Sweet Revenge? Or Something Else?

As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them.  "Where do you come from?"...Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, "You are spies!  You have come to see where our land is unprotected!"  Genesis 42:7,9

Sweet Revenge??  Or Something Else??
By Rev. William Dohle

Shakespeare wrote, "Revenge is a dish that is best served cold."

And if you've ever been wronged, you know how true that is.

Something happens to us when someone wrongs us.  First we feel the hurt.  The pain of the wrong done to us hits us in the chest, like a knife.  We feel betrayed and slandered...and it hurts!  Then we feel anger.  Dealing with the pain of what happened, we lash out at them, usually with other people in the audience.  Finally, we come to a crossroads.  A road divided into two sides.

We can either... punish them and exact our revenge.
Or we can forgive them... and move on.

Now most of us I imagine are religious enough to know which road we SHOULD take.  We SHOULD forgive...

But which road do we USUALLY take?  And how does that feel?

Joseph, in Genesis, wrestled with this very question.  When faced with his brothers who had sold him into slavery.  His brothers who had mocked him as a child.  His brothers who had abused him as only brothers can do.  When faced with them...do you know what Joseph does??

He takes his revenge!!

... Not the answer you were expecting, huh?  But read it for yourself.  Through the 42nd through the 45th chapter of Genesis, Joseph makes his brothers pay for the wrong they did!

He begins by not revealing himself to them...speaking harshly to them...and throwing them into prison.
When he does send them home with food, he tells them to return ONLY if they bring Benjamin(their youngest and beloved brother) along with them the next time they come.
When they return again with Benjamin Joseph slips a silver cup in their bag and then frames his youngest brother for the theft.

When all is said and done... Joseph...son of Jacob...ends up blackmailing, framing, and humiliating the brothers that had wronged him.

Sound like forgiveness??  Not to me.  Sounds to me like vengeance.

And yet, Joseph also reveals something else.  He reveals the price of revenge.  After Joseph speaks so harshly to his brother, the text says: "Joseph turned away from them and began to weep..."  He does this, not just once, but three times before he reveals himself!

Vengance comes at a horrible price and that road exacts its toll on you.  Without forgiveness, there can be no peace.  Without forgiveness,  you too will spend your time weeping uncontrollably.  One moment you'll feel a sense of elation like: "Yes!  They're getting what they deserve!"  And the next moment you'll burst into tears.  It is truly only with forgiveness can you find peace.

That's what Joseph learns too, I think.  When at last Joseph reveals himself to them, a river of peace opens up for them all.  The family is reunited again, not because old wrongs have been righted, and not because anyone apologized either(Joseph's brothers never once say they're sorry), but because vengance has been set aside and forgiveness has taken root.

So where do you on the journey of Joseph, between vengeance and forgiveness?  And what wrongs do you have to forgive to have that same peace?

God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, help us set aside vengeance on our journey in this life and embrace your forgiveness, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.