Joseph had been very concerned for his brothers. His concern for them is seen in the fact that he charged them not to quarrel with one another on the way home (45:24, Heb.). This indicates that they had been quarreling. Through the various tests Joseph exercised discipline over his brothers. Reuben or Levi might have said, "Throughout our entire life we were never disciplined as much as we were in these last months." They were disciplined by the patient and wise Joseph. Everything Joseph did in relation to his brothers was not for himself, but for them. In this we see Joseph's perfection in life. However, his perfection was not for himself, but for his brothers. He exercised patience and applied great wisdom. He constantly controlled his emotion and, prior to chapter forty-five, he did not weep regarding his brothers except privately after he had seen Benjamin (43:29-31). Although he had great emotion, he was not controlled by it.

In our married life we need to learn to control our emotion. Some say that to overcome our besetting sin is difficult. But this is not as difficult as controlling our emotion. To overcome your emotion is the most difficult thing. Are you able to control yourself when you are about to lose your temper? In this matter we all must learn of Joseph. When his emotion was about to burst forth at seeing Benjamin, he turned aside to weep privately and to wash his face. Likewise, if you are about to lose your temper at home, you should go to the rest room, let out your feelings privately, and then wash your face. Do not think that this discipline is for the older people but not for the young people. Joseph was still in his thirties when he exercised control of his emotions regarding his brothers. At the most, he was in middle age. Thus, you should not excuse yourself. Whenever you are about to lose your temper, remember what Joseph did.

When some hear this, they may say, "Brother Lee, didn't you say that the resurrection life within us is able to overcome everything? Why do we need to turn aside from others when we are about to lose control of our emotion?" The reason is that your natural life is so strong. I do not want simply to tell you the story of Joseph. My burden is that we would see the life Joseph lived. In Joseph's life his temper, disposition, emotion, intention, and desire were all under the control of God's leading. Joseph may have said, "God didn't lead me to acknowledge my brothers earlier than I did. I had no freedom to behave otherwise. I had to conduct myself according to the Lord's leading. I certainly wanted to reveal myself to them immediately and have them bring my father to me as soon as possible. But the choice was not up to me. It was a matter of the Lord's leading. I had to do what was best for my brothers. According to the Lord's leading, I had to put them to the test."

The result of the way Joseph revealed himself to his brothers was excellent and blameless. At the time Joseph revealed himself to them, the atmosphere was very good. In that atmosphere it was easy for him to forgive them. Actually, however, within Joseph there was not the thought of forgiving them. He fully understood that it was the sovereign God, not his brothers, who had brought him to Egypt. Because his dealing with his brothers was full of patience, wisdom, and self-control, the result was so excellent that he did not even need to forgive them. Realizing that God had sovereignly sent him to Egypt to fulfill His purpose, he spontaneously received his brothers. He embraced them and took them in.

When we are under the control of life in patience and in wisdom, we shall be like Joseph. We shall not blame or condemn anyone. There will not even be the need to forgive others because we shall not blame them. We shall be willing to accept everyone and we shall have a broad heart to embrace all the weaker ones, even those who have seriously offended us. However, instead of feeling that we have been offended, we shall realize that everything that has happened to us was according to God's sovereignty. Everything under God's sovereignty is for our good, for the fulfillment of His purpose, and for the edification of others. Because Joseph was sold by his brothers, good came to them. Through all their dealings with Joseph, the brothers were educated and edified. Therefore, the issue of the whole matter was excellent. Joseph not only carried out God's eternal purpose, but also built up his brothers. If we bring these matters regarding Joseph into our prayer and fellowship, we shall see more and we shall be nourished. Furthermore, we shall learn how to behave in every situation.