Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it. Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 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. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.”

—Genesis 45:1-8a (TNIV)

I love this story for multiple reasons, two of which I will comment on here. First, we notice the reaction of Joseph’s brothers. They were too afraid to speak when they learned this was their brother whom they had tried to kill and ultimately sold into slavery! I imagine they were expecting the worst. They were expecting him to exact revenge on them for their evil deeds. But no! Joseph forgave and embraced him. He made their reconciliation possible. I cannot help but think this is a tiny glimpse of how it will be in the kingdom of heaven. It will be possible for us to live with God because of what he has done for us in Christ. By his wounds we are healed. We are reconciled to God, and God to us, through the blood of Christ. Thanks be to God.

Second, there is the providence of God. God turned despicable evil into good. That gives me hope because God knows there is plenty of evil in his world today. That doesn’t mean that our situations will always turn out the way we want them to turn out. It means, however, that for those of us who desire a relationship with God, no outside force can prevent us from having one with him. Good will triumph over evil. That is our hope. That is God’s promise to us. This is the two-fold message of Joseph and his brothers.

Mr. Garden desiring me to preach, I did so, on these words of the Epistle of the day: “Whoever is born of God, overcomes the world.” To that plain account of the Christian state which these words naturally led me to give, a man of education and character seriously objected, (what is indeed a great truth,) “Why, if this be Christianity, a Christian must have more courage than Alexander the Great.”

—John Wesley, Journal, 1.47

[Commenting on Moses striking the rock in the wilderness to produce water for the Israelites (Exodus 17:1-7)] When Christ was struck on the cross, he brought forth the fountains of the New Testament. Therefore it was necessary for him to be pierced. If he had not been struck, so that the water and blood flowed from his side the whole world would have perished through suffering thirst for the word of God.

—Caesarius of Arles, Sermon 103.3

I have often reminded you, my dear sister, about the remembrance of God, and now I tell you again: unless you work and sweat to impress on your heart and mind this awe-inspiring Name, you keep silence in vain, you sing in vain, you fast in vain, you watch in vain. In short, all [your work] will be useless without this activity, without recollection of God. By calling [his Name] to mind we gain joy and gladness, forgiveness of sins and a wealth of virtues. Few have been able to find this most glorious Name, save only in stillness and silence.

—Theophan the Recluse