The Right View of Wrong Things Gen 45:1-8 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
What Joseph’s brothers did to Joseph was wrong without a doubt. They envied him and would have killed him if Reuben hadn’t intervened. As it is he suffered slavery and prison when they in turn faked his death to convince his father that he was dead. Joseph suffered for 13 years [Gen 37:2; 41:46]. Somehow, when the ordeal was done and 22 years had passed [13 plus 7 years of plenty and 2 years of famine, Gen 45:6], Joseph had a perspective on this that was very unusual. He said, “God sent me,” [Gen 45:7, see also v.5, 8].
When we go through wrong things we want the right view. Let’s look at the various views when someone does you wrong. There is the:
Personal View – Gen 40:14-15 – Joseph said basically, I have no business being here; I’ve done nothing wrong. Assuredly, he was innocent, but not totally without need to be there. If nothing else, the Lord used the time to humble him and prepare him for being the second man in Egypt [his dreams had puffed him up a little too much, perhaps]. The only one who has ever been totally innocent is the Lord. Certainly, when we go through trouble at the hand of others, all we can see is their fault, not ours.
Perpetrators’ View – Gen 50:20 – his brothers meant to kill him. They wanted to be rid of him and to hurt him if they couldn’t destroy him. When people do you wrong, they mean to hurt you.
Parental View – Gen 42:36 – Jacob was going through his own ordeal as a result of what the brothers had done. He figured that the Lord was letting him reap what he had sown. Often we need to remember that when someone hurts us there are others who suffer with us. We may want them to have pity on us, but truly they are going through their own trial.
Providential View – Gen 45:1-9 – God did send Joseph to Egypt; it was always God’s plan – Gen 50:20 shows us that God meant it unto GOOD, for Joseph and his brethren. It takes time for you to be able to see the providential view and it takes trust. You must trust that God is going to work this wrong thing in your life according to Rom 8:28. The sooner you see what God is doing the easier it is going to be for you to deal with it.
Prophetic View – Gen 49:24 – Joseph is the greatest type of Jesus Christ in the Bible. He had to suffer so that the lives of his brethren could be saved. Likewise, you will suffer [1 Pet 4:12-19] as part of God’s prophetic plan for you to be like Christ. This view helps you keep from being surprised when you suffer a fiery trial at the hands of your brothers.
Conclusion: When you get the providential view and the prophetic view, you will have the right view of the wrong things that happen in your life. Amazingly, Joseph’s brothers who didn’t want him around anymore were sure glad to have him around when they got to Egypt. And old Jacob, who thought all this had been done against him found out that it was all for him and his family. In time you will see that even some of the people who have hurt you are going to be glad that you are still around to help them down the road.