A common misinterpretation views this passage as endorsing or excusing sinful actions like betrayal or slavery, suggesting God directly causes evil or that wrongdoers bear no responsibility; others twist it into fatalism, implying all events are irresistibly God's will without human agency, ignoring the context of Joseph's forgiveness and the distinction between human intent and divine overruling for preservation.
Genesis 45:5
King James Version (1769)
5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
In this verse, Joseph comforts his brothers by revealing God's providential hand in their past actions, assuring them that what they intended for evil—selling him into slavery—God sovereignly repurposed for good, positioning Joseph to preserve life during the severe famine, thus illustrating divine sovereignty, forgiveness, and the ultimate triumph of God's redemptive purposes over human sin.