20200104 Parsha Vayigash New Beginnings
Blessing
If you read last week’s Parsha, you might have been struck by the sudden ending. Joseph had devised several tests to determine the character of his brothers. The final ruse would have found Benjamin guilty of theft and becoming a slave in Egypt. Then the Parsha just left us hanging like the Bolivian army closing in on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
In almost an anti-climax, the week we pick up with Judah approaching (Vayigash) Joseph and offering himself up to be the slave rather than his youngest brother Benjamin. Upon seeing the changes in his brothers, especially how Judah would take the punishment for Benjamin, Joseph can no longer contain himself. He ordered everyone out of the room except his brothers. Joseph began to cry so loudly, his Egyptian servants and colleagues were concerned.
What must have been going on in Joseph’s mind during the weeks and months that this saga unfolded? Joseph had suffered terribly at the hands of his brothers. He was thrown into a pit and left to die, only to be pulled up again and sold to traders. He landed a pretty good job with Potiphar, which ended with a false accusation and a swift trip to prison. But God was with Joseph and he soon became the administrator in the prison. However, he was still in prison.
When Joseph was about 28 years old, he interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh’s butler and baker. It was still two years later that he was released from prison. After he interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, he became the second in command of all of Egypt. Joseph was about 30 years old when he became a ruler in Egypt and he began his ambitious plan to save all of Egypt. Pharaoh gives Joseph a wife and life is finally looking really good for Joseph.
The plan for storing up grain during the seven years of plenty was a success and then two years into the famine, Joseph’s brothers showed up to buy grain. Joseph recognized them but they didn’t recognize Joseph. It had been 22 years since they had sold Joseph into slavery. On their second trip back to Egypt to buy grain Joseph had demanded they bring Benjamin back with them and even held Simeon hostage to bring the point home.
Benjamin has made the journey and all the brothers are re-united but still did not suspect that the one they had bowed down to, the one who held their lives in his hand was the brother that they sold into slavery. Imagine what Joseph was thinking. He remembered his dream of how all his brothers would bow down to him. He probably thought of the years of suffering in prison and loneliness because of their cruelty.
In one of the greatest stories of forgiveness, Joseph is so taken by seeing his brothers and seeing the changes in their attitudes, that all the sins of the past are forgotten. What a picture of the power of forgiveness.
Here was an opportunity for revenge and retribution or an alternative of reconciliation. Joseph chose a new beginning. He chose to start a new relationship with his brothers free from hate and jealousy.
Today is the first Shabbat in our Gregorian calendar of 2020. Many people will be making New Year’s resolutions with the best of intentions. I’m going to eat a more healthy diet. I’m going to exercise. I’m going to read my Bible and pray more. Unfortunately, many of our resolution won’t last out the month of January.
Three thousand years ago, Joseph gave us a gift. It was the example of forgiveness. He had every right to be mad, to be vengeful. And he had the power to once and for all punish the sins of his brothers, but he chose forgiveness.
It is incredibly important to forgive yourself and forgive others. It's also one of the most difficult things to do in life. It takes true strength to forgive someone who never apologized and never will. What about the person who continues to disregard your wishes and flaunts their disrespect in your face?
What about the things you may have done in your past? Forgiving yourself for the shameful things you've done is not easy. We have to forgive others who never apologize and we have to forgive ourselves for actions that we regret. But once we do, the weight is lifted and your heart can begin to heal.
Yeshua spoke of forgiveness and right relationships.
Matthew 5:23-24 “Therefore if you are presenting your offering upon the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, (24) leave your offering there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.
We often speak of vertical and horizontal relationships. If we don’t love our brother then we can’t love God. Yeshua is telling us that if we don’t make that effort to love those around us, then how can we say we are in right standing with our Father in Heaven? If the commandment to Love Your Neighbor doesn’t include loving your spouse, then you aren’t following Torah. If Loving Your Neighbor is not all-inclusive then you are not Torah observant.
We have recently, here in the US, seen many instances of violence against Jewish people, as well as Christian churches. The attacks have escalated at an alarming rate over the past year. Those attacks resulted in dangerous injury and some deaths. I’m not saying that you should not protect your family in the instance of physical or emotional harm; please do. But it is the petty things that create bitterness within a relationship, or within our own hearts, that are not worth standing before God and having to justify why pride kept us from a humble reconciliation.
Also, forgiveness of another person does not mean that their behavior is acceptable, or justified. It simply means that you have released yourself from the bondage that their behavior initiated.
Ephesians 4:31-32
Get rid of all bitterness and rage and anger and quarreling and slander, along with all malice. 32 Instead, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other just as God in Messiah also forgave you.
If we resolve to do anything this year I urge you to look to your spouse, mother, father, siblings, extended family and those around you. Examine your relationship with them. Does it need repair? Can it be improved? It’s time for new beginnings. Start that relationship afresh with the Love of God.
Yeshua told us in John 13:34-35
“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so also you must love one another. (35) By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
If we can have just one resolution that we can work on and not give up it should be this. Let’s love one another. Just like Joseph and his brothers, have a new beginning. We are not promised a single breath beyond the one that is currently in our lungs, and even then, it would appear that our time is growing very short. The Bride must make herself ready for the return of our King, and forgiving and loving each other is just one of the things required of a ready Bride.
