Message for Sunday Morning, February 28, 2010 Message 7 of 7: Living A Life of Integrity Series Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister Living A Life of Integrity The Pardon Test Message 7 of 7 in Living A Life of Integrity Series GENESIS 50:15-21 Read Scripture Text: G E N E S I S 5 0: 1 5-2 1 P R A Y E R Introduction Twenty two years is a long time. Twenty two years earlier Joseph s brothers had conspired to kill him because of they were jealous of the special treatment Joseph received from their father. Twenty two years earlier Joseph s brothers threw him into A PIT and left him for dead, only to change their minds and sell him as a SLAVE to the Midianite Merchants on their way to Egypt. It had been twenty two years since JOSEPH saw the father who loved him..twenty two years since he stepped foot inside the house where he grew up. Yes twenty two years is a long time. ----------
These past few weeks we have followed the events that unfolded in Joseph s life over the course of those 22 years after he was sold as a slave. Over the course of those 22 years JOSEPH had his INTEGRITY tested in a variety of ways. First it was THE PRIDE TEST. Then THE PIT TEST. Then came THE PURITY TEST. After that came THE PRISON TEST. And last week we saw Joseph face THE PROSPERITY TEST. Today as we conclude our LIVING A LIFE OF INTEGRITY SERIES we are going to see Joseph face one final test and this test may be the toughest of them all..the PARDON TEST. How do you FORGIVE someone who plotted to kill you? How do you FORGIVE someone who hated you so much they would throw you into a deep pit and leave you to die? How do you FORGIVE someone who sold you as a common slave for twenty pieces of silver? How do you FORGIVE someone who lied to your father and told him you were dead when you were really alive?
When someone has terribly wronged you when someone has greatly sinned against you..and everything inside of you wants to hold a grudge, hang on to the bitterness and never forget the pain HOW DO YOU LET GO AND MOVE ON WITH YOUR LIFE? HOW CAN WE PASS THE PARDON TEST? Well let s see what we can learn from the example of JOSEPH. ******************************* BIBLICAL BACKGROUND A lot of important things happened between the last half of GENESIS chapter 41 and our scripture text in GENESIS chapter 50. Time does not permit us to read this lengthy portion of scripture so let me just touch on some of the highlights to set the stage for what happened between Joseph and his brothers in the last chapter of Genesis. When we last left JOSEPH he had been appointed as the governor of Egypt. His primary responsibility was to oversee the nationwide grainstorage program during these SEVEN YEARS of abundant harvest that would help the Egyptian people survive in the SEVEN YEARS of severe famine that would follow. In GENESIS 41:44,45 we learn that Pharaoh gave Joseph a new Egyptian name, Zaphenath-Paneah. Now I don t know about you, but I prefer to still call him Joseph. Its much easier to pronounce and a whole lot easier to spell. We also learn in that same passage that not only did Pharaoh give Joseph a new name, he gave Joseph a new bride. Her name was Asenath. Before long Joseph and Asenath became the proud parents of two boys:
They named their firstborn, MANASSEH, which interestingly enough means in the Hebrew, The Lord has made me forget all my troubles..and they named their second born, EPHRAIM, which also has an interesting Hebrew meaning. Ephraim means, The Lord has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering. An Unexpected, Yet Divinely Appointed Reunion By the time you get to the end of GENESIS 41 everything has come to pass just as Joseph had told Pharaoh it would. The seven years of abundant harvest gave way to seven years of severe famine. Egypt wasn t the only country effected by this severe famine. We learn in Genesis 41:57 that this famine effected the whole world at that time. Which meant people from around the world were dependent upon Egypt for food. This set the stage for an UNEXPECTED, YET DIVINELY APPOINTED REUNION between Joseph and his brothers. The First Trip to Egypt In GENESIS 42 Jacob sent ten of his eleven sons to EGYPT to buy grain. Jacob would not allow Benjamin, his youngest son, to go along because he feared harm might come to him just as it had Joseph years earlier.or so he still believed. When Jacob s sons arrived in Egypt they met with Joseph and bowed before him. Joseph recognized them, but they did NOT recognize him. Remember it had been about 22 years since they last saw Joseph.
