Genesis 45:8
“So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.”
All those years ago, Joseph’s brothers were angry with him. They spilled animal’s blood on his coat, threw him into a well, decided they could not let him die, sold him into slavery, and lied to their father about it all. The brothers lived with the result of their actions until they came face to face with Joseph many years later. As they sat in front of Joseph, disbelief, fear, bewilderment, and who know what other emotions, crashed in on their hearts and minds.
They were scared! But, Joseph loved them!
There are so many amazing lessons we can learn from Joseph. Here are just three:
- Forgiveness: At one point, he had to leave them to weep because he was so overcome with love and longing for these brothers who had mistreated him. Do I forgive like that? Forgiveness that overrides bitterness and turns into love?
- Steadfastness: Never does the Bible say that Joseph used his anger against his brothers towards anyone or anything. He stood on his belief in God and remained faithful to Him.
- Blessing: Joseph and his family were welcomed in Egypt. Verse 32 of chapter 43 states it was unacceptable for Egyptians to eat and sit at the table with Hebrews. But, Genesis 45:16 states that Pharaoh and his servants were pleased that Joseph had found his family.
I have always been fascinated by Joseph. According to the account of his life in Genesis, he was always faithful to his relationship with God. He believed that sin was against God, not man. (Genesis 39:9)
What would our lives look like if we lived like Joseph’s example?