“What a surprising turn of events”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Sunday, February 20, 2022

Genesis 45:1-15 (Forward, p. 22) CEV p. 47

One cannot blame Joseph’s brothers for being absolutely astounded, and, more than just a little bit scared. After all, they had wanted him dead, and then, having been persuaded not to take that drastic step, had sold him into slavery. So, quite reasonably, they might well have wondered what to expect from him.

Of course, they had no idea, no premonition, of what incredible and wondrous changes God had wrought in Joseph’s life during the interval. Whereas, before his time in slavery in Egypt, he had been excessively proud and entirely ‘full of himself’, he had become mellowed and humbler. And, not only that, but whereas he had previously scarcely even thought about God (or so it would seem), now he most clearly saw the hand of God in what had happened. Even a brief glance at his words reveals this belief:

“Yes, I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt. Don’t worry or blame yourselves for what you did. God is the one who sent me ahead of you to save lives” (verses 4b-5);

“There has already been a famine for two years, and for five more years no one will plow fields or harvest grain. But God sent me on ahead of you to keep your families alive and to save you in this wonderful way. After all, you weren’t really the ones who sent me here—it was God. He made me the highest official in the king’s court and placed me over all Egypt” (verses 6-8).

So, where Joseph’s brothers still a bit nervous, a bit cautious, about this seeming change of heart, this change of behaviour? Did they still have niggling, perhaps unconscious reservations about whether this might all be ‘true good to be true’? Certainly, the whole bunch of them were reconciled that day, but they still doubted, still wondered if (or when) ‘the other shoe would drop’. We see this acted out after their father Jacob died. They wondered, “What if Joseph still hates us and wants to get even with us for all the cruel things we did to him?” (Genesis 50:15).

And so they sent Joseph a somewhat disguised and concocted message alleged to be a request from their father, asking Joseph to forgive them. Joseph’s response is most telling. Not only does he break down into tears, presumably upset at their lack of faith in him, their lack of trust, but he goes out of his way to reassure them:

“Don’t be afraid! I have no right to change what God has decided. You tried to harm me, but God made it turn out for the best, so that he could save all these people, as he is now doing. Don’t be afraid! I will take care of you and your children” (verses 19-21).

Decidedly, after Joseph said this, his brothers felt much better. Finally, they were persuaded. They were able to accept this ‘surprising turn of events’ as being real.

What this makes me wonder about is whether this might also have a bearing upon us today. We are facing all manner of perilous and difficult situations in our world today, ones that are every bit as harrowing and unfortunately as Joseph being sold into slavery: the pandemic, the threatened excursion of Russia into the Ukraine, and the continued political turmoil in Canada and the United States, for instance. Can God turn these dicey situations into something good, somehow bringing good out of them? Can God still pull off ‘surprising turns of events’ as He did back then with Joseph and his brothers? I think so, but this will require a similar humility, the same openness to change, the same receptibility and openness to God’s voice, and the same trust in God as Joseph evidenced. Yes, even in the face of what was probably, initially at least, some very different emotional responses. Let us, then, become like him in this. Amen.

Forward notes: “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors” (verse 7).

“In the book of Genesis, Joseph’s early life is marked by great suffering beyond his control. First his brothers sell him into slavery; then he is wrongly imprisoned. But these twists of fate eventually lead him to greatness. He becomes one of Pharaoh’s most trusted advisors and helps the people of Egypt survive a famine. When his brothers, starving in neighboring Israel, come to beg for help, they are astonished to meet the sibling they abandoned, in a position of power at last.

“Joseph helps them (after teaching them a lesson). But he also explains to them that he has found a way to make meaning out of all his hardships. He has realized that without his enslavement and imprisonment, he never would have been able to protect his family or ensure that they would survive to the next generation. By sharing this wisdom with his brothers, he shows them that God has found a way to redeem their evil deeds and give all of them a second chance. If God could do this for Joseph’s brothers, God can surely do the same for us.”

Moving Forward: “Ask God for help in finding meaning in a hardship.”