Written by Aisha Darwesh
The Word
18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: 19 if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households, 20 and bring your youngest brother to me. So your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so. 21 Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” 22 And Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.” 23 They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them. 24 Then he turned away from them and wept. And he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. 25 And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, and to replace every man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. This was done for them.
26 Then they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed. 27 And as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money in the mouth of his sack. 28 He said to his brothers, “My money has been put back; here it is in the mouth of my sack!” At this their hearts failed them, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”
–Genesis 42:18-28 ESV
27 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies and do something wonderful for them in return for their hatred. 28 When someone curses you, bless that person in return. When others mistreat and harass you, accept it as your mission to pray for them. 29 To those who despise you, continue to serve them and minister to them. If someone takes away your coat, give him as a gift your shirt as well. 30 When someone comes to beg from you, give to that person what you have. When things are wrongly taken from you, do not demand they be given back. 31 The way you want others to treat you is how you should treat everyone else.
32 “Are you really showing true love by loving only those who love you? Even those who don’t know God will do that. 33 Are you really showing compassion when you do good deeds only to those who do good deeds to you? Even those who don’t know God will do that.
34 “If you lend money only to those you know will repay you, what credit is that to your character? Even those who don’t know God do that. 35 Rather love your enemies and continue to treat them well. When you lend money, don’t despair if you are never paid back, for it is not lost. You will receive a rich reward and you will be known as true children of the Most High God, having his same nature. Be like your Father who is famous for his kindness to heal even the thankless and cruel. 36 Overflow with mercy and compassion for others, just as your heavenly Father overflows with mercy and compassion for all.”
–Luke 6:27-36 TPT
Aisha’s Analysis
Today’s portion of Genesis unveils the enormous amount of guilt Joseph’s brothers were living with all these years. After Joseph held his brothers in custody for three days, he required them to produce their youngest brother, Benjamin, to prove they were not spies. Interestingly, Joseph’s brothers immediately linked this command with their cruel treatment of Joseph years earlier:
21 Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”
–Genesis 42:21 ESV
Little did they know, Joseph now stood before them just as he dreamed years ago, and he understood every word they were speaking. What’s more, Joseph’s attitude had changed towards his brothers. This is evident from Joseph’s emotions and generosity towards his brothers.
Hearing his brothers acknowledge their wrongdoing against him and learning of Reuben’s intention to save him caused such emotion to well within Joseph that he had to step away and weep. This shows us that although Joseph endured much hardship in Egypt, his heart was very tender. Surely this is because of God’s presence and the hope of seeing his dream fulfilled.
Another sign of Joseph’s love towards his brothers is the generosity he showed in sending them home with good portions of grain and returning the silver they used to pay for it as well. Joseph used his wealth and status to bless his brothers and save his family from the effects of the famine.
Joseph’s attitude and actions of love and kindness towards his brothers exemplify what Jesus exhorts us to do in the passage from Luke: love your enemies. Just as God is good and merciful to sinful humanity, we are to model His good example and be good to those who hurt and sin against us.
Extending grace and forgiveness to such people is simply impossible without God. Forgiveness is the most counterintuitive thing in the world to our flesh. It is only because Jesus absorbed the cost of all our sin when He died on the cross and that God freely forgives us that we can freely forgive others. It is not about being right or making things right according to our own standards of what is fair and just. It is all about embracing God and His ways and learning to follow Him.
Application
Take a moment to examine your heart. Is there any area of offense or unforgiveness towards someone else or even towards yourself? You may be ruminating on the way someone has wronged you. Conversely, you may be haunted by the guilt of your past.
Either way, God’s forgiveness is lavishly made available to us through the blood of Jesus Christ. It’s not about trying to make someone else pay for their sins or trying to pay for your own; Christ has paid it all on the cross. It is finished, so make the decision to forgive. Move forward in your new freedom in Christ and never look back.
Prayer
Father God, I thank You for the great grace that is available to me in Christ. It is only because of Jesus that I can come boldly to Your throne of grace. By the power of the Holy Spirit, I lay down every offense against the people who have hurt me. I pray that You would bless them and show them who You are. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
City Life Starter 
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