Forgiveness – Day 1
By Hein Barnard
Itekisi yeBhayibhile
EYEZIQALO 50
UJosefu uthomalalisa ixhala labantakwabo
The first occurrence of forgiveness in the Bible
The patriarch Jacob had passed away and Joseph’s brothers realised that they might be punished for the way they treated him.
We read from Genesis 37 about how the dreams of Joseph caused a broken relationship between him, his parents and brothers. His brothers wanted to kill him, but he was sold and became a slave in Egypt.
The dreams became a reality when his brothers went to Egypt to buy food because of the drought. We read in Genesis 45 how Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, explaining that everything was part of God’s plan (45:8).
One thing lacked – nowhere did his brothers ask for forgiveness, nor did Joseph grant them forgiveness. Somebody needed to take the initiative – and it happened after the death of Jacob, their father.
The brothers sought forgiveness because they feared that something bad would happen. They were afraid that Joseph would take revenge.
