Joseph and His Brothers: Jealousy, Betrayal, and Forgiveness

This week we continue The Narrative Lectionary with a reading from The Book of Genesis.

Now Israel Love Joseph more than any of his other Sons. Because he was born when Jacob was old. Jacob had made for him a long robe. When is brother saw that their father loved him more than any of his brothers? They hated him and couldn't even talk nicely to him.

Joseph had a dream and told it to his brothers which made them hate him even more. He said to them listen to The Stream I had when we were binding stalks of green in the field mice. Got up and stood upright while your stocks gathered around it and bow down to my stock.

His brother said to him will you really be our King and rule over us? So they hated him even more because of the dreams he told them.

Play Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.

They found Joseph in the distance before he got close to them and they plotted to kill him. The brother said to each other here comes the big Dreamer. Come on. Now. Let's kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns and we'll say a wild animal devoured him then we will see what becomes of his dreams. When Ruben heard what they said he saved him from them telling them. Let's not take his life. Ruben said to them don't spill his blood throw him into this desert cistern, but don't lay a hand on him. Intended to save Joseph from them and take them back to his taking back to their father.

Judah said to his brothers. What do we gain if we kill our brother and hide his blood? Come on, let's Tell him to the ishmaelites. Let's not harm him because he's our brother. He's family. his brothers agreed

When's the midianite Traders pass by they pulled Joseph out of the cistern? They sold him to the ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver and they brought Joseph to Egypt. When remember turn to the cistern and found it Joseph wasn't in it. He tore his clothes. Then he returned to his brother then said the boy is gone and I where can I go now? His brother took Joseph's robe slaughtered a male goat and dipped the robe in the blood. They took the long robe brought it to their father instead. We found this see if it is your son's robe or not. He recognized it and said it is my son's robe a wild animal has devoured him. Joseph must have been torn to pieces.

Then Jacob tore his clothes put a simple morning cloth around his waist and mourned for his son for many days.

When Joseph Brothers realize that their father was now dead. They said what if Joseph Bears a grudge against us and wants to pay us back seriously for all of the Terrible Things We did to him. The approach Joseph and said your father or give orders before he died telling us. This is what you should say to Joseph. Please forgive your brother sins and misdeeds for they did terrible things to you. Now, please forgive the sins of the Servants of your father is God. Joseph wept when they spoke to him his brother's web to fell down in front of him and said we are here as your slave. But Joseph said to them don't be afraid. Am I God you plan something bad for me, but God produced something good from it. In order to save the lives of many people just as he's doing today. I don't be afraid I will take care of you and your children. So they put them at ease and spoke reassuringly to them.

my father had one brother. I'm an only child so I have no siblings, but my father had one brother and older brother. and a sister and his sister died when she was young and his brother. with always The head of the household my father's father. My grandfather was a traveling salesman. And he would often gone and out during the week. You leave during the week to sell things door to door and then he would return on the weekends. Info for most of the time he wasn't there and then on top of that he died very young. I never met my grandfather. He died when my father was still very young. And so my uncle was in many ways the head of the household.

and although my father never told me this what I've heard from other people is that he was somewhat of a bully to my father. That he would convince my father to go along with whatever plan he had and that my father generally let him because he was the eldest son. He was the head of the household.

In a long time my father after my parents divorced my father lived with his mother in the house that they had built in San Antonio, Texas, which is a very good place on about 2 acres of land. How much is a lot of land? For vanilla City. Anyway, it wasn't the most city of course and they built it, but it is now so but later on he moved out and and Got a house of his own and living on his own and then my cousins moved in with my grandmother and took care of her. I have two cousins that the children of my of my uncle a boy and a girl. Who are much older than me, maybe 15 years older than me.

And then in 2003 my grandmother died. and by this time my father had not been living there for Almost 10 years. I want to say something like that. Not quite that long maybe 5 or 6 years.

