Genesis 45:17

Pharaoh is pleased to hear that Joseph's brothers have come (v. 16), so he confirms what Joseph had said. Of course Pharaoh knew he owed Joseph a great deal, and he was glad to show his appreciation in this way.

The reconciliation had waited only for their repentance. Now that it was complete, everything was ready to load the brothers with blessing without limit. Pharaoh's goodwill is to be toward them in full, as well as Joseph's. They were Joseph's brothers; that was enough for Pharaoh.

Here Joseph is a picture of the Lord Jesus, and Pharaoh of God the Father. God the Father's heart is the same as the heart of our Lord Jesus. Pharaoh said, "Come to me!", just as Joseph said, "Come to me!" And so the Father and the Son both call us to "Come!"

So it was with Joseph's brothers. All their directions about service came from Joseph. Not one of them suggested service. And when Joseph speaks of service, they do not set one another to serve. They do not decide how to serve, whom to go to, where to go, or what to say. They receive the commission to serve, and every detail of it, from the lips of Joseph.

Second, they are not only told how to go; they are also told where to go. The word is "Go back to the land of Canaan" (v. 17). They were to be witnesses for Joseph in the very land where Joseph had received only evil for good, and hatred for his love, in the days of his humiliation. There he had been stripped of his honours, thrown into a pit, and sold for twenty pieces of silver. So it was in that last parting scene between the risen Lord and His glad disciples. They receive a commission to preach to all nations, and they are also told where to begin. The Lord's word is "beginning from Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47). The witness was to begin in the blackest spot on earth, among the worst of sinners, in the place where the Lord had been sold for thirty pieces of silver, stripped of His robe, and nailed to a cross.

Here again we find words that strongly remind us of New Testament language. Here they are: "Come to me; and I will give you…" What does that remind you of? We shall all answer that it reminds us of Matthew 11:28, "Come to Me… and I will give you rest." Joseph's word was to be, "I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land." That "good" would mean rest for them: rest from their fear of famine, and from the wearying search for food through the famine years. Coming to Joseph, they would find rest indeed.

What an inducement! "The good of the land of Egypt" and "the fat of the land." This is what God has to offer souls that come to Him… No government ever offered such terms to encourage settlers. Transport is provided too. "Wagons" were sent to carry the weak and helpless. And what answers to the wagons in this picture is the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father to bring helpless sinners to Christ.

They were now given gifts beyond anything they had imagined. Faced with that, only one thing suited them: the obedience of faith. We read, "The sons of Israel did so." They did exactly what they were told.