Joseph with his father Jacob and brothers in Egypt from Zubdat-al Tawarikh in the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum in Istanbul, dedicated to Sultan Murad III in 1583

“And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?” – Genesis 43:27

There comes a time in everyone’s life when there is no one to call on Father’s Day. At such a time, we look back with gratitude on the fathers, grandfathers, teachers, uncles, and mentors who helped to instill values in our lives.

After years of separation, Joseph longed to see his father again. For love of his father, he could forgive the brothers who had dealt so treacherously with him. In honor of his father’s heart, he could have mercy on his younger brother, weeping for what had been and might have been.

Joseph knew that in the providential sovereignty of his Heavenly Father, what had been meant for evil in his life, God had turned to great good. That which had initially separated his family had led to the chain of events that brought them back together in redemptive purpose.

Joseph loved his father and his father loved him. Ultimately, nothing could drive a wedge between them – not years nor distance. The impact of Jacob on Joseph’s life was indelible on his character. Despite all of his failings, God’s grace at work in Jacob’s life had made him a positive role model for Joseph and Joseph knew that so much of who he was, he owed to his dad.

One thing I learned as a boy was that my father was stronger, wiser, and abler than me to tackle the big problems that I could not handle. Joseph must have longed for his father’s presence during those early years of slavery, but he could be guided by memory and foundation instructions. He learned to look to God as his Father.  He learned to trust in a Father who never wavers and never dies.

Your earthly father may be gone, but his influence lives on in you. Whether your father is living or dead, honor him today and thank God for giving us earthly fathers who can point the way to our Heavenly Father.

And Another Reflection on This Theme:

“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… 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.” – Genesis 45:3,8

Joseph, who had in Egypt become a father to the king, was facing the very men who had snatched him from his father’s house and sold him into slavery. Because they were his father’s sons, these men who had sinned against him so deviously, were still his brothers. More than that, Joseph knew that they had been instrumental in God’s plan for his life in Egypt. They were unwitting agents of God’s deeper and more eternal purposes in preparing His people for His purpose of redemption through the Messiah. Nothing can thwart God’s plan.

But through years of slavery, Joseph, who adapted and thrived in every new situation, had not forgotten his father. It was his father who had loved him, encouraged him, provided the earliest example of integrity to him, and had taught him the lessons of life. But his father had not always been such a man.

Joseph had excelled in character that had come to Jacob later in life. He had not, as a young man been the man his son was. He had dealt treacherously with his own brother and the lack of integrity in his early life had, no doubt, helped to shape the character of his older sons.

But Joseph was raised by Israel, the man Jacob had become through an encounter with God and his character was shaped by a different man than the one who had stolen his brother’s birthright and dealt deceptively with his own father.  As fathers, our own character will help to shape that of our sons and will impact history.