Obeisance to Joseph

"And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon. And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses. And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they communed with him at the door of the house, and said, O sire, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food: and it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand. And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks. And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them. And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender. And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon; for they heard that they should eat bread there. And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house and bowed themselves to him to the earth. And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive? And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son. And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother; and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread. And they sat on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. And they sat before him the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marveled one at another. And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him." (Genesis 43:16-34)

"Hear I pray you this dream which I have dreamed: For, 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." (Genesis 37:6-7)

"Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me." (Genesis 37:9)

It was God who gave those dreams to Joseph. It was because those dreams exacerbated the envy of Joseph's brothers that Joseph came to be in Egypt. The sheaves in the first dream confirm the provision for which the brothers now find themselves bowing to make obeisance to Joseph; thankful for the provision and thankful that they have not been made bondsmen (slaves due to debt) after all.

And at the moment when the brothers knelt in obeisance to Joseph, how those dreams must have flashed through Joseph's mind! These were the double dreams that indicated God WOULD FULFILL all that the dream indicated. And now He has.

I can't help but wonder what Simeon must be thinking as he is finally released from his prison. Did he realize that Jacob, his father, would not allow Benjamin to be brought down to Egypt, and so he resigned himself to a long life in prison? Or was he hoping that his father loved him as much as Benjamin and would do whatever it took to set him free again?

Clearly, Jacob's love for Benjamin won out, keeping Simeon a prisoner for much longer than was necessary; a thought that must have crossed Judah's mind when he told Jacob that they could have already come and gone again had Jacob not forestalled them because of Benjamin. In the end, it is not love for his son Simeon, but fear for his entire family, that causes Jacob to send the brothers back with Benjamin. You can't help but feel just a bit for Simeon; even though he is suffering justly for his part in selling Joseph off.

Joseph has now seen Benjamin and weeps once more for the great joy of seeing his brother that was so long lost to him. We find Joseph weeping 7 times in all; displaying what a man of compassion he truly is.

And it is interesting that the Egyptians cannot sit at table with the Hebrew brethren; which means that they cannot sit at table with Joseph either. They know he is Hebrew; they knew that from the time he was first brought out of prison. It is apparently alright to eat in the same room and share a meal together; as long as they are not at the same table. Amazing that Joseph can be so elevated as to be second in command only to Pharaoh and yet still be considered an abomination in terms of eating at the same table with him. This is just another indication to us that Joseph had to still feel captive to Egypt in many ways, rather than feeling free. Elevated and still shunned. Amazing.