Gen 50:15-21
Key verse 20
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
Many people are skeptical of the Bible and Christianity. Surprisingly, it’s not because of some intellectual or theological problem. But rather it’s because of this question – “If God is good, then why does he allow bad things to happen?” Both Charles Darwin and Charles Templeton asked this same question. Charles Darwin was raised a Christian and was considering becoming a minister. But after his father and daughter died, he became an atheist and later founded the theory of evolution. Charles Templeton was a Christian evangelist and close friend to Billy Graham. Like Darwin, he also had a problem understanding how one could reconcile a world full of death, disease, and suffering with a God of love. So he also became an atheist.
Honestly, we all have probably asked this question. Especially when bad things happen to us. So what’s the answer? The answer lies within today’s passage. If you remember from Pastor Art’s message last week, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. Joseph could have easily became mad at his brothers and at God for all the bad things that happened to him. But instead he shows what a Christian life looks like that has been changed by the grace of God. In today’s concluding chapter of Joseph’s life, we’ll see Joseph who reveals God’s goodness in 3 ways. 1st, by avoiding God’s chair. 2nd, by taking God’s view. 3rd, by imaging God’s love.
I. Joseph avoids God’s chair (15-19).
Genesis 50 begins with the death of Joseph’s father Jacob. Verse 15 says, “When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, ‘What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?’" After seeing that their father had died, Joseph’s brothers were afraid that Joseph would take revenge on them for what they did to him. So, they sent him a message that said, "’Your father left these instructions before he died: 'This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.’" (16-17) After reading the message, Joseph wept. He wept because even though he had already forgiven them, reconciliation hadn’t been completed in their hearts.
In all honesty, Joseph had every right to get revenge on his brothers and they knew it. They made their father think he was dead. They sold him into slavery. They stripped him of his boyhood and took everything from him. So they were afraid. Whenever people wrong us, the first thing we want to do is get revenge. But what did Joseph do? Joseph said to his brothers, “Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God?” (19) Joseph refused to sit in God’s place, in God’s chair, and get revenge on his brothers. He knew that God is the only one who has that right. Putting ourselves in the place of God is the heart of most of our problems.
How do we put ourselves in God’s chair, in God’s place? First, we assume we can be our own moral authority. If you decide what’s wrong or what’s wrong for you, you are basically putting yourself in the place of God. In other words, you’re deciding what’s right or what’s wrong and not allowing God to decide. After reading the message from his brothers, Joseph could have easily decided what to do based upon what he thought was right. He could have thought it was his right to get revenge on his brothers. They deserve it. When we assume our own moral authority, we’re saying what people need and not accepting what God says what people need. We’re taking our opinions and putting them in the place of God.
The second way to put ourselves in God’s chair, is when we let people look to us to meet their deepest needs. Joseph’s brothers felt bad for what they did. So they came to him hoping that he would forgive them. In 2 Kings 5, Naaman, a Syrian General, gets leprosy. After hearing that there’s power of healing in Israel, he goes to the king and offers him gold and asks for healing. But the king tears his clothes and says, “Am I God?” What he’s saying is, “Yes, I’m a king, but there are some things that I can’t do. So don’t come to me for something that only God can do.” Of course we need help. We need doctors, therapists, friends, and pastors. There was a story in the news about a 15 year girl who was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. Because of her condition, she went out and killed a 9 year old girl. Obviously she needs professional help. But what she really needs most is to hear, “I can help somewhat. But really, only God can help you.”
The third way to put ourselves in the place of God is by unnecessary worry. Jesus says in Matthew 6, “Why do you worry about what to eat or to wear. Only God knows what you need.” Bad things happen when we make decisions on our own and react the way we want to react. Joseph’s brothers came to him asking for forgiveness. But Joseph had already forgiven them. So he says, “Am I in the place of God?” What he’s saying is, every person who keeps a grudge and stays resentful and holds anger against someone who has wronged them, is sitting in God’s seat. Romans 12:19 says, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” What God is saying here is, “Only I have the right to judge.” We sit in God’s judgment seat and want to get revenge, thinking we know what that person deserves. But we don’t know what that person has been through, why they did what they did. Only God knows why the person did what they did. God is the only one who has the right to judge. He is the only one who can judge without becoming evil himself. When someone wrongs you, does evil to you, you’re standing on the edge of a knife. If you refuse to forgive and want to pay back, you’re becoming evil yourself. The evil that moved the perpetrator to do wrong, comes into you. If you try to beat the evil doer at his own game, by winning, you lose. By repaying evil with evil, you become evil yourself. You may get it off of your chest. But what have you accomplished? Really nothing.
Over Thanksgiving weekend, I really wanted to address an issue that happened a long time ago in my family that hurt a lot of people. But while preparing this message, I realized that I had no right to put myself in God’s place. Though it’s hard for me to see that God is in control and is working for the good of my family, I must get out of his chair and say, “Am I in the place of God?” The first mark of a heart changed by grace is by avoiding God’s chair.
