God's Hidden Hand in a Broken Family - Treasures of Faith - Week 7 Day 6

TODAY'S TREASURE

You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children…

Genesis 45:10 (ESV)

Transcript

God's Hidden Hand in a Broken Family

Chuck and Sharon Betters

Today’s Treasure

You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children…

Genesis 45:10 (ESV)

Joseph’s story is not just a testimony of personal endurance, it’s a story of family redemption. Genesis 45 brings us to one of the most emotional moments in Scripture: Joseph reveals his identity to the very brothers who betrayed him. They are terrified, and rightly so. But instead of judgment, they receive mercy.

Joseph weeps. He embraces them. He assures them God had been at work the entire time:

“God sent me before you to preserve life.” Genesis 45:5 

This is not Joseph minimizing their sin, it is Joseph maximizing God's providence.

The deep beauty of this moment is not just in Joseph’s forgiveness. It’s in the restoration of a fractured family. What began in jealousy and division is being rewritten by grace. The family that once sold a brother into slavery is now being preserved through that very act. God’s hidden hand has been weaving redemption through the brokenness.

Joseph could have retaliated. He had every earthly reason to turn away from reconciliation. Instead, he chose the harder, more glorious path: forgiveness that restores. This is a high calling—and it’s a picture of the Gospel.

Our theology reminds us that God often works through covenant families, even those that are broken. The family of Jacob was filled with sin, favoritism, deceit, and rivalry. Yet God never abandoned them. He didn’t choose them because they were worthy—He chose them because of grace. And His grace was persistent. It reached into the cracks of their dysfunction and brought healing.

Joseph becomes a type of Christ in this moment. Just as Jesus was rejected by His own and suffered unjustly, Joseph rose to a position of power not to destroy but to save. Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, just as Joseph weeps over his brothers. And like Joseph, He draws near to the ones who betrayed Him and offers them life.

In Genesis 45:10, Joseph tells his brothers:

“You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me…” 

The one who was cast out now becomes the source of safety. He makes provision not just for them, but for their children and grandchildren. This is what forgiveness looks like when it is rooted in the fear of God and the freedom of grace. It’s not forgetfulness, it’s redemptive love.

Are there broken relationships in your life that seem beyond repair? Joseph’s story doesn’t guarantee every family will be healed in this life. But it does show us the power of forgiveness to open the door for God’s work. Sometimes the greatest act of faith is choosing to trust God with a fractured relationship, believing His grace can restore what we cannot.

Forgiveness is not about ignoring justice. It’s about surrendering justice to the God who sees everything. When we forgive, we don’t deny the wound, we entrust it to the Healer. We acknowledge vengeance belongs to the Lord, and we choose the way of Jesus instead.

Joseph’s reunion with his family was a foretaste of the greater reconciliation that is ours in Christ. In Him, we are no longer estranged from God but brought near. And as those who have been reconciled, we are called to be ministers of reconciliation to others (2 Corinthians 5:18).

LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT

Are you carrying wounds from family betrayal? Do you wonder if restoration is possible? Take comfort in Joseph’s story. It tells us that no relationship is beyond the reach of God’s grace. That doesn’t mean every relationship will be restored on this side of heaven, but it does mean your heart can be healed.

Ask God to give you Joseph’s heart: a heart that weeps, that forgives, and that trusts God to redeem what others meant for harm. Even in the deepest wounds, He is working. Even when reconciliation feels impossible, He is present. Choose the path of redemptive love.

PRAYER

Father, You are the God who restores broken things. Thank You for the mercy Joseph showed his brothers, and the mercy Jesus shows to us. Help me to forgive as I have been forgiven. Give me grace to trust You with relationships that are hard or broken. May I be a channel of healing in my family, and may my life reflect Your redeeming love. 

MORE…

Adapted from Treasures of Faith by Chuck and Sharon Betters with permission from P&R Publishing

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