As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Genesis 50:20

Joseph lived a difficult life prior to rising to power in Egypt, but could power go to his head? What kind of many did he become?

Some events seem to be inevitable. When someone removes one shoe, we naturally expect the second shoe to drop, right? But, when we think of the idiom, waiting for the other shoe to drop, we usually have a sense of anticipation based on the first event. A man makes a bad decision in the workplace and then he is called in to speak with the supervisor, for example.

In the case of Joseph’s brothers, the first shoe dropped when they realized Joseph was alive and well after all. For seventeen years they waited for their brother to extract his revenge. Then the other shoe dropped with their father, Jacob, died.

“When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him” (Genesis 50:15).

The other shoe did drop, but not as expected because Joseph was not the same type of man as his brothers. He said, “So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.”

Joseph provides us with a picture of maturity, forgiveness and reconciliation. I am reminded of the passage we considered a few weeks ago:

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Colossians 3:12-13).

Think of the person(s) who have hurt you over the years. Could you be like Joseph and respond with comfort and kindness?