BACKGROUND: In this chapter, we read of Jacob's death in Egypt after he had finished giving the prophecies from God for each of his sons. With the death of their father, starting in verse 15 until verse 18, we read about the fear his brothers were feeling because of what they had done to him many years ago: "15 And when Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said: Joseph may perhaps hate us, and will certainly repay us all the evil which we did to him. 16 And they sent a messenger to Joseph, saying, Your father commanded before he died, saying, 17 So shall you say to Joseph, Please forgive now the trespass of your brothers, and their sin; for they did evil to you: and now, please forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father. And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we are your servants." Verse 19 is Joseph's kind and compassionate answer to his brothers, but even more importantly are the words he speaks in verse 20: "But as for you, you thought evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive."
COMMENTARY from Isidro Annotated Old Testament: "First, the brothers were still apprehensive of what Joseph will do to them because of what they did to him many years ago. The word translated “repay” is from the Hebrew shuv and the grammatical form means to revive the issue of their sin and bring retribution upon them. Second, we see Joseph’s admirable attitude. He did not retain any hatred for his brothers. Instead, he saw it from the perspective of God who allowed all negative things to happen for the ultimate redemptive purpose.
PERSONAL APPLICATION: Joseph's treatment and attitude towards his brothers is one that all of us who call ourselves Christians should emulate. His words, "you thought evil against me; but God meant it for good" should also give us comfort during those situations where we are mistreated, misunderstood, hated, slandered, lied about. People may treat us hideously, but God knows the reasons why these bad things may be happening to us and, in His own good time, He will show us THE GOOD that He meant all along to bring out of a bad, evil, or miserable situation!
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