Read Genesis 45 – Redemptive purpose changes everything!
“But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives…” :5a. Beloved, imagine the freedom of taking every wrong done to you and seeing it through the lens of God’s redemptive purpose! Joseph did not pretend the bad things didn’t happen, but he chose to trust God throughout it!
He is so happy to see his brothers. He tells them there will be five more years of famine, and invites them to go get their father and move everyone to Egypt because he has prepared for this, :9-11. Joseph was weeping with joy, as he hugged and kissed Benjamin and all of his brothers, :14-15.
News reached the palace of Pharaoh and God’s Word says, “Pharaoh and his officials were all delighted to hear this,” :16b This says such beautiful things about Joseph’s relationships with Pharaoh and the officials of Egypt. Clearly, no one resented Joseph, a hebrew, a slave and a foreigner, for his position over Egypt. I heard it said once, “There is no prejudice in excellence.” Joseph was excellent in every situation and it is a contagious excellence that lifts up all who are around him.
Pharaoh and Joseph supply his brothers well for the move and when the brothers get home to Jacob he is stunned and cannot believe it. They repeated everything Joseph had told them, and when he saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him, Jacob believed and was elated :26-28.
Beloved, we can apply this lesson to our testimony about Jesus. We can tell people about Jesus, and they can see His hand of blessing over our lives. We can live with hope, joy and excellence because of our Savior and His redemptive purpose over us.
Judy in the Sky 