Some people will tell you all about their “God sightings:” “And then God told me this, and now He wants me to go over here, and He told me to tell you that you should…”  I’m not going to debate whether these are real or not, but rather I’m going to point out two things.  First, this kind of thing is not a normal occurrence throughout the Bible, even in the New Testament.  Second, this is not something Joseph himself would say, for he had a very different perspective on God’s movements.

Earlier, we heard Joseph tell his brothers: “It was not you who sent me here, but God.”  Near the end of his life, he expands on this: “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”  This is a startling understanding, one which frees Joseph to forgive his brothers their treachery: God may seem uninterested in the deceit and violence of men, but He is, in fact, in the wings of the stage: waiting for actors who are willing to be used by Him for His greater glory.  Often, He's not pulling strings from above, but whispering instructions from just behind the curtain.  Joseph sees this, and his life is different for it.  

Do I like it this way?   Not always.  Sometimes, I wish He was more active in preventing the bad. But it’s God’s way.  And He’s good at it.  After all, He looked at a cross and said, “Yeah, I can use that…”

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God in the Wings, Genesis 50

Pharaoh and his chief lieutenant Joseph are true to their word.  Jacob’s household settles in Goshen and learns to prosper there, just like they have everywhere else.  After some time passed, Jacob offered a prophetic blessing over his sons – prophecies that may have been more insightful than some of them would wish – tucked in, and breathed his last.  When death finally came, Joseph led the Egyptian court in mourning, as though a great one of their own had passed.

One point of tension remained: What will happen when Jacob dies? After all, Joseph might only be making nice as long as dad’s around.  Is his revenge a crouching lion, waiting for the appropriate moment to spring?  

The remaining brothers (it’s unclear how many are involved here) make a preemptive strike, and it’s not a becoming one: “Your father gave this command before he died: ‘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.”  At least they know they did bad, and they know they’re utterly dependent on Joseph’s forgiveness, but still…

But Joseph shows that forgiveness often has more of an impact on the forgiver than the receiver, for he dismisses the idea of revenge: “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 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. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.”

Near the end, his preternatural sense of taking part in great events offers one final revelation: “And Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.’ Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, ‘God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.’

God’s promise to their great-grandfather Abraham – of land and prosperity, of nation and kings – incubates in Egypt.  “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”  One day, all nations on earth will be blessed.  

Have a great trip!

Daddio