Title: Kiss (Gen 45:15)
Contents
Kiss (Genesis 45:15)
There is a National Cemetery and Hyeonchungwon in Dongjak-dong. What's missing in the restroom at the memorial? A few days ago, I went for a night hike with my male classmates at around 10 pm. My brother, an active lieutenant colonel, took the lead, and I followed closely behind, and we talked about various things.
When the brother was a company commander, he went into the Dongjak Hyeonchungwon and camped by leading the unit for an operation. In the middle of the night, I went to the bathroom to go to the toilet, and no matter how much I looked, there was no switch. It is also true that visitors leave at 5 pm, so there is no need for a light at night, so it was not installed at all.
Wasn't there just a light in the bathroom? As many as 100,000 people are lying in the cemetery. But there are no words. In the dark night, no matter how much I try to listen, there is nothing. Who are the people lying in it? Aren't they the ones who once commanded the world with their words, swaying the crowd and pretending to be? Or as a president, a politician, or the Supreme Commander of the Three Armed Forces. But there are no words. Only a dark silence flows over the lawn. Why?
Job, he was very talkative. Every time my friends said something, I argued with them without losing a word. This continues from Job 3 to 38. From that moment on, he goes into silent mode. “Behold, I am lowly; what can I answer you? I cover my mouth with my hand” (Job 40:4).
Sons of Jacob, you've been talking a lot up until now. They made countless assertions and excuses for themselves, and they also poured out words that rationalized their actions and blamed others. They can't speak from a certain moment. No, I didn't dare say anything.
The sons of Jacob in the text, who did their mouths close when they knew they were standing in front of them? It's from the moment they found out that they were standing in front of Joseph. The important thing is that they still said this and that in front of the mighty prime minister of Egypt.
But when I found out that the Prime Minister was Joseph, I couldn't say a word. Because they are standing before the judgment seat. To them now, there was nothing to worry about the famine they were facing. What kind of disobedience or judgment he would receive right now was a matter of great interest to him.
But how did they open their mouths? “Joseph kissed his brothers again, hugged them and wept, and only then did they talk to him” (Genesis 45:15). Joseph had a kiss with his brothers. Then their mouths were opened. Having your mouth open means you are at peace. It means that you are now free from the fear of judgment and guilt. When was someone kissing you? That's when Joseph kissed him. What does this 'kissing' mean?
What kind of kiss is introduced in the Bible? “And Esau ran and met him, embraced him, kissed him on the neck, kissed him, and wept with one another” (Genesis 33:4). “Then he got up and went back to his father, and while he was still far away, when his father saw him, he had compassion on him, and he ran, embraced his neck, and kissed him” (Luke 15:20). The prodigal son came back like a beggar, but his father ran and kissed him first. What a thrilling scene this is! “I want you to kiss me, for your love is better than wine” (Song 1:2).
As soon as the stage called Song of Songs opens, a passionate kiss is unfolding. King Solomon and a woman named Shulammiah kiss. A king in a robe is kissing and baptizing a poor-looking woman who works in a vineyard.
When it comes to kissing, we cannot miss the kiss of Mary Magdalene. “Standing at his feet behind him, weeping and weeping, he wiped them with the hair of his head, and kissed his feet and anointed them with perfume” (Luke 7:38). How sublime and beautiful is this woman who kisses the feet of the Lord, moved by the grace of apology and the love she has given her! In these kisses, the things we see separately are forgiveness, reconciliation, and love. Kissing is an action that indicates the most intimate relationship between East and West. Therefore, kissing cannot be freely permitted to anyone, and it is an act that cannot be freely requested from anyone. A kiss is only possible between two people who believe and love. Because this is the pinnacle of love.
Why is it a kiss at all? When a sinner stands before God the Judge, which part of my body feels the most shameful, dirty, and ugly? One of the things God hates has to do with the mouth (Proverbs 6:16, Psalm 24:4, Revelation 22:15).
So Isaiah sighs. “Then I said, “Woe to me, I am destroyed; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I lived among a people of unclean lips, and I have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5). Paul said to those who want to be transformed in Christ and become new people, "Putting aside lies, and speaking the truth, each one of you with his neighbor" (Ephesians 4:25), and "Let no unclean word come out of your mouth, but only as it serves for edification." Speak good things, so that they may give grace to those who hear them” (Ephesians 4:29).
Joseph forgives and covers all their transgressions and sins by kissing them now. So I give them grace so they can open their mouths again. Because they did not dare open their mouths until this kiss. We too will one day stand where the sons of Jacob stand. That day comes suddenly. On that day neither the son nor the angel knows. One day, it will suddenly come upon me, and I will tremble before his glorious appearance. What is the only way we can receive grace in that judgment seat? All he can do is come and kiss me on the lips.
Dear all!
What should we do? “Kiss his Son, or his wrath will cause you to perish on the way, for his wrath is swift; blessed are all those who take refuge in the Lord” (Psalm 2:12). No matter how short we may be and full of faults and sins, the Lord does not care. He loves us to the point of kissing us.
How should those who received the grace of this kiss live? We must greet each other with a holy kiss (1 Thessalonians 5:26, 1 Corinthians 16:20, Romans 16:16, 2 Corinthians 13:11). Is there anyone I should come up to and kiss you before the year is up? I hope that we, who owe ten thousand talents, have a decision to approach and kiss the one who owes one hundred denarii.