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Genesis 50: 15-20 And when Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will perhaps hate us, and will certainly pay back to us all the evil which we did unto him. 16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Your father did command before he died, saying, 17 So shall you say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray you now, the trespass of your brothers, and their sin; for they did unto you evil: and now, we pray you, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father. And Joseph wept when they spoke unto him. 18 And his brothers also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we are your servants.19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, you thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save many people alive. Joseph, in all his years of having all these bad things done against him, we never once read that he complained or held a grudge. Joseph and Daniel are the only 2 people in the old testament that we never once read that they sinned. Both of them were taken captive in a foreign land as young men and forced to serve pagan leaders, yet they both stayed true to their God. Why are the brothers saying this? Because that's what they would've done. We assume others do what we do. If we gossip or steal or judge others, we assume that's what they do. Joseph asked his brothers, "am I in the place of God? " When we hold unforgiveness in our hearts, we're holding a record of wrongs and playing "God". God Himself zipped up a human suit and became one of us, always trusting Father knows best. He was so sure of Father's plan that He was able to be beaten, spit upon and crucified yet still say on the cross, "Father forgive them, they don't know what they're doing. But Joseph is so surprised to hear his brothers say this that he cries and says, "what you meant for evil, God meant for good". If Joseph's brothers never sell him to the Midianites, then Joseph never goes to Egypt. If Joseph never goes to Egypt, he's never sold to Potiphar and falsely accused of rape and thrown in prison. If he never goes to prison, he never meets Pharaoh's baker and butler and interprets their dreams. If he never interprets their dreams, he never gets to interpret Pharaoh's dream and be made prime minister. If he's never made prime minister, he never wisely administrates for the severe famine coming upon the region and his family never comes to Egypt to become a great nation. No, they perish in Canaan and never get to be the nation that brings our Messiah. Without our Messiah, we're all still dead in our sins with no hope in this world. Thank You, Papa God, for Your wonderful, wise, awesome plan. Keep me mindful that You're always at work, even when I can't see it, causing all things to work together for my good because I love You and am called according to Your purpose.

Even after Joseph had shown them his mercy, and forgiven them for their wrongs against him, because it was plan of provision to preserve His people, they still feared that he might retaliate against them. However, Joseph knew that it was all part of God's plan tp preserve His chosen people. It brings to mind how even today believers doubt what God has said in His word, that He would bring forth His promises for those who believe and trust.

Joseph freely forgave his brothers because he saw that they had truly repented and that God had turned what they had done into good. His brothers still were holding on to the guilt of their sin. How often do we feel guilty for forgiven sin? The blood of Jesus Christ is powerful enough to cleanse us from all sin. Rejoice in Christ our Redeemer and praise Him for the blessing of forgiveness!

We have to stop and think before we react and the brothers did not do that before they acted on what they thought was the right thing to do with Joseph. Then they come to their senses and realize that what they did was not right and feared the consequences should Joseph take action against them. We all have choices to make in this life and we often act before we really think it out...contemplating on the results of what we are about to do...how it will affect the lives of others...how it will affect relationships within a family......stop and think before you put your thoughts into motion....God knows our thoughts.....we need to realize that.....God bless all of you.