Note: Vision devotional article taken from last Sunday's sermon on Genesis 50.
But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto
good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive (Genesis
50:20).
When Joseph’s brothers fall on their faces before him, afraid he will
take just vengeance upon them after the death of their father Jacob, Joseph
makes this most amazing and insightful statement. Perhaps one of the most
important and most meaningful and practical in all of Scripture. “Ye thought
evil against me; but God meant it unto good.”
This is the way the Lord operates. He allows the evil actions of
men. But he takes that evil, and, in his sovereignty, he makes it into good.
The Lord allowed Joseph’s brothers to strip him of his special coat, to cast him into a waterless
hole in the ground, and then to sell him into slavery. They thought evil
against him. But had this not happened Joseph never would have gone to Egypt,
and he never would have risen to the top and saved many nations, including his
own family, from starvation and annihilation during seven years of grievous famine.
The NT equivalent to Genesis 50:20 is Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose.”
Joseph only learned this lesson through prayerful retrospection and
reflection. We also should meditate on Joseph’s statement. The
Puritan John Flavel wrote, “Sometimes providences, like Hebrew letters, must be
read backwards.” Look back over your life and consider those times when others
thought evil against you. God permitted it, but he always had a gracious
purpose. He meant it for his glory and for your good.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jeff Riddle
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