And then six months later. In 2004 released 2004 my father died.

and I remember when I was at the funeral, but I thought the week after the funeral my stepmother came up to me and said You're going to have to deal with your uncle in your grandmother's house. At the time I didn't really want to deal with it because my father just died and I was in shock and grief was very unexpected for me. But she warned me that that was going to come the my uncle and I were not close. Because my parents got divorced when I was very young my my uncle and his children and really most of my father's family besides my grandmother. I really didn't see me very much and they kind of considered me to be the black sheep of the family in a lot of ways. And so I didn't really talk to him to my uncle who and visited him wants. Before my father died with my with my wife and my daughter, but I mean we didn't we talked to him much. Well, you are so goes by. And I get a call. From my aunt my uncle's wife and she says it was my uncle I had to remember to be honest, but they say Andrew went to know where we're selling your grandmother's house and we just lots of paperwork and we're going to send that paperwork down. If you could just sign it and send it back. That would be great.

So we got the paperwork and it was a quick claim deed now. My my mother was a realtor and she knew what this was a quick claim deed just signed away all of your rights to the property. I said so it wouldn't fit in the fact mom would ask me to give up. My inheritance was if I asked me to give up my half of the land the family the family land that my father had inherited but it then died shortly after in that I had inherited as the only child of my father. and so I was very angry and I call my lawyer and got him involved and told him to contact my uncle and to get this worked out because I don't know why it offends my uncle called and left me a message and said look we're going to sell the property and we're going to split the money three ways between the cousins me and my two cousins, but the problem was that my father owns 50% of the land not not a third and so really his two children should split their half of the of the inheritance not mine. And so I talked to my lawyer and I didn't call my uncle back and I got my half and I've never heard from them since and it's been about. Philly 15 years since then and I've never I've never heard from him or spoken to them since then.

this is the story that came to my mind as I Was preparing for this for the sermon as I was reading the story of Joseph and his brothers.

I think the story of brothers fighting. families refusing to talk to one another of repentance and forgiveness is really common in The Human Experience. I think you're probably resonates a lot of people when they read this story.

So let's let's talk about this in the go back and talk about the text itself in the in the store here. So first of all a lot of stuff happens between our last reading our last reading was about Abram becomes Abraham and now we're talking about Joseph Joseph is Abraham's great-grandson. Abraham's son is Isaac. Isaac is the famously the Sun that that God asked Abraham to to sacrifice and then at the last moment. Abraham and tell him to sacrifice a goat instead for a lamb is dead. And then Isaac had two sons Jacob and Esau. And Esau was the older signing. Jacob was the younger son, but Jacob was favored. by their mother, Rebecca And Jacob was trickster Jacob the name actually means something like one. Who who.

One who cheated further and something family with tricking and cheating a iPod on my head. but When Isaac is old and he's going to see what he's going to bless Esau and and give Esau his inheritance. Jacob tricks Esau I tricked Isaac Isaac into thinking that he is Esau and causes Isaac to bless Jacob as the eldest son and give Jacob the eldest son's inheritance instead of Esau.

And when he finds out, he's very angry and he plans to kill Jacob. Tell Rebecca, they're their mother convinces Isaac. to send Jacob back to their uncle to find a wife now. This is the this is back where where Abraham I come from. If you're never there wasn't there was a point where Abraham leaves his family in whatever place and they send Jacob back up there to find to find a wife who is not one of these hittite women from the area but is someone from their Clan than end and thought I'd extend him and he goes back leaving his uncle and he and I got some really great uncle or something and and he finds he sees laban's daughter Rachel and Falls madly in love with Rachel. So we asked leaving to marry Rachel and Laban says will if you work for me for 7 years with no money for no pay you can marry Rachel until he does. He's a Shepherd for for leaving for 7 years and a great job and at the end.

