Sermon Genesis 50:15-21 Why Do We Forgive Others?

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Churches

Sermon Genesis 50:15-21 Why Do We Forgive Others?

September 14, 2014

There is a story which has been shared over 45 thousand times on Facebook. You may have seen it. A husband and wife have been married for 70 years. During this time the wife kept a shoe box on the top shelf of the closet. The husband respected her privacy and never opened the box. Then one day the wife was in the hospital and she realized that it was time for her husband to know what was in the box. The husband went home, got the box from the top shelf and opened it. Inside he found two dolls knitted from yarn and $95000 in cash. He brought the box and its contents to the hospital and asked his wife what this was all about. She told him what her mother had taught her. Every time her husband made her angry she was to knit a doll. Her husband smiled thinking to himself, “There are only two dolls. I must have only made her angry twice in 70 years.” Then he asked his wife about the $95000 also in the box. And she said, with a smile, “that money came from all the dolls I sold.”¹

We all get angry at someone else. We do it all the time. What should we do when we get angry and don't know how to knit dolls? We will get to this, but first let's pray.

Lord Jesus Christ, like the sun that fills the morning sky, you are the light that banishes the darkness of the world. Sun of Righteousness, arise in my heart, fill me with the radiance of your love, and display the light of your saving grace until I shine with the joy of life everlasting. Amen.²

Joseph was a dreamer. He had big ideas and was going places. His brothers spent their days working the farm, and wondered when Joseph would get to work. But Joseph's father encouraged his son to dream big dreams, and lavished him with gifts. His brothers became jealous and plotted to kill him. But instead of killing him they sold Joseph into slavery. And Joseph ended up in an Egyptian prison. This was not at all what he had dreamed.

An Egyptian prison is where all victims go. It is where we remember our hurts. It is where we demand our rights. It is where our anger grows. When we see on television the brutal acts of ISIS against Christians, we go into our Egyptian prisons, get angry, and plot ways to kill our enemies. When a loved one violates the trust we had placed in that person we go into our Egyptian prisons and think of ways to get even. When an employers says we have to go to save the business a little money, we go into our Egyptian prisons. Whenever a loved one is too hurt to love you, whenever you have been betrayed, whenever your rights have been violated, you go into your Egyptian prison and nurture your anger. Joseph was in his Egyptian prison seething with anger at his brothers for what they has done, and plotting ways to get even.

I recently met a woman who is sitting in her own Egyptian prison. Three years ago she lost her son in a traffic accident. Two years ago she lost her husband to suicide. Recently she lost her mother. There are three locks on the cell door of her Egyptian prison.

While Joseph was in his Egyptian prison he found the God. A gracious God who loved him and forgave him, and released him from his Egyptian prison to a new life. Whenever you encounter God your life changes in significant ways. You become a new person. You think in news ways. Each morning is a new opportunity for you. You find that God is sufficient for you, you no longer have any need for whatever it was you lost. And you are ready and able to forgive.

Joseph left his Egyptian prison and entered his new life. He became a leader in Egypt and used his power to store food so that the people would have something to eat if the rains stopped, which they did. The drought effected the whole region. Year after year the crops failed for Joseph's brothers and they were forced to come to Egypt begging for food.

What would Joseph do when they arrive? Would he return to his Egyptian prison, his hurt, his anger, and all the ideas he had for getting even? Or would he, in his new life in God, forgive his brothers just as he had been forgiven? This is the choice we all have. We can hold onto our anger and dwell on our victimization. We can plot our revenge and try to get even. Or we can forgive and let go of the hurt. It's our choice. Let's see what Joseph did?

Genesis 50:15-21 ¹⁵ Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph's brothers said, "What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?" ¹⁶ So they approached Joseph, saying, "Your father gave this instruction before he died, ¹⁷ 'Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.' Now therefore please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him. ¹⁸ Then his brothers also wept, fell down before him, and said, "We are here as your slaves." ¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God? ²⁰ Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. ²¹ So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones." In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.

Joseph forgave his brothers. He released his anger. And filled with God's love was able to love even those who did him wrong. Then, Joseph gave his brothers two reasons why he forgave them. Let's look at these reasons.

The first reason Joseph gave for forgiving his brothers was that he was not God. Only God can judge. Only God knows all the facts. Only God is perfectly just and good. So Joseph did not judge his brothers. He let God do the judging. This is good advise for us. Why judge the people who hurt us? That just makes us victims and increases our anger. Why not just let God be the judge? That way we don't have to worry about it anymore. God will take care of it and we can get on with our lives. So let God be the judge and take yourself off the hook.

The second reason Joseph gave for forgiving his brothers was that God used what seemed to be bad for good. Certainly selling Joseph into slavery was not a good thing to do. It was evil. But look at what God did. He took this evil and changed it into something good. Because Joseph was in Egypt he was able to store food which fed his family saving them from starvation. God took an evil act and used it for his purposes. Joseph realized this and forgave his brothers. So too with us. When we experience evil we can't know how God will use it. In God's plan the evil we see may actually be part of a much bigger good. So don't judge because there is no way you could ever see the whole picture as God does.

So what should we do when we experience evil at the hand of someone else. We have two choices. We can descend into our Egyptian prisons, demand our rights, seek our revenge, try to get even, and let our anger grow. Or we can encounter the living God, experience transformation of life, and let Him be the judge because He alone knows how best to handle the situation. The choice is yours. You can be a victim filled with anger, or you can be filled with the love of God and forgive. Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, in you we experience God's love and forgiveness. Help us to love one another and forgive those who have done us harm. This we pray in your name. Amen.

1http://blog.petflow.com/money-in-a-box/

2Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year A, Volume 2 © 2014 Westminster John Knox Press p165.