Genesis 50:15-26

¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers realized that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge and wants to repay us in full for all the harm we did to him?”

¹⁶ So they sent word to Joseph, saying, ” Before he died, your father gave this instruction:

¹⁷ ‘Tell Joseph this: Please forgive the sin of your brothers and the wrong they did when they treated you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sin of the servants of the God of your father.” When this word was presented to him, Joseph wept.

¹⁸ Then his brothers also came and threw themselves down before him; they said, “Here we are; we are your slaves.”

¹⁹ But Joseph replied to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?

²⁰ As for you, you meant to harm me, but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day.

²¹ So now, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your little children.” Then he consoled them and spoke kindly to them.

²² Joseph lived in Egypt, along with his father’s family. Joseph lived one hundred and ten years.

²³ Joseph saw the descendants of Ephraim to the third generation. He also saw the children of Makir the son of Manasseh; who were counted as his own.

²⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am going to die. But God will certainly come to you and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

²⁵ Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He said, “God will certainly come to you. Then you must carry my bones up from this place.”

²⁶ So Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten. After they embalmed him, his body was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

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the God factor

Joseph had all the authority he needed to execute revenge against his brothers, and he had most certainly been wronged by them. So, why did he choose to forgive instead of repay their evil with his own? He took into account the God factor. He saw the good that God brought out of the evil, and chose to trust God’s purpose. He understood that not everything that happens is a good thing, but that God can cause even the bad things to work together for the good of those who love him and are called by him.[1]

That perspective also gave Joseph insight into why the family of Jacob had been relocated to Egypt. God’s providence was also at work there, assuring that the family had a chance to grow and develop into the nation it was destined to be. So, Joseph was confident that God was not through with them. He gave his brothers instructions to take his coffin with them when they returned to the land that God had promised them.

So, the God factor gave Joseph the insight he needed to react with forgiveness and grace in spite of the wrong done him in the past. It also gave him the wisdom to trust God to continue working everything together for good in the future.

LORD, give us the insight into your work in our lives that we need to respond appropriately to life’s injustices, and to trust you to complete the work you have begun in us.

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Whew! One book down, 65 more to go! Just to give you a head’s up, I plan to continue our study of Matthew’s Gospel tomorrow, and finish that study before I begin with another Old Testament book.

Jefferson Vann

[1] see Romans 8:28.