"So Joseph sent his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving he said to them, 'Don't argue on the way." I read the "saga of Joseph" this morning in my morning Bible reading. I was amazed once again, that Joseph accepted the fact that his brothers sold him into slavery, and he forgave them, but our text tells us that Joseph had his "eyes wide-open" concerning the dependability of the ten of them. I am assuming that that you know something about this saga; therefore I will only deal with the text verse. The verse tells us, as mentioned above, that Joseph had accepted what his brothers did to him, and had forgiven them, but he knew them well enough to know that if they argued on the way back to their father, they would mess up a good thing on the way. In my imagination, I thought that Joseph was concerned that they would do harm to each other if they argued on the way. Joseph wanted them to go back to their father, Jacob, and bring him and his family to Egypt to safety and provision. The lesson that I learned in this morning's journey through the Bible is that God wants us to forgive other people and wish them well, no matter what harm they have caused us. Like Joseph, we need to find God's purpose in the negative things that have happened to us, and to do His will and move on with our lives. To do otherwise would cause a root of bitterness to arise in our hearts. Obviously, a root of bitterness did not take over Joseph's life. Let us beware that a root of bitterness does not take over lives. ("It ain't pretty" when it happens.) As I wrote this, some thoughts flitted through my mind that I will share with you. I asked myself if I had learned from the people who caused negative things in my life, and if I had actually forgiven them and wished them well? I had to deal with it, but I saw the value of the negative things that they had done that humbled me, and had made a better person of me. God used them to teach me to forgive and to move on without bitterness and without a need for revenge. Another thought that I had was that I hope and pray that the people to whom I have said and done negative things have forgiven me and wished me well. (I don't know if this would have been the thought of the biblical Joseph, but it was certainly the thought of this Joseph. lol) Another thought that I had was that somebody, or some people, who are reading this need to learn the lesson that Joseph taught me. Give this lesson some thought and, by all means, pray over it. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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