Verse

Genesis 45:7

ESV And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.
NIV But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
NASB So God sent me ahead of you to ensure for you a remnant on the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.
CSB God sent me ahead of you to establish you as a remnant within the land and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.
NLT God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors.
KJV And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
NKJV And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

What does Genesis 45:7 mean?

This states more directly what Joseph pointed out earlier (Genesis 45:5). Joseph's brothers committed a crime by selling him into slavery. Their guilt is not in question. And yet, even that action was part of God's plan. God "sent" Joseph into Egypt, and He did so for a reason. Joseph's experiences were part of a plan that would rescue the people of Israel. Joseph speaks using terms such as "you" and "yours," meaning his own estranged family can now expect to survive this devastating famine (Genesis 45:6).

Statements such as these are remarkable in the context of all Joseph has suffered. He was cruelly sold into slavery at the age of seventeen (Genesis 37:1–2; 24–28). Despite integrity and success, he was falsely imprisoned (Genesis 39:19–20) and largely forgotten (Genesis 40:23). After thirteen years of oppression, he was miraculously lifted to become the second most powerful man in Egypt (Genesis 41:44–46). Now, Joseph can see how his experiences positioned him to save his entire family.

Joseph understands that his suffering was not the result of pointless chance. Nor was God displeased with him. It was because of God's purpose and plan to save lives. Joseph knew his life always mattered, even during the isolated years away from his family in Egypt. This is a difficult, but important part of biblical truth: that even our hardest experiences are part of God's ultimate plan for good (Romans 8:28).
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