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Last week, in Teacher Joseph, Part 9, we saw, in the lives of Joseph’s brothers, the destructive power that comes with unforgiveness. What then, are the potential benefits of forgiveness?
To understand the power of forgiveness, we need to look no further than the one that Jacob’s 10 sons struck out against: Joseph himself! We know Joseph forgave his brothers because of his response to his brothers the moment he revealed himself to them: “But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.’” (Genesis 45:5 NKJV)
He then made arrangements for all of his family to move to Egypt and set them up in the best part of the country, supplying them with grain for the remaining years of famine: “Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘…come down to me, do not tarry. You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me…, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine.’” (Genesis 45:9, 10a,c,11 NKJV)
It could be said that Joseph did this out of love for the innocent victims of his brothers’ crime: For his father and Benjamin. However, Joseph didn’t just invite these two back to Egypt. He invited all of them: “…you and your children, your children’s children…” (vs. 10b NKJV)! And he went out of his way to reassure the guilty 10: “But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.” (Genesis 45:5 NKJV). I would go so far as to say that Joseph took pleasure in helping his brothers!
That’s the power of a forgiveness! It not only opens the door to acceptance of those who have hurt you, but it also allows you to love them and to reach out to them in their time of need. When we forgive, we are free to experience joy and to extend that joy to those who have hurt us! That’s the power of forgiveness! It opens the door for us to experience joy and to extend that joy to others!
But wait. If Joseph forgave his brothers, then why was he so mean to them when they first came to Egypt? “Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as a stranger to them and spoke roughly to them.” (Genesis 42:7 NKJV).
While being very rough with his brothers, the Bible also records this: “But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter. And he turned himself away from them and wept.” (Genesis 42:23-24a NKJV).
We also know that Joseph was responsible for giving them their grain money back: “Peace be with you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.” (Genesis 43:23 NKJV).
And once again Joseph wept when he saw his brother, Benjamin: “Now his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and wept there.” (Genesis 43:30 NKJV).
Nonetheless, Joseph still did not treat his brothers in a manner that would make one believe he had forgiven them, because he had his gold cup put in Benjamin’s sack and accused him of stealing.
We see, however, that in doing so, Joseph was not acting on his emotions. In fact, the Bible records, “…and he restrained himself…” (Genesis 43:31 NKJV).
What, then, was Joseph’s purpose?
The 10 brothers hadn’t exactly proven themselves trustworthy, and Joseph had to know if they had changed. His methods were meant to reveal the true characters of these errant men. Without knowing this, he wouldn’t have felt responsible in inviting them to come to Egypt.
And this teaches us another vitally important lesson about forgiveness: Forgiveness does NOT mean absolution of wrong. When someone wrongs us, we must forgive; but this doesn’t mean that what they did was okay. We have to untangle these two concepts. While we forgive, we must also know if the person can be trusted before we deal with them further. Otherwise, we are putting ourselves, and potentially others, in harm’s way!
As for punishing them, well those 10 brothers deserved punishment for sure. So do each of us when we reach out and hurt someone. But punishment isn’t our place. It is God’s: “I will take revenge; I will pay them back.” (Deuteronomy 32:35 NLT). And we can be sure that God’s punishment will be fair, for God is just: “He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.” (Deuteronomy 32:4 NKJV).
So what, then, is our responsibility?
Simply this: We are to forgive! And if and only if the need arises, we can try to learn the true hearts of those we have forgiven… Not to punish them, but to ensure they won’t hurt us – or others – again. Punishment, however, is God’s to administer!
Join us next Saturday for another valuable lesson from the life of Joseph: ”Double Checking with God”!
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart
Author, Moderator, Acting Director, Answers2Prayer ministries
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