The mission of Joseph.
"He had sent a man before them" (Prayer book Version). The point is, that God had been beforehand, foreknowing how the famine would affect Jacob's tribe, and getting preparations made for affording necessary relief when the testing time came. Joseph, relative to his family, was a forerunner; one sent on first in order to prepare the way. But herein is a remarkable thing—the providences that brought round to him the power to save his family, involved his own personal sufferings. An illustration of the truth that we can never do the highest good to men save at the cost of self-sacrifice, and burden bearing. Our Lord saved the world through suffering for it. The mission of Joseph is usually treated in its relation to Egypt, but the psalmist considers the mission entirely in its relation to the covenant people of God. Joseph was disciplined so as to save them. Joseph saved them in their time of peril. Joseph's salvation brought them into a special Divine discipline. These three points are suggested and illustrated in this psalm.
I. JOSEPH WAS DISCIPLINED SO AS TO SAVE HIS FAMILY. A man must gain the mastery of himself before he can gain true power to serve others. See the providences which brought Joseph into circumstances which provided moral discipline.
1. The trust Potiphar placed in him.
2. The moral temptation to which he was exposed.
3. The delay in the vindication of his innocence.
The effect of that delay is given by the figure, "the iron entered into his soul." We can see that this mastery he gained over himself prepared him to master the hatred he must have felt towards the brethren, who planned his murder, and accomplished his enslaving. The greatness of the disciplinary triumph can only be fairly judged in view of the intense, uncontrolled feelings of vengeance characteristic of that age.
II. JOSEPH SAVED HIS FAMILY IN THEIR TIME OF PERIL. Had the famine been only a temporary one, due to a single failure of the Nile, Joseph might have sent supplies to Canaan; but only the position and power he had gained in Egypt enabled him to meet the case of seven years' famine.
III. JOSEPH'S SALVATION BROUGHT HIS FAMILY INTO A SPECIAL DIVINE DISCIPLINE. And so worked out the providential designs concerning the race. Joseph's personal experiences in Egypt were, in a way, repeated in his race. They came into severe Egyptian discipline, by means of which they were prepared to exchange the wandering tribal for the settled national life. Impress, that God works moral ends through disciplinary experiences.—R.T.