The Practice of Joseph

The sons of Jacob put Joseph in a pit before selling him into slavery. Then they tore his coat and soaked it in blood. They tricked their father into thinking Joseph was dead.

Many years later, after Joseph become second-in-command in Egypt, he revealed himself to his brothers. Joseph graciously offered to feed the extended family during the famine and sent his brothers to bring their father down to Egypt. When the family arrived is Egypt there is no biblical reference of Joseph telling his aged father how his brothers mistreated him years earlier. Perhaps Joseph had learned from his previous mistake, that it is never wise to bring "a bad report" (Genesis 37:2).

The Practice of Jesus

As second-in-command in Egypt, Joseph is a type of Jesus, the second person of the Trinity. The Lord also forgives our former sins and never mentions them again. Consider these verses:

"I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more" Jeremiah 31:34
"As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us" Psalm 103:12
"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool" Isaiah 1:18
'[God] will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea" Micah 7:19

The Practice of Christians

When we are wronged there is a temptation to tell others. "You won't believe what that other person did to me!" Study the following verses to learn how to respond the next time you are offended.

"Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sin" Proverbs 10:12
"He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction" Proverbs 13.3
"An ungodly man digs up evil, and it is on his lips like a burning fire" Proverbs 16.27
"The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression”
"Argue your case with your neighbor himself, and do not reveal another's secret" Proverbs 25:9.