Genesis 46-50

What’s Happening?

The book of Genesis closes by looking back on everything God has done and forward to what is still to come.

From the beginning, God set out to partner with humanity to fill the world with blessing and life. That promise was challenged by sin, death, and the serpent. But God promised Abraham a family as numerous as the stars, a land of their own, and blessing for all nations (Genesis 12:1–3; 15:5). Yet that promise has been under constant threat. Sarah was barren. Ishmael was cast out. Jacob was nearly killed by his brother. Joseph was sold into slavery. And now, famine has struck the land of Canaan, threatening to wipe out the family entirely.

But God has been at work the whole time. He raised Joseph from the pit to Pharaoh’s right hand so that the world might be fed in famine (Genesis 41:57). And now God brings Jacob and all his sons down to Egypt, not as refugees, but as honored guests. On the way, God reassures Jacob in a vision: “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there” (Genesis 46:3). What looked like death for the chosen family becomes the place of their growth.

Before Jacob dies, he gathers his twelve sons and speaks blessings over them (Genesis 49). This is the high point of Genesis: the promise of God, once carried by one son, then by one family, is now entrusted to an entire nation. Each son will become a tribe, and through them God’s covenant purposes will move forward.

And yet, the book closes not with Jacob but with Joseph. After all his brothers did to him, Joseph forgives them. They fear he will finally seek revenge, but Joseph declares the interpretive key for all of Genesis: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20).

This has been the story all along. Adam and Eve’s failure could not undo God’s promise. Cain’s murder could not stop the seed. Babel could not scatter it away. Abraham’s failings, Isaac’s favoritism, Jacob’s trickery, Judah’s sin — none of it could break God’s covenant. Again and again, what humans intend for evil, God intends for good. And he does it to bring life where death seemed certain, to preserve a people, and to keep the promise alive.

Where Is the Gospel?

Genesis ends by setting our eyes on Jesus, the true culmination of every promise.

Just as Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, so Jesus was betrayed by his own people (Acts 2:23). Just as Joseph was sold and handed over to the nations, so Jesus was sold for silver and handed over to Rome. Just as Joseph was raised from the pit to Pharaoh’s right hand, so Jesus was raised from the grave to the throne of heaven (Philippians 2:9–11).

But Joseph only saved a remnant from famine. Jesus saves the world from death. Joseph fed the nations with grain. Jesus feeds the nations with the bread of life — himself (John 6:35). Joseph forgave guilty brothers and welcomed them into his provision. Jesus forgives guilty humanity and welcomes us into his eternal family.

Genesis 50:20 is the heartbeat of the Gospel: what evil intends for death, God intends for life. In Jesus, this truth is secured forever. He is the seed of the woman who crushes the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). He is the true son of Abraham who blesses all nations (Genesis 12:3). He is the faithful Israel who trusts and obeys where the patriarchs failed. And he is the righteous son who brings life out of death and good out of evil.

See for Yourself

I pray that the Holy Spirit would open your eyes to see the God who brings good out of evil from the very beginning. And may you see Jesus as the promised Son who fulfills every thread of Genesis, turning death into life and evil into the salvation of the world.