We'll be your slaves

Genesis 50:18 Then the brothers went in person to him, threw themselves on the ground before him and said, “We’ll be your slaves.”

Joseph’s brothers are haunted by what they did to him. Now that their father, Israel, is dead, they worry that Joseph will finally take his revenge. They have a hard time believing that he can really forgive them – would they, in his place, forgive such an act as selling your own brother into slavery? Their offer to become his slave is an attempt to right the wrong in a tit for tat way: we enslaved you, so you enslave us. While it demonstrates genuine remorse and a desire to redress the imbalance, Joseph responds with mercy and generosity. He is not God, to judge them. And he reminds them of all the good that God brought out of their evil intentions. He weeps at their expression of regret, and convinces them of the truth of his forgiveness.

This passage speaks to me in two ways. First is the recognition that the evil we do haunts us, lives with us, distorts our presence in the world; it will hold on to us long after others have forgiven us. Today we might say that the brothers need to forgive themselves for what they did. And the second thought is the mercy and compassion that Joseph models to them. He sees the wider picture. Because of his steadfast faith, he understands that God is working through him to advance God’s purposes, even when that seems most unlikely. Out of that understanding, that great blessing has come out of the adversity Joseph has faced, comes true forgiveness of his brothers, a generosity of spirit untouched by bitterness and reproach. He truly harbors no remnant of recrimination, no hidden resentment, because he has been able to walk with God through the difficult times and see the flowering of God’s favor now that they have come to an end. Can I say the same thing about myself?

Prayer: Dear God, Cleanse from me any touch of bitterness or resentment about past wrongs others may have done to me. Let me look to the life to which you lead me unhindered by regrets about the past, that I may experience the full, rich life you have planned for me. Amen.