Genesis 45 Devotional

God Sent Me Ahead

“And now, do not be distressed or angry with yourselves that you sold me into this place, because it was to save lives that God sent me before you.”Genesis 45:5 (BSB)

Joseph can no longer hold back. He sends everyone else out of the room, weeps so loudly that the Egyptians hear it, and tells his brothers who he is (45:1-3). They are terrified. But Joseph draws them close and says something astonishing. They should not be distressed or angry with themselves for selling him, because God sent him ahead of them to save lives (45:5). Three times he says it: God sent me (45:5, 45:7-8).

Joseph does not pretend that what they did was good. He names it plainly: you sold me. But he sees a deeper hand at work, and that gives him freedom to forgive and to embrace them. The brothers carry the news home, and Jacob, who had refused comfort for years, revives when he hears that Joseph is alive (45:27). Seeing God's purpose does not erase wrongs done to you, but it can free you to forgive, as you have been forgiven in Christ (Ephesians 4:32).

To think about: Is there a wrong done to you that you could begin to see in light of God's larger purpose?