Joseph Forgives
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Joseph reaches a breaking point and must reveal himself to his brothers.
4 So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Illustration:
Forgiveness does not deny wrongdoing.
On “Forgive and forget”
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
What does “JUSTIFIED” mean? “Declare righteous” or “Cause one to be in a right relation” NOT A REMOVAL of guiltiness
Paul uses it in a legal sense.
Consider God’s forgiveness this way:
13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
God is never unaware of
12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”
17 then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
Forgiveness exercises full trust in God.
Illustration: Imagine a man, beaten and robbed and hospitalized for no reason. In the process of imaging his injuries, the doctors find a tumor.
11 Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold.
13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.”
21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” 22 He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”
Joseph’s Trust
Job’s Trust
David’s Trust
Forgiveness sees God’s purpose in everything.
7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.