Laden said okay you can marry Rachel but then because Rachel's the younger daughter and then Leah the oldest daughter and normally the eldest daughter gets married. First Leah is Rachel's sister Laban tricks Jacob by sending Leah into the wedding chamber and having Jacob sleep with Leah first. And Jacob is very angry because Jacob was numb effectively married Leah and so he goes to leave into this wasn't our deal. You said you said that I can marry Rachel and Leeuwenhoek it with work for me for another 7 years. I'll let you marry Rachel. I had the first she's the oldest daughter's what the required of me. So so Jacob Steve leaving work to leave another seven years Mary's Rachel. Labeled as wanted to leave but they eventually get away. During this time because Jacob loved Rachel but not Leah. He was forced to marry Leah, right. So he loves Rachel they fit it says that God saw this and made it for that. Rachel would not give birth to children that Leah. Give birth Leah gave birth to the first children Rachel then gets angry and gives her servant bilhah to Jacob to father children in for Rachel and bilhah give birth to children. And then Leah stop giving birth and she gets upset and so she gives her servant zilpah to Jacob and zilpah Father's children for Jacob. And then finally God has a video on Rachel and allows Rachel to give birth and Rachel again. The favored wife can the younger sister give birth to Joseph and then later to Joseph brother Benjamin and Rachel dies while giving birth to Benjamin and so to Jacob Joseph and Benjamin are his favorite children because they're the children of his favorite wife who died in childbirth giving birth to the youngest son. And they were born latest in his life. Leave his life. That brings us to the point. We are in the story Inn in Jacob's father Isaac have died by by this point and Jacob wrestles with goes back in and makes up with his brother Esau if I welcome him back and forgive him and there's no hard feelings between them and Jacob wrestles with God at one point and he is God real names him Israel and throwing the text. We see them talk about Jacob and we see them talk about Israel and really the same person that's important in the text. Let's forgot but I have this handy-dandy family tree hear of Joseph and I and Jacobin all the way from from Abraham and Sarah and Isaac and Rebekah Esau and Jacob Jacob marries Leah and Rachel and has children by Leah and Rachel and bilhah and zilpah and the forecast 12 sons. Yes daughters also, but yes 12 sons, and those are the 12 tribes of Israel cuz Jacobs names also Israel. How many later if I give in to Joseph have two children Manasseh and Ephraim?

So here's the text. The first codes of the Armenian I should come from three different places in the Texarkana jumps around it feels like their food weird transitions. That's why the lectionary is kind of leading out large bits of the text that says now Israel on the rich Jacob Love Joseph more than any of his other Sons because he was born when Jacob was old. Jacob had made for him a long robe that we hear a lot about this long rub it in the King James version of the text and it off and it's translated as a robe of many colors. And that is I'm a really well-known really well-known image the robe of many colors.

But you give it to him because he's a favored child that when the brother saw that their father loved him more than any of the other brothers. They hated him and they couldn't even talk nicely to him. So they hate it because his father love him more Joseph had a dream and told her to his brothers which made them hate him even more. He said to them listen to the dream. I had when we were buying stocks of grain in the field mice. Got up and stood upright while your stocks gathered around bow down to my stock. This is foreshadowing of what's going to happen later on when the brothers come to Egypt and bow down before before Joseph, even though they don't know that that that Joseph but can you imagine you know, you got you've got 11 brothers and and the second youngest of them is a favor by your father and he's always getting the good stuff. He's always getting the the nice clothes and he gets to sit around and you know, it said in the text that that basically Jacob sent him to like spy on the brothers and make sure that they weren't doing anything wrong Joseph it always go and title as brothers and tell his father how they had messed up that day or whatever. So so the brother just really hated hated him and now he's talking about some dreams had a dream that he's going to rule over them, right? And so they say will you really be our King and rule over us and they hated him even more because of the dreams he told them.

