And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.
Joseph has kept his identity hidden while he pressed his brothers hard. Now the ruler of Egypt tells the men who sold him not to torment themselves. His reason is not that the crime was small, but that a hand higher than theirs was at work in it.
Grace That Silences Self-Reproach
Joseph does more than pardon. He works to clear away the regret that would spoil their enjoyment of his love.
Hamilton SmithThey had confessed the sin. Joseph will not only forgive them; he will also remove all lingering regrets and self-reproaches. He will assure them that behind their sin, yes, by means of their sin, God was working out His purposes of blessing. It is true that Joseph has to say, "You sold me here." But he adds, "God sent me before you to save your lives by a great deliverance." So he turns his brothers away from thinking about themselves. He engages their thoughts and affections with himself, his glories, and the blessings that flow to them through his exaltation.
The phrase "save your lives by a great deliverance" comes from verse 7 in an older translation.
There is also a simple inference his brothers could draw from the way he speaks to them.
L. M. GrantIf he did not want them to be angry with themselves, then certainly he was not angry with them. Wonderful attitude for an exalted ruler!
The Order: Confession, Then Comfort
These words are not spoken to men who are still hiding what they did. Joseph waited until their guilt had surfaced.
C. H. MackintoshBut when were these words spoken? Not until the guilty brothers had felt and owned their guilt. Repentance came before the pardon... Joseph "spoke roughly" to his brothers at first. He brought them through deep waters, and made them feel and confess their guilt. But the very moment they took the place of repentance, he took the place of forgiveness.
Two Hands On One Event
Joseph names God as the sender without erasing what his brothers did. Both statements stand in the same sentence.
A. J. PollockTheir wrath had sold Joseph into Egypt. God used their sin to make Joseph the great organiser of the day, saving countless lives. There could be no excusing the terrible sin of Joseph's brothers against their brother. But it must have been a great comfort to their accusing hearts to find that God used the wrath of man to praise Him.
Peter's preaching holds the same two truths together. The same words fit Jesus and those who sinned against Him.
W. T. P. WolstonYou see the same thing in the Acts of the Apostles. In Acts 2 the apostle Peter tells the convicted people that their killing of Christ had in fact been the carrying out of God's purpose, decided beforehand. The guilt of man was no less, of course... Jesus says, I know you have sinned against Me, and you have not loved Me, but see what God sent Me before you to do. To save your lives by a great deliverance.
What "Preserve Life" Reaches
The rescue is wider than one family's next meal. Joseph is pointing them to a plan already promised to their forefather Abraham.
William KellyHere was the true key. It was not merely the disclosure to Pharaoh and the rescue of Joseph. It was not merely the provision in general, in the unusually long plenty and the equally long famine. It was the carrying out of His plans, made known long before to Abram in Genesis 15. By those plans His ancient people would grow up from the family of Jacob in a foreign land of bondage and affliction. God would judge the nation that oppressed them, and His people would come out with great possessions.
A Picture Of A Greater Reconciliation
Writers read the whole scene as a shadow of something still ahead for Israel.
C. H. MackintoshThis is grace indeed, setting the convicted conscience perfectly at rest. The brothers had already condemned themselves completely. So Joseph had only to pour the blessed balm into their broken hearts. This is all a beautiful picture of God's dealings with Israel in the last days, when they will look on Him whom they have pierced, and mourn.
Summary
- Sin. The brothers really did sell him. God's purpose never excuses what they did — "there could be no excusing the terrible sin."
- Confession. Joseph spoke roughly first and comforted second. Repentance came before pardon. Forgiveness met them the moment they owned their guilt.
- Grace. He removes the penalty and the self-reproach. He draws their eyes off themselves and onto himself and his glory.
- Purpose. "God sent me" names a second hand on the same event. God used the wrath of man to serve His plan. Peter later said the same of the cross.
- Life. The aim reaches past the famine. God keeps the promise made to Abraham and brings His people out of bondage with great possessions. It ends in a picture of the day Israel looks on the One they pierced.