The Wagons of Providence: When Faith Revives Text: Genesis 45:21-28
Introduction: The Hard-Headed Grace of God
We come now to the dénouement of one of the great family dramas in all of Scripture. The story of Joseph and his brothers is not a sentimental tale for a Sunday School flannelgraph. It is a brutal and beautiful story of envy, betrayal, suffering, repentance, and above all, the overwhelming, steamrolling providence of God. God’s providence is not a soft, squishy thing. It is a hard-headed, sovereign reality that takes the very worst of human sin, the jealousy of brothers, the selling of a man into slavery, the false accusations of a seductress, and the forgetfulness of a pardoned cupbearer, and it weaves all of it, every last wicked thread, into a tapestry of redemption.
Joseph has just revealed himself to his brothers, and the terror that must have gripped them is unimaginable. The man they sold to a passing slave caravan is now the prime minister of the greatest empire on earth, and they are entirely at his mercy. But Joseph, in a stunning display of theological maturity, has already reframed the entire narrative for them. "And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life" (Gen. 45:5). He says it again, driving the point home like a tent peg: "So it was not you who sent me here, but God" (Gen. 45:8).
This is the central lesson of the entire saga. Man proposes, God disposes. Men sin, and God, without being the author of sin or condoning it in any way, overrules their sinful intentions to accomplish His own righteous purposes. This is a truth that our modern, therapeutic age cannot stomach. We want a God who is a polite consultant, not a sovereign King. But the God of the Bible is the one who works all things according to the counsel of His will, and that includes the evil choices of sinful men. He does not just make the best of a bad situation; He ordains the situation for His ultimate glory and the good of His people.
Now, the good news must be carried back to the patriarch Jacob. For twenty-two years, Jacob has lived under the shadow of a great lie, believing his favorite son was torn to pieces by a wild animal. His grief has been a constant companion. The text we are considering today is about the transition from that long winter of sorrow to the spring of revival. It is about the evidence of grace, the journey of reconciliation, and the reawakening of a faith that had grown numb with grief.
The Text
Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them wagons according to the command of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the journey. To each of them he gave changes of garments, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments. Now to his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and sustenance for his father on the journey.
So he sent his brothers away, and they departed. And he said to them, “Do not be stirred up on the journey.” Then they went up from Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” But his heart was stunned, for he did not believe them. Yet they told him all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them, and he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him. Then the spirit of their father Jacob revived. And Israel said, “It is enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”
(Genesis 45:21-28 LSB)
The Lavish Provision of Grace (vv. 21-23)
We begin with the outworking of Joseph's forgiveness. True reconciliation is never just words; it is demonstrated in tangible action.
"Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them wagons according to the command of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the journey. To each of them he gave changes of garments, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments. Now to his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and sustenance for his father on the journey." (Genesis 45:21-23)
Joseph, acting as the administrator of Pharaoh's kingdom, lavishes his brothers with gifts. This is not bribery. This is the material expression of grace. They came as beggars, as guilty men deserving judgment, and they are sent away as honored guests, loaded with the wealth of Egypt. Notice the authority structure. Joseph gives the wagons "according to the command of Pharaoh." This is all happening under the authority of the pagan king, whom God has placed in this position for this very purpose. God uses the political structures of the world to provide for His covenant people. This is a pattern we see throughout Scripture.
Each brother receives "changes of garments." This is significant. They are to shed the garments of their past, the clothes of their journey as fearful supplicants, and put on new robes, robes of favor and acceptance. This is a picture of justification. We come to Christ in the filthy rags of our own righteousness, and He clothes us in the clean, white robes of His. It is an exchange. Our sin for His righteousness. Our shame for His honor.
But there is a distinction made. Benjamin, the youngest, the full brother of Joseph, receives a greater portion: three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments. Is this the old favoritism that started all the trouble? Not at all. This is not Jacob's foolish partiality. This is a picture of sovereign election and particular grace. God's grace is not distributed with a bland, egalitarian uniformity. He is not obligated to give anyone anything, and so He is free to be more lavish with some than with others. This is a test for the brothers as well. Will they revert to their old envy? Their acceptance of Benjamin's blessing is a sign of their changed hearts. They are learning to rejoice in the blessing of another, which is a mark of true repentance.
Finally, the provision for Jacob is extravagant. Ten donkeys with the "best things of Egypt" and ten more with grain and bread. This is not just sustenance; it is a display of overwhelming abundance. Grace is not stingy. When God restores, He does not just patch the hole; He rebuilds the house, bigger and better than before. The best things of Egypt are sent to the patriarch of the covenant. This is a foretaste of the plunder of Egypt that will happen at the Exodus. God's plan is always to enrich His people, even through their sojourn in a foreign land.
A Charge Against Quarreling (v. 24)
Joseph sends his brothers off with a crucial, and very practical, piece of pastoral advice.
