A. Joseph reveals himself to his brothers.

1. (1-3) The emotional revelation.

Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Make everyone go out from me!” So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it. Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence.

A. Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him: Joseph ordered all the Egyptians out of the room and was then alone with his brothers. His great emotion showed that Joseph did not cruelly manipulate his brothers. He was directed by God to make these arrangements and it hurt him to do it.

B. Joseph made himself known to his brothers: This perhaps means that Joseph told them he was Joseph and showed his brothers that he was circumcised. Jewish legend says the brothers could never believe this high Egyptian official was Joseph unless he showed he was circumcised.

c. But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence: Because of the punishment they anticipated, the great emotion of Joseph, his manner of revelation, and the total shock of learning Joseph was not only alive but right in front of them, the brothers were dismayed. The ancient Hebrew word for dismayed (bahal) actually means, amazed or frightened or even terrified.

i. Come near to me in Genesis 45:4 implies the brothers cringed back in terror. Jewish legends (which are only legends) say the brothers were so shocked that their souls left their bodies and it was only by a miracle of God their souls came back.

Ii. Their dismay was a shadow of what will happen when the Jewish people see Jesus for who He is again: And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10)



2. (4-8) Joseph’s testimony.



And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.



a. God sent me before you to preserve life: Joseph did not diminish what the brothers did (whom you sold into Egypt). Yet he saw that God’s purpose in it all was greater than the evil of the brothers.

i. When we are sinned against, we are tempted to fail in one or both of these areas. We are tempted to pretend that the offending party you never did it, or we are tempted to fail to see the over-arching hand of God in every circumstance.

Ii. It is fair to ask, “Why was Joseph in Egypt? Was it because of the sin of his brothers or because of the good plan of God?” The answer is that both aspects are true.

b. God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance: All Joseph’s sorrows were for a purpose. God used them to preserve his family and provide the conditions for it to become a nation. Joseph was a victim of men, but God turned it around for His glory. None of it was for a loss.

i. If this family did not go into Egypt, then they would assimilate among the pagan tribes of Canaan and cease to become a distinctive people. God had to put them in a place where they could grow, yet remain a distinctive nation.

http://biblehub.com/commentaries/guzik/commentaries/0145.htm