Originally posted February 11, 2011

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 (Genesis 50:19-21, CSB).

This response by Joseph to his brothers has been a recurring theological theme of the saga of Abraham and his offspring in the book of Genesis. It is the result of God’s covenant with Abraham.

Upon the death of Jacob, Joseph’s brothers were afraid that he would take revenge on them for selling him into slavery many years earlier. So, they sent a message to Joseph begging his forgiveness.

When Joseph received their message, he wept because his brothers still feared reprisal from him. Then they came to Joseph and bowed down before him and told him they would be his slaves.

His brothers’ act of submission fulfilled a dream God had given him (see Genesis 37:5). Years earlier Joseph’s brothers became angry with him, kidnapped him, and sold him into slavery after he told his brothers about the dream (see Genesis 37:12-36). The chain of events that was set in motion by Joseph’s dream now comes to fruition many years later.

To survive the drought, Jacob (Israel) relocated his extended family to Egypt where Joseph was the prime minister. Over the next several centuries Jacob’s extended family would grow into the nation of Israel.

Joseph recognized that he was the facilitator of God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and that God had used the evil acts perpetrated against Joseph to create circumstances that enabled Joseph to preserve and fulfill God’s promise and covenant with his fathers.

When bad things happen to us or others, we sometimes blame God. Why did God do this bad thing? Why didn’t God do this good thing? We treat good and evil as moral equivalents that are both instigated by God. But….

GOD DOESN’T DO ACTS OF EVIL!

Joseph’s declaration in these verses clearly demonstrates the superiority of Good over Evil. God is the God of Good. In fact, we could argue that God can’t perform evil because it is against His nature. So, God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.

And, the Evil fomented by Satan and his followers is but another tool the Sovereign God uses to work His plans and purposes for good (Jeremiah 29:11).

When bad things happen to you, don’t attribute it to God, but attribute the good that comes out of it to God as He uses you, or tries to form you into someone He can use, to accomplish His Good Will.

His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. (2 Peter 1:3, CSB)