Forgiveness: The Key to Personal Liberation and Resilience
Sermon Summary
Sermon Clips
"So we start today kind of at the end of Joseph's story. Joseph has, for the last several chapters in Genesis, been on something of a journey. He started off at the beginning of his life as his father's favorite son, famously receiving a coat, a cloak of many colors as a symbol of his father's love for him, as a symbol of his father's favoritism for him. And his brothers, being unable to stand kind of in scripture, Joseph comes across as kind of a snotty kid, being unable to stand his superior attitude, plot to kill him." [00:27:36] (46 seconds)
"But the other brothers decide to sell Joseph to some traveling slavers as they pass by. And so Joseph is sold into slavery, taken to Egypt and sold to Potiphar, an Egyptian official. And he serves in Potiphar's house. And Joseph's wisdom and good judgment raise him up through the ranks in Potiphar's house, until Potiphar puts him in charge of everything in Potiphar's household. And through the scheming and desire of Potiphar's wife, Joseph finds himself in prison." [00:28:33] (39 seconds)
"But after some time in prison, Joseph's cunning and intelligence and wisdom get him raised up through the prison to the point where he is in charge. So I can get out of here. And they go off. One of them is executed. One of them is returned to their position. But they forget Joseph. And Joseph remains languishing in prison until Pharaoh has a dream. And the cupbearer remembers Joseph interpreting this dream for him in prison." [00:29:12] (35 seconds)
"And Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dream that there will be seven years of good harvest, that there will be seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of famine. And Pharaoh appoints Joseph over all the land of Egypt to enact this scheme to collect food in those seven good years, to distribute it through the seven years of famine." [00:29:52] (26 seconds)
"Now, before we get to Joseph's brothers reentering the story, if I had been Joseph, and I had been sold into slavery and worked my way up in a household and then thrown into prison, I might not have been willing to use my cunning, my intelligence, my good fortune, my good nature to improve the conditions of that prison." [00:30:16] (26 seconds)
"Joseph isn't overcome with bitterness. Joseph isn't overcome with anger. Joseph isn't bogged down in the unrighteousness, the injustice that's been done to him. Instead, he interprets Pharaoh's dream. And then, two years into the famine, Joseph's brothers are sent by their father to the land of Egypt because they've run out of food in the midst of this famine. So, Jacob sends Judah and Rabin and all of the other sons, except for Benjamin, down to Egypt to buy food." [00:31:56] (43 seconds)
"And upon seeing them, Joseph uses the decade or more that they've been apart. He uses his garb as an Egyptian. He uses his new language, his new accent, to hide himself from his brothers. They have a contentious exchange where the brothers are forced to explain they've only come to the land of Egypt to get food. They aren't spies, as Joseph accuses them of." [00:32:53] (28 seconds)
"Joseph used his cunning, he used his guile, he used his wisdom to rise up in Potiphar's house after being literally placed into a pit. He uses his wisdom, he uses his skills to rise up in the prison after losing it all again. He uses all of his skills, all of his righteousness, all of his knowledge to secure a future for the land of Egypt and all of their neighbors." [00:35:16] (26 seconds)
"And all of that, he doesn't resort to the bitterness, to the anger, to the sense of injustice that I think many of us would feel. But when his brothers appear, we cannot pretend that he had not been angry or bitter or upset that entire time. Because as soon as Joseph's brothers appear, he begins to plot, he begins to figure out how to put them on the wrong foot. He begins to put into plan or put into action a plan that he certainly didn't come up with on the spot." [00:35:42] (39 seconds)
"Because as soon as Joseph's brothers appear, he begins to plot, he begins to figure out how to put them on the wrong foot. He begins to put into plan or put into action a plan that he certainly didn't come up with on the spot. I can imagine Joseph lying awake all of those nights in Pharaoh's household thinking to himself, Well, if my brothers come, how am I going to get back at them?" [00:36:23] (34 seconds)
