Genesis Bible Study
How to Forgive
Free Bible Study Materials
for Christian Discipleship Newsletter
April 2010
Dear Fellow Disciple-makers,
Forgiveness - a lesson we all need from this Genesis Bible study
You never know how forgiving a person you really are until someone wrongs you. Can you relate? It seems that in my life something happens almost every week that begs for forgiveness. I thought I was making progress until I found myself recently repeating a story about someone who had wronged me years ago. I realized that I had not fully let it go.
photo courtesy of lrargerich
Learning to forgive is hard
The Bible teaches that God has
totally forgiven us.
He is willing to let the past be past. Everyday the sun rises again - giving us a new start. Believing this truth is the only way you will have the ability to forgive others and yourself. Learning to forgive is probably the most difficult lesson for a follower of Jesus to grasp.
Joseph and his brothers
The story of Joseph in Genesis 37-50 is a classic story about forgiveness. At age seventeen, Joseph's brothers sold him as a slave into Egypt. In Egypt Joseph was unfairly sent to prison for several years. But God protected Joseph and enabled him to interpret Pharaoh's dreams. Pharaoh was so impressed with Joseph that he made him Prime Minister of Egypt right on the spot.
Joseph learned how to forgive
photo courtesy of usfsregion5
After twenty-two years had passed, Joseph's brothers came to Egypt looking for grain. When the time was right, Joseph revealed himself to his brothers and forgave them. He held no grudges. He told them that what they intended for evil, God meant for good. Joseph renewed his relationship with his brothers through his forgiveness.
In his excellent book Total Forgiveness, R. T. Kendall teaches us several lessons in his Genesis Bible study from the life of Joseph and his brothers:
Keep quiet about what they did
To ensure privacy, Joseph had everyone leave the room (Genesis 45:1). Why? No one in Egypt needed to know what happened. It isn't necessary to tell people who aren't a part of either the problem or the solution. People often tell negative things about others only to punish and get even with their offenders. When you've been wronged, you have to decide who to tell. Tell the people that can help with the problem or solution.
Put them at ease
Joseph could have made his brothers acknowledge his power. He could have reminded them of his dreams and their disbelief. But Joseph did not want them to be afraid of him (Genesis 45:3).
Let them save face
Saving face means preserving one's dignity. To ease their minds, Joseph gave an explanation for his suffering. It was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. . .so then it was not you that sent me here, but God. (Genesis 45:5-8).
Continue the commitment to forgive year after year
After Jacob died Joseph reassured his brothers of his kindness (Genesis 50:19-21). The commitment to forgive is a choice that we will have to renew tomorrow, next week, next month and next year. Satan's favorite strategy is to get into our thought life and tempt us to be bitter. Love pursues a lifestyle of forgiveness.
| See our
devotion
for discussion questions based on this teaching for your small group or Sunday School. |
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