Genesis 50:15-21 (NRSV)
Read Genesis 50:15-21 on biblegateway.com
Verse 15Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph's brothers said, "What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?" Verse 16So they approached Joseph, saying, "Your father gave this instruction before he died, Verse 17'Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.' Now therefore please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Verse 18Then his brothers also wept, fell down before him, and said, "We are here as your slaves." Verse 19But Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God? Verse 20Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. Verse 21So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones." In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.
Devotion
Forgiveness is probably one of the hardest things to offer, especially when we have been emotionally or physically harmed. Joseph’s brothers feared retaliation for all the suffering they had caused him. Yet, in looking back, Joseph could see how God was using his circumstance to provide a way to save people during the famine.
In Prof. Lois Malcolm’s seminary class, Forgiveness and Reconciliation, one of the books for required reading was Simon Wiesenthal’s The Sunflower. The first half of the book tells the story of a Jewish prisoner in a concentration camp, to whom a dying Nazi soldier confesses a wrong, asking for the Jewish man’s forgiveness. The second half of the book relates responses from prominent people who are asked the question “What would you do?”
Granted, these two men were strangers. But for Joseph, this is his family. Joseph does more than forgive them. He welcomes them and their families to ensure they are provided for.
Prayer
Forgiving God, sometimes it is difficult to forgive when we have been wronged. Yet we know you want restored relationships. Help us to see where you may be at work in the situation and open our hearts for conversation. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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