faith. For Jacob, the restoration of his son was proof of God's faithfulness, beyond all expectation.