Good Morning.
Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him. (Genesis 45:14-15)
Unlike what had occurred between Jacob and Esau, here the Bible describes a true reconciliation between people who genuinely loved one another. All of them were stunned and it is likely, for a brief moment, the ten oldest brothers waited to see if Joseph acted towards them the way he did Benjamin. But in no time, all were shedding tears of joy at the realization that the “dead” brother is alive and well.
It has always been a point of interest with me that this reconciliation occurred on the third meeting between Joseph and his brothers. You might say this took place on the “third day.” That, of course, becomes important when you consider all of the other notable “third day” events recorded in Scripture and their prophetic implications. Perhaps the most well-known prophecy concerning Third Day events is found in Hosea 6 which says:
Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight. (Hosea 6:1-2)
This speaks of the time when those who have been estranged from their Maker determine to return to Him and to His ways. He will revive them after two days, meaning this great event occurs on the third day. Furthermore, Zechariah describes what occurs when they realize the identity of the One who is reviving them.
And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.” (Zechariah 12:10)
In other words, just as it was when Joseph was revealed to His brothers, so it will be when Messiah is revealed to His brethren. Tears of remorse and of joy will be shed as God’s people are once and for all joined together with our King. And just as the brothers of Joseph were to realize, the One who was betrayed and abused by them will not repay their actions with vengeance but with mercy and forgiveness. It is comforting to know that the One who will bestow such compassion on those referred to in the prophecy is the same One who willingly bestows grace and mercy upon us today. Let us forever be grateful to Him for His compassion toward us.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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