Is there free will?

Genesis 45: Reconciliation

Welcome to the Daily Bible Chapter. My name is James Leroy Wilson and I invite you to join me as we discover new insights and new perspectives from a very old book.

I’m reading Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Judah’s pleas in Chapter 44 persuade Joseph that reconciliation and reunion with his brothers is possible. He shares his abundance with his brothers, and Pharaoh gives the entire house of Jacob the best land in Egypt.

I wonder if this is the same Pharaoh who initially empowered Joseph, for in the NRSV Joseph said God “has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.” While not a literal father, perhaps Joseph is senior in age to the current Pharaoh, perhaps having acted as regent. I don’t think any Pharaoh is actually named in Genesis. Not yet at least.

In any case, something that struck me is what Joseph tells his brothers: “And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.”

I can’t help but interpret this through the lens of the 20th-century mystic Neville Goddard. In his lectures Neville talks about how he wanted a divorce from his long-estranged wife so that he…