MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
ILL. In 1910, Japan invaded Korea. For the next 35 years they treated the Koreans with a terrible brutality. Christians were particularly singled out for persecution. Missionaries were expelled; Christian leaders were killed or jailed; & preachers were ordered to stop holding church services.
But one village preacher pleaded with the local Japanese commandant for permission for the Christians to meet. Finally, the officer agreed to unlock the church building - but for just one service, & one service only.
Long before dawn Korean families began making their way to the church building. They had to walk past the staring eyes of Japanese soldiers, but nothing was going to steal their joy. For a few hours they were going to shut out the cares of oppression & join together in praise & prayer to their Lord.
The Korean church has always had a reputation as a singing church, & this congregation was no exception. The sound of their songs filled the sanctuary & spilled out through the open windows for all to hear.
Japanese soldiers standing outside the church building, Korean peasants working in the fields nearby - all could plainly hear the songs the congregation was singing.
It was while they were singing "Nearer My God To Thee" that the Japanese officer gave the order. The people in the church could hear the soldiers barricading the doors, but no one inside realized they were dousing the church with kerosene until the wooden frame building was ignited, & flames began to engulf the walls.
There was an immediate rush for the windows. But hope turned to horror as the people climbing out the windows fell back in – their bodies ripped by a hail of bullets. The preacher knew it was the end. They had been set up to be killed.
Then he began to sing. It was the hymn, "At the Cross," & the first few words were all the prompting the terrified worshippers needed. With smoke burning their eyes, they instantly joined in as one to sing, & their song became an eternal testimony to the horrified & helpless witnesses in the fields outside.
"Alas! And did my Savior bleed? And did my Sovereign die? Would He devote His sacred head for such a one as I?"
And as the roof collapsed they were singing the last verse, "But drops of grief can ne'er repay the debt of love I owe. Here, Lord, I give myself away. 'Tis all that I can do! At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light, & the burden of my heart rolled away…"
Then the music & wails of children were lost in a roar of flames, & the souls who left this world singing surely finished their chorus in the throne room of God.
Clearing away the remains & rubble didn't take long, but erasing the hatred seemed impossible. For some of the relatives the cruelty was just too much. Evil had stooped to a new low & there seemed no way to erase their bitterness toward the Japanese.
In the years that followed their bitterness was passed on to the next generation. Even after the Japanese were defeated, & Korea freed, their hatred remained. And the monument the Koreans built there not only memorialized the people who died, but stood as a constant reminder of their bitterness & pain.
APPL. Maybe you have felt bitterness, too. Maybe hurt engulfed you when your integrity was destroyed by a series of lies. Maybe hatred began to grow when someone made promises to you that he or she never intended to keep.
I could spend all my time this morning painting portraits of hatred, envy, & bitterness. And if I were to do that, we could probably see ourselves in at least one of the portraits. But harboring hatred can paralyze us.
However, a spirit of forgiveness can heal fragmented families & friendships. Forgiveness allows Almighty God to mend tattered & torn relationships.
Forgiveness will cause us to speak words like "I'm sorry," "Will you forgive me?" & "I forgive you," rather than "I told you so," "I could never forgive her for that," & "I hope he gets what's coming to him."
You see, we need to learn the lesson of forgiveness in order to experience freedom rather than imprisonment, life rather than death, & forgiveness rather than bitterness.
PROP. So this morning we're going to look at the story of Joseph & see how God used him to save a nation & to heal his fragmented family.
A. As you already know, Joseph was Jacob's favorite son. He had made Joseph a very special coat & given him preferential treatment which didn't set well with his older brothers. And to make matters worse, Joseph didn't suffer from low self-esteem at all.
He had a dream one night that he shared with his brothers. In his dream all his brothers were binding up sheaves of grain when suddenly their sheaves bowed down to Joseph's sheaf. Well, you can imagine how that went over.
“His brothers said to him, ‘Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?’ And they hated him all the more because of his dream & what he had said.” (Genesis 37:8) On top of that, Joseph had another dream. This time even his mom & dad were pictured as serving him. That one didn't go over so well either.
