The Book of Genesis
Day 347
Ge 37:26 So Judah
said to his brothers, "What profit is there if we kill our brother and
conceal his blood? 27 "Come and let
us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our
brother and our flesh." And his brothers listened. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by; so the
brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the
Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt. 29 Then Reuben returned to the pit, and
indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. 30 And he returned to his brothers and said,
"The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?"
I wonder what the
boys blew the money on? How did they divide it up? Reuben wasn’t there for the
transaction, so it looks like the brothers each picked up two shekels of silver
for their deed. (that’s about a week’s wage!)
Well, it doesn’t
matter, we aren’t told what they did with the money, but as we read the rest of
the story, we know that they carried around the guilt of their actions for
years!
I think we all
need to know just how terrible Joseph’s life was as a slave. Most of us know
the story about how he rose to a position of power in Potiphar’s house, then
wrongly accused of raping Potiphar’s wife, he is imprisoned, and in prison he
gradually rises to a man of great influence, eventually being set free by
Pharaoh and put in charge of the affairs of Egypt. Quite a story of
perseverance! But what about those times before he rose to positions of
authority?
Let’s not sugar
coat this. Conditions in Egyptian
prisons were not good, and we are given more details of his time in prison
in Ps 105:17-22! This is the equivalent
of Paul Harvey’s, “The rest of the story!”
We read, “He sent
a man before them-Joseph-who was sold as a slave. 18 They hurt his feet with fetters, He was
laid in irons. 19 Until the time that
his word came to pass, The word of the LORD tested him. 20 The king sent and released him, The ruler
of the people let him go free. 21 He
made him lord of his house, And ruler of all his possessions, 22 To bind his princes at his pleasure, And
teach his elders wisdom.
While Joseph
waited for the Lord to work out the details of the dream he had of his brothers
bowing down to him, he went through his own hell on earth! His feet chafed by the fetters they had placed on him!
Chained to his prison bed with irons! I hope the two shekels was worth it
brothers!
We aren’t told of
his thoughts concerning his brothers , while he was immobilized by irons and
the shackles hurting his feet, but in the end we are told of his gracious
forgiveness of his brothers. They came
to him and pleaded for his forgiveness and he said, “Do not be afraid, for am I
in the place of God? 20 "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. 21 "Now therefore, do not be afraid; I
will provide for you and your little ones." And he comforted them and
spoke kindly to them. (Gen 50 19-21)
Friends, stop and
consider this, especially if you are having trouble forgiving someone.
Unforgiveness is a fetter. It shackles your heart to bitterness and hatred, it
immobilizes your feet and keeps you from moving in the direction that God wants
you to go. Forgive!
But wait, you say
you can’t forgive? Well then ask God to help you, because no matter how bad the
situation may be, He wants to turn it into something good, but your
unforgiveness is holding Him back!
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