Key Thought: Joseph’s life illustrates the power of forgiveness. Forgiveness releases us from the poison of bitterness and resentment.
August 14, 2021

1. Have a volunteer read Genesis 42:21-24.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What was Joseph trying to do in the first meeting with his brothers? What did he hear?
3. Personal Application: What family difficulty can you work to facilitate reconciliation and bring resolve to? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “Joseph could have held a great grudge against his brothers. He could have easily gotten even. Why did he choose not to get revenge, or at least give them a hard time?” How would you respond to your friend?

2. Have a volunteer read Matthew 18:31-35.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What does forgiving others do for us?
3. Personal Application: How are we supposed to respond to those who hurt us? How are we doing in that regard? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “If we forgive someone, does that mean there won’t be consequences? Does it mean they are allowed to continue abusive and destructive patterns? If forgiveness a blank check for them?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Genesis 50:15-21..

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. What were Joseph’s brothers worried about?
3. Personal Application: What happens when forgiveness doesn’t turn out so well? How do we deal with less than happy endings? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “I’ll forgive someone when they confess to me and say they are sorry and ask for my forgiveness. If they can’t admit they were wrong and tell me they are sorry, I’m not going to forgive them.“ How would you respond to your relative?

4. Have a volunteer read Luke 23:34; 6:28; Matt 5:44..

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. Is there any importance to the timing of forgiveness?
3. Personal Application: Is there anyone you need to forgive, not only for their sake but also for your own?” Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

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Rest. The word used most frequently in our Sabbath School Lesson pamphlet this quarter. “Thou shalt rest, Thou shalt rest!” These are words repeated each verse of
Hymn 387 – Come, O Sabbath Day, our theme hymn for this quarter.

We could add to the theme
Hymn 529 – Under His Wings. Each week of study this quarter, gives more and more of showing God’s deepest care for us, His children. As God’s children we find out about the Biblical family growing pains, and this still happens today. Yet, we are still “under His wings”.

The Memory Text tells us that Joseph knew God sent him –
Hymn 578 – So Send I You, with the Sabbath afternoon reading amazing us at forgiveness –
Hymn 299 – Forgive Our Sins As We Forgive. The words “forgive” and “forgiveness” then pour into the rest of the weeks lesson. The story does not stop here with Sunday revealing
Jesus Paid It all – Hymn 184. It is because of Jesus paying the price for our sins, we are pardoned:
Hymn 294 – Power In the Blood and
Hymn 177 – Jesus Your Blood and Righteousness.

Finally, it is prayer that will give us the power to forgive:
Hymn 488 – At First I Prayed for Light. We can then take a further step forward and tell others
For You I Am Praying – Hymn 284.

Blessings for a wonderful week ahead.

To learn unknown hymns, you will find the accompaniment music for each one at: https://sdahymnals.com/Hymnal/

Another great resource is for when there is a hymn you wish to sing, but can’t find it in your hymnal. Go to https://www.sdahymnal.org and in the search bar type a special word in that is in the hymn. I am sure you will be amazed at the help you will be given.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

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Forgiveness has been defined as the willingness to abandon one’s right to resentment, condemnation, and revenge toward an offender or group who acts unjustly. Dr. Marilyn Armour, a family therapist who worked with Holocaust survivors in order to find out what these survivors had done to make sense of what had happened to them, writes: “The whole idea of forgiveness is an intentional act by the victim. It’s not something that just happens.”

Forgiveness doesn’t mean that there will be no consequences. Forgiveness doesn’t mean letting an abuser continue abusive patterns. Forgiveness means, instead, that we turn our resentment and our desire for revenge over to God. If not, the anger, the bitterness, the resentment, and the hatred will make whatever that person or persons did to us even worse.

What does forgiving others do for us? Consider Matthew 18:21-35.

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No question, one of the keys in learning to forgive is to understand what we have been forgiven in Christ. We have all sinned, not just against other people but against God, as well.

