GRACE: THE LAST WORD – 2-18-2024 – Genesis 50:15-21

Now that Jacob has finally died, nothing stands between Joseph and his revenge, or so his brother feared. Of all the riveting events In the life of Joseph, from his sensational prophetic dreams, to the betrayal of his brother, to his rise to international prominence from the unjust confines of an Egyptian prison, to his world-rescuing famine pollcies ... this turn of events upon the death of Jacob and the appeal for mercy by his brothers, is perhaps the most compelling. The biography of Joseph reads like a riveting classic revenge tale with a redemptive twist in its closing chapter illustrating the Gospel with jaw dropping literary force. Joseph's story crescendos with a paradox of forgiveness; those who wield the greatest power of grace are those who have endured the greatest wrongs yet have the means of retribution within their grasp. From chapter 37 to 50 of Genesis, a redemptive theme writes the story of Joseph. We witness here Joseph's faith in a future Messiah who will pay for his sins and the sins of his brothers granting him grace to forgive.