Joseph, the son of Rachel, paving the way of indemnity, was to establish himself in the position of Abel and enter Egypt.
His brothers put him in a well, wanting to kill him, but then they decided to sell him into slavery, and he went to Egypt. The master’s wife, whose name was Potiphar, tried to seduce him, but he resisted her charms and was imprisoned for it. Sitting in prison and awaiting execution, he interpreted Pharaoh’s dream and for that, he was elevated to the rank of Supreme Minister of Egypt. Could Joseph, in such a desperate and bitter situation, have even imagined that he would be so incredibly lucky? But through these events he had the opportunity to save the Israelites. Who knew it would turn out this way?
Joseph was able to reach the position of second man after Pharaoh by the age of 30 and witnessed the fulfillment of the prophecy God had given him in a dream while he was a child (Genesis 37:5-11). First Joseph’s half-brothers, the sons of Leah, came to Egypt and bowed down to him. Then all of Jacob’s children followed them and eventually brought their father to Egypt. Thus, Jacob’s family began the journey of indemnity to receive the Messiah on a national level.
Joseph must have felt the pain at the sight of his brothers, who came to Egypt to buy grain. These were enemies who had made attempts on his life several years earlier. But they were still his brothers, kindred by blood; moreover, they had taken care of his parents all those years while he lived in a foreign land. Finally, his parents loved them. After thinking about this, Joseph forgave them. He was able to forgive his brothers because, despite the evil they had done, he appreciated their concern for his parents in his absence.
Joseph suffered in Egypt because of God’s will, for God planned to secure Israel’s future with Joseph’s help.
We, too, are like Joseph in some ways. We are destined to suffer mistreatment despite our aspirations to save the country and the world. Therefore, we must be determined to suffer to do God’s will and restore humanity, at the cost of our lives and all that we have.
Like Joseph, we have enemies, but we have no choice but to forgive them, for they are all children of our Father, God. We forgive them for God’s sake because we believe in Him.