Genesis 45:16-24
The report of it was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, “Joseph’s brothers have come.” It pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this. Load your animals, and go, travel to the land of Canaan. Take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.’ Now you are commanded: do this. Take wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. Also, don’t concern yourselves about your belongings, for the good of all of the land of Egypt is yours.”
The sons of Israel did so. Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way. He gave each one of them changes of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothing. He sent the following to his father: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and provision for his father by the way. So he sent his brothers away, and they departed. He said to them, “See that you don’t quarrel on the way.”
It’s not every day that a king tells your family that you might as well leave your existing belongings behind because you can have anything in my kingdom. This is the kind of treatment Egypt is capable of when it comes to loving the Jews. In fact, any nation has the opportunity to love God’s chosen people. We read here that Pharaoh upgraded Joseph’s brother’s travel arrangements to first-class by telling him to order wagons to go and pick up Joseph’s family. Joseph also loaded up donkeys with goods and gave extra to his full brother. They all got new clothes too!
The last command that Joseph gives them really stands out. He tells them not to quarrel on the way. He obviously knew his family! I am told that in many Jewish families, as in my Gentile one, where there are two people there are three opinions! It is very true, though, that riches give you something to fight over. That’s one of the bad things about combining wealth with the sinful nature that we have. I am sure that, like Joseph, God would just love to give every one of His children physical wealth, but He also knows that doing that would harm some of us. The fact is that God has given us all of the wealth we will ever need as His children, simply by adopting us and giving us His Holy Spirit! What more could God possibly give than Himself?