Joseph's story is one that we Christians love to dwell on - God working in secret through the circumstances of life (looking bad more often than good) and eventually we see how he was looking after us all along. Great when we find we've been part of a story like this, but we mustn't assume God will always bail us out. Real faith demands that we go further than that, and play our part. Joseph didn't sit around and wait for God to show up, he worked incredibly hard for the good of whoever came in sight, whether it was Potiphar, fellow prisoners, Pharaoh, or his family.
Joseph reunited with his brothers
Genesis 43:15-34, 44:1-34, 45:1-15
Jacob hears good news
Genesis 45:16-28
Jacob goes to Egypt
Genesis 46:1-7
Joseph's family settle in Egypt
Genesis 46:8-27, Exodus 1:1-5, Genesis 46:28-34, 47:1-12
His wise leadership continues
Genesis 47:13-26
Jacob's last days, and his blessing
Genesis 47:28-31, 48:1-22
A lovely line in 45:24 - "Don't quarrel on the way," says Joseph to his brothers as they go to fetch Jacob. There's humour in this book!
Judah it is who speaks up, telling Joseph the whole truth about what had happened in Canaan. Judah, made wise by the pain of losing two sons, is ready to die in place of Jacob's beloved Benjamin. The brothers have finally realised the consequences of their actions, even though Joseph warns them not to start arguing on their way home!
So Joseph brings his whole family safely to Egypt, and there are tears and poignant reunions. Joseph brought the whole land through the famine, and when Jacob finally comes to the end of his life, he kneels with his two sons to receive his father's blessing. But Jacob has one last trick up his sleeve. He gives the best blessing to the younger son. Why? Who knows. Perhaps this little detail just shows us that Jacob's character remained to the end. Although he learnt humility, and gratitude, and wisdom through his long life, he could never resist the chance to seize events as they ran through his hands, and give them a little twist.
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