(Genesis 42 – Exodus 4)
Every Genesis (Beginning) One Day Ends, And Gives Way To A New Beginning.
Famine had gripped the world. Back in Canaan, Jacob’s family was starving. But in Egypt, Joseph—once the betrayed brother, now governor—oversaw vast storehouses of grain. Jacob sent his sons to Egypt, unaware they were walking into a divine setup.
The brothers bowed before Joseph, fulfilling dreams they once despised. But they didn’t recognize him. Joseph tested them—not out of vengeance, but to see if their hearts had changed. He kept Simeon and demanded they bring their youngest brother, Benjamin, back.
Jacob, heartbroken at the thought of losing another son, resisted. But hunger forced his hand. When the brothers returned with Benjamin, Joseph could no longer hold back. In a moment heavy with tears, he revealed his identity: ““I am Joseph!” he said to his brothers. “Is my father still alive?” (Gen. 45:3)
Fear gripped them. But grace flooded the room.
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.” (Gen. 50:20)
Joseph forgave them. He invited his whole family—Jacob and all—to settle in Egypt. Seventy in total, the sons of Israel came to a foreign land, where they were given the best of Egypt. There, Jacob blessed his sons, and when he died, Joseph wept, burying his father back in the land of the promise.
Joseph, too, would one day die. But before his final breath, he made them swear to carry his bones back when God would surely bring them out.
And so Genesis ends—with a coffin in Egypt, and a whisper of redemption to come.
Then comes the Exodus.
Generations passed. The Israelites multiplied and filled the land. A new Pharaoh rose—one who did not know Joseph. Fearful of their growing strength, he enslaved them, subjecting them to brutal labor. But the more they were oppressed, the more they grew.
Pharaoh commanded genocide—every Hebrew baby boy was to be thrown into the Nile.
But God had not forgotten His people.
A Levite woman defied the edict. She placed her son in a basket and set him afloat on the river. Pharaoh’s daughter found him and raised him as her own. She named him Moses, “drawn out of the water.” (Exodus 2:10)
Moses grew up in privilege but could not ignore the suffering of his people. One day, he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. In anger, he killed the Egyptian and fled—exiled to the wilderness of Midian.
There, Moses became a shepherd. He married. He hid. Forty years passed.
But God had not forgotten His’ Promises. The cries of His people rose to heaven. And one day, Moses saw a bush burning but not consumed. From the flame, the voice of God called:
““Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.”” (Exodus 3:5)
God revealed His name— YAHWEH, “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14-15)—and His mission: “I have seen the misery of My people… I have come down to rescue them… I am sending you.”
But Moses hesitated. “Who am I?” “What if they don’t believe me?” “I’m not eloquent.”(Exodus 4:10)
Still, God pressed on. He gave Moses signs. A staff turned serpent. A hand turned leprous. Water turned to blood.
But the greatest sign was not in miracles. It was in the God who said:
“I will be with you.” (Exodus 3:12)
From famine to slavery, from the pit to the palace, from silence to fire,
this is the story of the God who remembers His covenant, hears the cries of His people, and raises up deliverers.
The God of Joseph and Moses is the God who still sees, still saves, and still sends.
