God’s Sovereignty on Display

God made a covenant with Abraham, a promise that his descendants would be the people of God, occupy the land of Canaan, and become a blessing to all the world. The promise continued through Abraham’s son Isaac, Isaac’s son Jacob, and Jacob’s son Joseph.

But Joseph’s brothers hated him, so they sold him into slavery when he was just 17 years old, and they told their father that Joseph had been killed. Not only did Joseph become a slave, but he was eventually thrown into prison for something he didn’t do. Yet the Bible reminds us again and again that no matter what happened to Joseph, God was with him. 

God was working his plan in and through the life of Joseph, even when that meant slavery and imprisonment. In his sovereignty, God was directing every event so that his will would be accomplished. 

Eventually, in a way that only God could orchestrate, Pharaoh’s attention is drawn to Joseph. Pharaoh has dreams that trouble him, and God reveals to Joseph the meaning of the dreams. For the next seven years, the land will produce an abundance of food. After these seven good years, there will be seven years of severe famine. Pharaoh then puts Joseph in charge of gathering enough food during the seven good years so that food will be available during the famine. Joseph has gone from a forgotten prisoner to the second-highest-ranking official in Egypt.

Just as God had said, the next seven years are great as far as crops go, then can the famine comes. Two years into the famine, Joseph’s brothers show up in Egypt to beg for food. 

When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.” (Genesis 42:1-2)

The brothers, of course, have no idea what’s become of Joseph. They assume he’s a slave somewhere if he’s even still alive. But then they appear before their brother.

Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. (Genesis 42:7-8)

It’s been twenty-two years since they sold their little brother into slavery, and the 17-year-old kid is now a 39-year-old very powerful man. They didn’t recognize him at all.

Eventually, Joseph tells his brothers who he is, and when he does this, the brothers are distraught. They know Joseph will be furious with them, he’ll hate them, and he’s powerful enough to do anything to them. But listen to Joseph’s words:

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. (Genesis 45:5-8)

Do you notice those powerful words in this statement? “God sent,” “God sent,” “God sent.” The brothers hadn’t sent Joseph to Egypt at all. A caravan of slave traders hadn’t sent Joseph to Egypt. God had sent Joseph to Egypt. Joseph is where he is because God put him there. 

A few chapters later, Jacob has died, and the brothers fear that now that their dad is gone, Joseph will finally get revenge. And this is where we read one of the most important verses in the Bible about God’s providence and sovereignty.

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. (Genesis 59:20)

The brothers had just wanted to get rid of their hated brother, so they did something horribly evil. But God had a plan, and he was in complete control. He allowed their actions to take place because he wasn’t going to allow his chosen people to die in a famine. He kept his promise to Abraham, and he saved the line of the coming Messiah.

It’s a very difficult truth to understand, but there are times when God allows or causes an evil act to happen to facilitate his divine plan. Because God is sovereign, he is not in any way evil for allowing this to happen.

Joseph’s slavery in Egypt is a perfect example of this, but there’s an even better one. The brutal murder of Jesus was the greatest crime in the history of humanity, yet it was orchestrated by God so that his will was accomplished. Joseph’s brothers were guilty, all who crucified Jesus were guilty, but at the same time, God was completely in control, accomplishing his plan. 

God rescued his people from starvation through the sin of Joseph’s brothers. God has been in control every step of the way. 

As Christians, we know that our suffering is always in the hands of our loving Heavenly Father. Any suffering we face is for our ultimate good and God’s ultimate purpose. 

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) 

That’s a very difficult lesson to learn while you’re in the middle of the difficulty, so learn it and believe it now, so that you can cling to it in times of trouble.

God uses everything, good things, bad things, things that are neither good nor bad, God uses everything that happens in our lives for what he knows is our good. He uses my poor decisions, other folks’ poor decisions, my failures as a parent or spouse, the diagnosis from the doctor, the pink slip from the office, God uses everything for our good.

Please understand that not one single thing that has happened in your life has ever taken God by surprise. Things may have taken you by surprise, but not God. When you’re in a difficult season, remember that everything “bad” that happens to you is God-filtered, and for whatever reason, this time he did not stop it from happening. You may never know this side of heaven why he allowed it, but you can know that God loves you, he is in control, he has a plan, he is at work, and he will use it for your good.

God had made a promise to Abraham, and he intended to keep it. So God made one of his people second in command in Egypt so that the entire family could come to Egypt and live. And Egypt is where this family grew to become a great nation. Joseph, shortly before his death, said these words in Genesis 50:24, “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.”

So ends the book of Genesis. The stage for the Exodus has been set…

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