Genesis 41-45

“And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you” (45:5). Before revealing himself, Joseph tested his brothers to see if they had changed (ch 42-44). Indeed, they were now protective of their younger brother and father, they were honest, and Reuben confessed that their treatment of Joseph had been wrong (42:22). Finally, Joseph described to them how God turned that wrong into a great redemption.

“It was not you who sent me here, but God” (45:8). Only the Lord, infinitely merciful and wise, can take our failures and bring about “a great deliverance” for us and others (7).