Then one day Joseph was sent to check on his brothers who were grazing the flocks near Dothan. They saw Joseph coming & they said, "Here comes that dreamer! Come now, let's kill him & throw him into one of these cisterns & say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams.” (Genesis 37:19-20)
Well, to make a long story shorter, the brothers didn't kill Joseph but they did sell him to a Midianite caravan which took him to Egypt & sold him to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials.
Joseph was tested while in Potiphar's house on more than one occasion, but Joseph remained true to God, & as a result God blessed him even while he was unjustly sent to prison.
B. A few years later Pharaoh had a dream which bothered him, but none of the magicians & wise men of Egypt could interpret it. Finally, Joseph was summoned & God gave him the insight to interpret Pharaoh's dream.
As Joseph interpreted the dream, Pharaoh learned that there would be 7 years of great abundance followed by 7 years of great famine throughout the land. Joseph also told Pharaoh that he needed to store up the surplus grain during the 7 years of abundance so that during the famine the people would have food.
Pharaoh was so impressed that he put Joseph in charge of it all. Genesis 41:42-43 says, “Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger & put it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen & put a gold chain around his neck.
“He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, & men shouted before him, ‘Make way!’ Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”
During the 7 years of abundance, Joseph gathered grain from throughout Egypt. Then the famine came, & it was worse than any famine the Egyptians had experienced before. It not only affected Egypt, but also surrounding countries.
As a result, Joseph's family back in Canaan began to be hungry, too. And when Jacob, his father, heard there was food in Egypt he sent ten of his sons to buy grain. When his brothers arrived, Joseph recognized them.
But 20 years had passed since they had sold their little brother into slavery, & they didn't recognize him at all. So when they came before him to buy grain, not realizing that he was Joseph, Joseph decided to test them.
He spoke harshly, accusing them of being spies, pretending not to believe they were actually brothers, & putting them under tremendous stress to see how they would react.
C. I think you know the story. Here he was, standing before his brothers, facing a personal struggle unlike any other recorded in the Bible. With the authority he had in Egypt, Joseph could have easily had his brothers killed for what they had done to him.
Or he could have welcomed them. He could have forgiven them on the spot & thrown a big party for them. But he didn't, at least not then, because he was struggling with what he felt like doing to them.
But as they stood before him, a ruler of Egypt, the brothers didn't know any of this. All they knew was that this official, who had the power of life & death over them, was giving them a very hard time, & they didn't know why.
Genesis 42:21-23 tells us that they said to each other, "...Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that's why this distress has come upon us.”
“Reuben replied, "Didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn't listen! Now we must give an account for his blood.” They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter.”
Talk about guilty consciences! Twenty years had passed, & the guilt of selling their brother was still haunting them. The moment their troubles in Egypt started, their guilt surfaced & caused them to turn on one another & point fingers of blame.
Twenty years had not made the memory any easier for Joseph, either. The sins of his brothers had planted deep-rooted seeds of bitterness, & even though Joseph wanted to forgive them, the internal struggle over his desire to make them suffer for what they had done to him was not yet over.
APPL. I would venture to say that we have some "Josephs" here this morning - those who have been wronged by family members, neighbors, co-workers, or friends. And the evil that was done was a deliberate act of aggression or betrayal.
As a result, there is nothing you desire more than to see the one who caused your distress suffering, too.
Or maybe you're the guilty one, & now you would like to make things right between you. You would like to say "I'm sorry," & for your friendship to flourish again, but your pride is in the way.
You see, there is a struggle going on every day in the hearts of men & women, boys & girls who have been hurt as well as those who have done the hurting.
Will there ever be any forgiveness, or will we continue to allow pride or bitterness to isolate us from those we love, from those with whom we need to reconcile?
I'm so thankful for God's Word. Not only does it give us the greatest information the world needs to know - how to receive salvation & eternal life, but God's Word also gives guidance for the everyday struggles of life.