Every sin is, indeed, a sin against our Lord and Maker; and yet, in Jesus, we can claim total forgiveness for all those sins, not because we deserve it — we don’t — but only because of God’s grace toward us. Once we can grasp that sacred truth, once we can make this forgiveness our own, once we can experience for ourselves the reality of God’s forgiveness, we can begin to let go and forgive others. We forgive not because others deserve it but because it’s what we have received from God and what we need ourselves. And besides, how often do we deserve forgiveness, as well?

As we saw, too, Joseph offered a second chance for the family relations. No grudges here; no falling back to things that happened in the past.

It is almost impossible to begin again in a family when we have each become experts at learning how best to hurt each other. But that’s not how Joseph reacts. It seems that he wants to put the past behind them and to move ahead with love and acceptance. Had Joseph a different attitude, this story would have had a different ending, one not so happy.

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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Joseph has forgiven his brothers. We don’t know exactly when Joseph forgave them, but it was obviously long before they showed up. Joseph probably would never have thrived in Egypt if he had not forgiven because, most likely, the anger and bitterness would have eaten away at his soul and damaged his relations with the Lord.

Several studies of survivors of tragedy inflicted on them by others have highlighted the fact that for victims of the most horrible suffering, forgiveness was a key factor to find healing and to get their lives together again. Without forgiveness, we remain victims. Forgiveness has more to do with ourselves than with the person or persons who have wronged us.

Even though Joseph has forgiven his brothers, he is not willing to let the family relationships pick up where he left them; that is, at the dry pit at Dothan. He has to see if anything has changed.

What does Joseph overhear? Read Genesis 42:21-24. What does he learn about his brothers?

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All communication has been taking place through an interpreter, and so Joseph’s brothers are unaware that he can understand them. Joseph hears his brothers’ confession. The brothers had thought that by getting rid of Joseph, they would be free from his reporting to their father. They thought that they would not have to put up with his dreams or watch him revel in the role of being their father’s favorite. But instead of finding rest, they have been plagued by a guilty conscience all these years. Their deed had led to restlessness and a paralyzing fear of God’s retribution. Joseph actually feels sorry for their suffering. He weeps for them.

Joseph knows that the famine will still last several more years, and so he insists that they bring Benjamin back with them the next time they come to buy grain (Genesis 42:20). He also keeps Simeon hostage (Genesis 42:24).

After seeing that Benjamin is still alive, he organizes a feast in which he obviously shows favoritism to Benjamin (Genesis 43:34) to see if the old patterns of jealousy were still there. The brothers don’t show any signs of being jealous, but Joseph knows how cunning they can be. After all, they did deceive a whole town (Genesis 34:13), and he surely figures that they must have lied to their own father about his fate (Genesis 37:31-34). So, he devises one more major test. (See Genesis 44:1-34.)

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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Eventually, things moved in the right direction for Joseph, big time. He not only gets out of prison, but he is made prime minister of Egypt after interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams (Genesis 41:1-57). He is married and has two children of his own (Genesis 41:50-52). The storehouses of Egypt are full, and the predicted famine has begun. And then, one day, Joseph’s brothers turn up in Egypt.

Read the first encounter between Joseph and his brothers in Genesis 42:7-20. Why the elaborate plot? What was Joseph trying to do with this first meeting?

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Joseph had the power and could have taken his revenge on his brothers without having to justify himself. But, rather than revenge, Joseph is concerned about the members of his family at home. He is worried about his father. Was he still alive, or had a dysfunctional family become a family without a patriarch? And what about his brother Benjamin? As his father’s delight and joy, Benjamin was now in the same position that Joseph had been. Had the brothers transferred their dangerous jealousy to Benjamin? Joseph is now in a position to look out for these vulnerable people in his family, and he does just that.

Practicing biblical principles in our relationships will not mean that we ever can or should accept abuse. Each one of us is precious in God’s sight. Jesus paid the ultimate price on the cross for each one of us.

Why does Jesus take abuse or neglect of others so personally? Read Matthew 25:41-46.

We have all been bought through Jesus’ blood, and legally we are all His. Anyone who is abusive is attacking Jesus’ property.

Sexual abuse and emotional or physical violence are never to be a part of family dynamics. This is not just private family business to be resolved internally. This will need outside help and intervention. If you or someone in your family is being abused, please get help from a trusted professional.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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