Epilogue

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Photo by Maxime Amoudruz on Unsplash

Today, we look at the final passage in Genesis. It has been quite a journey. We’ve watched God create a world, see Adam ruin it, yet a promise of care in the very same chapter. We’ve watched the world flooded yet out of that a sign of the covenant written in the sky to this day. We’ve seen the rise and fall of Babel, divine blood oaths, and stairways to heaven. Yet we’ve also seen the humdrum waiting. Yet in each one of these chapters, we have been exposed to yet another demonstration of the sovereignty of God.

It all wraps up here with yet another reminder of God’s sovereign control of the world. Though here, we have a unique application of that doctrine. It is one thing to flatly say, “God is in control.” That’s good and true, but has been said so often we begin to become overly familiar with it. This passage says, “Since God is in control, there is an obligation on your part: forgiveness.” We will see how this occurs in our passage and our main point: God’s sovereignty requires us not to seek revenge.

God’s sovereignty requires us not to seek revenge.

Verse 15 is a rational thought from Joseph’s brothers. After all Joseph kept asking about Jacob every time questioning came up, so he clearly cared about him. Obviously taking vengeance on the sons while dad was alive would have been a bad call (even Esau knew that), so they would be rightly worried that this would be the case here. While he did talk pleasantly with them after his identity was revealed, Joseph is quite good at the long game and can keep a charade going for some time!

Verses 16-17. Here the brothers turn to the oldest family trick in the book, lying. Considering the close relationship that Jacob had with Joseph, this sort of thing would have undoubtably come up in their conversations, and this is something that if Jacob thought Joseph needed to hear, he would have said so.

Notice how they say “your father” rather than “our.” Really pulling out everything to ensure their survival. This shows that when the chips are down, we show what kind of character we have. The sons obviously trusted in their ability to lie, which is neither necessary or particularly convincing. They don’t put the same trust in God that Joseph does, showing one final time in this book where trust should always be.

Now, let’s notice Joseph’s response. It is radically God-centered.

First, he states why he isn’t going to pursue retribution on them: it isn’t his place to do so. “Am I in the place of God?” The expected answer of course is “No, I’m not.” Therefore, it is not my place to be dealing out death and judgment. This seemingly anticipates the command in Deut. 32:35 where God says that vengeance is mine. He remains in his place.

But he tells us why. Yes, vengeance is for God, and that would be enough, yet God has also done something with his suffering.

Second, he doesn’t pursue vengeance because, ultimately, God has meant it for good. They meant it for evil. There is no sugar coating that. Yet despite their intentions, God’s intentions overrules theirs. And He did it for good.

Now, we’ve watched that happen over and over and over again in the book of Genesis. There is no mistake that gets away from God. Even chapter 3, the Fall of man ultimately prepares the way for Jesus Christ. There is no mistake in Genesis, and there is no mistake today. God still works the same way, and it is brilliant. Sin is still sin. Evil intentions are still evil. Yet, God is able to take those actually evil things and intend them for good. That is a radical comfort for me because there is a surplus of evil in this world. It can be easy to look around and despair because there is so much pain around us and even pain within us.

But do you notice that Joseph doesn’t speak about the good that it did for him? Yes, God’s plan included his rise to ruler of Egypt, his wife and kids, and eventually the reunion of him and his father. Yet Joseph’s focus is what the hardship did for other people.

That is a next level perspective on personal suffering. It isn’t good just because it turned out well for me. My suffering was good because it resulted in the good of others. Joseph isn’t focused on the out come of what happened to him personally. He isn’t thinking that his suffering was worth it because he is ruler now. He is satisfied with God’s plan because of what it has meant of others. Others survived because he suffered. Now if that isn’t a picture of Jesus Christ, I don’t know what is.

Can you have that perspective on your suffering? Can you be so caught up, so surrendered to God’s will that the suffering that you endure is worth it because someone else might benefit from it? That sounds bonkers. That sounds like one of those crazy people on the internet who seem to like suffering for its own sake. But Joseph isn’t the only one to have that mindset. One might get to ignore Joseph saying, “Well it is easy to have that perspective wrapped in royal robes with all the authority the ancient world can give!” Then lets look at Paul in 2 Timothy 2:8–10 “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” He is writing with this perspective as the chains rattle. He could have sat there feeling sorry for himself there in prison, instead he is discipling a pastor in his church plant.

Now, because messages like this get misunderstood, let’s also say that Paul isn’t suffering for sufferings sake. He was trying to appeal to Ceaser so that he could get out of prison. He appealed to his Roman citizenship to escape flogging when he could. He prayed three times for his thorn in the flesh to be removed (2 Cor. 12:7-10). Paul isn’t looking for suffering but neither is he shying away from it in order that others may be brought to salvation.

