15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: 17 ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people[b] should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Genesis 50:15-21
This past Sunday, we had one of my favorite readings (Genesis 50:15-21) and biblical characters: Joseph. Joseph’s brothers had every right to be nervous and afraid after their father died. After all, they did a great wrong to their brother. They put him on a path that entailed much heartache and pain. They tossed him in a pit, destroyed his beautiful coat, and doomed him to a life as a slave in a far away country. From there, he endured additional hardships that stemmed from their evil against him. In Potiphar’s house, he rose to the top only for it to all come crashing down by the lie and accusations of Potiphar’s wife. As a result, he was sent to jail. While there, God blessed him and he rose to the top again. While he was in prison, he helped two of Pharaoh’s servants by interpreting their dreams. The cup bearer’s interpretation was a good one, and Joseph asked the man to remember him and to mention him to Pharaoh so he could get out of prison. Did the cup bearer do that? Unfortunately, he did not. He forgot! And the result? Joseph sat in prison for another two years. This long path started because his brothers sold him into slavery.
With their father gone, you can understand the fear and concern of the brothers. You can understand why they might doubt his forgiveness. All the pain and suffering that Joseph went through was inevitably a result of them!
But how does Joseph respond? He responds with love and forgiveness. He tells them, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” Despite the pain and hurt that he endured, Joseph saw God at work through this evil and suffering. He saw how God worked through it for the good of many people. What faith!
In our lives, we have been wronged, hurt, and mistreated by other people. Like Joseph, we can be confident that God works through those things for our good. With him, we can say, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good”. Need proof of this? Look no farther than Jesus.
On the cross, Jesus bore our sin. He was mistreated. He was mocked. He was tortured. He was crucified. All these things were great evils. However, that was not the end of the story. Three days later, Jesus burst triumphantly from the grave, and He lives forevermore. Death has no hold over Him! What Satan thought would be a great evil, God worked out for our greatest good, our salvation. Our God can take evil and work good through it! -Pastor Nick Kooi
(Originally published in Emmaus Footprints, Vol. XXV, Number 3, October 2023.)