Day 4: 90-Day Bible Challenge

Today’s reading:
Genesis 40:12-50:26

A thought or two:
There is an important story about forgiveness in chapter 50. Joseph’s brothers were afraid that Joseph had not forgiven them for their sins against him, chiefly the sin of selling him as a slave when he was 17 years old.

In this story Joseph’s brothers convey a message to Joseph from their father Jacob in which Jacob asks Joseph to forgive the sins of his brothers. After conveying Jacob’s message they pleaded for Joseph’s forgiveness. Joseph forgives them and tells them that even though their intentions were evil towards him, God accomplished much through the circumstance because God’s intentions are good!

Joseph was Pharaoh’s right hand man and could have easily had his brothers punished, but he chose to forgive them. Not only did this choice alter the destinies of his brothers, but also the 10 tribes of Israel that would become descendents of his brothers. If Joseph had killed them, there would be no tribes. If the tribes never came into being, it would have ruined a lot of what God had planned for Israel. One of those tribes was the tribe through which God would bring the Messiah, Jesus. All of these things hinged on Joseph’s decision to honor his father’s request to forgive.

Someone may have wronged you in your past and you may feel very justified in holding on to your bitterness. God, your heavenly Father, sent a request through His son Jesus asking you to forgive when He said, “Forgive and you will be forgiven”. Your choice to forgive holds more than just your destiny, more than just the destiny of the person you need to forgive, it holds the destiny of untold numbers of people influenced by your life. Bitterness is a poisonous root, dig it up and remove it before it matures into a destiny stealer!

Tomorrow’s reading:
Exodus 1:1-15:18