now the the multicolored robe is really well known for Joseph especially due to An Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical that was written in the late sixties, and I've been popular ever since called Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and often we think of the robe of Many Colors. We think of this lease I do you think of this crazy robe in the physical which is just over the top and we can see here on the left one of the more recent versions of it on the right. This is one of the older illustrations So what was with this this coat of many colors and then I will take a pause and cotton kind of backed sanding a talked about last week and talked about the the fact is is Genesis history or is it meth? And some people believe that the Genesis is literal history in and I'm you know, I'm not trying to to take away those people believe in that that's that's perfectly fine. But for me personally, I think that Genesis is really messed. It's really a myth story about the origin of the Israelite people who were living in Canaan. When they want all this stuff down and so what's really interesting about this this picture of the Technicolor Dreamcoat is in the old in the older illustration here in the top right corner. There's a there's a picture that looks like it's from from Egypt. And I says let us grab him now do him an while we've got the time but that picture is actually from a real a real drawing from Egypt and here it is a picture of here. This picture depicts a group of people called the exhaust people. And sticks off people were a group of Canaanite peoples who ruled Northern Egypt for a while. And what's interesting. Is that the first century ad Jewish historian Josephus associated with the Israelites and with the Exodus from Egypt and the reader this is kind of interesting in the end archaeologists and historians story and then going back and forth and whether there is any truth to this idea, but I think that there's some truth in this is what I want what I want to talk to you about the use of a group of Canaanite people who began migrating to Egypt sometime before the 18th century B-52 sometime before you know, 1790 BC recent carbon dating of remains at their capital city of a virus, which is in northeastern Egypt. have have dated those remains to as early as the 20th century BC. So that would be you know, 19 something that BC and this time line matches up with what we find in the story of Joseph and his brothers and in the story of The Exodus. This group has been has been historically credited with bringing horses and introducing horses and chariots and the composite bow to Egypt all that that has been disputed the traditionally that's been kind of thought with what happened for some kind of came in to the Middle East through the Lamont and and were brought down into Egypt by Canaanite peoples. When I win the final pharaoh of Egyptian of Egyptian 13th Dynasty died around 1725 BC. This is several hundred years. After people started started coming to this area and then settling in a forest in northeastern Egypt. Wrath of the Pharaoh died and it's be appearing that Egypt has splintered into various smaller kingdoms and one of the smaller kingdoms of based out of RF, which was a large trading City and it was their first rule by the 14th dynasty was what we call now that the fourteenth Dynasty which seems to have been composed of people from the Middle East but then not dynasty was overthrown and and the 15th dynasty was put into into control and the 15th Dynasty with a dynasty of hicks off of pharaohs. So Steve working the night people who were ruling Northern Egypt and they expanded the rule all over all of Northern Egypt during this time. So starting around 1750 BC. They ruled Northern Egypt and then About 200 years later around 1550 BC city of Thebes rebelled against the heck sauce pharaohs and began their own Dynasty which would later become to be known as the 18th Dynasty or and also at the first dynasty of Egypt New Kingdom, which is kind of the the golden it that the Golden Age of of Egypt classical Egyptian civilization and the ruler of this the first ruler of the scientist who who fought against the heck thought his name was almost a given so I'm sure I'm between that is often written and I'm kind of pronounce v in Greek as a Moses, which is interesting because if the biblical story reflects history in any way, he would be probably be the Pharaoh that is mentioned in the Exodus and Moses and Moses. Seems very interesting similarity. But anyway, he according to records. He successfully expelled a large number of hits off people from Egypt around 1530 BC or so. So if you think about that, that's about 400 years 450 years or so after they first started settling in Egypt and that timeline also roughly matches up with what we have in Genesis Annex. people including Josephus in the first century 80 have concluded that the Hyksos people not to be the other like this must be where the story of Joseph settling in Egypt in becoming The Arts the second most powerful person in in Egypt and then of his later ancestors being being kicked out of the air exiting you just leaving and then going back to Canaan. That's where I came from and I think there's some there's some likely to do this. I I think that person I think that it's probably the stories in Genesis and exodus are myth that there are there not a hundred percent true and that they're talked about in a very kind of exaggerated way and I think that but a lot of the names of people for example the name Israel in the name of the 12 children and the 12 children happened to match the 12 tribes that are in Israel the time that everything is written down all possible. But I think it's much more likely that that's revisionist stuff is put into the text as against mythology to talk about. How did people come into being But I think that this this event of these groups coming in from Canaan and settling and then much later being evicted from pit from Egypt. They're coming in from Kenan and thrown out probably left a memory in the people that came in that when they that they told they probably told the story over and over until then by the time that the that the scriptures were written down. They have this oral story of this experience of being in Egypt going Egypt being in Egypt and then leaving Egypt as a large group of coming back to Canaan that they used as part of their their methods part of their understanding of who they were and how they have come to be think. That's probably that the reality behind this but I mean, that's just my opinion and different opinions. I'm not trying to trying to just prove that was or anyting So let's get back to the text here. So later on the brother is go take the herds and they go Way North many many miles north with the herds and Jacob sins Joseph to go check on them again. And so Joseph went after his brother. They finally find them in Dothan which is longer a long way off and Dothan happens to be on the trading route between the Arabian Traders recover coming from the spice trade and everything and are going down to Egypt.

