Joseph related a dream he had to his brethren, “Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf” (Gen. 37:7). When they heard that, they immediately figured out the implication, that he would rule and they would bow to him. They responded, “Shalt thou indeed have dominion over us?” or, “Shall we ever bow to you?” And they hated him yet the more!
One can note not only the disdain they had for Joseph, but that they were declaring that they would never bow down to him. And to make sure that they would never have to render homage to him, they decided to kill him (v. 18). Then they would say to one another, “And we shall see what will become of his dreams” [of us bowing to him] (v. 20).
Many years later, there is a similar scene when the Lord Jesus, of whom Joseph is a type, is rejected by His brethren, and hears them cry out in hatred for His crucifixion, “We will not have this Man to reign over us!” They, like Joseph’s brethren, were determined that they would not bow to Him, and to make sure, the Jews sought to kill Jesus.
We need to review our own actions before we were saved. I know, in my own case, I ridiculed the idea of bowing to God’s Word, and rejected the whole idea of salvation. I can still remember my dear old great-grandmother weeping as she tried to tell me of the new birth; I would scoff at her. The pride of man! “We will not have this Man to rule over us!”
Years later, Joseph became ruler in Egypt. As a result of the great famine, his brethren were about to perish with hunger in the land of Canaan. This forced them to come to Joseph for food. Though they did not know that it was Joseph their brother, to whom they had vowed that they would never make obeisance, they came to him in their need, and, “bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth” (Gen. 42:6).
When Joseph accused them of being spies, they answered him, “Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come…We are true men” (vv. 10-11). One would be hard pressed to justify such a statement from these men who had lied to their father, telling him that animals had devoured Joseph, when actually they had soaked his coat of many colors in the blood of a goat to deceive him. True men?
The statements of these brethren are very typical of so many today. Sinners seek to justify themselves in the eyes of God by declaring their innocence, even lying about themselves. “We are true men.” And, as is true of some today who are bent on perverting the truth, they include a little portion of truth with their deception, and they say, “We are one man’s sons.”
The brethren were locked up in jail for three days. This would give them some time to think about themselves, and indeed, their conscience did begin to work. They said one to another, “We are truly guilty concerning our brother…his blood is required of us.” Sometimes, a little time alone with God will force us to acknowledge the truth about ourselves to ourselves.
In our lost condition, when the Lord put us in a position where we had to think about where we stood with Him, and how we had sinned against Him, we, like Joseph’s brethren, had to admit to ourselves that we were truly guilty before Him. It was our sin that separated us from God. “Sin” and “guilty” are not words that are stressed in many places today.
The brethren were allowed to return home to Canaan, where they soon used up the food they had obtained in Egypt. They then found it necessary to make a second trip to Egypt to keep from perishing. And once again these men, who had assured themselves that they would never bow to Joseph, find themselves in his presence. What are these connivers doing? Bowing! “And bowed themselves to the earth” (Gen. 43:26). Again, in verse 28, “And they bowed down their heads and made obeisance.” Again, they were coming to Joseph in their need. He alone could keep them from perishing.
In chapter 44, when the Egyptian police had caught up with them as they traveled back toward Canaan, and Joseph’s cup was found among them, they really took their condition seriously, and tore their clothes. They were brought back to the city and and found themselves in the presence of Joseph again. Note verse 14, “And they fell before him (Joseph) on the ground.” Now they realize their true condition; they are doomed. They can only plead for mercy.
The conclusion they came to about themselves is interesting, and is typical of a sinner coming to the end of himself, acknowledging his lost condition, and facing the consequence of his sin.
Judah spoke for the group, and said, “What shall we say unto my lord?…Or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants” (v. 16). In their plight, they realized there was nothing they could say, nothing they could do, and nothing they could pay for the forgiveness and the grace of Joseph. His grace must be freely given.
In chapter 45, Joseph demonstrates his grace, and makes himself known to his brethren; completely forgives them, acknowledges them as his brethren, and brings them into his personal fellowship. This is very typical of how the Lord deals in grace with a sinner who humbly comes to Him for mercy.
These men found out who Joseph was, the mighty ruler, and what he had done for them, to save their lives, “God did send me before you to preserve life” (45:5). Doesn’t this sound just like John 3:16? Now, note their response in chapter 50:18: “And his brethren went and fell down (bowing) before his face; and they said, ‘Behold, we are thy servants.'”
Now the brethren are willingly bowing to him, not in need, not in fear, but in appreciation and thankfulness, gladly submitting to him in the role of servants. What had made this difference in their attitude toward him? They now understood who he was and what he had done for them.
When we, as believers, come to really know who Jesus is, the mighty God of all the universe, and what He accomplished on the cross of Calvary, and that He did it all for us in order to save us from everlasting hell, we will gladly come and bow to Him with grateful hearts in thanksgiving and adoration–worship! And we will willingly submit ourselves as His servants.
A seventy-year-old woman, whom we had the privilege of leading to the Lord out of Catholicism, expressed it right. She was so thrilled that she could talk to God, and not have to read a prayer written by another. She could sit in a worship meeting and silently express her love and thankfulness to Him, and know that He heard her. One day, she expressed the sentiments of a heart-filled thankfulness and worship when she said to us, as she was contemplating the coming Sunday breaking of bread, “I’ve been praying, asking the Lord this morning to give me some sweet things to say to Him.”