Genesis 50:15-21 * July 5, 2009 * Pentecost 5 * Pastor Leyrer

Dear Friends in Christ,

Politicians and pundits sometimes talk about “hot-button” issues. What they mean are the kinds of things that are on people’s minds and generally elicit a strong emotion or response. Hot button issues are compelling because they get personal and intersect with where people are in their lives.

Today, as we continue our sermon series on the “Great Cloud of Witnesses” God has provided for us in His Word and from whom we can learn, we have the opportunity to discuss two topics which may not necessarily be considered “hot-button” issues, but are certainly personal matters we as Christians all deal with – and sometimes struggle with. Those two issues are the matter of forgiveness and understanding the will of God in our lives.

We’re going to have the chance to talk about them as we examine the life of

JOSEPH, THE YOUNG MAN WHOSE DREAMS CAME TRUE

We’ll begin by briefly reviewing his life. It’s the ultimate rags to riches story; a story of emotion and intrigue; a story which spans from Genesis chapter 37 to Genesis chapter 50, almost one-fourth of the entire first book of the Bible. In broad strokes, it goes like this:

Joseph was one of twelve sons of Jacob. He was also clearly his father’s favorite (you might recall that Jacob gave Joseph alone a “coat of many colors”). This fact did not escape the notice of his brothers.

If favoritism wasn’t enough strain on their fraternal bonds the Bible tells us Joseph on at least one occasion brought a bad report about his brothers to his father and on two occasions spoke to his family about dreams he had. Both dreams suggested that one day Joseph's brothers would bow down to him and he would rule over them. He was 17 at the time. Taken all together, these things didn’t sit well with the brothers.

Then one day, when Joseph had come to check on them while they were grazing their flocks in distant pastures, their resentment toward him came to a head. They roughed him up, threw him down a well and would have killed him had a saner mind not prevailed. They ended up selling him as a slave to a merchant caravan heading south. They then deceived their father Jacob by telling him his beloved Joseph had tragically been killed by a wild animal.

While Jacob grieved, Joseph ended up in Egypt, where he became a top and trusted slave in the household of a man named Potiphar. On one occasion, while his master was gone, Joseph refused to get involved in an illicit relationship with Potiphar’s wife despite her persistence. Spurned by Joseph’s rejection, she concocted a false story with the result that Joseph was thrown into prison.

While in jail God gave Joseph the ability to interpret the dream of the king’s cupbearer, who had temporarily fallen out of favor. After being restored to his position, the cupbearer remembered Joseph’s abilities when Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) was looking for someone to interpret a couple of dreams that were troubling him. Joseph did this successfully, correctly predicting their meaning: seven years of agricultural plenty followed by seven years of famine.

In recognition of his work, Joseph was given the responsibility of preparing the country for what was about to take place, and at the age of 30 is made second in command of all Egypt. The famine happened as predicted, eventually bringing Joseph’s brothers down to Egypt looking for food. Joseph recognized them and subjected them to a series of tests through which he determined that they had changed.

Through all of this Joseph’s brothers don’t have a clue who it is that has been talking with them. Then Joseph revealed himself to them. Their reaction? The Bible says they were “terrified.” Why? Either they thought they were talking to a ghost or – worse yet – they weren’t, in which case they were afraid of what might be foremost on Joseph’s mind. Revenge.

But that’s not what happened. The dreams Joseph had as a 17 year old came true, but he used his power for restoration, not retaliation. He spoke tenderly to his brothers and assured them of his forgiveness. And he expressed the spiritually mature understanding that everything that happened was actually part of God’s bigger plan for him and them.

After this reunion and with the permission of the Pharaoh, Joseph invited his father and brothers and their families to ride out the rest of the famine in Egypt. So they all came down from the land of Canaan and settled in the land of Goshen, just east of Egypt. Jacob, who grieved so deeply for Joseph, was able to spend the last 17 years of his life with him. Jacob died at the age of 147 and Joseph, the dutiful son, carried out his final wish to be buried next to his wife, Rachel, in the land of Canaan.

Their father was the glue that kept the family together and at peace. Now he was gone, and the brothers became concerned that with this buffer no longer present Joseph might fall back into a spirit of revenge. Joseph’s response indicated this would not be the case. Listen again to the final words of our text: “‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.’ And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.”

Let’s talk about Joseph’s example and the model he is for us in some very practical and personal areas of our Christian walk. Then we’ll talk about the motivation behind it all.

First, Joseph is a MODEL OF PRACTICING FORGIVENESS. Put yourself in Joseph’s shoes. How would you have reacted in the same situation? Although in the eyes of the world as well as in the eyes of our sinful nature Joseph had every right to be mad, or at the very least, to let his brothers twist in the wind for a little while, Joseph did neither and presents us with a fine display of complete and immediate Christian forgiveness.

