Hello everyone, Shalom in Christ! Welcome again to the devotional program, “Joseph at the Marketplace” by GLOBAL REACHOUT. I am Tom Nohelty.

Day 16: The Journey to Forgiveness

Today, the Scripture is taken from: Genesis 42-45.

Theme verse:

‘Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” ‘ Genesis 42: 21 (ESV)

Many smart, godly people have speculated about Joseph’s actions in these chapters. One intriguing hypothesis: Joseph was testing his brothers to see if they had truly repented.

The last time Joseph had interacted with his brothers, self-centeredness drove them. In their jealousy of Joseph, they harmed him for their own profit. They didn’t care how their actions impacted their youngest brother, Benjamin, or their father, Jacob.

Joseph needed to see if they had changed before true reconciliation could take place, so he orchestrated tests to see if they cared about Benjamin or Jacob. He saw how they had at least begun to recognize the wrong they had done in the past:

They said to one another, “Surely, we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come upon us” Genesis 42:21

Later in the story, Joseph’s brothers had a chance to sacrifice Benjamin to save themselves. But the brothers did not do this and showed great concern for how that would impact their father. Judah said:

“Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. One of them went away from me, and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since. If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.’ “So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life, sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow. Your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!’ “Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy and let the boy return with his brothers. How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come on my father.” Genesis 44:27–34

Only when Joseph saw this evidence of heart change did he reveal himself and invite his family to Egypt.

If this explains Joseph’s motivation, then we see great wisdom in his approach. Forgiveness doesn’t mean that we don’t set healthy boundaries, or that we refuse to confront evil. In his book The Peacemaker, mediator Ken Sande wrote, “Forgiveness does not automatically release a wrongdoer from all the consequences of sin.” He went on to say:

There may be times when you forgive someone but cannot afford to absorb the consequences of such wrongdoing. Or, even if you could bear the cost, doing so may not be the wisest and most loving thing for an offender, especially one caught in a pattern of irresponsibility or misconduct.

As Proverbs 19:19 warns, “A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty; if you rescue him, you will have to do it again.” Thus, a treasurer who secretly stole from your church may benefit from having to repay what he or she took. Likewise, a careless teenager may drive more safely in the future if he or she is made to pay for damages. An employee who repeatedly neglects his responsibilities may need to lose his job to learn needed lessons.⁷

In a similar vein, Dan Allender and Tremper Longman wrote:

The point for us is crucial. Reconciliation is not to be withheld when repentance—that is, deep heart changing acknowledgment of sin and a radical redirection of life—takes place in the one being rebuked. Nor is reconciliation (the offer of restoration and peace) to be extended to someone who has not repented. Forgiveness involves a heart that cancels the debt but does not lend new money until repentance occurs. A forgiving heart opens the door to any who knock. But entry into the home (that is, the heart) does not occur until the muddy shoes and dirty coat have been taken off. The offender must repent if true intimacy and reconciliation are ever to take place.⁸

How to do this well in a professional setting—or any setting—can be hard to discern. Especially because our hearts are endlessly deceptive. We can rationalize a lack of forgiveness as setting healthy boundaries. Or we can rationalize a failure to set healthy boundaries as extending forgiveness. Most of us are more prone to do one or the other. How can we release our past hurts and forgive? Tomorrow we’ll look more about what is going on in your heart, and how you can navigate the challenge of forgiveness for God’s glory and the good of others.

Let’s Pray:

Lord, help us to let go of our pain and forgive. Grant us the discernment to forgive and reconcile in Your time. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Time for Reflections.

1. Do you agree that Joseph acted as he did to discern if his brothers had changed and were remorseful over the consequences?  Support your views with examples from the passage.
2. Which of the two types of rationalization discussed in the reading are you more prone to use? Provide reasons.
3. Which Bible verse or Psalm helps you to have a transformative experience of forgiveness? Please pray and act on it.