Gen. 45:1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.

Gen. 45:2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.

Joseph could control himself no longer. He sent everyone away except his brothers. He was weeping so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.

Gen. 45:3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.

Gen. 45:4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.

Gen. 45:5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

Gen. 45:6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.

Gen. 45:7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

Gen. 45:8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Joseph finally told his brothers who he was and asked them again if his father was still living. They were so terrified that they couldn’t speak. Joseph called his brothers closer and told them not to worry about the past because it was God that had sent him to Egypt to deliver His people, their families, from this very famine in a wonderful way. He told them that the famine would last five more years. (Joseph is 39. See notes at 42:1-5.) Again, he emphasized that it was God that sent him to Egypt and put him in this position of power.

Gen. 45:9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:

Gen. 45:10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:

Gen. 45:11 And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.

Gen. 45:12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.

Gen. 45:13 And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.

Gen. 45:14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.

Gen. 45:15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.

They were to go home and tell Jacob that God had made Joseph ruler over all of Egypt. He is to come with all his sons and all his household to live in the land of Egypt in the area called Goshen to be near Joseph. Joseph would provide for them all for the next five years of famine. They could see with their own eyes that he was Joseph. They should emphasize to Jacob that Joseph had great position/power in Egypt and he shouldn’t be afraid to come. Then he hugged Benjamin and wept and Benjamin hugged him and wept. Then he kissed all of his brothers, still weeping. Then they talked. (Wouldn’t you have liked to have overheard that conversation!)

Gen. 45:16 And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, Joseph’s brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.

Gen. 45:17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;

Gen. 45:18 And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.

Gen. 45:19 Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.

Gen. 45:20 Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.

Gen. 45:21 And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.

Gen. 45:22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.

Gen. 45:23 And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.

Gen. 45:24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.

News reached Pharaoh and his officials that Joseph’s brothers had come, and they were happy for him. Pharaoh told Joseph to tell his brothers to go to Canaan and get their father and their families and come back. He would give them Egypt’s best. He told them to take some carts to transport their families and not to worry about their belongings, because he would give them the best Egypt had to offer. So Joseph gave them new carts and new clothing per Pharaoh’s command. All of the brothers were given a new set of clothes, but Benjamin was given 300 pieces of silver and 5 new sets of clothes. To his father he sent ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other things for his journey. Then he sent his brothers on their way with a reminder not to quarrel along the way.

Gen. 45:25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,

Gen. 45:26 And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not.

Gen. 45:27 And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived:

Gen. 45:28 And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.

When they got home, they told Jacob that Joseph was alive and was ruler of all Egypt. He didn’t believe them at first. Then they showed him the carts and told him all that Joseph had said, and he believed. He got a new lease on life. He decided to go and see his son before he died.

The closest I can get to relating to Israel is knowing the relief and wonder I felt when I really believed that Jason had turned his life around. The road has been full of bumps, but I know God is going to use him in a special way. Maybe not as a ruler in this world—but maybe as a source of strength to his loved ones in times of need.