What did Joseph ever do to earn such hatred from his brothers?
It wasn't his fault that his father loved him more, or that God had given him the ability to interpret dreams.
It certainly wasn't enough to deserve to be dropped into a deep well, or be sold as a slave to traveling merchants. That was the kinder option; the original plan was to kill him. I wonder, in his sufferings, if he ever wished that they had.
People can be so hateful.
Joseph was treated cruelly by family members; they misjudged and misunderstood him. His brothers robbed him of his freedom, of the loving care of parents, the comfort of home, of being there to see his little brother grow up. In exchange, they gave him slavery, culture shock, language barriers, strange food, Montezuma's revenge and pagan practices. He endured slavery, and if that wasn't enough, he was imprisoned for crimes he didn't commit.
What would you have done under the same circumstances?
Even a fellow prisoner forgot him, left him to rot in jail after promising to help. That one disappointment alone would be enough to keep one of us in bitterness for the rest of our life. You know it's true, so in all honesty, I don't think any of us, my self least of all, could have borne so much suffering.
Still, Joseph had to have laid all the blame on his brothers, none of this would have happened if they hadn't plotted against him. Betrayal and harm from family members is the worst kind of all, the most difficult to accept. These are the ones that you expect to love you, that shouldn't let you down. If you can't trust your family, then who can you trust?
In an amazing reversal of circumstances, God brings Joseph from being a prisoner to being the most powerful man in Egypt, second only to Pharoah. That gift of interpreting dreams, the one that had brought Joseph so much misery, was finally used for good, used to save nations, but more importantly, the lives of Joseph's relatives, God's people. So when Joseph, looking 100% Egyptian and extremely powerful, finally reveals himself to his brothers, what do you think he said to them? He's had years to plan his revenge, and now he has all the power to do it.
What would you have said?
Well, he tells them not to be angry at themselves for what they had done. (genesis45:4-8)
Oh c'mon! Really, Joseph, I think you've gone too far.
If I can't be bitter with those who have hurt me, at least let me have the pleasure of knowing they hate themselves for it. They're supposed to feel bad, really bad, never forgiving themselves, living with their guilt til their dying breath.
How can you wish that they not?
How can you forgive them that much?
"So it was not you who sent me here, but God." (45:8)
Apparently, Joseph didn't hold his brothers responsible for his suffering. Instead, he looked beyond their actions and saw God's hand directing it. Because of that, he was able to release them from their debt, and amazingly still not be angry at God. His rationale being, how could he accept only the good from God and not the bad.
Much later, when their father dies, Joseph's brothers fear that now he will seek vengeance, demonstrating, not only, that they had not totally believed the sincerity of Joseph's forgiveness, but that they themselves knew their sin deserved retribution, knew that if they were in his shoes, they would seek revenge.
Once again, Joseph releases them from their debt, his rationale this time, "you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good." (50:20)
Wait a minute, let me see if I got this right.
Joseph admits that his brothers acted against him out of pure evil. I find it amazing that he doesn't have to somehow justify, minimize, or excuse their evil as misguided, or unintentional in order to forgive. Forgiveness is impossible to achieve in the flesh, therefore, we too often try to make it easier by creating a false reality. "In your face" evil cannot be forgiven, for that would be "letting it off the hook", so to speak. As a result, too few of us know what it is to truly forgive. Here is another thing that Joseph's admission tells me: forgiveness doesn't diminish, deny nor change the fact that the one who has harmed you has done evil against you.
Joseph believes that God can use man's evil for good purposes, a thought that is almost incomprehensible. Even though people act with purely evil motives towards us, God can still use that for good, and it isn't just that He can turn that evil around and somehow by His goodness make it better. He can and does, from the very beginning, intend for that act of evil to be for my good, or more importantly, for the unselfish act of good for others. God had used the evil of Joseph's suffering "to bring about that many people should be kept alive", including the very ones who had hurt Joseph in the first place.
If you are suffering from evil that has been done to you, let me ask you the most important question that you can take from this man's life.
Have you forgiven as Joseph forgave?
Or are you trying to make forgiveness happen in the flesh, by creating a false framework where forgiveness seems possible?
If you choose to hold onto the debt of those who have hurt you, choose to not forgive, your journey of walking in the Spirit ends right here. It is impossible to do both. I know your flesh is telling you "I would rather die first than forgive". Well, here is your chance to accommodate it. Forgiveness may be the first really, deadly blow to your flesh that you will have experienced thus far, so go ahead and let'em have it.
You have no idea how good it'll feel!
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