(Meant for Good 9) How to interpret your past
Published by Olwin Gosal in 2026 · 23 August 2026
Joseph: Meant for Good 9
How to interpret your past
How do we look at our past? What do you think about God when you look back? The past shapes you, but it does not define who you are. We have reflected together on the story of Joseph for eight weeks. Today, we come to the final discussion. Let us open Genesis 50:15-26. There are three things we want to reflect on from this reading.
1. Do not let the past accuse you
In verse 15, "When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, 'If Joseph is holding a grudge against us, he will certainly repay us for all the suffering we caused him." Joseph was done with his past. That is why he named his son in Genesis 41:51, "Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh and said, 'God has made me forget all my hardship and my whole family."
His brothers did not see what Joseph had already done for them. He had cared for them, looked after them, and fed them, which showed that Joseph had truly forgiven them. They seemed to live constantly under the guilt and accusation of their past mistakes. However, Joseph had already released his forgiveness to them and chosen to forget the bad things he had experienced. His brothers could not believe that Joseph had truly forgiven and forgotten their wrongs. Forgetting does not mean it was erased from his mind, but it means he no longer held a grudge over everything that had happened.
In verses 16–18, they tried to negotiate with Joseph: 16 "So they sent this message to Joseph: 'Before he died, your father gave a command: 17 “Say this to Joseph: Please forgive your brothers’ transgression and sin—for they treated you badly.” So now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when their message came to him. 18 "His brothers also came to him, bowed down before him, and said, 'We are your slaves." If we read the Bible, we do not find any record of Jacob giving such a message. Therefore, it is highly likely that they were telling a lie because they were filled with doubt and fear.
Sometimes in our lives, we also try to negotiate with God, don't we? We know that Jesus died for us. We know that when we confess our sins, He forgives us. We know that we are forgiven when we believe in His coming, suffering, death, and resurrection. We know we have faith and hope in everything Jesus has done. But deep down in our hearts, we ask, "Does He really forgive and forget the mistake I just made?" We often feel that what we did is too heavy and impossible to be forgiven. My brothers and sisters, it is impossible for us to experience change if we keep punishing ourselves for our past. We must believe that God's grace is enough for our lives. Romans 8:1 says, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus." Do not let the past accuse you!
2. Seeing God's hand without minimizing the pain
Often, we are people who constantly try to hide the pain we experience. We say, "I am okay." We do not want to look weak by admitting our pain, even though that pain is a reality in our lives. In verses 19–21, "But Joseph said to them, 'Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people. 21 Therefore don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.' And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them."
Joseph was open about the fact that what they did was evil. This clearly means Joseph did not justify their actions; it was a bad thing, and he was truly hurt. Joseph did not become a superficial comforter to his brothers by saying, "Don't worry, I have forgiven and forgotten, what you did was no big deal." Joseph did not minimize the pain he went through. He acknowledged their evil to prove that in the midst of their wickedness, God's faithfulness and intervention were revealed in his life. They planned evil, but God intended it for good.
Joseph wanted to show that the pain he experienced because of their evil was not the end of his life's journey, because God had not finished writing his entire story. My brothers and sisters, sometimes when we are going through very painful times, we easily jump to conclusions about our whole life. In reality, that is just one small part of the long and many-sided journey that God has planned for us. In just one difficult season of life, we often start blaming God, saying, "God has forgotten me," "God is not listening to me," or "Everything has failed and is broken." And we ask, "Where is God in the middle of all this?" But my brothers and sisters, we do not know what God is working out in and through our lives, because we are not God!
When we are in painful times, let us keep our eyes fixed on God, who is full of faithful love, and who plans our lives for glorious purposes.
3. God's faithfulness and confidence for the future
In verses 22–26, "Joseph remained in Egypt with his father’s family. He lived 110 years 23 and saw Ephraim’s sons to the third generation; the sons of Machir son of Manasseh were also born on Joseph’s knees. 24 Joseph said to his brothers, 'I am about to die, but God will certainly come to your aid and bring you up from this land to the land he swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' 25 So Joseph made the sons of Israel take an oath: 'When God comes to your aid, you must bring my bones up from here.' 26 Joseph died at the age of 110. They embalmed him and placed him in a coffin in Egypt."
Joseph experienced God's faithful love in the past, in the present, and he believed that God's faithful love would be revealed in his life and the life of his family. Joseph believed and tried to convince his brothers that the God who makes promises is a faithful God. He is the God who will bring them back to the land He promised, which is the land of Canaan. Joseph was not just talking; this was exactly what God had already revealed and proven in his own life.
That is why he says in verse 25, "When God comes to your aid, you must bring my bones up from here." Why did Joseph ask them to carry his bones? God's faithful love to Joseph in the past would serve as a reminder to them that the same God would continue to show His faithful love in the future. Even though the time between Joseph's death and their departure from Egypt was about 300 years, whenever they looked at Joseph's coffin, they would always be reminded of God's promise and faithfulness. Hebrews 11:22 says, "By faith Joseph, as he was nearing the end of his life, mentioned the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions concerning his bones." Joseph's death became a testimony of God's faithfulness, and what Joseph said about God bringing them out of Egypt was the absolute truth.
That is why when the Israelites left Egypt, they carried Joseph's bones with them. Exodus 13:19 says, "Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, because Joseph had made the Israelites swear a solemn oath, saying, 'God will certainly come to your aid, then you must bring my bones up from here with you.'" Joshua 24:32 says, "Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the plot of land Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver. It was an inheritance for Joseph’s descendants."
In the end, the past does hurt us, but do not let your past keep accusing you. Let us look to God's faithful love instead. His grace is enough, and it is even overflowing. The arrival, suffering, sacrifice, death, and resurrection of Jesus are the answers to God's faithful love that redeems, forgives, and sets us free. Christ revealed His love so that we can look to the future He has prepared, enjoy a beautiful relationship with God, and be used to expand His kingdom.