The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Genesis 50:15-17,
“When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, ‘What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?’ So they sent word to Joseph, saying, ‘Your father left these instructions before he died: “This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.” Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.’ When their message came to him, Joseph wept.”
I have to admit I am not sure why Joseph wept here. Was it because, after he had already treated his brothers so kindly, they were still not convinced of his forgiving heart toward them? Did he weep simply due to the trauma they had all been through and being reminded of his father he broke down and wept? Did Joseph weep because after all they had been through he sensed his brothers were still colluding with one another to pull another ruse on him? Or, were these tears of joy, sensing God had brought all of the events about for the good of them all as he explained to his brothers?
Whatever the cause, Joseph did weep as his brothers attempted to thwart a mistakenly perceived threat. I note that Joseph’s brothers cast themselves as “the servants of the God of your father”. Joseph responds with the well known verse, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good…”. Joseph gave his brothers an “out” by pointing to God as the architect who used the series of events to bring about the deliverance of many during the famine.
In Joseph I am reminded of a wonderful proverb, “Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs.” Proverbs 10:12. Also, “He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” Proverbs 17:9. As roughly the last third of the book of Genesis pretty much focuses on the life of Joseph, it is wonderful to see how the fruit of God’s work in Joseph’s life produced a man of such godly character. To know that God still does that same work in each of our lives is a wonderful thing to behold, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” Romans 8:28-29.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!
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