Читать книгу Boyd's Commentary - R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation - Страница 29

Whether one calls it revenge, vengeance, or reprisal, all forms of retribution are someone’s idea of justice without mercy (which isn’t justice, by the way). In a hostile world, redress is a natural response of those who have been offended. According to popular society, it’s like a “dish best served cold,” referring to the so-called “sweet” benefits of payback. But the sweetness of revenge is bad for our health and fails to deliver the delight one would think it does. Retaliating against one who has wronged us always will result in unsatisfying outcomes. In fact, behavioral scientists have observed that instead of quenching hostility, revenge only prolongs the unpleasantness of the original offense. Merely bringing harm upon an offender is not enough to satisfy a person’s vengeful spirit. This is evidence that revenge was never meant for us to dispense but is an act that should be left for God to orchestrate.

Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, “Never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord’ ” (Rom. 12:19, NRSV). Believers who have been offended need to let God exact vengeance on their behalf, for God is God over both the offended and the offender, and only He knows what justice demands.

From Joseph’s perspective, this was easier said than done. At the time of today’s lesson, the famine in the land had become so severe that Jacob, Joseph’s father, instructed all but one of his sons to go to Egypt to buy grain. This meant they would have to unknowingly face their brother and ultimately the shame they had been living with for thirteen years. The dream Joseph dreamed when he was seventeen was finally coming true—his family was coming to bow down to him.

From a position of power, Joseph had a choice to make. He could give into the seductive urge of revenge or choose to forgive. As for the brothers, they too had a choice to make—face their shame or continue to hide from it.