It's on Joseph in the distance before he got close to them and they plotted to kill him. The brother said to each other here comes the big Dreamer. Come on. Now. Let's kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns and we'll say a wild animal devoured him then we will see what becomes of his dreams. When Ruben heard what they said and Ruben again of the oldest Ruben her but they said he saved him from them by telling the other brothers. Let's not take his life because it Ruben went back. He knew that if you go back to his father, he would be held accountable for the favorite son being killed. Urban fetes and don't spill his blood throw him into this desert cistern, but don't lay a hand on him. He intended to save him from then later and take him back to his father.

So I'm actually might Maya. Images are out of order here, but this is a picture of what a cistern in this type of look like this is basically a hole in the ground or water historic because water is fairly scarce this area. So when it rains do you want to collect the rain water until they have these smooth walled holes that the click water in their of their very deep so you couldn't just crawl out of it and some of them have lids

Plastering and here we can look and see on this is the we can see on the right here. And this this is a map of the area and we could be here on which is where the family were living and then you can see Dothan way up North so they had do they have gone way up North with the with the herds looking for land to pack for the flocks. And then and then the green line on this map is the path to Egypt in a bar s where where they would have gone.

so they put him in that in the fifth turn and then they then they then

methadone have lunch there. Did you start eating? I'm sure they can hear him screaming for help or whatever, but they don't care they can sit down and have lunch and it's in their thinking and they noticed these ishmaelite Traders coming in the distance and Judah has this great idea. He says Hey, what if we know what are we getting if we kill our brother and Blood come on the basement lights. Let's not harm him because he's our brother. He's family and his brother agreed. Spell disagree and then wins the midianites traitor pass by here and midianites and ishmaelites are interchangeable terms. They pulled Joseph up out of the situation dating the brothers and they sold him to the ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver and they brought and they the ishmaelites brought Joseph to Egypt and the silver with the going rate for a boy who is not yet of age. So I'm not going to notice. He asked me lights are the descendants of Ishmael the other son.

I need for him. So that's also interesting the son who was the son of the son of the slave who was kicked out Abraham kicked out at 3 had his his son after he had a son by his wife.

When Reuben the oldest would apparently wanted off return to the cistern and found that Joseph wasn't in any tourist clothes, which is a common symbol of mourning and grief at the time. Then he returned to his brother is inside the boys gone and I went and where can I where can I go now? Pause brother to Joseph robe Slaughter melkote dip the robe in the blood and they took the long robe price their father instead. We found this see if it's your son's real or not. So they let his father come to his own conclusions about what happened to Father fourth recognizes it and says, it's my son's robe a wild animal must have devoured him. He must have been torn to pieces. Then Jacob tore his clothes put on morning cloth and mourned for his son for many days.

