June 30, 2026

Today's Reading: Genesis 50:15-21

Daily Lectionary: Joshua 5:1-6:5; Acts 10:1-17

“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 50:20)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Joseph’s brothers had a lot of specks in their eyes. They had gone for two decades without seeing him, after their tempers grew short that dreadful day. Nine of them wanted to kill him outright. Reuben persuaded a change of plan, and they threw him down a dry cistern. (Everyone else thought they were leaving him to die of hunger and thirst; only Reuben had a plan to return after everyone’s tempers calmed down.) Then the plan changed again, and they sold Joseph into slavery. That was the last they saw of him for 20 years. 

Of course, it had gotten worse. Joseph was treated well and completely trusted by his master, only to have the master’s wife falsely accuse him of attempted rape. Off to prison he went. By the time Joseph was brought before Pharaoh to interpret his dreams, Joseph had been a slave or imprisoned for 13 years. Isolation. Cut off from his family, homeland, and language. Loss of freedom. Joseph suffered much, and humanly speaking, had a lot to be angry about.

Yet none of the brothers knew or understood the work and timing of God. The Lord was giving Joseph these experiences and placing him in locations that would lead to the saving of lives. Not just his and his family’s, but the lives of thousands upon thousands in and around Egypt. Entire peoples were given life and delivered from death through the innocent suffering of Joseph.

You would think that after 17 years of living together in the land of Egypt, everyone would be relaxed and trusting at last. But the brothers were fearful that Joseph would come and judge them for all those specks when their father Jacob died. They came before him like beggars, ready to be his servants.

The Lord has mercy. In His mercy, He gave Joseph wisdom and understanding to see that the evil deeds done against him were actually setting a plan in motion that would save entire nations. None of them would be alive if it weren’t for their past transgressions. As God had forgiven them, so also Joseph had forgiven. I’m sure he even saw the log in his own eye about the arrogance and in-your-face reporting of his boyhood dreams. In truth, we are all beggars. Joseph knew this. He was forgiven. And that forgiveness spilled over to those around him, understanding that God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

For Your Son has suffered for me, Giv’n Himself to rescue me, Died to save me and restore me, Reconciled and set me free, Jesus’ cross alone can vanquish These dark fears and soothe this anguish. (LSB 608:3)

Rev. Richard Heinz, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Lowell, IN.