Nougat 2

The laughter continues …

Here’s today’s Holy Nougat

“As the Midianite merchants were passing by, the brothers pulled Joseph out of the cistern. They sold him to the Ishmaelites for eight ounces of silver. The Ishmaelites took him to Egypt.”‬ ‭‭

“As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them. But he acted as if he didn’t know them and spoke harshly to them. “Where did you come from?” he asked them. “From Canaan, to buy food,” they answered. Even though Joseph recognized his brothers, they didn’t recognize him.” Genesis‬ ‭ 37:28‬; 42:7-8‬ ‭GW‬‬

They did NOT recognize him!

It is as though having sold him into slavery, Joseph’s brothers forgot what his features looked like. Or maybe like us, they were living in a masked society, so they couldn’t see Joseph’s features. I think that the irony (laughter) is that they sold him to Midianite/Ishmaelite traders and not one of them seemed to have considered meeting Joseph in Egypt. Not Reuben, who’d intended to rescue him from the cistern; nor even Judah, who crafted the idea of selling Joseph.

Perhaps they never considered the possibility because they figured that Joseph wasn’t allowed to do any hard labor, so they could not imagine him surviving those many years, especially in Egypt. Or, they could not imagine him rising to importance as a foreigner, more so a trafficked person.

But God had plans for Joseph

And the plotting and scheming of his brothers could not alter those plans. Not trafficking, not Potiphar‘s wife, not prison time, not being forgotten, nor dreams nor schemes! In fact, those all worked together for shaping Joseph and equipping him for God’s plans.

Betrayal is hard. But thanks be to God; it doesn’t have to carry the last word! If we survive it, we can rise above it and even be in the position to help our betrayer! I think that’s where the waters get a lot troubled/troubling.

For, when faced with our betrayer, we have a choice –

a) to continue in the pain which returns with a vengeance and a desire for revenge; or

b) to forgive, so we laugh alongside God. I assure us – option b is the absolute hardest!!!! Only by God’s grace and a very strong dose of God’s humor.

May God’s humor punctuate our lives beyond our wildest experiences, filling the gaps of betrayal, heartache and suffering; offering blessings and forgiveness (God’s sweet fragrance) … wherever we go.

—

May all we seek be found in Christ