As Christians, we believe that God brings some good even out of the worst of evils. We know we live in a fallen world. We even know that we are the cause of the problems in this world. We were the first cause when we rebelled against God, bringing sin and ruin into God’s perfect creation. We are also the secondary cause, in that we continue to sin and harm one another.
We see that reality being experienced in the life of Joseph. He was the first son of Jacob’s favorite wife, Rachel. Right there that lets you know there’s going to be a problem. Jacob, Joseph’s father, had a favorite wife. And because Joseph was the son of his favorite wife, Jacob spoiled and favored him.
Burning with jealousy, the other brothers plotted to kill Joseph. But one brother, Reuben, wouldn’t allow that; so they, instead, chose to sell him into slavery. Mind you, Joseph was about 17 years old at the time. So, where did Joseph serve as a slave? He served at the home of Potiphar, in Egypt, who was the captain of the Pharaoh’s guard.
But Potiphar’s wife had special plans for Joseph. He was young and good looking, and she was in a position where she could get what she wanted. After all, what could Joseph do, for he was her husband’s slave? So, she blackmailed Joseph to become her object of sexual pleasure. But there was just one problem: Joseph refused.
Potiphar’s wife became enraged and told her husband that Joseph had tried to seduce her. What do you think happened? Well, it could’ve been worse: Potiphar could’ve killed Joseph; instead, he just threw him into prison.
While in prison, Joseph correctly interpreted a fellow prisoner’s dream. The man who dreamt that dream was released and became a butler for the Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And what do you know? A couple of years later, Pharaoh had a couple of dreams that troubled him, and no one could explain their meanings to his satisfaction. It was then the butler told Pharaoh about Joseph and his ability to interpret dreams.
Pharaoh then hauls Joseph out of prison and has him interpret his two troubling dreams. God working through Joseph impresses Pharaoh, so much that he appoints Joseph as the food administrator of Egypt. For Joseph had told Pharaoh that Egypt would have seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine.
And as Joseph had predicted, the famine struck–and struck hard. The famine was so severe that Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt to see if they could buy food. And lo and behold, Joseph meets his brothers. But of course they don’t recognize him. Joseph is now a full-grown man in Egyptian garb, no longer a ruddy-faced youth. Joseph eventually tells them who he is. He has them all move to Egypt as Pharaoh’s honored guests: His brothers, their families, and his father, Jacob.
We now get to the verses immediately before our Old Testament reading for today. In those verses, Joseph’s father, Jacob, dies. Now, with their father gone, Joseph’s eleven brothers become filled with fear. They aren’t sure that Joseph has really forgiven them. Would Joseph now seek revenge now that dad was dead?
Joseph’s brothers were afraid that he was going to bring up how they had sold him into slavery, for they knew about grudges. After all, when they sold Joseph into slavery, they were sinfully responding to a long-held grudge of their own. And so they feared, like they had been, that Joseph was holding a big grudge that he wanted to settle.
And it was then that Joseph came into his finest hour. Joseph forgives his brothers in a true moment of mercy. For sandwiched in Genesis 50, between the accounts of Jacob’s death and Joseph’s own death, our Old Testament text for today stands out as a ray of light in the darkness. It shows the way of life even in the valley of the shadow of death. Joseph reacted to his brothers with faith and love, the kind that comes from Christ, in whom Joseph believed as the promised Messiah.
Look more closely at what Joseph did. First, he said: “Am I in the place of God?” (Genesis 50:19). Clearly not! Vengeance did not lie in Joseph’s hands. It belongs to the Lord. And how do we know that’s the case?
When God sent His Son, Jesus, to the cross, God took it all out on Him. He made Christ answer for all sin, as our substitute. That’s why God can pardon anyone and everyone. The work of Christ is the reason God pardons you.
Joseph believed in the Messiah to come. He knew God would send a Messiah who would overcome the world’s sin problem down to its root. And so Joseph knew that this promised Messiah would also take care of the sin of his brothers, even his sins. And so Joseph could forgive those who wronged him most–his brothers.
Christ also forgave those who wronged Him. When He was nailed to the cross, the first words out of His mouth applied most immediately to the people who had just nailed him there: “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34). He forgives you, too.
Joseph told his brothers, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive” (Genesis 50:20). As in Joseph’s life, God also brought good out of evil in Jesus’ life. Even more, Christ’s cross is the supreme example of God bringing good out of evil!
A judicial murder was carried out on that cross, the product of evil scheming by evil men against One who was fully innocent. Still, Jesus’ death fulfilled God’s plan from all eternity, a plan to redeem and save us fallen and enslaved creatures of sin. Christ’s resurrection proves that God can–and does–bring good out of evil! What Jesus did was enough, and more, to cover all the sin of the entire world. That means it also covers you.
So you and I can go into the future knowing that it is all for the good. This is not a wish about some events that you would like to happen in your life. No, it is a certainty in the Lord who governs them all. He brings good out of evil. The Apostle Paul tells us: “All things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28)–those who by the power of God’s Word believe in Jesus Christ as Savior.
We often don’t know how God brings good out of the evil in our lives. But we do know that everything starts with the forgiveness of sins, which means it starts with Christ. The book of Hebrews says: “It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering” (Hebrews 2:10).
Christ came for us, no less than for Joseph’s brothers. He is so good that He forgives our evil. Even more, He brings good out of it. At times, God even uses us to bring good from evil. Again, this occurs in ways beyond our understanding.
Did you notice what Joseph’s brothers said to him? At one point, they called themselves God’s servants; later, they told Joseph that they were his servants. The brothers may not have had any deep theological thoughts in their minds when they said those words.
Yet, Joseph’s brothers were right. Those who belong to Christ serve, not only Him, but also one another. And yet, as we go about serving others, we will sin. We can’t avoid it. But God will still work His good through us. And He does it despite, and sometimes even through, our sin and evil.
Listen again to Joseph’s words: “Am I in the place of God?” He anticipated a “no” answer to that question. But in Christ, we are in the place of God for our neighbors. We are “little Christs” to them, a light beaming in this darkened world.
Yet, being the face of Christ to others in this world means that we just aren’t helpful to those around us. It goes beyond that. God also calls us to be speakers and bringers of Christ’s forgiveness to others where He has placed us to serve. And such forgiveness can only come from the Lord.
I remember a story about Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross. A friend once reminded her of an especially cruel act that someone had done to her years earlier. But Clara seemed not to recall it. “Of course you remember it, don’t you?” her friend stammered. “No,” Clara replied; “I distinctly remember forgetting it.”
That’s how it is with the Lord! He remembers to forget your sin. He makes you an heir of the New Covenant in which He forgives your iniquity and remembers your sin no more (Jeremiah 31:34). With this God lavishing His forgiveness on you, you can leap out of bed every morning, ready to face the day.
Whatever evil the world may carry out against you, because of Christ, God will invade that evil with His grace and work it, in some way, for the good. You may not know how, but you know it’s true. You may not know when, but you know if not now, it will be so in eternity. Amen.
