August 7, 2021
Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
~Genesis 50:19-20~
Joseph was a man betrayed by his own brothers. Sold into slavery and forgotten, he was eager to understand his place in all of it. The pain of being thrown into a pit without water was weak compared to the pain of his family being the ones to do it; "Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it."
(Genesis 37:24)
There is no word of Joseph crying out or yelling for help. It seemed as though he stayed in silence waiting for what was to come next. He opened not his mouth. Sound familiar? "He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth." (Isaiah 53:7)
Jesus was arrested and rejected by His own and He remained quiet in this way. The humility to God's will was painted in Joseph's story. He could of chosen to scream, kick, shout and hate his brothers for this very purpose, yet Joseph made the choice to humble himself and wait. Can you imagine being sold into slavery by your own family? The amount of strength and patience it would take for one to see what was to come out of it. We know what happened to Joseph afterwards, how Pharaoh received him as one of his own. Joseph ended up rich and well off in Egypt. He began to be one many looked up to for advice and interpretations.
"And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”
(Genesis 41:41)
Joseph, going from captivity to sitting beside the king was another painting of what we have been given now with Jesus Christ. We went from captivity to sitting next to the King of Kings; "and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:6)
You see, Joseph didn't hold on to unforgiveness. Joseph took the path of understanding in God's way. At the end of his own life Joseph's brothers begged him for forgiveness. They began to fear him. Joseph again, humbles himself before God. The fear belongs only to God.
"Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, Who walks in His ways." (Psalms 128:1)
This is something we as believers need to meditate on. We must not believe that anyone who has harmed us owes us anything. Jesus Christ forgave His own as they drove nails in His hands and feet, as they stood idly by and mocked Him and as He bled out. Jesus knew He would be on His way to glory, to be with the Father purchasing freedom and forgiveness for us. Joseph could of very well died in bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness. He made a choice to forgive them and free them from any guilt they may have felt. We can read about Joseph and see Jesus Christ. We can read about Joseph and relate in ways as we may too be rejected by our own. However, we can also read about Joseph and see how important forgiveness is to live a humble and just life, exactly as our Lord has instructed us to live as we follow His footsteps. Joseph embraced a second chance with his brethren, just as Jesus would go on to embrace all of us with His own Blood; "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ."
(Ephesians 2:13)
Joseph gave God the glory, just as Jesus would live to bring glory to the Father; "And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was." (John 17:5)
Joseph loved still even after all the pain of being hated, just as Jesus loved us unconditionally even as we reject and ignore Him; "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him." (I John 4:9)
If there is deep seeded pain within any of us towards what someone may have done viciously against us; let us as followers of Christ, respond with forgiveness so that we may be led and guide others to the same freedom Joseph's brothers received.
"And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32)
If we did not have our own forgiveness, we would not be made alive. If Joseph allowed his sadness to take deep root and birth into unforgiveness overcoming himself then many people would have perished in the famine, including all of his family. God uses everything we endure for goodness, it is up to us whether we trust Him for this or not. It is always up to us in the end, just as it was up to Joseph.
Prayer:
Lord, Your gracious acts and humility are everything I want to represent. I exalt Your Name and I know one day I shall be exalted with You as I humble myself and open not my mouth to things that may hurt me. I trust You are using my pain for Your glory and my good. Let the outcome be according to Your will. I surrender to all that You need me to so that I may grow as a Child of God. Help me forgive the ones I may still be resenting and release my spirit so the freedom may spread to others. In Your Name I pray, Jesus Christ. Amen.