Forgiveness Pt. 14: The Naked Truth

We ended the last blog stuck on the cliff but before we leap from it to the next, we need to press the refresh button to ensure we’re on the same page:

·       The 11 brothers are feeling great as they make their way home. Judah (which means praise) busts out singing Happy

·       But the happiness is short lived when Joseph’s Palace Manager and his back up chase them down, accuse them of stealing from Zaphenath-Paneah which they deny but voluntary consent to the “donkey search”.  When the Palace Manager finds the “planted evidence” in Benjamin’s bag you could’ve knocked them all over with a sneeze. 

·       Benjamin was now following the path of the brothers because he is to become Joseph’s slave-prisoner for this “heinous crime.” 

·       They arrive at Zaphenath-Paneah’s place and all 11 brothers fall on their face in humility and Judah takes

the lead in pleading the defense of Benjamin, the brothers and himself.  He speaks with such passion an eloquence that Joseph is convinced that Judah has changed from the cynical, hateful, selfish brother he knew as a boy.  The automatic timer in his psyche pressed rewind and scrubbed back to that fateful day when Judah negotiated his sale to the Ishmaelite’s, but he pressed STOP just as quickly because he fully understood, today, that it was all a part of God’s perfect plan.

·       It was not until he heard the lie the brothers (except Benjamin) told their father Jacob (aka Israel) that he started to experience a meltdown.  It didn’t sting like the arrow one’s enemy drives in your heart, this sting felt like a broken heart shredded into millions of little pieces, doused with gasoline and then set on fire.  He yelled at everyone to leave the room except the eleven but before the huge double doors were closed good he released a sound that had been caged up inside of him for over 20 years.  No deciphering words left his lips.  The only way to describe it is to call it “a sound”.  A sound that was earth shattering, deafening and ear-piercing; shocking everyone including his servants and officials and that’s where we’ll start.

Genesis 45 paraphrased:  Zaphenath-Paneah speaks to them in their native Hebrew language, admits that he

is their brother, Joseph, and asks if their father is still alive.  Not one brother opens makes a sound because they are all speechless.  I can imagine that their brains are on overload trying to process what the second most powerful man in the Country just said.  They don’t know if they are dreaming, hallucinating or if God is playing a really mean trick on them as punishment for what they did to Joseph years earlier so they pretend not to hear what this man just said.  In fact, they close their eyes and pretend they are invisible, yeah, that way they won’t feel the blade when it comes to end their lives because they just knew they were as good as dead.  All of them are having a completely separate conversation in their heads, but I can guarantee you it was all centered on what they just saw, felt and heard.

It doesn’t take someone with spiritual discernment to see that confusion is oozing out of every pore of their body, so Joseph tells them to come closer, they respond robotically without a word, but instinctively move towards “the man.”  With all of the passion and tenderness that he can muster up, Joseph says:  I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into Egypt. But don’t feel badly, don’t blame yourselves for selling me. God was behind it. God sent me here ahead of you to save lives. There has been a famine in the land now for two years; the famine will continue for five more years—neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me on ahead to pave the way and make sure there was a remnant in the land, to save your lives in an amazing act of deliverance. So you see, it wasn’t you who sent me here but God. He set me in place as a father to Pharaoh, put me in charge of his personal affairs, and made me ruler of all Egypt. Hurry back to my father. Tell him, ‘Your son Joseph says: I’m master of all of Egypt. Come as fast as you can and join me here. I’ll give you a place to live in Goshen where you’ll be close to me—you, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and anything else you can think of. I’ll take care of you there completely. There are still five more years of famine ahead; I’ll make sure all your needs are taken care of, you and everyone connected with you—you won’t want for a thing. Look at me. You can see for yourselves, and my brother Benjamin can see for himself, that it’s me, my own mouth, telling you all this. Tell my father all about the high position I hold in Egypt, tell him everything you’ve seen here, but don’t take all day—hurry up and get my father down here.  Genesis 45:4-13 (The Message)

The brothers still say nothing because the guilt and disbelief have their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths like krazy glue.  They’re having an inward battle justifying what they hear and see versus what their mind is saying has to be impossible.  See, when you tell a lie long enough you actually start to believe it so that when the truth finally catches up with the lie (because it will eventually) and when it blows up in your face you don’t know what to do because you are now fully exposed, butt naked in front of the truth.  You can’t run, hide, disappear or anything because you are caught and forced to deal with the truth whether you like it, accept it or want to.

You must understand that all this time Benjamin believed the lie about his brother being torn to shreds by animals too because he wasn’t there.  Joseph threw himself on his brother and buried his head in his neck as he cried and cried and Benjamin cried with him.  And then Joseph did the absolute unthinkable, he went to each brother, kissed them and wept with each of them.  The tears that ran down his checks didn’t sting like that had years ago when he was first ripped from his homeland and the many nights thereafter.  These were tears of joy, relief, closure, happiness, forgiveness and authentic love. 

By this time, Pharaoh had been informed that Zaphenath-Paneah’s brothers had arrived.  Pharaoh and all of his officials were excited for Joseph because they obviously knew his story.  Pharaoh came up with a plan instantly:  he would supply transportation to retrieve the entire family, give them land to live on and develop and they would have the very best that Egypt had to offer.  Not because Pharaoh knew them but because of the influence (favor) that Zaphenath-Paneah had over Pharaoh and all of his cabinet.  In their minds if Zaphenath-Paneah is good people, his people must be good people.  Joseph ordered the wagons to be brought to the brothers, he packed plenty of food for the round trip, gave them all new clothes, but he gave Benjamin five sets of clothing and 300 hundred pieces of silver.  He sent another set of 10 donkeys loaded with gifts for his father, the finest Egypt had to offer as well as the provisions for the round trip.

When they got home and told their father the good news, he was numb with disbelief while at the same time he believed every word they said.  The more he processed the news, the more rejuvenated he felt.  Life rushed back into his veins as his heart pumped hope throughout his entire body and then Israel (aka Jacob) said:  I’ve heard enough—my son Joseph is still alive. I’ve got to go and see him before I die.”  Genesis 45:28 (The Message)

To be continued

In His Excellent Service

Tania Not Tanya