Creating an Avenue for Trust
1 Then he commanded the steward of his house, “Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man's money in the mouth of his sack, 2 and put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his money for the grain.” And he did as Joseph told him.
3 As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away with their donkeys. 4 They had gone only a short distance from the city. Now Joseph said to his steward, “Up, follow after the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? 5 Is it not from this that my lord drinks, and by this that he practices divination? You have done evil in doing this.’”
In the above text Joseph sets up an elaborate test to find out the heart of his brothers. He wants to see if they will give up his brother Benjamin, to save their own skin. He wants to know if their hearts have changed since the day they sold him into slavery. There is no doubt the brothers had done him wrong. He was treated unjustly. But, he wanted to create an avenue by which the relationship with his brothers could be restored. He knew in his heart God wanted him to forgive them. Note what he will say to them:
5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.
God had placed forgiveness in his heart, prior to them coming back to see him. In the above passage God is restoring trust in his heart for his brothers. When God forgives, God restores (see Romans 5). When we forgive, like God, we, too, must begin the restoration process. In this text we see that the test was equivalent to the offense. They had turned their back on him and he wanted to see if they had changed. We might wonder if this deception was right or wrong. It should be noted that Joseph, prior to this test, had already come to the conclusion that God had used the evilness in the hearts of his brother for His sovereign good. Joesph was NOT in a place of struggling with forgiveness. He knew his brothers had done wrong. He knew it came from their evilness. But, his time in prison and slavery had allowed him to see God’s hand in his life, even in spite of that evilness of his brothers. He truly had come to believe:
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
You can’t trust someone who has wronged you if you can’t first trust that God has allowed it for His greater purpose. That’s what made this “test” for the brothers okay. Joseph had already come to the point to understand that God, in His sovereign way, was using the evil to bring Him glory. Yes, Joseph conducted the test. Those who do wrong will always have to have the change in their hearts verified FOR US. But, not for God. God was working the the life of Joseph, but also in the lives of his brothers. The brothers had an avenue to demonstrate the change in their hearts. If the heart has changed the avenue to show that change is not offensive to the person(s) needing to demonstrate that change. The brothers did not return to Egypt and complain that Joseph “set them up.” They returned to prove the change hearts they had and the purity they now wanted to show. Creating an avenue for trust is a must, but it has to start with forgiveness. We can’t create an avenue and then forgive if they pass the test. Forgiveness is not open for option. Trust, however, is something that must have avenues to travel and to demonstrate the change in heart. Remember the sexual deviance in Corinth. After he repents, Paul tells the church to “bring him back” into fellowship. Once he repented Paul wants him to have full restoration of fellowship:
Forgive the Sinner
5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
Forgiveness is not an option. Creating an avenue for trust, is a must. If we don’t, note what Paul states: We are in jeopardy of being outwitted by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his designs. Satan takes advantage of unrestored relationships.
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