“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” Can Joseph possibly be right? He had been enslaved for thirteen years. He had been falsely accused and imprisoned for two years. Could God somehow have meant all those terrible things to happen to him?

In a word, yes. And this wasn’t the first time Joseph made such a statement. Back in Genesis 45:7, he said something even more amazing: “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God.”

But back in chapter 37, wasn’t it Joseph’s brothers who plotted against him and planned to kill him and sold him into slavery and broke their father’s heart with their callous lies? Yes, and they meant to do all those evil things. They were completely responsible for their hate and their sin.

But the amazing truth is that God was somehow still in charge while they did all those things. And God used even all those wicked injustices to bring about great good. Because Joseph’s brothers were so cruel to him, not only they but the whole land of Egypt ended up being spared the worst of the seven years of drought. Because if Joseph hadn’t been sold into slavery, he never could have interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams.

But that wasn’t the only time God used the wickedness of men to accomplish His good will. Think about it. Judas betrayed Jesus. Jesus’ disciples, along with all the rest of His people rejected Him. The priests and the Roman officials put Him to death. But God used all these wicked actions to accomplish the greatest good ever accomplished, saving not just one region from famine but the whole human race from the ravages of sin and death. And God meant to do all of that – in fact, He told His prophets all about it hundreds of years before Jesus was born.

So, yes. God can bring the greatest good even out of the greatest evil. So even when we suffer the greatest injustices, we can take comfort in the fact that God is in charge, and He is always working out His good purposes.

Genesis 50:15-21 (ESV)

15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.”
16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died:
17 ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”‘ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
18 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.”
19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?
20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.