Redeeming the Past
The scene that brings Genesis to a climax and a closure is the scene where the sons of Jacob fear their brother Joseph’s reaction. But Joseph forgives them by saying what you intended for harm, God intended to for good, to do what is now being done, to save many lives. The lives he was referring to was that of the Egyptian stranger. Joseph was feeding the hungry. We cannot un-write the past but we can redeem the past. We can take our tears and use them to sensitise us to the tears of others. The structure of the book Genesis is centrally about the covenant of faith between God and Abraham, but water plays a central role. In the story of Noah, there is too much – a flood, in the story of Joseph, there is too little – a drought. In the story of of Noah we see the saving of human lives – his family. In the story of Joseph we see the saving of human lives – a nation. In the story of Noah God forgives, in the story of Joseph a human being forgives. In the story of Noah the past is obliterated, In the story of Joseph the past is redeemed. We see in the life of Joseph a foreshadow of Christ, forgiveness and redemption. Invite someone to take a closer look at Christ and his church.
