Many presentations of the story of the life of Joseph mention that he went from “the pit to the palace.”  That was so very true.  In Genesis 37-50 we see Joseph as:

Papa’s Favorite Son
Paid-for Slave
Potiphar’s Personal Assistant
Prisoner of Innocence
Perfect Prison Trustee
Prophetic Dream Revealer
Pharaoh’s Prime Minister
Professional Grain Master
Priest’s Daughter’s Husband
Parent of Two Covenant Sons
Pardoner of His Own Brothers
Protector of the Sons of Jacob
Preserver of the Nation of Israel
Promise of the Future Exodus

These lessons have helped us see how Joseph handled all of the potential pitfalls presented to him in each situation of his life from age 17 to age 39.  He would be reunited with his brothers at the age of 39 in the second year of the famine in Egypt.  The last verse of Genesis records that Joseph lived to be 110 years old.

 This week’s “pitfall” Joseph could have experienced was bitterness.  During those early years of being alone and abandoned in Egypt, it is certain that Joseph ran the entire gamut of human emotions, including bitterness.  It is one thing to experience the emotion.  It’s another thing to give in to that emotion and allow yourself to be engulfed and absorbed.

 Quick re-cap of the events in Genesis 42-44.  Back in Hebron in the land of Canaan, Jacob realizes that the famine would soon destroy his family.  He sends 10 of the brothers to Egypt to buy grain.  Benjamin, the younger brother of Joseph, was kept at home.  Benjamin was the last surviving son of Jacob’s beloved wife, Rachel…or so it had been thought for nearly 22 years.  None of these men could have known that not only was Joseph alive, he was now the Prime Minister of Egypt. 

 When they arrived in Egypt, Joseph immediately recognized them.  The last time they had seen Joseph, he was in a camel caravan, sold as a slave, headed south to Egypt, while they split the slave sale money around their campfire.  They had absolutely NO idea that this was their “presumed dead” brother, Joseph. The first thing the brothers did was to BOW at his feet!  All of the yet-to-be-fulfilled dreams of Joseph came rushing back.  He accused them of being spies.  They revealed that their father and younger brother (Benjamin) remained at home. Joseph put them in prison for three days.

 At this point in the narrative, Joseph subtly began playing two games with his brothers.  One game could have been called: “If this is genuine, then where is Benjamin?”  The other game could have been called: “If this is NOT a trick, then where’s the Trickster Jacob, my aged father?”  Joseph’s end game was two-fold:  find out if their father was still alive and whether or not they had taken out their anger against Benjamin, his own brother by Rachel, the favored wife of Jacob.

 The most poignant part of the story unfolds as the brothers return with Benjamin to Egypt.  Joseph overhears their conversations about their regret over selling him to the slave traders all those years ago.  Then he hears Judah offer to give his own life to spare the life of Benjamin.  He has discovered that their father Jacob is definitely alive and well.  It would be here that we might expect Joseph to display bitterness at all that had been “stolen” from him by their evil deed perpetrated against him. 

 Instead of caving to bitterness, Joseph reached out to each of his brothers.  In Genesis 45, Joseph reveals his true identity to his brothers.  The tears he wept were accompanied by both deep grief and great comfort and joy at their reunion.  By degrees, Joseph proclaimed:  I am Joseph.  Your brother.  The one you sold into slavery and sent to Egypt. Do not be grieved.  Do not be angry with yourselves because of what you did.  God sent me here way ahead of your arrival to preserve all of your lives.  This was the plan of God for Israel.  There are five years left of famine.  Come.  Dwell here and LIVE!