Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors

We all know the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors and how his brothers sold him to slavery in Egypt out of jealousy.  There are many sermons written about this story found in Genesis 37 and 38-50.  Movies have been made; books written and even musicals have been performed about the young Joseph and his coat of many colors. 

As a small child, my mother bought me a book about Joseph and she read it over and over to me.  It was illustrated in bright colors and I was impressed with the coat his father made him.  I loved the part where his father loved him more than his other sons and although I wasn’t a son, I was sure my father loved me more than my brother and sister.  As a child, the story impressed me with gifts and favoritism along with mean siblings.

            I read the same story to my children when they were young and they were all impressed with the coat of many colors.  As time went on I heard about ‘Joseph’ many times; I think he was a favorite topic for many ministers and I understand why.  The attributes of Joseph were many: 

• He was a man of integrity
• He was faithful to God his whole life
• He put his whole heart into whatever task he did
• He was committed
• He was trusted by everyone
• He was used by God many times
• He was a born leader
• He was brilliant
• He wisely used the gift of a word of  knowledge and interpretation
• He was a diplomat to other nations
• He could read and write which was rare in those times
• He was a humble man, even though next to the Pharaoh, he ruled Egypt

We can go on and on about this man, Joseph and yet miss the greatest thing about him; he was a man of forgiveness!

Many people hold Unforgiveness in their hearts; Unforgiveness against parents, spouse, siblings, children, friends, co-workers, teachers, Pastors, and yes, even God.  They may even say they forgive the one who has done them wrong, but in their heart they may say, “I’ll forgive them – but, I’ll never forget it.” 

            Of course memories are hard to forget – we can’t be like God who takes our sins and casts them into the depth of the sea or as far as the east if from the west.  Every once in a while we like to take these things out, polish them up and look at them for a while.  Unforgiveness is a huge burden to carry and it weights us down throughout our life, if we don’t let it go.

I’m sure Joseph struggled with it for all the years he was in Egypt, but he was an exceptional man and still maintained his integrity.  How many times did he look back and wonder about his brothers who really wanted to kill him; they were so jealous.  How many times did he dream of his homeland and the father who loved him so much?  If there was any fault to be had, it would have had to belong to his father, Jacob.  Partiality in parenting is wrong and to treat one child better than the other is a sinful thing.  Jacobs’s grief and separation was his punishment for favoring one against others. 

When we come towards the part of the story in Genesis chapter 45:3-7, where Joseph’s brothers had come to Egypt to buy grain and were brought before Joseph.  They did not recognize their brother after all those years and no doubt Joseph looked like a royal Egyptian, so they were probably very frightened as to what was to become of them.  Then Joseph began to weep and he said to his brothers,

            “I am Joseph!" he said to his brothers.”Is my father still alive?" But his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them. Come over here," he said. So they came closer. And he said again, "I am Joseph, your brother whom you sold into Egypt. But don't be angry with yourselves that you did this to me, for God did it. He sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. These two years of famine will grow to seven, during which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God has sent me here to keep you and your families alive so that you will become a great nation.”

His forgiveness was complete; it was not a horrible memory any longer, because Joseph saw God’s hand in it and therefore could forgive his brothers.  Forgiveness is the highlight of Joseph’s story, because without it the story would have ended.  He would have taken his brother’s lives and therefore the promise of God to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would have ended

You may be thinking that God made Joseph forgive his brothers, but that can’t be right because God has made us free to make decisions on our own and he could not have made that decision for Joseph.  This story is an example of Jesus who forgives our sins and with joy welcomes us into His kingdom.  Oh, and the coat of many colors – that’s God’s promise to us.

            Perhaps there is someone in your life that you need to forgive and you haven’t been willing to do that.  Whoever it is that has sinned against you in some way may not know the pain or hurt they have caused you and so you are the one suffering – not them.  It’s time to give it over to God because he understands your pain and wants to take it from you.  Jesus suffered your sins and yet He forgave you and made a way to the Promised Land. You can do it and life a life free of the burden you’ve been carrying. Also remember this in Mark 11:26 “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”