Tagged: Providence

Genesis 45:1-15

This text is used for the Lectionary Year A on August 20, 2017.

By the events of Genesis 45, Joseph had lived in Egypt for most of his life. During his time there, he has experienced the highest of highs (see: reward for interpreting dreams) and the lowest of lows (see: wife, Potiphar’s). Once Joseph had risen to power in Egypt, the dream he interpreted for Pharaoh about years of abundance followed by years of famine had become a reality. Throughout Egypt’s seven fruitful years, Joseph oversaw the storage of food. And once famine struck the land, families from all around came to Egypt for help, including Joseph’s brothers—the same brothers who had sent him to Egypt in the first place.

After following Joseph throughout his life, from his earliest days as his father’s favorite son to the leadership position he now holds in Egypt, the climax of Joseph’s story arrives at this moment. How does Joseph react to his brothers’ plea for help? The tables have turned completely since they were last together. Where Joseph was once weak, he is now in a place of power. His life is no longer at the mercy of his family, but quite the opposite: they stand now at his mercy and have come to him so that they might live. The content of Joseph’s first dreams—the dreams in which his brothers bowed down before him—had finally come to pass.

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