Bible Commentaries
Genesis 45

Verses 1-28

In the account of Joseph's revelation of himself to his brethren, the chief value is in his recognition of the fact that his destiny had been in the hand of God: "It was not you that sent me hither, but God." This capacity for ignoring secondary causes is one of the surest signs of greatness. So it was that Joseph was able to forget and to forgive his brethren for selling him into slavery. It is a consciousness possible only to the life of habitual communion with God.

The important position Joseph occupied in Egypt is clearly seen in Pharaoh's attitude toward Joseph's father and his brothers.

When Jacob heard that his son was alive, his heart was touched to its depth: "It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die." Thus he was beginning to find out that under the government of his covenant-keeping God the things he had declared to be against him were really for him. How good it is that when our faith wavers, God does not change His mind or purpose for us. He moves right on in infinite love toward the final good. How much feverish unrest we would be spared if only we would learn from these stories of the past to repose our confidence in God rather than in circumstance and quietly await His time.