By Collin Ross
Immediately following the burial of their father, Joseph’s brothers feared the worst. Without their father around, surely Joseph would exact his revenge for all that his brothers had done to him. They had sinned against Joseph, and now it was time for Joseph to divvy out the righteous punishment. But when they dropped to their knees before the brother that they had so egregiously wronged, to their astonishment Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people” (Genesis 50:19–20). The brothers expected Joseph’s wrath but were instead met with forgiveness.
Oh, how we do the same with our God. How often we sin against God, and in fearing judgment and wrath, flee from Him! We say to ourselves, “Surely the Lord is right to be angry with us!” Like Joseph’s brothers, we fear the worst, but that fear often keeps us from experiencing God’s forgiveness. For our God does not divvy out the punishment on us. No, He has laid our punishment upon His own Son. And because Jesus has taken that just outcome, we need not flee from God’s presence after failing to live according to His ways. Instead, because of Jesus, the Lord can be a fountain of forgiveness for us.
Joseph’s brothers thought they had Joseph all figured out, but they were wrong about him. In the same way, we are often wrong in our characterization of God. As the prophet Isaiah reminds us, “For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). In our fears of reprisal, we project our own brokenness on God. But thanks be to God that He is not like us. He is perfect and good.
In His perfect goodness, God sees the big picture. Through Joseph’s many hardships, God was at work transforming an evil intention into a wondrous result. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery with a heart of malice, but God’s plan for salvation was not thwarted. He is able to work through hard things to bring about good things—in this case, the deliverance of God’s people from famine.
The great news is that this is not a one-off act of God. Throughout the Bible and throughout history, it is evident that God transforms awful things into vehicles for His goodness. The clearest example of this is the cross of Christ. On the cross, God turned a Roman execution device into the means by which He would eternally mend His relationship with humanity. A symbol that for centuries was the image of death has now become for us a symbol of eternal life. This is the power of God, that “all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
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