Genesis 45:8

His eye rested on God and not on circumstances, however hard they had been. The evil actions of the brothers had faded into insignificance in his mind. He recognised that God had been behind all that they had done, and had worked it in as part of His plan for salvation and deliverance. This reminds us of that prayer of the early church. They acknowledged that Herod, Pilate, Gentiles and Jews had gathered together against the Lord Jesus. Yet they had only accomplished "whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place" (Acts 4:28).

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 frees his brothers from being taken up with themselves. He fills their thoughts and affections with himself, his glories, and the blessings that flow to them through his exaltation.

The guilty brothers must pass through deep and painful exercises of heart. At last they stand in the presence of the brother they injured, with the arrow of conviction piercing their inmost soul. Then, but not until then, these soothing words fall on their ears: "Now, therefore, do not be distressed or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here… So it was not you who sent me here, but God."

So then, he assures them, it was not they who had sent Joseph to Egypt, but God. God had made him a father to Pharaoh — one whose goodness and guidance Pharaoh depended on. God had made him "lord of all his house," with authority second only to Pharaoh in his household. And God had made him ruler over all the land of Egypt, in charge of all governmental affairs.

In Genesis 45:8 Joseph is described as a father to Pharaoh. This suggests that he cared for the king's interests: he would advise him, and administer his affairs.

The great point is not the repentance of the brothers, but the generous love of Joseph. He was saviour, for as he says, God sent him ahead of them to preserve a posterity in the earth and to save their lives by a great deliverance. He was also lord, for he added, "He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt."

Here was the true key. It was not just the discovery to Pharaoh, the rescue of Joseph, and the provision made in the long years of plenty and the equally long famine. It was the carrying out of His plans, disclosed long before to Abram (in Genesis 15). By them His ancient people would grow up from the family of Jacob in a foreign land of bondage and affliction. The oppressing nation would be judged, and they themselves would come out with great wealth.

If we are to be saved from the present power of evil, nothing can be of greater importance than to realise that Christ is in the place of supreme power, and to submit to Him… But if the Father has glorified the Son, it is so that the Son may glorify the Father… And if the Father is glorified, His people are blessed. So we read, "since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him." The glory the Father has given to the Son serves the Father's glory and the blessing of His people.