" Abiding Guilt ! "

 

Genesis 50:13-21 "For his (Jacob's) sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a burying place of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre. And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father. And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,

So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the GOD of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of GOD ? But as for you, ye thought evil against me: but GOD meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them."

     Unresolved guilt can remain with a person for many years. The brothers of Joseph offer a key example of this. The reason for their guilt is obvious: The felt guilt  because they were guilty of a great crime. After being overwhelmed with envy and hatred toward Joseph, they decided to murder him (Genesis 37:20). Reuben's "Plan B" was to throw him into a pit so that he might rescue him later (Genesis 37:22). Judah's "Plan C" was to sell him as a slave to a band of Ishmaelites headed to Egypt (Genesis 37:25-27). This they did. To compound their sin, they deceived their father, Jacob, making him think Joseph had been killed by a wild animal (Genesis 37:31-33). Inwardly they were pricked, knowing that they were the cause of their father's unrestrained grief (Genesis 37:33-35). Many years passed. The brothers went to Egypt to obtain food, and the "governor of the land" treated them strangely (Genesis Chapt.42). Eventually Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, but rather than rejoicing that he was alive and well, they were terrified due to their unresolved guilt (Genesis 45:3). Joseph assured them of his love and that GOD had a plan for all that had happened (Genesis 45:4-8). Joseph treated his brothers very well. More time passed until finally their father Jacob died. The guilt of the brothers surfaced once again, believing Joseph would finally repay them for the evil they had done (v.15 pictured at top of post). Joseph reassured them again of his love and forgiveness and of the fact that GOD had used all of these events to save the nation (vv.19-21 pictured above). 

     Dear Child of GOD, it is easy to have our conscience plagued by thoughts of our past sins, for they are many and great. How we need to fully claim the gracious and complete forgiveness that we have through the LORD JESUS CHRIST (Ephesians 1:7 pictured above). GWZ

Your servant in CHRIST,

Julie

Copyright, FEATURE: A Daily Bible Study Guide.

Used  with  permission.   www.featoday.org