Thank God For A Happy Ending Series

A woman went into a meat market and ordered two pounds of hamburger. The clerk

yelled back to the butcher, "Two pounds of enthusiasm!" "Why do you call it enthusiasm,"

she asked? "Because he puts everything he's got into it." This is certainly a description of

Joseph. He never did anything half way. He put everything he had into it, be it the task of

being a good slave, a good prisoner, a good manager of a nation, or, as we see here in Gen.

45, being a good forgiver. They don't come any better than Joseph.

The brothers knew this could be the end of the line for them, and they were speechless

when he revealed that he was Joseph. Verse 3 says that they were terrified and were not able

to even respond to him. They had visions of being taken to a torture chamber and ending

their days in pain suffering at the hands of professional sadists. It was a dog eat dog world

and they now stand like a poodle dog looking into the jaws of a German Shepherd. But thank

God, feelings and fears are not always a valid measure of reality. Joseph did not seek

revenge. He gives a speech of comfort and encouragement that makes these brothers out to

be almost heroes, for he says for them not to worry, but be happy, for their very act of evil

was used by God for their salvation. He urged them to go get their families and come back

to enjoy life in the richest part of the world where all their needs will be met.

This was like a fairy tale, for they lived together in Egypt as one big happy family. The

last chapter of Genesis can be summed up quite nicely with the words, "They lived happily

ever after." These 12 brothers lived in peace and prosperity for the rest of their lives, and

they all died in Egypt. Vance Havner says that when he was a boy he liked to read the last

page of a novel first. Then he could read through it and know that no matter how deep the

trouble of the hero he could cheer him on knowing there was a happy ending.

The book of Genesis is like the book of revelation in this way: both have plenty of sin and

suffering, but both end on a high note of victory and happiness. When you are caught in the

middle of either book, you can feel it is like hell on earth, but that is the way it is with any

play, and especially the play of life. Quarles wrote,

"My soul, sit thou a patient looker-on,

Judge not the play before the play is done,

Her plot hath many changes; everyday

Speaks a new scene; the last act crowns the play.

How can we be thankful in a world where there is one trial after another, and where bad

news not only fills the pages, but the records of life that never get into the paper? In a fallen

world where brothers sell brothers into slavery out of jealousy anything can happen to fill

life with tears. God's people escape none of this nonsense in a fallen world. But thanksgiving

can still fill the heart when tears fill the eyes because God is the author and director of the

play, and He has revealed to us how it all comes out. A little boy was petting his beagle dog

and his mother said, "That dog looks so sad." He responded, "Yeah, it has a very sad face,"

but pointing to the wagging tail he added, "But look it has a happy ending." That is the

message of the Word of God about history, and that is why when life is at its worst there is

still a basis for thanksgiving.

The story of Joseph and his brothers is not about the happy ending of heaven, but about

the happy ending to a very hard journey in time. We want to focus on three things Joseph

and his brothers could be grateful for.

I. THANK GOD FOR HIS PROVIDENCE.

He cares about the world, and he gets involved. Thankful people like Joseph see this, and

they acknowledge the hand of God in history. God was working in Joseph's life, but also in

the lives of the whole Egyptian population and many other peoples of the world. God's

providence is not limited to His people, but extends as far as His love, which includes the

whole world. The result was that the Egyptians were thankful for God's providence, and

they became a blessing to God's people, and made it possible for them to enjoy a happy

ending of these final chapters of Genesis.

If you read the autobiography of any person who is humble about their blessings in life,