Did the man that was supposed to be taken down to a virus? But now a lot of stuff happened in between this point in the pit and the the the neck part of our scripture reading which actually happened to the very end of of Genesis. It's going to go really quickly kind of what happens here. Joseph is sold to the Egyptians and specifically to tune Egyptian Egyptian and he rises in the ranks in that Egyptians household and becomes the most important the most important servant because he's very good taking care of the Egyptians household, but the Egyptian wife becomes infatuated with him and attempt to seduce him and when Joseph refuses her the wife accuses him of attempted rape and gets him thrown into jail. Noah Joseph is in jail to Affair of the servants are thrown in jail and have dreams and Joseph interprets. The dreams successfully thing that one of them is going to be killed and the other one is going to be forgiven and and the back into the service of the Pharaoh. Later years later. Apparently when the Pharaoh has strange dreams of his own and none of his servants can interpret them the servant who have been in jail remembers Joseph and call for him to come interpreted Pharaoh's dream and interpret and Joseph interprets the dreams to mean that there's going to be 7 years of really good harvest in the land and then there's going to be 7 years of really bad famine in the family is going to be so bad that it will completely erase the previous 7 years worth of of good harvest. And so he tells Pharaoh that the Pharaoh needs to begin saving up the green from the land of Egypt so that he can have Grain Belt up to give out to people when the family, it's a pharaoh put Joseph in charge of this and makes Joseph basically the second into in control of all of all of Egypt and Mary Joseph to Egyptian woman and Joseph and have two sons by this woman. The famine comes and during the famine Joseph's brothers and fathers and their family run out of food. And so Jacob spends Joseph Brothers to Egypt to get food and when they arrived they meet with Joseph, but they don't recognize Joseph. Joseph is dressed as an Egyptian now, he's much older. I'm all of this stuff. And so Joseph recognizes them but is still angry about what happened and so he plays a couple tricks on them. And eventually he after you feel like they've they've suffered enough. He he reveal who he is to them and tell them to go back to his father tell him that he's alive and bring your father and all of their family and all their possessions and everything back to Egypt to settle in the land of Goshen, which is a Northeastern Egypt. Norovirus, so they go back and get Jacob Jacobs is of course extremely happy to know that Joseph is still alive. And I said, hey come down and take a makes the mix Joseph swear that when he dies that they'll take Joseph bone back to Charlotte a chicken's bones back to to Cannon to hear em, bury them in the family too. And so Jacob dies and the the family goes back to Kane the brothers. I'll go back to Canaan and bury their father in the family tomb Nickelback to Egypt and that's where are our scripture picks up. Then it one chick one stick of dead that the brothers are now worried because their father was kind of protecting them in their mind. And so this is many years later and that Jacob dies. So it says when Joseph Brothers realize that their father was not dead they said what is Joseph there's a grudge against us and wants us to what's the path back seriously for all the Terrible Things We did to him. Reproach yourself and said your father gave orders before he died telling us. This is what you should say to Joseph. Please forgive your brother sins and misdeeds for they did terrible things to you. Now, please forgive the sins of the Servants of your father is God. So hear the appeal not only to their father but to their father is God.

Joseph wept when they spoke to him his brother's wept you fell down in front of him instead. We are here at the or slaves. But Joseph said to them don't be afraid. Am I God you planned something bad for me, but God produce something good from it. In order to save the lives of many people just as he's doing today. It'll be afraid I will take care of you and your children. So they put them at ease and spoke reassuringly to them.

so What's interesting here? It's up until this point Joseph Brothers have not actually asked for forgiveness. They have not thought forgiveness from their brother. They have not apologized for what they've done. Anyway, they've just kind of not said anything and been accepted back and I've been living in Egypt. Everything's been okay, but no one's really dealt with the big elephant in the room. That is if they tried to kill their brother until their father dies, and then they after their forced to deal with this reality the family other family Dynamics.

and it isn't until his brother is repent and ask for forgiveness. Bow down before him just as his prophecy of his vision his dream foretold.

