Notes from the Wayside: Perspective: A Story of Reconciliation

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A Story of Reconciliation

Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.

Genesis 50:20 (NRSV)

All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife
But He made something beautiful of my life

From "Something Beautiful" by Gloria Gaither

In the Book of Genesis, we read about a young man named Joseph who has eleven brothers. Of the twelve sons, Joseph is his father's favorite. His father has even given him a special robe as a sign of his favored status.¹ Joseph is also a dreamer, and he makes the mistake of telling his brothers about his dreams. Once he dreams that, while he and his brothers are binding stalks of grain, his stalk stands up while his brothers' stalks bow down to it. Later he dreams that the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bow down to him. Evidently, Joseph thinks that someday his brothers will bow down before him. They already resented him for being their father's favorite son, but, when they hear about his dreams, they hate him even more.²

One day, when Joseph is sent out to check on his brothers while they are tending sheep, they see him from afar and start plotting to kill him. Reuben, the eldest brother, convinces the others not to kill him and suggests that they instead throw him into a nearby cistern, secretly planning to rescue him later. When Joseph approaches, his brothers strip him of his special robe and throw him into the cistern. Judah, one of the brothers, sees a caravan of merchants and suggests that they sell Joseph as a slave. After they sell him to the merchants, they dip his robe in animal blood and then give it to their father, claiming that they found it. Their grief-stricken father naturally assumes that his favorite son was killed by wild animals.³

Many years later, Joseph's dreams finally become a reality. During a severe famine, ten of Joseph's brothers find themselves in Egypt, bowing down before the governor, Pharaoh's second-in-command. Their father heard that the Egyptians have food to spare, so he sent them to Egypt to buy food. The ten brothers do not realize that the man who now holds their fate is the brother they sold into slavery years earlier.⁴

When the caravan of merchants arrived in Egypt, Joseph was sold to a military officer, and later, through no fault of his own, he ended up in jail. In jail, he started interpreting dreams for people, and his interpretations were proven to be accurate. When Pharaoh started having disturbing dreams, Joseph was brought to the palace to interpret them. Joseph told Pharaoh that his dreams were a warning from God that, after several years of abundance, there would be a severe famine. He advised Pharaoh to appoint someone to store up food harvested during the years of plenty so that his people would be able to survive the years of famine. Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of the effort and made him the second most powerful person in Egypt.⁵

Joseph recognizes his brothers, and, though he intends to eventually reconcile with them, he decides to mess with them for a while. First, he accuses them of being spies, and, as he interrogates them, they tell him that their youngest brother is back home with their father and that they have another brother who is "gone." Next, he detains them for three days. Joseph releases his brothers and allows them to buy grain, but he secretly has the money they used to buy the grain put back into their bags. He keeps Simeon, the second oldest brother, in Egypt and sends the others home, promising to release him if they bring their youngest brother to Egypt with them.⁶

The nine brothers return home. They still have no idea that the governor of Egypt is the brother they sold into slavery, but they are starting to think that the horrible things they did to him are coming back to haunt them.⁷

Eventually the family runs out of food, so the brothers head back to Egypt after convincing their father to allow their youngest brother Benjamin to go with them. When they arrive in Egypt, they are escorted to the governor's house and reunited with their brother Simeon. Joseph meets his brothers at his home, welcomes his brother Benjamin, and hosts a dinner for all of them.^8 9

Joseph, still unrecognized, sends his brothers back home with food, and once again he secretly has the money with which his brothers bought the food put back in their bags. He also has his special chalice placed in Benjamin's bag. As the eleven brothers are heading home, one of Joseph's servants catches up with them and accuses them of stealing the governor's chalice. All of the brothers' bags are searched, and the chalice is found in Benjamin's. The brothers are brought back to the governor's house, and once again they find themselves bowing before Joseph.¹⁰

Joseph tells his brothers that they are all free to go home with the exception of Benjamin, who will have to remain in Egypt as his slave as punishment for attempting to steal his cup. Judah, the same brother who suggested that Joseph be sold into slavery, now pleads on behalf of Benjamin, claiming that their father will grieve himself to death if he loses his other favorite son.¹¹ Any resentment the brothers once harbored because of their father's favoritism has been pushed aside by their love for their father, their remorse for the grief they caused him previously, and their refusal cause him any further pain.

It is now clear to Joseph that his brothers have matured and that they are not the same men who sold him into slavery years earlier, so he finally reveals his identity to them. His brothers are evidently afraid that he is going to exact revenge upon them,¹² so he says to them,

I'm your brother Joseph! The one you sold to Egypt. Now, don't be upset and don't be angry with yourselves that you sold me here... God sent me before you to make sure you'd survive and to rescue your lives in this amazing way. You didn't send me here; it was God who made me a father to Pharaoh, master of his entire household, and ruler of the whole land of Egypt.¹³

Joseph then invites his brothers to relocate their whole family to Egypt to ride out the famine.¹⁴

The story of Joseph and his brothers is a story of reconciliation. When harm has been done, reconciliation is only possible if there is repentance on the part of wrongdoers and forgiveness on the part of their victims. We can see both forgiveness and repentance in the story, and we can also see what might have helped people to repent and to forgive.

Joseph might have been a spoiled brat in his youth, but he did not deserve what his brothers did to him. Years later, when he finds himself in a place of power over his brothers, he does not use it to pay them back for what they did to him. He does toy with them for a while before reconciling with them, likely because he wants to see if they have grown and changed since they sold him into slavery years earlier. When Joseph finally reveals his identity to his brothers, he does not exhibit any bitterness toward them. What they did to him was inexcusable, but he can see how God has brought good out of it. God used Joseph's enslavement and subsequent imprisonment to eventually bring Joseph to a place where he could advise Pharaoh and save the lives of many people.

It was only natural that Joseph's brothers would be indignant because of their father's favoritism, but it was no excuse for them to sell their own flesh and blood into slavery. After they brought Joseph's bloodied robe back to their father, leading him to believe that his favorite son was killed by wild animals, they had to witness firsthand the pain their actions caused their father, and they had to live with their guilt for years. Years later, when they face the prospect of having to tell their father about the loss of his other favorite son, they fight to make sure that they can take him home, unwilling to cause their father any more pain.

Both repentance and forgiveness can be hard work, but there are things that can help us along the way. Seeing the effects our actions have on other people can force us to rethink our actions, and watching God bring something good out of the mistreatment we suffer can make it easier for us to put our anger behind us.

Notes:

In the old King James Version, Joseph's robe is called "a coat of many colors." In the New Revised Standard Version, it is called "a long robe with sleeves." Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber called it "the amazing technicolor dreamcoat."
Genesis 37:1-11
Genesis 37:12-35
Genesis 42:1-9
Genesis 39-41
Genesis 42:9-38 (CEB)
Genesis 42:21-22, 27-28
Genesis 43
Joseph's father had children with multiple women. The reason Joseph wanted to see brother Benjamin is that he is the only brother with whom he shares a mother. See Genesis 29:15-30:24 and Genesis 35:16-20.
Genesis 44:1-14
Genesis 44:15-34
Genesis 45:1-3
Genesis 45:4-8 (CEB)
Genesis 45:9-15