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Genesis 42:1-9 (NIV)
Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt
42 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” 2 He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.” 3 Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him. 5 So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also. 6 Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. 7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.” 8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. 9 Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”
Have you ever held a grudge against someone? Maybe someone did something to you years ago, but you have not seen each other for a while and then one day you find yourself face to face with them. All the pain and emotion comes rushing back. Although Joseph was not the perfect little brother, his older brothers sold him into slavery! That is not something you easily forget. But years have passed, probably more than a decade, and now Joseph is face to face with those same brothers. Forgiveness is not easy. But where there is forgiveness there is freedom and new life. Is there a difficult relationship in your life right now? A grudge that is causing you to lose sleep at night? Ask God to give you the strength to forgive as you have been forgiven.