The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1963-09-13

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The whole story of Joseph in
Egypt makes one of the most
fascinating tales in the world
There is not miracle in it and
yet it is more wonderful than
many a story of magic, white or
black. It is the story of a slave
boy who rose to a throne all his
own. He came just as close to
being king as a man could be.
and certainly welded power not
second even to that of the
Pharaoh. pharaoh, by the way,
is not a name, but a title, like
King or Emperor There is just
one point in that story which
takes our attention this week
the climax Of the plot, we might
call it, where Joseph finally con-
fronts his brothers face to face,
has those ruthless men in his
power and forgives them!
Love Is The Basis
What might have been a story
of vengeance - evil for evil
turns out to be story of good
good that is beyond most
peoples imagination even: re-
turning good for evil. Joseph had
never read the New Testament,
and yet he acted just as if he
had been reading the sermon on
the mount. He has in his power
the men who plotted against his
life; and yet he forgives them.
Why? The word love" is not
used in this story. Joseph him
self may have been a senti-
mental man, but his biographer
was certainly not. Joseph was
brave, and chivalrous and loyal,
but those .adjectives are not used
by the inspired story-teller. He
doesn't have to use the word.
Just try telling the story to peo-
pie who never heard it before
and ask them: Why did Joseph
forgive his brothers? They will
probably give the natural reply:
He must have loved them very
much. That's very clear. ism t
it? What other motive could
produce such whole hearted for
giveness? So-called forgiveness,
on any other basis, isn't the real
thing. Men forgive" others for
show, or because it's demanded
of them by society, or to get rid
of an unpleasantness . but the
result is GOODNESS and aloof
suspicion, not true forgiveness.
Repentance The Condition
But the day when Joseph for
gave his brothers was not the
first day he had seen them.
Why didn't he forgive his broth
ers on sight? Why the delay?
Why all that business of the state
dinner, and the cup in the sack
of grain? Couldn't he have for
given his brothers right away?
The reason for his waiting lay in
the fact that when the brothers
came to Egypt the first time,
Joseph had no way of knowing
what they were like now. In
more than 20 years, much can
happen. Had they changed or
were they all the same conscien-
celess devils they used to be-?
Joseph had to find out. The
Judah who so eagerly offered
his life for the life of his broth
er Benjamin was different
man from the Judah who sold
his brother Joseph into slavery.
Probably the others were differ
ent too; Joseph. a good judge Of
character, may have seen in
their faces that they sympathiz-
ed and agreed with Judah. Some
thing real. something new had
entered the picture. This new
thing was. repentance. T e
meaning Of that word is trans
formation-of -the-mind, a new
way of looking at life. True re-
pentance is not a flash of re-
greet, it is a continuing change of
heart. Without it there can be
no forgiveness. Readiness to for
give, yes; but not forgiveness.
Not even God offers forgiveness
to those who will not repent.
II forgiveness like repentance
is an inward thing, an attitude.
how can we tell when it is genu-
inc? Well, the New Testament
speaks Of the fruits Of repent
ance' and might well speak of
the fruits Of forgiveness We
have good reason to believe that
Judah had repented because of
the way he acted about Benja-
min and Jacob. We have equal
ly good reason for being sure
that Joseph really forgave his
brothers, by what he proceeded
to do for them. True forgiveness
is not an eraser to wipe off the
past and leave the blackboard
clean. It is not a disinfectant to
destroy the germs of hate. Rath-
er, forgiveness is positive, crea-
tive. It draws a fresh new
picture of life; it brings health.
The forgiven proves himself by
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