Genesis 45:1-15
Then Joseph could not control himself in front of everyone standing before him, and he shouted, “Have everyone leave me!” So there was no one with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 Then he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard about it. 3 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were terrified in his presence.
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come closer to me.” And they came closer. And he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold to Egypt. 5 Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to save lives. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 So God sent me ahead of you to ensure for you a remnant on the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. 8 Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. 10 For you shall live in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your grandchildren, and your flocks and your herds and all that you have. 11 There I will also provide for you, for there are still five years of famine to come, and you and your household and all that you have would be impoverished.”’ 12 Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth which is speaking to you. 13 Now you must tell my father of all my splendor in Egypt, and all that you have seen; and you must hurry and bring my father down here.” 14 Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept on them, and afterward his brothers talked with him.
“The best revenge is massive success” ~ Frank Sinatra
“Living well is the best revenge” ~ George Herbert
How did two men who lived very different lifestyles, in different countries and different centuries, somehow seem to come to the same conclusion about revenge?
Everyone of us has experienced something in our lives that made us want revenge. Revenge is not something we are taught, it is a primal urge that wells up inside of us when injustice has occurred. Hollywood makes revenge look sexy and right and necessary. Hollywood tells stories of the wounded hero who’s life’s purpose is to exact revenge on a heartless hatable enemy. The climax of the movie is often a face to face battle with the enemy and the hero overcomes.
But Sinatra and Herbert seem to be talking about revenge being played out in a much different role. Revenge by ignoring our offenders and focusing our lives on goodness and success. The story of Joseph. Rather than seeking revenge, Joseph moves on with his life. Joseph turns over to God, his feelings of revenge and seeks to live a life that is righteous before God. He elevated by God in human status and ranking and is presented the opportunity for revenge and yet chooses love, forgiveness, generosity and mercy. He chooses this because it is who he has chosen to be. I’m sure he remembers his brothers as cruel, jealous and mean. I’m sure he suspects that they might see his kindness as weakness and try to take advantage of him even more. They probably hate him even all the more. This passage speaks only of Joseph’s outpouring and forgiveness of his brothers. He weeps and kisses them and it says they talked with him after that. Benjamin, the one who talked his brothers out of murdering Joseph is the only one that weeps and kisses Josephs neck.
Joseph gives the credit to God. His brothers plotted and carried out an evil plan, born of jealousy and hatred for their brother. God did not feel that way nor did he honor the disdainful acts of Joseph’s brothers. Though man has freewill, God’s hands are not tied. When our acts of free will perpetrate his goodness and purposes, He can always reset the steps of the righteous to find their way back to the path they were on.
Joseph was betrayed several times:
- His brothers sold him into slavery
- Potiphar’s wife tried to sleep with him and falsely accused him of rape
- The baker and the cup bearer left him to rot in prison
It sounds outrageous that he endured, three times, being betrayed and was not bitter. The betrayals ended in slavery, prison and more prison. I think it’s a fair question to ask if God was testing Joseph. God made His promise of salvation through the family line of Jacob. No matter how poorly things turn out, God seems to be keeping his promise. I don’t think that God orchestrated Joseph’s life and is responsible for his slavery and imprisonment. But these situations certainly test anyone’s character and faithfulness. Joseph ended up in theses situations because of the evil intent of others. God rescues him from them. Most of us would certainly prefer that God foil the evil plans of others and bypass the suffering and just place us where He ultimately intends for us to be. The suffering is perhaps necessary to prepare us for what God has planned for us.(James 1:2-4) All athletes undergo training so they are prepared for the arena. Suffering is the necessary training we all need to love better. Jesus introduces the teaching that we are to love our enemies. Then he gives a new commandment, to love like he loves. And then goes on to say that loving as He loves, not doctrine, is what how the world will recognize us as christians.(John 13:34-35) He models that love through the cross. He calls us to take up our cross and follow Him. In other words, to lay down our lives out of love for others. Even our enemies!!
Joseph was not planning on becoming a slave or spending time in prison as a wrongfully accused man. But it is where his life went through no fault of his own. I am sure Joseph felt angry and wanted revenge on those that betrayed him. I am sure he struggled to forgive them like anyone would. But somehow, it would seem that the desire for revenge evaporated from his life. He had the chance to make his brothers suffer, yet he showed them mercy and forgiveness and love. Jesus taught that the scriptures spoke of Him. We see that clearly in the life of Joseph. Joseph’s love for God, purged his heart of hatred and malice towards those who caused great suffering in his life, and transformed him to be able to love his enemies. Perhaps Joseph wrestled in prayer as his father Jacob did years ago. Both faced with reconciling themselves to their brothers. We are not in control of where the events of our lives take us, but we are in control of what we allow to reside in our hearts.
If Quentin Tarantino were telling this story, I imagine the story ending much differently. Joseph, played by Leonardo Di Caprio would avenge himself on his brothers with an Egyptian flame thrower as a well fed Pharaoh Hound chases after and guts Rueben as he tries to run away. Hollywood helps us play out our fantasies of revenge but in our walk with Christ, there is no room for revenge. Honestly, I don’t even see how fantasizing about it can reside. Joseph did live well and he did have massive success. But it seems to me that his motive was not revenge. I imagine that his motive, was to try to make sense of the unjust suffering and Christ was the only way he could make sense of it.