When Joseph saw his brothers bow before him, GENESIS 42:9 tells us Joseph remembered his dreams. Perhaps over the years Joseph had never given those dreams another thought. But the sight of his ten brothers bowing down before him triggered his memory of those dreams he had when he was just a seventeen year old boy. Now Joseph was pretty rough on his brothers at this point. He accused them of coming to Egypt as spies. And being in a position of great power in the Government, Joseph could have ordered the executions of his brothers, or at least had them locked up in prison for the rest of their earthly lives. But vengeance wasn t what Joseph had in mind. Yes, he did send his brothers to prison, but three days later he released nine of the ten brothers. He instructed the nine to go back to their homeland in Canaan, and demanded that they bring their youngest brother, Benjamin back with them when they returned. To insure they would come back, Joseph kept their brother Simeon in prison. On their way home to Canaan Joseph s brothers made a a shocking discovery. Inside the bags of grain they had purchased in Egypt they found a bunch of silver coins. In fact it was the exact amount they had paid for the grain. Not realizing Joseph had instructed his steward to put the money back in their bags as an act of kindness and generosity, Joseph s brothers feared they were now perceived as thieves as well as spies.
The Second Trip to Egypt We learn in the first few verses of GENESIS 43 that the brothers didn t return immediately. In fact they didn t go back until they had used up all the grain they brought home from the first trip. Had it not been for the fact that Simeon was being held in prison, Jacob never would have agreed to allow Benjamin to go along with his other sons on the second trip to Egypt. The brothers were shocked at how differently they were treated the second time as opposed to the first. Before they were treated as spies. This time they were treated like royal guests. And it was all because BENJAMIN was with them. Remember Benjamin hadn t had anything to do with Joseph being sold as a slave. When Joseph heard that Benjamin was with them, he told his steward to invite them to his house for a noon time feast. When the brothers arrived at Joseph s house, SIMEON was brought out of prison to join them. Joseph asked them about the well-being of their elderly father and wanted to know if he was still living. Then he asked about their younger brother. When they introduced Benjamin to him, Joseph was so overcome with emotion he had to leave the room. While his brothers were feasting, JOSEPH gave orders to his stewards to fill his brothers grain sacks full of wheat and instructed his chief steward to put HIS SILVER CUP inside Benjamin s sack.
The next morning, shortly after they departed for Canaan, the steward caught up with Joseph s brothers and accused them of stealing JOSEPH S SILVER CUP. And when the steward checked each sack he found the SILVER CUP inside of Benjamin s bag of grain and ordered to return. When they were brought before Joseph, JUDAH pleaded with JOSEPH to allow BENJAMIN to return to his father, offering himself up as a prisoner instead. Upon hearing JUDAH S passionate plea, JOSEPH was so overcome with emotion he knew it was time to reveal his true identity to his brothers. Beginning with VERSE 4 of GENESIS 45 we read Then Joseph said to his brothers, Come close to me. When they had done so, he said, I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. (Genesis 45:4-5) Joseph then instructed them to go back to the land of Canaan and get his FATHER and all of his family and bring them back to EGYPT and he would give them a place to live and care for all their needs.
The Third Trip To Egypt In GENESIS 46 we read about the third trip to EGYPT. There we find a listing of all of JACOB S descendants, his sons, his daughters, his grandsons and granddaughters around 70 people in all made this journey from Canaan to Egypt. Upon their arrival in EGYPT Pharaoh gave JOSEPH S family the choicest land in Egypt to dwell the LAND OF GOSHEN. Jacob lived SEVENTEEN YEARS there before he died. Upon his death there was great mourning throughout all of EGYPT. Before he died, JACOB made JOSEPH promise him that upon his death his body would be taken back to the land of CANAAN for burial. Joseph kept that promise and personally went along with his brothers back to Canaan to bury their father. ******************** JOSEPH S PARDON TEST This now brings us back to our scripture text in GENESIS 50. With JACOB now out of the picture, JOSEPH S brothers became fearful that JOSEPH would pay them back for all the wrongs they had committed against him while their father was living. Let s pick up the record again in VERSE 16 (Genesis 50) READ-----GENESIS 50:16-17
Did Joseph s brothers concoct this story or is it possible Jacob, himself, was genuinely concerned Joseph might pay them back after he was dead and gone? We can t be certain. In either case, JOSEPH S response was very touching. VERSE 17 When their message came to him, JOSEPH WEPT. Why did JOSEPH weep? Perhaps he was deeply hurt that his father and brothers didn t truly know what kind of man he really was. It broke JOSEPH S heart that after all these years they still had doubts about him. As we have seen throughout this series, Joseph was a man of great integrity. And men of integrity seek to HEAL not HURT. Men of integrity don t get even they forgive. ********** 3 Truths We Learn About Forgiveness from Joseph Let me briefly share with you THREE TRUTHS we learn about FORGIVENESS from JOSEPH. TRUTH #1: FORGIVENESS REQUIRES TIME. Remember that first reunion JOSEPH had with his brothers when they made that first trip to EGYPT to buy grain? Joseph didn t run up to each of his brothers and hug their necks and say, Hey guys, its me, your long lost brother, let s let bygones be bygones.