"What elaborate plan can I come up with to make sure they know the pain that they've put me through? To make sure they understand how hard they have made my life. And he carries out his plan fairly well. And he is patient in his cunning. He takes one of his brothers hostage and the other brothers go home. They bring back the beloved son, Benjamin. And he finds a way to imprison him." [00:36:57] (33 seconds)
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"But the other brothers decide to sell Joseph to some traveling slavers as they pass by. And so Joseph is sold into slavery, taken to Egypt and sold to Potiphar, an Egyptian official. And he serves in Potiphar's house. And Joseph's wisdom and good judgment raise him up through the ranks in Potiphar's house, until Potiphar puts him in charge of everything in Potiphar's household. And through the scheming and desire of Potiphar's wife, Joseph finds himself in prison." [00:28:33] (39 seconds)
"But after some time in prison, Joseph's cunning and intelligence and wisdom get him raised up through the prison to the point where he is in charge. So I can get out of here. And they go off. One of them is executed. One of them is returned to their position. But they forget Joseph. And Joseph remains languishing in prison until Pharaoh has a dream. And the cupbearer remembers Joseph interpreting this dream for him in prison." [00:29:12] (35 seconds)
"And Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dream that there will be seven years of good harvest, that there will be seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of famine. And Pharaoh appoints Joseph over all the land of Egypt to enact this scheme to collect food in those seven good years, to distribute it through the seven years of famine." [00:29:52] (26 seconds)
"Now, before we get to Joseph's brothers reentering the story, if I had been Joseph, and I had been sold into slavery and worked my way up in a household and then thrown into prison, I might not have been willing to use my cunning, my intelligence, my good fortune, my good nature to improve the conditions of that prison." [00:30:16] (26 seconds)
"Joseph isn't overcome with bitterness. Joseph isn't overcome with anger. Joseph isn't bogged down in the unrighteousness, the injustice that's been done to him. Instead, he interprets Pharaoh's dream. And then, two years into the famine, Joseph's brothers are sent by their father to the land of Egypt because they've run out of food in the midst of this famine. So, Jacob sends Judah and Rabin and all of the other sons, except for Benjamin, down to Egypt to buy food." [00:31:56] (43 seconds)
"And upon seeing them, Joseph uses the decade or more that they've been apart. He uses his garb as an Egyptian. He uses his new language, his new accent, to hide himself from his brothers. They have a contentious exchange where the brothers are forced to explain they've only come to the land of Egypt to get food. They aren't spies, as Joseph accuses them of." [00:32:53] (28 seconds)
"Joseph used his cunning, he used his guile, he used his wisdom to rise up in Potiphar's house after being literally placed into a pit. He uses his wisdom, he uses his skills to rise up in the prison after losing it all again. He uses all of his skills, all of his righteousness, all of his knowledge to secure a future for the land of Egypt and all of their neighbors." [00:35:16] (26 seconds)
"And all of that, he doesn't resort to the bitterness, to the anger, to the sense of injustice that I think many of us would feel. But when his brothers appear, we cannot pretend that he had not been angry or bitter or upset that entire time. Because as soon as Joseph's brothers appear, he begins to plot, he begins to figure out how to put them on the wrong foot. He begins to put into plan or put into action a plan that he certainly didn't come up with on the spot." [00:35:42] (39 seconds)
"Because as soon as Joseph's brothers appear, he begins to plot, he begins to figure out how to put them on the wrong foot. He begins to put into plan or put into action a plan that he certainly didn't come up with on the spot. I can imagine Joseph lying awake all of those nights in Pharaoh's household thinking to himself, Well, if my brothers come, how am I going to get back at them?" [00:36:23] (34 seconds)
"What elaborate plan can I come up with to make sure they know the pain that they've put me through? To make sure they understand how hard they have made my life. And he carries out his plan fairly well. And he is patient in his cunning. He takes one of his brothers hostage and the other brothers go home. They bring back the beloved son, Benjamin. And he finds a way to imprison him." [00:36:57] (33 seconds)
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