Are really repented really asking for repentance. That Joseph actually forgive them before this. It's obvious that Joseph has four kind of forgiving them in his heart and he let them back in. He's you know, he weeps when they when they come to him in Egypt he weeps to see them because he's so excited to see his brother is alive. But he never actually forgive them never tell them they are forgiven until they come to him and seek forgiveness and they they come to him and and repent. They turn in their ways back. I'm in try to create try to reconcile their relationship with him. Then he forgives them out right says don't worry. I'm going to take care of you having Define.

Salon Reading

To work out in there. Do I want to focus on is this forgiveness? Joseph is sometimes seen as kind of a foreshadowing figure of Jesus. He's sold and sold first the people around him plot to kill him because they don't like that. He is the favorite.

He's thrown into a cistern. Going to jail. He he sold for money.

But God in the end turns the act of of betrayal. into an act of salvation because it's because of the brothers betrayal and Joseph. Trip to Egypt that Joseph is able to later save his brothers and family from the terrible famine. And so it wasn't for Joseph in the family have died of starvation. And so the evil thing that his brothers did God turns into There's own salvation and similarly to how God changes there are triumphs over the evil of the crucifixion with the salvation of the Resurrection. So Joseph is often seen kind of disease archetypal figure. Showing what? Jihadis it'll be later. But I think that Jesus of course speaks endlessly about forgiveness and about forgiving how many times should I forgive 7 times now? I say Seventy Times seven times, right? I mean he talked about it all the time about forgiveness and forgiveness is very important to being a disciple of Jesus. But here's the butt but I think that sometimes these texts like this one and like the Seventy Times Seven to text are used to excuse bad behavior, especially in abusive relationships, especially in situations. For example, where where lgbtq plus people are kicked out of their homes or are sent to conversion therapy or have horrible things done to them when family disowned people and everyone says I'll will you should forgive them. You should forgive them because that's what Jesus would do. Jesus would forgive them. Joseph would forgive them, right but Joseph doesn't just forgive them right away.

Joseph waits for them to come to him and repent and I think this is an important Nuance in the text because sometimes you're just not ready to forgive something.

You know the story with my uncle is very similar to this. You know, have I forgiven my uncle for trying to cheat me out of my inheritance. Yes in my in my heart. I have forgiven him because I understand. that it with his own character in his own situation that caused him to do that. And it's out of his own nature and I forgive him because I forgiven him in that I don't hold a grudge against you over anymore. But have I forgiven him to his face? No have I tried to reach out to him since then? No. because I think that he is not interested my forgiveness. I have not tried to reach out to me. If not tried to to repent to tell me that he's sorry for what he did. I can't see it my way and so I haven't. I haven't gone out of my way. To work my way back into his life. I think that's a good and healthy boundary to have I think that people need to have healthy boundaries and sometimes text like this are used by abusive or unrepentant family members point to and say this is what you should do. You should forgive because Jesus would forgive what does the Bible say it says this But there's more nuanced to it than that. There's more nuanced and we need to be we need to hold that Nuance wiederhold with multiple viewpoints intention. And take all of them into account.

So I think the moral of this story is forgiveness is good for your soul, but But don't let that convince you to forgive someone who has treated you poorly. If they're not ready to seek forgiveness.

Forgive to lessen your own burden, but don't let them off the hook.

So what I ain't challenge you to do now this week after you leave the service is to go and think about people in your life who?

perhaps you should seek forgiveness from

and we got to those people if you they're comfortable doing so, you know, there's a lot of crazy things go on the road right now a lot of uncertainty. Don't let those things go too long.

reach out and and seek forgiveness

I'm in.