The truth can set us free

Wow! Joseph has just revealed his identity to his brothers!
Ummmm, what would YOU say if you were one of them? (Grin)
"Hey, bro, no hard feelings?"
"Great to see you!"
"We're cool, right?"
Here is the most amazing part of this story..... no hard feelings. No recounting of their misdeeds. No threats. No "I'll get even with you now!"
He lets them off the hook!
Completely.
He says five things to his brothers, who we can imagine are thunderstruck, unable to move or speak, perhaps cowering before him....
First, in verse 4, he tells them to "come near." Again, can you imagine? They are probably trying to see who can work their way to the back of the crowd, like the way some peeps like to sit at the very back of the church. No, you get up close, I'm standing right here! They really can't believe that he's going to be nice!
Secondly, he says who he is: "I am Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt." He holds up what they did, like a garment in a bazaar -- he's quite willing to look at what they did, and he's not going to deny it.
Third, (and this should have been quite a relief to them) he tells them not to be distressed or angry with themselves for their crimes. Then, the fourth thing he tells them is "God sent me before you to preserve life." He has an amazing perspective on the situation, right? He goes on to tell them about the years of famine, and how God worked to preserve their family.
The fifth thing he tells them is to hurry up! Go get Dad and tell him that I'm alive, and bring him here! In fact, bring the whole family! I have a great place picked out!

The next passage is so special. We all know that children want to know that their dad is proud of them:

Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. 10 You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. 11 I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’
12 “You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. 13 Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.” (Genesis 45:9-13)

At the end of the day, the prime minister of Egypt, with all his finery and wealth and authority, was still his father's son. Every child wants to know, "Are you proud of me?" After all of the pain, the sorrow, the sadness, the waiting, and then after rising to the peak of Egyptian society, the number one priority for Joseph was to know his dad was proud of him.
So, he says, "Hurry, hurry."
Then, finally, the brothers reunite -- group hug!! Lots of happy tears and hugs and pats on the back, I'm sure. Notice that the Word tells us all the brothers were greeted and forgiven. What they had done was far beyond the pale, but he forgave them. This is a picture for us of the love and forgiveness of our Savior, Jesus Christ. And we also see that his love overcame their shame. It says they talked with him. A simple phrase. But it speaks volumes; they were restored, and they could really talk together. Perhaps now was the first time they'd ever really been a family.

Oh boy.
Now it's time to face their father....
The rest of Genesis 45 is the tale of their journey back to Canaan, and their telling Jacob that his son, Joseph, is really alive. (He nearly dies on the spot. Seriously.)

So they went up from Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father, 26 and they said to him, “Joseph is still alive, and indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” But Jacob was stunned and his heart almost stopped beating, because he did not believe them. 27 When they told him everything that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 And Israel (Jacob) said, “It is enough! Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.” (Genesis 45:25-28)

How incredible it must have sounded to the old man. Not only is Joseph alive, but he is the ruler of all the land of Egypt -- second only to the Pharaoh.  No wonder he nearly had a heart attack. For over twenty years he had thought his beloved son was dead. First he would be shocked, I'm sure. How long do you think it took him to start asking some hard questions?
"What really happened that day?"
"How could you have sold your own brother as a slave?"
"Why did you lie to me?"
The Bible doesn't tell us how they answered him.... "Well, you see, Dad, we um, well, um, we were mad at him, and so we threw him in a pit. but we weren't really going to kill him. We just wanted to scare him." (although that's not the truth) "Yeah, Dad, then the traders came along and they offered to buy him. And we're really sorry about that beautiful coat being dipped in blood. We shouldn't have lied to you like that."
Oy vey.
No matter how they told it, no matter how they tried to make it sound a little better, there was no acceptable explanation. Nothing that would cover up their hatred, their envy, their treachery. But maybe Jacob was so overjoyed that he was willing to overlook all their lies, because the last verse shows Jacob rejoicing, and preparing to go and see his son. I can imagine him leaning on his staff, directing all of the packing, beaming with joy that soon he would see Joseph.
The rest of Genesis tells us that Jacob did move to Egypt and was reunited with his son. His family prospers in Goshen, and Jacob dies at the age of 147 with his family gathered around him.

It took a long time, as far as we humans are concerned, but God accomplished his purposes for Joseph and his family. There will be four hundred years that pass, and the Jews will live in Egypt: they will prosper at first, and then be slaves under a Pharaoh that knew nothing much about Joseph. Then years later, a leader named Moses will lead them out. Almost 1800 years after that, a baby will be born Who will be called the Lion of the tribe of Judah. We know Him personally. His name is Jesus.

The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son (descendant) of David, the son (descendant) of Abraham:2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers [who became the twelve tribes of Israel]. (Matthew 1:1-2)

Hey! That's not fair! Joseph is the hero of this story, and he doesn't get mentioned. He's just one of the brothers of Judah. I mean, come on, we've studied Judah before, and he doesn't have the squeaky-clean past that we might think was necessary in this genealogy. Well, he DID save Joseph's life by suggesting that they sell him.... but then there's that whole thing with Tamar, right? Hmmmm, come to think of it, it WAS Judah that made the impassioned speech and pleaded for Benjamin..... that was the final proof for Joseph that his brothers had truly repented.
I guess if we are thinking in our own human ways, it does make more sense for the Messiah to come from the line of Joseph. But perhaps that shows just how different our thinking is from our Father's way -- and it shows how little we understand the grace of God. Jesus has as an ancestor, a very fallible, flawed man who was capable of both great cruelty and great compassion. Ohhhhhh. In other words, he is just like most of us.
So, when God writes the story, He puts Jesus in Judah's family tree.
We talked weeks ago about how much Joseph understood at the time all this was happening. How much did he already know? Not a bit.
But God knew, and saw, and planned it all.
God used Joseph to bring about healing of a family. Brothers were set free from sin and guilt. A father was restored to his son. Ultimately, all of this would result in a Savior being born in a tiny town called Bethlehem.

All of us need to be set free just like Joseph's brothers were set free. If we are willing to face the truth about our sins, and if we are willing to confess them and repent, then we can give up our anger and excuses and love one another.
Do we want to be set free?
Can we look back at a point in our life, and point to that as the time we were set free?
Dear Lord, thank you that we don't have to be perfect to come to you.....and thank you for the truth that sets us free. Now let us learn from you to love others as you have loved us!

Amen!