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Philippians 2: 10 which read "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of
things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth".
At the end of seven years of plenty, Joseph had stored huge quantities of corn, so
much that it became impossible to keep a record of the stock that had been accumulated.
Then came the famine and Joseph opened the storehouses and began to feed the people.
At first the people paid in cash, but as money ran out, they paid in cattle, and then Joseph
took over land on behalf of Pharaoh.
The famine extended "over all the face of the earth" and so Jacob and his sons began
to be in need of corn. Jacob, having heard that there was corn in Egypt, told his sons to
go there to buy for their urgent needs. In Gen. 42: 6 we read that "Joseph's brethren
came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth". So Joseph's
dreams came true. Joseph recognized his brothers but they did not realize that the
governor was Joseph.
The whole story of Joseph, his treatment of his brothers and the way he tested them is
contained in three chapters. It would spoil the narrative to attempt to recount it very
briefly. It is evident that the brothers were uneasy in Joseph's presence and they
discussed their position in their own language, not realizing Joseph could hear and
understand what they were saying. For example, in Gen. 42: 21, the brothers were
saying to each other, "We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the
anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this
distress come upon us". This was exactly what Joseph wanted to hear. He wanted them
to repent of their evil deeds (see also Acts 3: 19 where there is the plea by Peter for the
repentance of Israel so that Jesus Christ could return).
So after testing his brothers, the time came when Joseph could no longer contain
himself. He dismissed all the servants so that he could be alone with his brothers. Then
he made himself known to them. What a shock for the guilty brothers! But Joseph
hastened to reassure them. Let us read Gen. 45: 3-8:
"And Joseph said unto his brethren, `I am Joseph; doth my father yet live?'. And his
brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. And Joseph said
unto his brethren, `Come near to me, I pray you'. And they came near. And he said `I
am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor
angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did sent me before you to preserve
life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in
which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve
you as a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it
was not you that sent me hither, but God: and He hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and
lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt'."
Joseph was put into prison for a charge of which he was innocent. The Lord was with
him in every experience, both when he was in prison and later, when he was released to
appear before Pharaoh and interpret his dreams. The prison experience was a link in the
chain of events, leading to his being the one who provided food in the days of famine. "It
was not you that sent me here", said Joseph, "but God".