And here in Genesis we find guidance on how to overcome the struggle & find the strength to forgive those who have wronged us.
E. Now back to the story of Joseph. On their 2nd trip to Egypt, when Joseph finally revealed his identity to his brothers, he told them to go back & tell their father that he was alive, & that he wanted them all to come to Egypt where they would be well fed & he could give them homes & land for their flocks & herds.
The brothers did so, & the whole family came to Egypt. And the reunion of Joseph & his father was a touching & powerful portrait of love.
The years pass, & eventually Jacob dies. When he does, the brothers who had sold Joseph into slavery were fearful that they would finally feel Joseph's wrath.
This brings us to a Scripture that I particularly want you to notice this morning. It is Genesis 50:15-21, where it tells us,
“When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, ‘What if Joseph holds a grudge against us & pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?’
“So they sent word to Joseph, saying, ‘Your father left these instructions before he died: 'This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins & the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’
‘Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.’ When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
“His brothers then came & threw themselves down before him. ‘We are your slaves,’ they said. But Joseph said to them, ‘Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God?’
‘You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid…’ And he reassured them & spoke kindly to them.” (Genesis 50:15-21)
SUM. Now that's forgiveness. It's not forgiveness to gain a father's approval, or forgiveness for public show. True forgiveness rang from the heart of Joseph to those who had meant him incredible harm.
And it also teaches us that as horrible & devastating as our experiences may be, God can use them for good even though others intended evil.
If we truly love Him, we can be assured that His promise in Romans 8:28 is true, "…that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."
ILL. In the story of the Korean church that I told you earlier we can see how bitterness may linger for generations. But what you need to know is that not all Japanese & Koreans hate each other today. A spirit of forgiveness finally began to blossom in 1972.
A group of Japanese Christians traveling in Korea came upon the memorial commemorating the horrible incineration of the Korean worshippers. When they read the details of the tragedy & the names of their spiritual brothers & sisters who had perished, they were overcome with shame.
Their country had sinned & even though none of them were involved (some of the group had not even been born at the time), they still felt a national guilt that could not be excused.
Returning to Japan, they told their congregations what they had found. There was an immediate outpouring of love & shame from Japanese Christians. They raised ten million yen, & the money was transferred through proper channels to erect a beautiful white church building on the site of the tragedy.
When the dedication service for the new building was held, a delegation of Japanese Christians joined the relatives & special guests. Although their generosity was acknowledged & their attempts at making peace were appreciated, the terrible memories still hung like storm clouds over their heads.
The Koreans' bitterness had festered for decades. Christian brothers & sisters or not, these Japanese were descendants of a cruel enemy.
The speeches were made, the details of the tragedy recalled, & the names of the dead were honored. Then it was time to bring the service to a close. Someone in charge thought it would be appropriate to conclude with the same two songs that were sung the day the church was burned.
They began singing "Nearer My God To Thee.” But something happened as Korean & Japanese voices mingled together on the familiar melody. As memories of the past mixed with the truth of the song, the bitterness began to melt.
The music that expressed the faith of those doomed worshipers years ago expressed that faith once more.
Then the song leader began singing the words of the hymn, "At The Cross.” The normally reserved Japanese could no longer contain themselves. The tears that began to fill their eyes during the song suddenly gushed from deep inside. They turned to their Korean spiritual relatives & begged them for forgiveness.
The guarded hearts of the Koreans were not quick to surrender. But the genuine love of the Japanese believers tore at the Koreans' emotions. "At the cross, at the cross, Where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away..."
One Korean turned toward a Japanese brother. Then another, & then the floodgates holding back a wave of emotion let go. The Koreans met their new Japanese friends in the middle. They clung to each other & wept.
Japanese tears of repentance & Korean tears of forgiveness intermingled to bathe the hate-filled site with a newfound atmosphere of forgiveness & reconciliation.
CONCL. You see, the love of Jesus makes all the difference in the world. What happened to change the hearts & lives of those Korean & Japanese brothers & sisters of ours can happen in our lives, our homes, & our hearts as well.
