Here are the six posts in my series Joseph Tested His Brothers. The story of Joseph testing his brothers illustrates how to test whether an abuser has truly reformed, and how to discern true reformation from pseudo-reformation. 1. Joseph tested his brothers by falsely accusing them 2. The second test Joseph gave his brothers 3. Reconciled with… Continue reading Joseph Tested His Brothers — Digest
Tag: Genesis
We can learn a lot about wise reconciliation by comparing and contrasting our own situations to that of Joseph
1. When Joseph tested his brothers so stringently, he came from a position of robust health, self-confidence and social approval. The abuse Joseph suffered, whilst grave, was not so extreme, soul-destroying or prolonged that he was permanently damaged. Joseph’s trauma was relatively light compared to the trauma of long-term domestic abuse, repeated rape, child abuse,… Continue reading We can learn a lot about wise reconciliation by comparing and contrasting our own situations to that of Joseph
Joseph’s treatment of his brothers — reflections and applications
Update: I have altered this post after receiving constructive criticism from Sister. I no longer agree with everything I wrote in the first version but am keeping the first version in the public domain as a PDF (link). It can also be found at the Web Archive — Barbara Roberts, April 16th, 2021 *** Joseph’s… Continue reading Joseph’s treatment of his brothers — reflections and applications
Joseph’s brothers were afraid of Joseph even though he had forgiven them
After their father died, the ten older brothers were afraid of Joseph’s anger. This post explores why. It also discusses the value of comprehensive horizontal confession: confessing in detail to the person we have hurt exactly how we sinned against them. (Gen 50:14-15) After Joseph buried his father, he returned to Egypt with his brothers… Continue reading Joseph’s brothers were afraid of Joseph even though he had forgiven them
Reconciled with his brothers
Joseph would have been glad to see his older brothers again, but he still did not know how far he could trust them. In order to test them he had set them up with charges of theft (see part 2 of this series). Now he needed to see how they would respond. (Gen 44:14 -16… Continue reading Reconciled with his brothers
The second test Joseph gave his brothers
Joseph, as Governor of Egypt, had begun testing his brothers by falsely accusing them of being spies. He had retained Simeon in custody and instructed the other nine brothers to return home and come again to Egypt bringing their youngest brother Benjamin with them. (see part 1 of this series) Their father Jacob was very… Continue reading The second test Joseph gave his brothers
Joseph tested his brothers by falsely accusing them
In order to probe whether his older brothers had repented, Joseph falsely accused his brothers, raised a false report and uttered a lie. Yes — that's the same saintly Joseph, eleventh son of Jacob, whose humility in suffering is held up as a model for how we ought to respond when we are mistreated. The… Continue reading Joseph tested his brothers by falsely accusing them
A Cry For Justice 