Unforgiveness Causes Untold Anger

Joseph of Egypt is often known for his unwavering faith in God, however, there was a time that his anger got the best of him and his faith began to slip in these moments. You see, he had not yet forgiven what his brothers had done to him those many years ago when they almost killed him and also sold him as a slave. So when he saw them come to Egypt because of a famine upon the land, those hurt feelings began to boil over. Here is what transpired on that day. It is written, “and the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan. And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth. And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.” (Genesis 42:5-7)

So we learn that unforgiveness causes us to have built up anger towards a person whom we have built up a wall against. That is why Joseph spoke roughly to his brothers when they simply asked to buy some food. He did other things also that were very unkind towards his brothers as we read more into this chapter and the next. As for this chapter, this story continues and reads, “and Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies. And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.” (Genesis 42:8-12) So here we learn a lesson about unforgiveness and how it can make relationships with others and our own that much more difficult. Therefore, do as Joseph did also, as you will see in chapter 44, and also forgive others. If not, then don’t expect God to forgive you of your sins also. Amen.

Let us pray:
Oh Lord, I pray that You will come into our lives and teach us what it really means to forgive one another. I know how each person desperately desires You to forgive them, but only few of these same people have forgiven each person in their own lives. There are untold walls still built up and when around these people they often blow up and say and do things they shouldn’t. I know this for a fact, for this was my life for many years. There were so many people that I just would not forgive, and because of this my relationship with You, Lord, was also minimized at best. I tried to pray and get into the Bible when my life was like this, but I could not stay focused. I could tell that I was not for You in my unforgiveness and this got me really thinking. I had to learn to forgive one another or else our relationship would be lost forever. So thank You, Lord, for helping me forgive each person in my life. Thankfully, You did not give up on me in the meantime, and now I have been washed by Your blood also. I love the trade off when it comes to You forgiving me as I forgive others also. I trust in You, Lord. I love You, God. Amen.