God Saves His People through Joseph (Genesis 42:1-50:26)

Pharaoh’s dream came true.  There were 7 years of prosperity (lots of food) and 7 years of famine (no food).  Joseph’s family (father Jacob and brothers) were back in Israel and they were in need of food.  Since Egypt has saved lots of food (because of Joseph), Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt to get food.  Little did they know that Joseph, the brother they abandoned, is one of the most powerful people in Egypt.  They didn’t recognize Joseph, but Joseph recognized him.  So, Joseph gave his brothers a series of tests – honest or not, greed or not, protect or not.  From how they treated Joseph before, they would fail these tests – they were not honest, greedy, and did not protect.  But now, we can see that God changed these brothers.  They were the opposite – honest, not greedy, and protect.  For example, they didn’t protect Joseph before (wanted to kill him, throw him into the pit, left him and sold him into slavery).  But now, they protected each other.  In fact, Judah gave up his life to protect and save Benjamin when he was in trouble.  This touched Joseph’s heart, and he revealed himself to his brothers, and they reconciled.  After their relationship was restored, the rest of the family including Jacob moved from Israel to Egypt and are saved.  They have enough food now to survive this famine and start a new life in Egypt!