This isn’t a call to be a doormat. This isn’t a call to light yourself on fire to keep other people warm. Not taking care of yourself to make people pleased with you isn’t noble, it is just pride by a different name. That would be suffering we bring needlessly on ourselves. What Joseph is doing here is acknowledging his suffering that he couldn’t do anything about. Yet he doesn’t become bitter by it. He doesn’t calculate how he feels about his sufferings by looking only at the balance of his own life. He views it from another angle.

What this passage teaches us is another way to view the hard things in life as meaningful, he asks, “How has this suffering been beneficial to others?”

Now, Joseph has the advantage in that he can view the trial from the other end of it. This was much less clear when he was in prison. However, we have an even greater advantage because we have watched God do this over and over again. He is the same God who operates in the same way, so even when we cannot see the personal benefit of our suffering or the benefit of others from your suffering, you can rest knowing that God will work it for good.

Now, the end draws near as Joseph, just like his father, gathers together his many children and tells them that he is about to die. He too has a word of hope and a command to bring his body out of Egypt. This final word is fulfilled in Ex. 13:19and ultimately burried in Josh. 24:32, remembering, of course, that Joshua is Ephraim’s descendant.

The book of Genesis ends in the past, yet Moses is writing to the fulfillment of Genesis in the people in front of him. Imagine the sense of awe that comes to the people of Israel as such a history is read to them. They are living in the fulfillment of everything that Genesis promised. They became a great nation! They have Joseph’s embalmed body with them! They are on their way to the promised land. Even after Moses dies, Joshua gets to see this promised fulfilled as he buries Joseph’s body in the promised land.

We ought to know what that feels like because we are living in that reality every day. We stand in nearly all the fulfillments of the Bible itself. We have more of God’s track record than any believer has had before. And it isn’t just the Bible that we have. We have seen God’s faithfulness to his people in Church history for the last 2,000 years. God is faithful to His promises and can do so even through sin.

That is everything that you need to know in Genesis to set up the rest of the Bible, because that will be the theme over and over again through the rest of the Scriptures.

Which means that the last lesson Genesis taught us applies. There will be those who will try to wrong you, and revenge isn’t permitted. That’s a hard concept to follow. Vengeance appeals to our sense of justice. We make people pay who cost us. That is as natural born as anything in our world. Toddlers know that. Yet it is not our place to dispense this. It is God’s. God is far wiser than us. He has far more power than we do, and likewise far more mercy. We cannot expect to do better than He will. Nor do we have to carry that burden to try. One writer said that “The noblest revenge is to forgive.” (Thomas Fuller). One commentator notices that this unity the brothers have here is in contrast to the first siblings. Cain killed Abel when given the chance, but here Joseph shows mercy (Matthews).

The desire for revenge is hardwired into us all. It was the first temptation in the book of Genesis to be as God, but only here do we see a man resist that temptation. What about you? The desire for revenge doesn’t have to show up like it does in the movies for it to be revenge. It doesn’t have to be a murder plot. It can be as silly and mundane as the silent treatment. Not speaking is a denial of contact, pretending the person is dead. Revenge can be found in all kinds of petty behavior. “These people don’t appreciate my work, so I’m just going to let it all fall down.” All these things may make a point, but they miss the point: life isn’t about what we get out of it. It isn’t about making sure the scores are even. None of our revenge petty or otherwise is right or pleasing to the sight of God because it says that God isn’t in control, He isn’t concerned about justice, so I am going to have to get it my own way.

Now, again this doesn’t mean being a door mat, but it does mean pursuing justice the right way not the revenge way. If you’re being abused, you go to proper authorities. The function of government is to dispense justice with God’s delegated authority (Romans 13). Appealing to proper authorities as spelled out by God is leaving vengeance in God’s hands. God gave the power of the sword to governing authorities to make evil doers scared. Seek justice properly, God’s way, not taking matters into your own hands.

Now, I can hear the objections already. “There is no justice in the hands of the government!” And yes that is proof of a fallen world. Oftentimes justice cannot be obtained rightly, but that does not give you permission to commit injustice, either. Going around God’s authorities is not staying on the obedient path. When those miscarriages of justice happen, then that is when you leave it ultimately in the hands of God. No one gets away with anything for eternity. Additionally, no one does anything that thwarts the plan of God. And we can see that most plainly in the cross.

God is in control. God is good. That is the message of Genesis.