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My favorite Bible story...the one that I come back to again and again. Joseph. Not the one wed to Mary, but rather the one sold by his siblings into slavery. I get Joseph. His life, as strange as it was, makes sense to me. Why? Because he and I share something in common. We are/were both outcasts who had to take an unexpected journey on the road to forgiveness.
Joseph's story is one of betrayal, heartache, jealousy, and eventually reconciliation. In thirteen chapters (the longest of the patriarchal stories), God lays out an example of how we should interact with those how have hurt us deeply. It covers what to do when you are taken someplace you don't want to go, how to set up boundaries with those that are unsafe, and most importantly, how to forgive.
Recently, I picked up a historical fiction novel about Joseph's life by Terri Fivash. Oh my! Her retelling of the story opened my eyes to the ordeal Joseph went through and gave me food for thought. Now granted, this is historical fiction and we don't know all the details, but Terri gives a glimpse into the process Joseph may have gone through to get to the point of forgiving his brothers. She also brings up points in the life of Joseph that I would never have thought of...like how his life may have been in danger because he was a foreigner ruling in Egypt!
If you are looking for a great way to dive deep into the story or Joseph or if you are on your own unexpected and unwanted journey to forgive someone, I would highly recommend Terri's book! There is also a Bible study on Joseph that would go along great with this historical fiction novel,Joseph: The Journey to Forgiveness by Melissa Spoelstra. Check it out!
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