“²⁸Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out before him the way to Goshen. ²⁹So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while.”

– Genesis 46:28-29 (NKJV)

“Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen. So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father  Israel; and he presented himself to him , and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while.” (What a beautiful picture we see here of a post-repentance Judah now fully embodying his identity as the one through whom The Christ will come in this mediatory role between father and long lost son; Judah here literally represents ‘The Way’ 😃. What a Gracious God we serve – so fully committed is He to co-labour with His Children in letting us tell His story upon the earth, that He truly, truly removes our sins as far from us as the east is from the west and fully positions us in Christlikeness to the uttermost! Let us also then revel in this deeply moving display of emotional reconciliation between father and son, as we are reminded of The Greatest Miracle of all that is The Gospel: a True Child reconciled to his True Father despite any and every attempt of the enemy to separate the elect from the bosom of Their Heavenly Father, Their True Kingdom and Their Home – through sin, hardship, trial, affliction, much suffering, foreign lands and exile; truly, truly nothing can separate Them from The Love of Their Father.

It is also worth pausing and appreciating in these moments the genuine God-exalting beauty of a man – a Governing Lord and Alpha Male if ever there was one 😋 – so completely undone emotionally: the pouring forth of floods of tears from his deepest, most inward parts; honest emotions created-, and fully, fully intended to, display God’s Greatness and never, ever to be despised! Oh dear, sweet Joseph! I cannot help but re-appreciate this theme in a much smaller way in my own life at present as I revel in the comparatively insignificant, but no less precious Joy of being re-drawn into deeper intimacy with My Father in prayer, following a short period of trial rendering me near incapable of praying despite my best efforts and no apparent sinfulness creating any distance between us.

Finally, the image of “being presented” to The Father signified in the phrase “he presented himself to him” also recalls to memory our being presented to The Father with much Joy by Our Lord Jesus as expounded upon in Jude 1:24. I also believe we are invited to ponder upon another deep and glorious mystery hidden within the image of the father’s neck, here now twice highlighted with special intimation, and no doubt repeated throughout Scripture: I would invite you dear reader to delve into its discovery with zeal and great Joy should you so feel led! 😃)