Title: What God Did /Genesis 45:1-28
Contents The past week has been an opportunity for us Koreans to fully rest. I think the holidays were long enough that even women who would have had a hard time making food could take at least a day off.
In the midst of our hectic daily life, if we give ourselves an opportunity to contemplate the meaning of family and the future of our children and to bless each other, I think there will be more than enough to compensate for the days we have not been able to work.
The famous musical film "Fiddler on the Roof" shows a Jewish couple, Tebi and Golle, raising their children reverently. One of the most impressive scenes is of this family sitting around the Sabbath table.
“Sabbath Prayer” is a song of blessing that lights the Sabbath candle and Tebi sings for his daughters as a father. The lyrics of that song are:
The Lord protects you and keeps you;
always keep you from all shame
May you come to the glorious name of Israel.
I want to be like Ruth and Esther,
May the Lord be praised for you.
Oh Lord! Give them strength
keep me from the way of strangers
make a good mother and wife
I want to give you a husband you can trust.
Because the Lord is watching over you, may you be preserved from all suffering.
O Lord! granting you the blessings of happiness and peace,
Hear our Sabbath prayer. Amen.
What prayers did you pray for your family during this holiday season? Family is indeed a precious bond that has been given to us. Have you thought about the sorrow of separated families?
We do not know how many people in this land are grieving because their families who have been separated from North and South cannot meet even on holidays. How much did the people who were unable to see each other for some reason miss each other during the Lunar New Year holidays?
The text we read this morning begins with the scene where Joseph reveals his identity in front of his brothers and shouts loudly. He comforts his brothers who sold him to a slave trader and tells them not to be afraid, saying that this is all God's work.
He told his brothers to bring their father, and he held his brother Benjamin's neck and wept. King Pharaoh was also very happy, and he sent a chariot to fetch Jacob, and held his brother Benjamin's neck and wept.
King Pharaoh was also very happy, so he sent a cart to bring Jacob. The article in Genesis 45 tells that Jacob was revived and rejoiced when he saw the cart.
Joseph's heart was filled with words of true filial piety and brotherly love toward Judah's father, Jacob, and he could not bear it any longer. So, after defeating the servants around him, he finally revealed his identity and cried out loud. “Brothers, I am Joseph.
Brother Benjamin, I am your brother Joseph.” “I can’t contain his feelings” shows a very human side of Joseph. Joseph is a man with tears. He had the dignity as a prime minister of a country, but I am never cold-blooded with tears in my eyes.
Joseph's tears were not tears of resentment, nor were they tears of regret or sorrow. It was just tears of brotherly love and longing that filled my heart. Tears wash away hatred, tears drive away all reasons, and bring each other closer. We Christians need tears in our eyes. If there are more Christians who can weep while praying, weeping while singing, and weeping while thinking of our brothers and sisters, the world will become a more livable world. Joseph says to his brothers who are trembling and cannot say anything in surprise. "Come close to me. I am your brother Joseph. Do not worry that I must have a grudge because you sold me into Egypt.
God first sent me to Egypt to save the lives of all of us. It was not you who sent me here, but God” (verses 4-8).
This is Joseph's faith. Joseph is also a human being, so when his brothers abandoned him at first, when he sold him to a slave trader who was going to Egypt, why did he not have a heart of resentment against them? However, while he prayed, appealing to God for his pain and sorrow, he realized that all these things were God's work, so he would have felt pity for the brothers.