This is the last study in this series, “Personalities of the Old Testament.” We will begin a new series next time.
Last time, we talked about how Joseph endured hardship and
was prepared by God for his specific purpose.
God used those things that happened to him to bring him into position to save Israel during the famine at the time.
Genesis 50:19-20 NKJV
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.
Joseph tells them, “You banished me. You sold me as a slave. You did that for your own selfish reasons,
and you were evil, but God meant it for good!”
There is one other thing, in this moment.
Their father had died.
They supposed that Joseph hadn’t killed them or banished them because of
Jacob. Jacob was dead now and they were
afraid that Joseph would take revenge on them.
Genesis 50:15 NKJV
When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him."
So, they came up with a plan:
Genesis 50:16-17 NKJV
So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, "Before your father died he commanded, saying, 'Thus you shall say to Joseph: "I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you." ' Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father." And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
They were fearful.
They didn’t know what Joseph’s attitude would be toward them. They understood the evil that they had put on
him:
1)
Sold him into slavery; and out of that
2)
The false accusations of rape
3)
The years in prison
All of that pain and suffering. Think about it, how would you react to
that? What would be your attitude toward
those who caused you that kind of suffering, for so many years? I met a woman on outreach once, in downtown
Taoyuan District that had a lot of cuts on her arm. She had cut herself many times. I asked her about it and she said, “It’s to
let the pain out.” She felt that she had
suffered and was holding all of this pain, inside. I said why don’t you forgive the person who
hurt you and all of that will go away.
Do you know what she said? She said, “I will NEVER forgive him!”
That’s the way many of us are. When we’re hurt or angry we just hold on to
it. Do you know how I know that? As you’re talking to someone, and the name of
the person at whom they’re angry comes up.
How do they react? You can see in
their body language their attitude toward that person. If they get angry at the mention of at
person’s name…they haven’t forgiven.
One last thought on this subject is that this is one of the
things that makes it difficult for people who have left the church because they
got angry at someone. Maybe they’re
embarrassed about their reaction and getting angry. In Taiwan, we call it losing face, don’t we? I can’t face that person again.
Other times, though, it’s because we cannot forgive. That’s how Joseph’s brothers think Joseph
will be. Maybe, they know that they
might be that way if all that happened to them.
After all, they sold him into slavery, in the first place, because they
couldn’t forgive his visions of family leadership.
Genesis 37:19-20 NKJV
Then they said to one another, "Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, 'Some wild beast has devoured him.' We shall see what will become of his dreams!"
In the Bible there is a parable of a man who owed a great
debt but could not pay it. His master
ordered him to prison, but relented and forgave the debt. It is in Matthew 18:21-34. He comes upon a man who owes him a small debt
and demands payment. When the man who
owes him the small debt says he can’t pay the first man orders him to prison. The master hears of it and calls the man before him, and look at what he does:
Matthew 18:32-34 NKJV
Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?' And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
I think the use of the word torturers is interesting
here. Would cutting yourself to, “let
the pain out,” seem like torture? How
about ending relationships with everyone in the church because you’re
embarrassed at your behavior, would that be torture? Or ruining your relationship with God? Look:
Matthew 18:35 NKJV
"So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."
And this:
Matthew 6:14-15 NKJV
"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
One thing I think we need to really understand from this, is
that forgiveness is not for the other person, because if that person hurt you
intentionally, he probably doesn’t even care if you forgive or not. They’re not looking for forgiveness. Possibly, you’ve been hurt by someone who may
not even know they hurt you. Forgiveness
of those who’ve hurt us is not really for them it is for us. We can find relief from the “torturers.” We can receive forgiveness from God!
There is another aspect here, that I want you to see:
Genesis 50:18 NKJV
Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, "Behold, we are your servants."
This is a moment of repentance. This is how you receive total
forgiveness. Let me clarify what I mean
by that for a moment. If you borrow my
car and wreck it, then refuse to repair it.
I’m going to forgive you. I’m not
going to hold a grudge or hate you forever, but do you think I’m going to let
you borrow my car again? So, let’s
understand what forgiveness really is.
When kids are little and they do something mean to someone
else what do we do? We tell them, “Say
you’re sorry.” Sometimes they say,
“Sorry.” Really? What are they sorry
for? Is that repentance? Nope!
So, repentance isn’t just saying, “I’m sorry.” Repentance is about real change!
Repentance is a change of heart. You might say a change of direction in your
life. You were acting one way, heading in
one direction and you turn around and head in a different direction. That’s repentance.
Acts 2:38 NKJV
Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This comes after the people that have gathered outside the
upper room cry out, “What must we do to be saved?” Repent. And what is salvation? It is the forgiveness of sin.
1 John 1:9 NKJV
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
You have to repent to be forgiven. Jesus wants us to be faithful to forgive, as
well.
Finally, there's this:
Matthew 18:21-22 NKJV
Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
Do you think He meant only 490 times. “So let’s see that’s ten times I’ve forgiven
only 480 to go!” What He means is,
always forgive. Be faithful to forgive. Let it go! It’s a release for you. What they
do with it is up to them. If they are
truly repentive, you will see it by their life.
You will see the change. Back to
wrecking my car. If you repent and make
it right, and I see the change I will let you borrow my car
again…Probably…maybe.
Let’s look at Joseph’s example again:
Genesis 50:19-21 NKJV
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. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
This is true forgiveness preceded by repentance. Repentance and forgiveness are powerful
things.
This study that we are just completing here right now has
been about what we can learn from Old Testament personalities. How does Adam speak to You? Or Cain and Abel? Or Jacob? I want to hear from you. This is a personal thing, no one is going to
judge you by what affected you. Let’s
take some time to hear from you.
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