"So he sent his brothers away, and they departed. And he said to them, “Do not be stirred up on the journey.”" (Genesis 45:24 LSB)
The Hebrew here can be translated "do not fall out" or "do not quarrel." Joseph knows his brothers. He knows their history. He understands that the long journey home provides ample opportunity for the blame game to begin. "It was your idea to throw him in the pit!" "No, it was your idea to sell him!" "Well, you were the one who suggested it to the Ishmaelites!" This kind of retroactive quarreling is a favorite pastime of guilty consciences.
Joseph is telling them to leave the sin in the past. The reconciliation is complete. The forgiveness is total. To go back and argue over the details of who was most guilty would be to question the grace they had just received. This is a word for the church. When God has forgiven our sins in Christ, when we have been reconciled to Him and to one another, we are not to keep digging up the past. We are not to get "stirred up on the journey" by replaying old offenses. The matter is settled. The blood of Christ has covered it. To quarrel about forgiven sin is to insult the grace that forgave it.
Their task is not to assign blame but to carry the good news. They have a mission, and internal strife will only hinder it. This is always the case. A quarreling family, or a quarreling church, is an ineffective witness to the world. Unity is the vehicle for the gospel mission.
The Numb Heart and the Reviving Spirit (vv. 25-27)
The brothers arrive home and deliver the news that is too good to be true.
"Then they went up from Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” But his heart was stunned, for he did not believe them. Yet they told him all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them, and he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him. Then the spirit of their father Jacob revived." (Genesis 45:25-27 LSB)
The report is stark and unbelievable. "Joseph is still alive." After twenty-two years of mourning, this is a shock to the system. "And indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt." This is beyond all comprehension. Jacob's reaction is entirely understandable: "his heart was stunned, for he did not believe them." The Hebrew says his heart "grew numb." Long-term grief can do that. It can freeze the heart, making it resistant to the warmth of sudden joy. It is a form of self-protection. To hope again after such a long period of hopelessness is to make oneself vulnerable again.
This is a profound picture of how the gospel is often received. We preach an unbelievable message: the Son of God was dead, and now He is alive! And not only is He alive, He is ruler over all heaven and earth! To the heart that is numb with sin and despair, this news is too good to be true. The initial reaction is often disbelief, a stunned silence.
So what breaks through Jacob's unbelief? Two things. First, the words of Joseph. "They told him all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them." The gospel comes through the proclaimed word. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. The brothers faithfully report the message of grace they received.
But words alone are not enough. Jacob needed tangible evidence. "And he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him." The wagons were the proof. They were Egyptian wagons, royal wagons. These were not the kind of carts you could pick up at the Canaanite depot. They were an irrefutable sign of Joseph's power and position in Egypt. They were the visible evidence that confirmed the truth of the spoken word. For the Christian, the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper are our wagons. They are the visible signs and seals of the invisible grace proclaimed in the gospel. They are the tangible evidence that Christ is real, that His promises are true, and that He has made every provision to bring us home to be with Him.
When Jacob sees this evidence, his spirit "revived." The long winter is over. The ice in his heart begins to melt. Life, hope, and faith return. This is regeneration. This is the quickening work of the Holy Spirit, who takes the word and the signs and uses them to breathe life into a dead soul.
The Sufficiency of Christ (v. 28)
The chapter concludes with the patriarch's response of faith, a response that has been transformed from numb disbelief to joyful resolution.
"And Israel said, “It is enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”" (Genesis 45:28 LSB)
Notice the shift in his name. In verse 26, he is the grieving father, "Jacob." But in verse 28, after his spirit revives, he is "Israel," the one who strives with God and prevails. His identity is restored along with his hope. This is what happens when we truly grasp the gospel. We stop being Jacob, the supplanter, the struggler, and we begin to live as Israel, a prince with God.
His exclamation is telling: "It is enough!" What is enough? The evidence is enough. The promise is enough. But more than that, the fact that Joseph is alive is enough. All the pain, all the years of sorrow, all the questions, they all fade into the background in the light of this one glorious reality. He doesn't say, "It is enough that he is rich," or "It is enough that he is powerful." He says, "My son Joseph is still alive." The relationship is what matters. The person is the prize.
This is the cry of the believer's heart. "It is enough!" That Christ is alive is enough. That He is risen from the dead and reigns as Lord is sufficient for all my doubts, all my fears, and all my sorrows. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central, glorious fact of history, and it is enough. It is enough to justify me, enough to sanctify me, enough to secure my future, and enough to carry me through any trial this world can throw at me.
And this faith immediately produces action. "I will go and see him before I die." Faith is not passive. It moves. It journeys. Jacob is old, but this news has made him young again. He is ready to leave the promised land, temporarily, to go and see the son who was dead and is alive again. This is the great hope of every Christian. We live this life in the confidence that our Redeemer lives, and our final desire is to "go and see him," to see face to face the one who loved us and gave Himself for us.