Jealousy & Forgiveness
“Oh, look at how pretty she is! Where did she get those shoes?”
“Did you see their new house? How can they afford it?”
“Who does he think he is? Our father gave him a new fancy coat and now Joseph’s dreams of ruling over us!”
Joseph’s attitude and a sense of entitlement, fostered by his father’s preferential treatment towards him, made Joseph the target of his brother’s jealousy and hatred. Sadly, in our day, jealousy over a new pair of Air Jordan shoes was at the heart of three young teens robbing and then shooting another teen. Joshua Woods was killed over a new pair of Nike shoes the other teens saw him with after purchasing them in a store.
Jealousy due to a sense of entitlement, misunderstanding, or perceived wrong is never right, and is an evil attitude that can lead to devastating actions.
The sin of jealousy is evil in the sight of God. He chose to emphasize the importance of avoiding it by carving it into stone as one of the ten commandments. Exodus 20:17 says, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Jealousy causes ill-will and hatred to seethe within one’s soul. If this sin remains in us, not quickly turned over to the Lord, and repented of, it can quickly lead to terrible consequences. The continual breaking of this command over many thousands of years has caused untold heartbreak. Divorce, home invasions, theft of all kinds, and murder have all been the result of lusting after the things belonging to someone else.
Forgiveness
The Lord greatly blessed Joseph after all the hardships and trials he endured. He was almost able to forget about what his brothers had done to him. When reflecting over this, he even named one of his sons Manasseh, a name derived from the Hebrew word for forget.
After many decades had gone by, due to the famine, Joseph’s brothers traveled to Egypt and were now bowing low to the ground in front of him but not recognizing him. Instead of anger or any sense of retribution against them, Joseph felt a strong sense of love and forgiveness toward them. Not ready to reveal his identity, he sent them back to the land of Canaan with their sacks loaded with grain with certain conditions which had to be met.
Simeon, one of the older brothers, was bound in front of the others and kept in Egypt while the others were allowed to return home. Perhaps Joseph, led by the Lord, picked Simeon to be in jail for time to allow Simeon time to ponder his own character—angry, cruel, violent—traits confirmed by Jacob’s deathbed declaration about Simeon in Genesis 49:5-7.
Joseph knew that his brothers would not return for more grain. Joseph trusted God would give him wisdom about what to do when they returned. He began to understand that everything that happened to him was orchestrated by the Lord to save his entire family. God would fulfill the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’s descendants.
Upon the brother’s return to Egypt, Joseph could no longer contain his emotions as he revealed himself to his brothers. Joseph consoled his brothers; they were terrified and distressed because of what they had done to him so long ago. He assured them it was all a part of God’s plan to save them all.
Pharaoh was delighted to learn Josephs brothers had come to Egypt. Pharaoh insisted they go back to Canaan to bring their father and all their families to come back to Egypt. Upon the return of Jacob’s sons to Canaan, Jacob was overjoyed to hear his lost son was alive. In a vision, Jacob was assured by God to go down to Egypt where God would continue his blessing.
God used forgiveness on Joseph’s part as the means to fulfill the promises given to Abraham.
We should learn to use the example of forgiveness demonstrated by the life of Joseph. The following verses are just a few of the many scriptures reminding us of the need to forgive others as God has forgiven us:
Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Matthew 18:21-22: “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’”
1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Colossians 3:13: “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
John Hendrickson
