Today's passage: Genesis 45

The story of Joseph is a very popular one.  As I read the story, I was pondering what made this story stand out.  As a brief recap, Joseph faces incredible hardship, but yet is blessed even more.  Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers.  After recovering from that, he was thrown into a dungeon under false pretenses, but once again he would rebound to even greater heights.  By the time he was reunited with his brothers, Joseph was one of the few individuals in the world who could single-handedly save an entire tribe from the famine that had swept the world.  He was the Governor of Egypt and controlled an "uncountable" reserve of food.  In the chapters leading up to this one, Joseph executed an elaborate test.  The test was to see if the character of his brothers had improved since they sold him to slavery.  In chapter 45, Joseph is convinced of Judah's true change, and so he excitedly reveals himself to his brothers and tells them to move the tribe to Egypt to survive the famine.

What makes this story so popular?  Aside from a riches-to-rags-to-riches story, I think there are underlying themes that make Joseph's story resonate to people spanning from early history to today.  

I find it interesting that Joseph determined that he would test his brothers before offering a new life to them as he was so ecstatic to do in chapter 45.  Judah's humble and selfless words in chapter 44 are the very picture of repentance.  Tied to that repentance is the reward of reconciliation.  This theme of repentance and reconciliation is absolutely timeless, I think most people can relate to this theme as we see it in our own personal relationships with family, friends and God.

Another interesting aspect of the story is how difficult it was for Joseph to harshly test his brothers.  At first reading, he seems truly mean-spirited, but if one reads carefully, there are multiple times he has to excuse himself to hide his emotion.  I think the writer wanted to clearly convey that Joseph's lording over his brothers was an act, and not one that he enjoyed. When viewed in this light, one can relate to Joseph as a parent giving tough love to a child.  Or perhaps, one can relate Joseph's experience to that of God as he watches us fumble about, trying to find the way.  The point being, this too is a timeless theme, experienced by most people.

The final theme I want to mention, is that Joseph through good and bad simply trusts in God.  We see this while he is a servant and while he is imprisoned, but the most striking example occurs in 45:5 when he says to his brothers, "And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you."  Just like that, Joseph chalks up the whole brotherly betrayal as part of God's plan.  That's a striking faith.

These 3 themes of repentance and reconciliation, tough love and faith make Josephs story compelling.  I think it will still be a compelling and relevant story 6000 years from now.