Chapter 8: From Pit to Palace: How God Redeems Evil Actions
What was Intended for Evil, God turns out for Good
I want to reflect on the story of Joseph as we find it in Genesis 37-50. Obviously, that is too much of the Bible to quote verbatim here, but you can go and read the story for yourself if you want to look at it in detail. That said, before we can jump in, we need to remember who Joseph was. He was one of the 12 sons of Jacob, the one who had wrestled with God and who God transformed. Joseph was the favorite son, and because he was the favorite, he did very annoying little-brother things. The tension between Joseph and his brothers raises to the point where they are ready to kill him. So it happens that one day his father sends off the other sons to go look after the sheep in some far-off area, but Joseph stays at home and gets a beautiful coat. This coat sets him apart from his brothers and indicates very visually that Joseph was indeed the favorite son.
Joseph seems totally unaware of the effect his obnoxiousness has on his brothers. He has a special gift of interpreting dreams, and he loudly tells his brothers that in one of his dreams, everyone will bow down to him, even his own family. His brothers hate him for it, and their hatred grows enough for them to decide to kill him. They throw him in the pit, change their minds about killing him, and eventually sell him to Ishmaelites. They make up a lie as to why he is gone and then tell their father he was killed by wild animals.
Meanwhile, Joseph ends up in Egypt, in Potiphar’s house. He has a change of heart and works hard; he is commended for his work. Potiphar’s wife tries to seduce him, but he flees and is falsely imprisoned. Finally, rotting in jail, Joseph is given another chance. Two of Pharaoh’s servants end up in jail with him. They have dreams too. Joseph correctly interprets their dreams, and as a result, Joseph finds himself in Pharaoh’s court. This time Pharaoh has dreams no one can explain. The cupbearer remembers how Joseph correctly interpreted his dream, and Joseph is finally summoned out of jail. He interprets Pharaoh’s dreams correctly, and in the blink of an eye, Joseph finds himself in charge of all of Egypt.
It’s one of the most extreme rags-to-riches stories around.
While this is going on, there is a great famine brewing. Joseph has been appointed to manage Egypt’s food storage and is so successful that people from other nations end up coming to Egypt to buy food. Indeed, Joseph’s own brothers come to him to buy grain. Of course, the plot twist is that they don’t realize it is him. There is a bit of back and forth, and finally, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, and he makes them bring his father Jacob from Canaan, and eventually, Jacob, now named Israel, dies in Egypt.
We get to our current text, several chapters later.
Genesis 50:15–21 CSBWhen Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said to one another, “If Joseph is holding a grudge against us, he will certainly repay us for all the suffering we caused him.” So they sent this message to Joseph, “Before he died your father gave a command: ‘Say this to Joseph: Please forgive your brothers’ transgression and their sin—the suffering they caused you.’ Therefore, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when their message came to him. His brothers also came to him, bowed down before him, and said, “We are your slaves!”
But Joseph said to them, “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. Therefore don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
The story goes that the brothers realized that since Jacob had died, his protection over them had been removed, and they started to freak out. The most powerful person in the world, their brother, had the opportunity, power, capability, and motive to take his revenge for how they treated him. They had sold him into slavery, and they were the reason he ended up in prison, where he stayed for years, for something he didn’t do.
So the brothers hatched a plan and sent him a message: “Please forgive us.” They based their plea for forgiveness on two things:
Firstly - their shared heritage. They sent him a message in the name of their father, saying, “Surely you would not take revenge against your brothers, against your blood, against your own father’s instruction?”
Secondly, they called on their shared spiritual heritage. They said, in effect, “Not only are we blood brothers, but we are also spiritual brothers. God binds us, so surely you would not take revenge on spiritual brothers?”
What was Joseph’s response?
Genesis 50:19 CSB
19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?
Joseph here shows us what the life of a believer is supposed to look like. We forgive and show grace, even to people who have deeply hurt us, because God has forgiven us. In fact, if we don’t forgive, we show that we haven’t really appreciated what Jesus has done on the cross for us. We haven’t really grasped how terribly we have hurt Jesus, and yet he forgave us.
We forgive because we understand that good can come from other people’s evil actions. We can appreciate that God has used the other person’s bad actions to shape us, mold us, and grow us through those difficult times. So we can forgive because we can see the bigger picture.
We also forgive because, like Joseph here, we realize that God is the judge. God is the sovereign one, and He will exact vengeance. “Vengeance belongs to me,” declares the Lord. This is what God says throughout the Old Testament and what Paul affirms in Romans 12:19 CSB: “Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.”
Joseph understood that, and so he forgave his brothers.
But it is not just forgiveness, is it? It is the fulfillment of the promise. Here at the end of Genesis, we see a hint of the golden thread that has been evident right throughout Genesis.
But Joseph said to them, “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. Therefore, don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
God promised Abraham that He would make him into a great nation, give him a land, and make him a blessing to all nations. This promise passed to Isaac and then to Jacob (who he renamed Israel). Israel ended up in the land of promise, in Canaan, and we ticked the land box. But what about the people, what about the blessing to all nations? At the end of Genesis, blessing has come to the nations.
“What you had planned for evil, God planned it for good - to bring about what is happening. The survival of many people.”
The whole world is now being blessed, being saved in fact, through the offspring of Israel. Here at the end of Genesis, we see the second part of the promise come to fruition - not only have they got land, they also have the blessing. Israel, through Joseph, blesses the nations, through the provision of food in extreme famine.
Land? Tick.
Blessing to all the nations? Tick
Made into a great nation? Not quite yet – but that will come.
How does this point us to Jesus?
How does Joseph’s story fit into the bigger story of the Bible? Joseph’s story reminds us that no matter what we do as humans, God will bring about His rescue plan and fulfil His promises.
Walter C. Kaiser puts it brilliantly this way in his book The Promise-Plan of God
“The dreams of an unlikely Israelite show that Yahweh is determined to bless the nations come what may, even if Israel wishes to destroy the one through whom the blessing will come. That individual, ironically, will become a person who will bring reconciliation and healing not only for the nations but also for Israel itself.”
Yahweh is determined to bless the nations, come what may, even if Israel wishes to destroy the one through whom the blessing will come. That is exactly what happens in the end, isn’t it?
Many, many years later, we find a better Joseph, not one who pridefully tells his brothers that they will all bow down to him, causing his brothers to want to kill him in response, but who comes humbly, never sets a foot wrong, lives a perfect life, causing his brothers to want to kill him in response.
The serpent asked Adam and Eve if they wanted to be God, if they wanted to be their own gods, and they said yes. Joseph resolutely refuses to take the place of God, asking "Am I in the place of God?" But Jesus is God, yet He still comes to serve and be a ransom for many.
Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, thrown in jail, and forgotten. Jesus was betrayed by one of His closest friends, thrown in jail, condemned for something He didn’t do, crucified on the cross, and not only forgotten but also forsaken by God.
Yet Joseph declares that what man had intended for evil, God intended for good. So too, for Jesus, what man had intended for evil, God had intended for good. What is the good that happens for Joseph? The salvation from starvation of many people. What is the good that happens through Jesus? The salvation from sin, for all who believe.