The topic of forgiveness is always worthy of our review.

Would you agree that forgiving others is easy to speak about in theory (“a Christian is forgiving”), but much more difficult when it comes to putting it into practice? Then it’s not so easy. When someone has done us wrong or hurt us, we’d often like to claim an exception to the rule of practicing forgiveness. Or at the very least, an extension during which we can hold a grudge for a while and stew in our own vitriolic juices.

But that’s not how it works. Jesus repeatedly tells us to forgive as we have been forgiven. Forgiveness received from Christ on the cross and forgiveness then dispensed toward others as Christ’s followers is not an option for the believer; rather it is a basic and essential component of the Christian life.

In fact, every time we say the Lord’s Prayer, we are making a promise to God Himself that we will forgive others as we have been forgiven ourselves. And if we are not making conscious efforts to be forgiving, or if we are purposely and maliciously harboring grudges against others for whatever reasons, are we not being untruthful with God whenever we say this prayer?

Let’s not misunderstand. Practicing forgiveness can be hard. In fact, so hard that we can’t do it ourselves. We need God’s help. But with God’s help it can be done. There is a big difference between, on the one hand, wanting to forgive but finding it difficult and, on the other hand, consciously choosing not to forgive. The first God will help us with. The other is premeditated sin. Joseph obviously accessed God’s help in this area.

As such, he is a role model for us of one who forgave as well as ONE WHO FORGOT. Joseph did not forget about the past in the sense that God wondrously struck him with amnesia, but in the sense that he did not dwell on it. Yes, he remembered what his brothers had done and even mentioned it; but not in a way to make them feel bad.

We often hear it said, “Forgive and forget.” Well, the truth is that forgetting may not be possible. But what is possible is acting as if all is forgotten by not bringing up the past.

Let me give you a wonderful example. The story is told that Florence Nightingale, the Christian woman who pioneered nursing and hospital reform in 19^th Century England, was once reminded by a colleague of something unkind that someone had done to her. When asked if she remembered the incident, Florence supposedly replied, “No, I don’t. In fact I distinctly remember forgetting it.” That’s forgiving and forgetting.

On the other hand, one sure indication that our forgiveness is not complete is if we keep dragging up the past. Or, as someone once put it, when we don’t get hysterical but rather get historical with each other. I’m confident you know exactly what that means.

Joseph did not get historical. He didn’t use their past sin to bludgeon his brothers. In fact, we see him actually encouraging them to not be distressed over it, because that was then and now is now. So, Joseph is a model of one who forgave and forgot, as well as…

A MODEL OF ONE WHO UNDERSTOOD THE WILL OF GOD IN HIS LIFE. It’s hard to imagine that somewhere along the line – perhaps on that long unplanned caravan ride or while languishing in an Egyptian prison – Joseph didn’t ask the question, “Why me, Lord?”

What we do know is that by his mid-thirties he had come to understand that everything happened to him for a purpose. He exhibited a deep spiritual maturity and a profound sense of understanding that “what God ordains is always good.” Here again he is a model for us – a model of trusting God. A model of confidence in the providence and wisdom of God, even in the face of circumstances we would not choose for ourselves.

What we learn from Joseph is to not dwell on the “why me” questions but rather to go forward in His strength, knowing that God leaves nothing to chance and always has our highest good in mind. Later in his life Joseph had the benefit of seeing how everything that at one time didn’t make sense eventually came together for a high and noble purpose. And perhaps God will allow the same for us. But it may also be that we won’t know the answer to our “why” questions until we get to heaven. Regardless of when God’s reasons may be revealed to us, of this we can be sure: God is in the lead.

Final consideration: What is it that motivated Joseph to be all these things, and what is our motivation to follow his example? I believe a key verse to understanding Joseph is found in Genesis 39:9. Confronted by temptation from Potiphar’s wife, Joseph replied: “How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

Joseph loved God. As a child of God he had grown up with the promise of the Savior and had heard his father Jacob talk of the wonderful things God had done in his life. Joseph’s love for God translated in living for God, as we have seen today.

What moves us to be forgiving, forgetting, and trusting? The same thing. We have the same loving God. We can be forgiving, forgetting and trusting because we understand the Gospel message. We know that not only have our sins been forgiven through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but they have also been forgotten. Consequently the only response open to us is the fervent desire to love our loving God in return and walk in a way worthy of the name Christian, just as Joseph did…

Who, today serves as a role model for us in the Christian virtues of forgiving, forgetting and trusting. May it be that what we’ve seen in him others will see in us. Amen.