II. Joseph takes God’s view (20).
Verse 20 says, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” If you’re lost in a valley, the best way to find your way out is not by staying in the valley, but by finding a high place and seeing where you need to go. How do you look at your troubles? From the top or from the valley? When Joseph says, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good”, his view is coming from the top, from God’s point of view. From our view, everything just falls apart. We only see our troubles. When we’re in the valley, we can only look at troubles in 2 ways because this is what we see. If everything is going well for us, then we think God is good. But if things are going bad for us, then God must be bad. But Joseph doesn’t take either view. He admits and knows from 1st hand experience that life is hard and full of pain, but God is good. The Bible tells of stories where life is hard and that if you do good, it doesn’t mean things will go well. Job, for instance was a standing man in his community. He believed in God. Job 1:1 says of him, “In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” But his life was tragic. His animals died, his servants died, his home was destroyed, and his 7 sons and 3 daughters were killed. All this happened in one day.
Joseph admits that evil is real. He knows first hand. But he also knows that God is always, always, always working for good, even if it’s years, centuries, or until the end. We too must see things from God’s point of view. Things will go wrong. People will wrong us. We will wrong others. We will sin. And we will make mistakes and will regret making those mistakes for the rest of our lives. But we must realize, that even so, God can use it for good. No matter what happens or what you do, you should never allow that to handicap you or slow you down. This is what Satan wants you to do. He wanted Joseph to feel the effects of what his brothers did to him so that he would be too weak and too angry to do anything. But we must realize that we nor any power can mess up our lives. Paul says in Romans 8:38-39 says, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
When Jesus was arrested and was tortured by the Jews, it seemed that evil had prevailed. The Jews had intended to harm and kill him. But as Jesus was dying on the cross, he said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Lk 23:34) Verse 20 says, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Mankind had intended to harm Jesus. But God intended it for good. Through Jesus’ punishment and death, God could save all mankind from their sins. We can’t always see the good from the bad. But we must believe that God is working for his good in all things. If we have this viewpoint, then we can be strong and invincible no matter what comes our way. In 1871, Horatio Spafford’s only son died. Not long after that, the great Chicago fire came which ruined him financially. 2 years later, he planned to travel to Europe but was held up. So, he sent his family ahead of him. While crossing the Atlantic, their ship collided with another sailing ship which caused their ship to sink rapidly. Sadly, all 4 of his daughter’s died. Only his wife survived. Shortly afterwards, Spafford traveled to Europe to meet his grieving wife. When his ship came to the spot where his daughters died, the captain stopped. Like Charles Darwin and Charles Templeton, Horatio Spafford could have also become an atheist because of what had happened. But instead he, like Job, decided to see the goodness in God. As he gazed at the spot where his daughters died, he wrote the words to a famous hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul.” We may not know why God allows bad things to happen, to us or to others. But we must always remember, no matter what, that God intends all things for his good.
III. Joseph images God’s love (21).
Vs 21 says, “’So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.’ And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.” Joseph knew that God loved him even though he didn’t deserve it. He knew that God took care of him, even though he was a spoiled brat. Joseph knew about the undeserved grace of God. Through this, he was able to forgive and love his brothers. When we realize God’s merciful grace to us despite our sins, then we can love and forgive.
You’re probably saying, “Alright, I should love and forgive, but I’m not like Joseph. He’s a Biblical O.T. character. How can I be like him? That’s too hard.” Jesus says you’re right. You can’t be like him. But he says, you can be better! In Matthew 11:11, Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist”. This meant that John the Baptist was greater than Noah, Moses, and even Joseph. But then Jesus says, “yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Jesus is saying we can be greater than Joseph. We can be even greater than John the Baptist. How is this possible? Joseph had a general understanding of something he didn’t deserve. But we have something far better. We have Jesus Christ. Joseph was sent to Egypt, but it wasn’t his will to go. Jesus however was sent to earth, and it was his will to go. Joseph received the cup of suffering from his brothers, but it wasn’t his choice. Jesus however was given the cup of suffering by his own choice. Joseph wasn’t in the place of God, but Jesus is God. Joseph became the 2nd highest man in Egypt, but Jesus became a servant of all. Joseph didn’t die for the sins of his brothers, but Jesus died for the sins of the world. Jesus came to this world in order to suffer and die for you. Not because of something that you did. Not because you’re a good person and deserve it. But by shear grace alone. Joseph, Joseph’s brothers, and all of us deserve to be punished because of our sins. But God has shown love and mercy instead by punishing his Son in our place. When we see Jesus’ suffering and death, then we can become humble, have confidence, love, and forgive and say like Joseph, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” May God help you to see God who is always working for his good.