Joseph – See What God Can Do
Parshah Vayigash - Genesis 44:18-47:27
Torah Reading for Week of 28 December 2008 to 3 January 2009 |
This week’s Torah portion reveals the high point in the story of Joseph’s life. The brother, so envied by his siblings, that they sold him into slavery is now in a position where the very survival of his family rests in his hands. He has risen from the ignominy of slavery and the injustice of false imprisonment to become the viceroy of Egypt. Through all of this he remains faithful to the God of his fathers. So much so that even Pharaoh recognises the Hand of God on Joseph’s life.
Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?" Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are.” Genesis 41:38-39
Joseph’s character has been put in a crucible. He has changed from the spoiled favourite son, who flaunted his father’s favour and gloated over his brothers, telling them of his dreams in which they would bow down to him, and he has become a man in whom God can be seen. He is a man who, in recognising God’s blessings, has allowed God to heal him of the pain of rejection and the loss of his family and refine his character.
Before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph. Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore them to him. Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. "For," he said, "God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house." The name of the second he called Ephraim, "For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction." Genesis 41: 50-52
Has Joseph really forgotten his family? No, or he wouldn’t have mentioned them and Egypt is still a land of affliction! So what he perhaps is really saying is that he has forgiven his brothers and doesn’t carry resentment in his heart against them and the reason for this is a work of God in him. He is a man at peace with the will of God.
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled. Hebrews 12:15
Clearly, he must have; because anger and bitterness blind us to God’s goodness and make it impossible for us to enjoy God’s grace or appreciate God’s blessings. Joseph has no bitter root in his heart and, in spite of all he has gone through, he not only recognises God’s goodness and grace but is able to praise God. Yet, the question remains why he didn’t send word to his father, to let him know that he was alive and well. He, of course, had no idea if his father was still alive or perhaps he didn’t want to expose his brothers’ sins against him to his father whom he thought had suffered enough. Or, did he, somewhere deep in his heart, trust that God would restore his family to him? We know that his childhood dreams remained with him because when the famine hits hard and his brothers come up to Egypt to buy grain, we read that he remembered those dreams. Whatever the reason, he was willing to wait for whatever God had in store for him.
The Midrash (a Jewish interpretation) explains that the entire saga of Joseph’s life was an “awesome plot” devised and orchestrated by God to bring about the means by which Jacob would take his family to Egypt. We see in this the fulfilment of the words spoken to Abraham by God during the prophetic vision known as the Covenant between the Halves which he received when he was seventy years old.
As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. Then the LORD said to Abram, "Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Genesis 15:12-14
The Chassidic teaching is that because the Galut (exile) is not something one chooses voluntarily, or it wouldn’t be exile, Jacob had to be forced to leave his home and relocate to Egypt. God had a plan to bring forth a nation from Abraham’s seed and to do this He needed to separate the descendants of Jacob from the surrounding nations. Jacob and his family went to Egypt, but later a people came out and a nation was born at Sinai.
But, going back to our Torah portion, we see the stage has been set for Joseph to reveal himself to his brothers. By God’s divine revelation he has not only correctly interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams but has been placed in a position of power. God not only gave him the interpretation, but the rescue plan too; so he gathers up the grain into storehouses so that when the famine hits there will be grain to sell not only in Egypt but to the surrounding nations.
Ten of Joseph’s brothers go to Egypt to buy grain and, although Joseph recognises them, they are blind to his true identity and Joseph begins to test them. He demands that they prove they are not spies by bringing their youngest brother, Benjamin, to him. He sends them on their way but keeps Simeon as a hostage to ensure their return. The brothers begin to see in their distress at this difficult situation the guilt that they bear towards their lost brother Joseph. When they get home to Jacob and recount the events, including the discovery of the returned money which they had paid for the grain, you can hear Jacob’s pain when he accuses them of the loss of Joseph and now of Simeon and his horror that they want to take Benjamin so that they can get back Simeon. Jacob only agrees when they again feel the hunger of the famine after all the grain they had brought back had been eaten. He agrees, though, when Judah takes on himself the eternal responsibility of guilt if anything should happen to Benjamin.
The story, as we know, is that they were welcomed by Joseph, wined and dined, and sent on their way only to be stopped on route by Joseph’s guards who find the “stolen” goblet placed in Benjamin’s sack and he is taken back to Joseph. This is where this week’s portion begins and we find Judah pleading for Benjamin’s life, offering his own in his brother’s place. He simply cannot bear to go back to Jacob and tell him that he has lost another son.
Judah, we read, came near or approached Joseph; the Hebrew word here is vayigash - the name of our Torah portion. The word vayigash is used in the Tanach (OT) in 3 main ways:
- To approach in battle as Joab did – 2 Samuel 10:13
- To approach in conciliation or mediation – Joshua 14:6
- To approach in prayer as Elijah did – I Kings 18:36
“Rabbi Eleazar combined all these views: Judah approached Joseph for all three, saying: If it be war, I approach for war; if it be conciliation, I approach for conciliation; if it be for entreaty, I approach to entreat.” (Midrash Rabbah: a compilation of Jewish interpretations of the Books of Moses and a few other Biblical books, compiled in the Fourth Century.)
Judah understood the power that this viceroy wielded and this was, indeed, a battle; it was a battle for the life of Benjamin and one in which Judah was willing to surrender his own. As he speaks, he is pleading for the life of Benjamin and, surely, here we can agree with the learned Rabbi, that Judah was willing to do or say whatever was necessary to secure the release of Benjamin.
It is at this point that Joseph can no longer contain himself, he has seen how his brothers have changed too so he demands that everyone be removed from the room except his brothers and he asks them to come close. Speaking in their native tongue may not have been enough to convince them, for he was a diplomat and traded with neighbouring lands and, in their opinion, might well have spoken their tongue. Perhaps he is asking them to listen and recognise his voice. What is certain though that, attired as an Egyptian, he was unrecognisable! There is a tradition in Judaism that the reason that he emptied the room of all but his brothers was because the only way that he could prove his identity was to show his circumcision to them.
Here again we see how Joseph’s character has developed; confronted by the truth of this revelation the brothers must have been overcome with shame and remorse but immediately Joseph tells them that it was not by their hand but by the hand of the Lord that he was sent to Egypt. He doesn’t blame them nor does he want them to bear the guilt. He explains God’s purpose which was this: “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.” Genesis 45:7
Joseph is a lesson in the shaping of our character. He was a man who suffered much and learned much and, in his journey with God, he was a willing instrument in the Lord’s hands. He yielded to God and was put on the Great Potter’s wheel to have his life moulded and shaped so that he became a vessel able to carry the Spirit of God. His reward was not simply to be reunited and reconciled with his family but to become the means of its survival. His willingness meant he participated in something greater than himself, i.e. God’s plan of salvation. He wouldn’t know the result of bringing his family to Egypt. We do, and we can see where his faithfulness led.
As we begin a new year, many will make resolutions that they will not keep but, perhaps, as God’s people, we could take a leaf from Joseph’s book and commit afresh to yielding ourselves to our Lord and King. I find myself challenged to say, ‘Yes, Lord.’ We may not see the bigger picture, but God does! If like Joseph we yield our lives, we, too, will have the joy of knowing that God can and will use us for his glory.
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Messiah Yeshua. 1Peter 1:6-7
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