In fact, just the mere sight of his brothers flooded JOSEPH S mind with all the painful memories of the terrible things they had done to him twenty two years earlier. I believe JOSEPH teaches us that forgiveness is a process. It is a PROCESS of working through all of our pain and hurt and negative emotions. AND THAT TAKES TIME! And the deeper the wound, the greater the offence, the more TIME it may take to FORGIVE. This same truth applies to you and me too, doesn t it? When someone has wronged us or hurt us or sinned against us we will likely go through a period of time where the mere sight of that individual or even the mention of their name makes our stomach knot up because it brings back the painful memories of the offence. And it may take DAYS or WEEKS or MONTHS or sometimes even YEARS before we can work through all of our PAIN and HURT and bring ourselves to FORGIVE. Truth #1..FORGIVENESS REQUIRES TIME ************************* TRUTH #2: FORGIVENESS REQUIRES TRUTHFULNESS Look at what Joseph said to his brothers in the first part of VERSE 20. You intended to harm me. (repeat)
Joseph didn t mince his words here. He spoke the absolute truth. He was saying to his brothers: What you did to me was WRONG..it was EVIL.and I want you to know how much you hurt me. In order for you and me to truly heal when someone has wronged us or sinned against us we must be absolutely truthful with them. To tap dance around our true feelings is to leave the door open for bitterness, resentment and hatred to creep in. This is why JESUS commands us in the New Testament to go to someone who has sinned against us and speak the truth to them about the wrong they have committed. That s exactly what JOSEPH did. And it what you and I must do if we are to truly heal from our hurts. ************ Truth # 1..Forgiveness Requires TIME. Truth #2...Forgiveness Requires TRUTHFULNESS Now here s our THIRD and final truth Truth #3: Forgiveness Requires TRUST READ: VERSE 19, 20 First we must trust that vengeance and justice belong to GOD, not us. Joseph said, Am I in the place of God? Joseph humbly realized it was NOT his place to right the wrongs committed against him by his brothers. Sometimes God brings judgment and vengeance on those who wrong us in this lifetime, sometimes He doesn t. We must trust GOD to make that CALL.
But even more importantly, like JOSEPH, we must TRUST that GOD can and will bring GOOD out of our BAD circumstances. We see this in Joseph s comments to his brothers on the day he revealed his true identity. Listen carefully to what Joseph said to them in GENESIS 45.. vs. 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to SAVE LIVES that GOD sent me ahead of you. vs. 7 But GOD sent me ahead of you to PRESERVE A REMNANT on earth and to SAVE YOUR LIVES by a great deliverance. When someone has hurt us or wronged us we find ourselves asking WHY? What did I do to deserve this? While we may not understnd WHY, we must TRUST that GOD will eventually bring some good out of it. FORGIVENESS REQUIRES TIME FORGIVENESS REQUIRES TRUTHFULNESS FORGIVENESS REQUIRES TRUST ********* As we bring this series to a close let me leave you with this challenge: In this day and time when MEN AND WOMEN of CHARACTER are becoming an endangered species may you and I as GOD S CHILDREN seek to uphold the highest standards of GODLY INTEGRITY in our HOMES, in the WORKPLACE, in our COMMUNITIES and in our CHURCHES. May we all be modern-day JOSEPHS!