I recently read an interesting
news item about a woman from Grand Rapids, Michigan, who fell asleep on the
couch after her husband had gone to bed. An intruder sneaked in through the
sliding door, which the couple had forgotten to lock, and crept through the
house. He entered the bedroom where the husband was sleeping and picked up the
television set. The sleeping man woke up, saw a figure standing there, and
whispered, "Honey, come to bed." The burglar panicked, put down the
TV, grabbed a stack of money from the dresser, and ran out.
But, the thief was in for
a big surprise! The money turned out to be a stack of Christian pamphlets with
a likeness of a $20 bill on one side and an explanation of the love and
forgiveness God offers to people on the other side. Instead of the cash he expected,
the intruder got the story of God’s love for him.[1]
When I read that story, my
mind went back to another story of surprise, when Joseph’s brothers found
something unexpected in their luggage. You’ll recall that the story of Joseph
is one of God’s providence and the struggle of forgiveness. Joseph was sold
into slavery by his brothers, picked up by merchants and taken to Egypt.
Through a series of providential events and interpreting the Pharaoh’s dream,
Joseph ascends to the office of Prime Minister. Using his administrative skill
and wisdom, Joseph helps Egypt prepare for a seven-year famine.
However, lurking under
this great success story is Joseph’s unfinished business with his brothers. Then
one fateful day, the brothers who once sold him as a slave show up in Egypt.
Because of the famine, Joe’s brothers come to Egypt, the land of plenty,
looking for a handout of grain. Its poetic justice that Joe happens to be the
man in charge of Egypt’s granaries.
Now with the tables
turned, Joseph is the one in power, although his brothers don’t know its him.
Joe could have his brothers executed, but he doesn’t. Instead we read in
Genesis 44:
“1 And he commanded the
steward of his house, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they
can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. 2 Also put my
cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his grain
money.” So he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.”
The brothers are barely
down the road when Joseph’s steward stopped their caravan, searched their sacks
and found the silver cup in Benjamin’s bag. The brothers tore their clothes
(the ancient equivalent of pulling out one’s hair) and soon found themselves
back in front of Joseph, fearing for their lives. Just like that thief who got
the tracts instead of the cash, Joe’s brothers never saw the silver cup coming!
I have often wondered why
the Bible records this strange scene. But when you begin to study this in-depth
you see that Joseph is framing his brothers as an elaborate test of their character.
Years ago, they had sold Joseph into slavery and covered up their treachery
to Jacob with some goat’s blood and a fake story. Now Joseph has a chance to
test his brothers to see if they have changed. Joe recreates a similar scene
that led to his enslavement. By placing the silver cup in Benjamin’s bag and
then having it uncovered, Joseph was testing to see if his brothers would do
the same thing again—would they throw the youngest son under the bus in order
to save their own skins? However, we see that God was breaking down their hard
hearts.
In this story we also see Joseph’s
struggle to forgive. Here was a man who seems like he can’t make up his mind at
times. He welcomes his brothers, weeps over them, enjoys a meal with them and
then plays a trick on them. On one hand their presence reopens an old wound of
heartache that never healed. On the other hand, they are his brothers and he desperately
wants to reconcile with them.
I think this offers an insight
about grace and forgiveness—namely that it’s easy to talk about in theory, but exceedingly
difficult to put into practice. Forgiveness vacillates within us. It is anger
intermingled with love, mercy that is often times fighting back the desire to
see justice. We can make two steps towards forgiveness and then take three
steps back. Joseph was in the process of forgiveness and he would eventually
get there, but this is something for us to remember as well. Forgiveness is a journey
that moves our heart from wanting to curse our wrongdoers to being able to
bless them. If you are struggling to forgive, then keep trying. Don’t wait on
your heart to get ready to forgive. Start the process with your actions and
your feelings will catch up. -DM
[1] Anne
Cetas, “Surprised By Grace,” Our Daily
Bread, 30 March 2016 <http://odb.org/2016/03/30/surprised-by-grace/>
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