Genesis 50:14-26 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Genesis 50:14-26. Let’s go!
Genesis 50:14-21 (NIV)
14 After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.
15 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?”
16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died:
17 ‘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.
18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.
19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
On verses 14-21: Back in Egypt after burying their late father in Canaan, Joseph’s brothers wonder if Joseph still holds a grudge against them and has plans to exact revenge for all the ways they treated him long ago. They send a message to Joseph saying that their father requested that Joseph forgive his brothers and asking Joseph to forgive them. It’s unclear whether their father actually spoke those words or not. After all, if it was so important to Jacob that Joseph forgive his brothers, and given the close relationship between Jacob and Joseph, wouldn’t you expect Jacob to talk to Joseph about this directly? In any event, Joseph weeps upon receiving the message. Though Joseph’s brothers offer themselves to be Joseph’s slaves, Joseph tells them essentially that he holds no grudge against them, that though they intended to harm him, God intended it for the saving of many lives. Joseph reassures them that he will take care of them and their children and speaks kindly to them.
What can we learn from this?
First, God allows pain in our lives not because He is cruel but because He has a plan to use that pain in a greater way than we could imagine. When we respond to our hurts by focusing on exacting revenge on those who hurt us, we put ourselves in God’s seat, and because we are not worthy to sit in God’s seat, we just make a bigger mess of the situation. As Joseph says, “Am I in the place of God?” (v19) But when we respond to our hurts as Joseph did by trusting God, we give God room to use the greatest hurts and pain we experience in life to write a greater story than anything we could imagine.
Second, Genesis 1 began by showing us the power of words. God created the heavens and the earth with the power of His spoken word. Here in the last chapter of Genesis we see the power of words once again. In verse 17, Joseph’s brothers send him a message asking for forgiveness, and Joseph weeps. In verses 19-21, Joseph chooses to speak kind and reassuring words to his brothers. Thus their relationships, though once strained, are full of intimacy, love and warmth. Just as God has the power to create a world with His words, so you and I create our world with our words too. As the Proverbs say, the tongue has the power of life and death. Every day make it a point to speak life-giving words to those around you.
Genesis 50:22-26 (NIV)
22 Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years
23 and saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.
24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
25 And Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”
26 So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
On verses 22-26: The book of Genesis concludes with the death of Joseph, who lives long enough to see his great grandchildren (v23). Joseph tells his brothers and the rest of the Israelites that though he is about to die, God will continue to be their helper. In fact, twice in verses 24 and 25 Joseph says, “God will surely come to your aid”. Joseph is so certain that God has called his people to eventually leave Egypt for the land that God promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, he even makes the Israelites swear that they will carry his bones from his coffin in Egypt to that promised land one day. Many generations later, Moses would fulfill that promise in Exodus 13:19.
What can we learn from this? God had used Joseph to save his brothers’ lives, but Joseph reassures his brothers that even though he is about to die, God their Saviour will still be there to help them. Similarly, you and I will lose people who are dear to us and who played a saving like role in our lives, but even when they are gone, God – the ultimate Saviour – is still with you. He will never leave you or forsake you.
Like his father Jacob before him, Joseph lived in Egypt but his heart was set on the promised land. Similarly, though we live in this world, keep your heart set on heaven. Because of Jesus, heaven is where our true permanent residence is.
Heavenly Father, thank You for every wonderful lesson we can learn from the book of Genesis. Thank You for showing me today that it is not my place to exact revenge on those who hurt me. Instead I can trust in You and You will take even the greatest pain I experience in life to write a greater story than I could imagine. Since we create our world with our words, may I use the power of words to bring life to others. Though I live in this world may my heart always be set on heaven. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
