“The offense is just too big for me to ever forgive!” Many of us have said or thought such words. We’ve all had offenses committed against us, many of them small and minor, though some have been considerable. Forgiveness doesn’t always come easy. “If you only knew what this person did to me, you’d know why I can’t forgive him!”, we think. In our Scripture passage for today we see the young man, Joseph, and how, through the power of the Holy Spirit, he was able to forgive what was truly something that most would consider “unforgivable”.
A quick look at the background of Joseph’s story reveals that out of uncontrolled jealousy his ten older brothers had sold him as a slave to traveling merchants. Those merchants brought him into Egypt, a foreign country for him, and again sold him as a slave. Owing to lies told by his master’s wife, he ended up in prison. Because of his faithfulness to God, He turned his condition around, and Joseph quickly found himself the prime minister of all of Egypt, and in charge of food distribution during a devastating famine (see Genesis 37, 39, 41).
The famine has spread throughout the Middle East, and Joseph’s brothers have come to Egypt to purchase food. They do not recognize Joseph, as over 20 years have passed, and they hardly expect the brother that they sold as a slave to be the prime minister of the greatest and most powerful country at the time. However, Joseph does immediately recognize them.
If you were in that position, what would you do? Many of us have had some things done to us that we find very hard to forgive. Joseph clearly remembered his brothers abuse, probably beating him severely before throwing him into a pit, then actually selling him to become a slave! Then followed years as slave and then years in a prison. Chains, hunger, thirst, beatings. Now was his chance to get even. What did Joseph do?
With his brothers gathered around him, Joseph tells them that he is the brother that they sold many years ago (vs. 3-4). Having spent many years closely walking with the Lord despite his circumstances, with his “spiritual meter” always in tune, Joseph recognized the hand of God at move in all that had happened to him. Though the brothers had wanted to get rid of him, some even wanting to kill him, God used their evil actions to fulfill His plan. God sent Joseph ahead to preserve their lives (vs. 5-8). God is sovereign. His plans are not dictated by human actions. Joseph recognized and submitted to the sovereignty of God. He knew that the Lord had providential rule over the events of his life, both the good and bad.
Joseph held no grudges, and had forgiven his brothers. As second in command of all of Egypt, he could have had them all immediately executed, or at the very least expelled from the country, telling them to try and find food somewhere else. What would we do? Joseph was a spiritually mature man, and chose to follow how he knew God would want him to act.
Joseph had been rejected by his brothers, kidnapped, enslaved, and falsely imprisoned, yet he graciously forgave them, and shared his prosperity. Did Joseph’s brothers deserve to be forgiven? No! He would have had every right to imprison them or worse. How many times have we said that we can never forgive this or that person, and that they don’t deserve forgiveness because of what they did, or that they never said they were sorry. Joseph saw the hand of God in all that had happened. God is at work in our lives, as well. Every event that we go through has passed through His providential hand. Nothing is an accident. God can use whatever happens in our life for good if we allow Him.
Joseph was a picture of how God forgives us, and pours His goodness upon us. We don’t deserve forgiveness any more than his brothers did, yet God loves us and forgives us each and every day. Joseph showed grace and mercy, just as God does to us. Joseph lived so closely with his Savior, his life and behavior reflected His. Because we have received Divine forgiveness, even though we did not deserve it, we, in turn, need to pass that forgiveness on to others, just as Joseph did.
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