Genesis 45:4 So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And 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. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Joseph honestly stated their sin of many years before. Yet in compassion, Joseph did not want them to be grieved or angry with themselves. Joseph was past his grief and anger and wanted his brothers to also be past it. Joseph did not diminish what the brothers did, he saw that God’s purpose in it all was greater than the evil of the brothers. (Guzik)
The brothers come face to face with their sin and their brother whom they have sinned against. They know it is he for he tells them he was sold and no one knew this but them. They have lived with this guilt and shame for 22 years. How could they face him, even more, how could he forgive them? They were guilty. They knew it and Joseph knew it, and here Joseph puts it right out in the open; You meant to do me harm but God used it for good. God sent me here for a purpose. How often do we look at our circumstances and wonder if God has a greater purpose in our lives than the circumstances we are in? Faith, trust, and reliance on God are foundational if we are to make sense of life on this side of eternity. None of us knows what tomorrow holds in store for us, but God does. It is those who continually grow in faith, trust, and reliance on God that find peace for today and great hope for tomorrow.
