[Slow reading with The Help of THE SPIRIT Recommended*]

“And when Joseph came home, (together with the brothers, we the readers too only know that Joseph will be returning at noon, but not where he has been; one can imagine that he has been away on nation-ruling business but whatever has arrested his attention for the first half of the day is of little consequence compared to the perfect allotment of time serendipitously prepared here by Our Lord for the brothers to ponder what they truly believe in their hearts concerning: guilt, punishment, retribution, accountability, the character of the God of their Fathers and their relationship with- and to Him; the Promises of Peace and Favour and Forgiveness, their past, their present, their near and distant future, and any other themes roused within them by the peculiar set of circumstances they currently find themselves in, within the perfect amount of time awarded them to do so: not a minute more and not a minute less . . . some of them might simply faff with the gift as a last-ditch attempt to secure favour by human effort, others might wholly succumb to a melancholy state of mind, even despair, whilst even more others might simply take the Spirit-breathed words of the wise steward to heart and sincerely Hope in the Lord [Romans 5:5A], even turning aside to Him in prayer [Romans 5:5B]; whatever each individual chooses, one thing is certain: none of them will ever look back upon these pivotal few hours of objective uncertainty with ambivalence – it will forever change their relationship with themselves, with each other and with their God as they look back in hindsight with Heaven’s perfect perspective and are therein hopefully encouraged and spurred on in Faith by this test in any future trial of uncertainty they should face going forward . . . Being completely blameless and facing these hours with no feelings of trepidation at all of course is dear Joseph himself and young Benjamin – unbeknownst to them, as they may simply apply themselves to whatever grabs their attention in the moment – the culmination of their waiting will be one only of blessed surprise 🤗) they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, (those relying upon the merit of the gift alone to “appease” who they have convinced themselves to be “an angry god”, would now be trembling fearfully, as within these final moments they would instantly recognise the fragility of such a temporal and inconsequential item) and bowed down before him to the earth (in turn, those relying upon the legitimacy of their expression of calculated humility, even sycophancy, would find themselves equally fearfully recognising the subjectivity of external evaluation and the objective impossibility of their ability to reproduce genuine sincerity effectively, if at all [for the deep divers*]; nay, it is only those who have fully accepted the Promise of Peace as a free gift from a benevolent King, wholly apart from their own merit, who are able to bow down in full surrender, perfectly yielded in sincere and genuine humility and with an overwhelming sense of reverential awe, without actually being afraid for even a moment). Then he asked them about their well-being, (notice how as dear Joseph still perfectly represents Our Lord, The True Benevolent King, he is perfectly other-centred – not concerned with guilt or vengeance or justice or even with teaching – but with a genuine interest in the immediate well-being of those he redeems; how completely must those fearfully anticipating the worst be caught off-guard in these very moments) and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” (Let us pause here a moment to consider the point of view of our beloved Joseph: however complicated a relationship the other brothers might have had with their father Jacob – notwithstanding the devastating consequences of their grave sin against him – , to Joseph he has only ever been the beloved father whose favour rested upon him so completely and whose Love for him ran so exceedingly deep [Romans 5:5B] . . . it is worth mentioning that Jacob’s relationship to Joseph was always intended to imitate that between Our Heavenly Father and His Only Begotten Son, Our King Jesus, it should therefore not come to us as a surprise that it was inevitably met with persecution and jealousy. As a matter of fact, this eternal theme has repeated itself throughout history and can also be seen in the lives of George MacDonald and his father, Kathryn Kuhlmann and hers and even I myself with my earthly father. It comes as no surprise therefore, that in their having just been released from Jacob’s presence, Joseph cannot wait to hear a confirming word from the brothers as to the health of his dear, dear father whom he hasn’t had the Joy of seeing in as many years. Let us not forget that Joseph must exercise great restraint in yielding to the will of God concerning if- and when he will be able to be reunited with his earthly father, if at all. We are grateful with him therefore that being reunited with the young brother he never knew – the brother of his own mother and father – is very, very imminent at this juncture . . . I confess that with my own earthly father having just been diagnosed with covid, I too must exercise great restraint in not knowing what My Heavenly Father’s will is concerning him, but Trusting Him wholeheartedly and Faithfully whatever He decides.) And they answered, “Your servant our father (what we note here is not simply an ignorant appraisal of the brothers as recognising Jacob as Joseph’s servant and their father due to their not having all the information, but is actually a prophetic utterance of a phenomenon we again often see in the Kingdom, namely, where a child anointed by God often supplants the natural, original God-ordained hierarchy of authority, and often far exceeds a parent, elder or earthly master in wisdom, gifting, learning or even lived experience, despite his or her smaller number of actual years lived: being an anointed one of God thankfully presupposes a certain degree of humility necessary to navigate such waters maturely which in turn then instinctively remedies what could often otherwise be cause for great embarrassment if such honour is not stewarded correctly by “the chosen one”) is in good health; he is still alive.” (One cannot help but wish during moments such as these that one could prompt the brothers to err on the side of brash truthfulness as opposed to the more insincere politeness often customary when addressing a dignitary; for of course Joseph truly, truly seeks to know how his father fares and is not merely asking out of his own sense of adherence to social norms and their associated niceties, if such phenomena were as customary in ancient Egypt as it is today.) And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves (just as at the end of the age when every knee will bow and every tongue confess; it is Perfect, Right, True, Wise and Proper in every sense of the Word for Christ and Christlikeness to be met with prostrate complete and utter reverence, awe, humility and Godly fear for that which is Perfectly Good, Perfectly Holy, Perfectly Pure and Perfectly Righteous WILL be honoured and glorified for that is ultimately and in every sense of The Word, what is Perfectly Right [to be read / spoken aloud most emphatically*]. This Truth is so unequivocal that it completely obliterates and annihilates any insincere or wrongful motive in its wake – rendering it of no consequence whatsoever as it effectively cannot set itself up against alignment with such Perfect Truth. It inherently cannot).”

“²⁶And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down before him to the earth. ²⁷Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”

²⁸And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves.”

– Genesis 43:26-28 (NKJV)