Most people have regrets about their own past mistakes. Yet if people have it their way, they would not let the past affect their present or future life no matter how grievous the wrongs might be. That is the just the selfishness of humans. Fortunately or unfortunately, life does not work like that. The past does come back to haunt people. Today’s chapter, titled “The Haunting Past Mistakes” illustrates that the past does come back to haunt us.
Commentary:
Genesis 42:1-5. The famine was also in the land of Canaan. The family of Jacob was also affected, and the brothers were apparently stunt by this unprecedented calamity. Jacob ordered his sons to buy grains from Egyptians.
Genesis 42:6-28. Joseph was the supreme administrator in Egypt. Yet he set up a system where he had to interview all foreigners who came to buy grains. No doubt this was his attempt to see his family when they came looking for grains.
Verse 7 described that Joseph spoke to his brothers harshly. The description referred to the fact that he accused them as spies. In those days, spies were typically put to death. Joseph threw them in jail on suspicion of that ground.
The stress of imprisonment and the probable death for the crime of spying reminded the brothers about Joseph. They thought of their own callous attitudes and actions toward Joseph and became openly remorseful in their own plight. Knowing that they could do nothing now to undo their wrongs in the past only exacerbated their guilt and pain.
Genesis 42:29-34. After the brothers got home, they retold their story to the father. The imprisonment of Simeon reminded Jacob of the pain of losing Joseph. Jacob was not about to lose Benjamin. The past has come into the present and continues to haunt everyone involved.
Meditation:
No one thinks that they can get away with everything, but all think that they can get away with something. Deep inside we all hope we can get away with the worse thing in our life. Make no mistake about it; God is in control, so He would bring back the essential ones to haunt us. Joseph’s brothers were learning the essential lessons. What are the essentials?
It is essential that we need to be repentant of our sins. Repentance is not remorse. Remorse is an attitude of feeling bad but has no conviction to change. Remorse says that I wish I did not do that because the result was bad for me. Yet given the same scenario again, one may repeat the same mistake and hope to get away with it by not being discovered.
Repentance is different from remorse. Repentance is the recognition of the sinfulness at the core of our actions. Repentance results in our own disdain and hatred toward our own wrong. It is a deep seated conviction to never repeat the same mistake/action again no matter how unlikely we would be exposed.
Friends, Jesus came to save us from sin and its consequences. Believe and be repentant of our sins. Therefore, all children of God would have to shun the sin and to return to God and His way.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for making us your children. We pray that we would more and more like Jesus each and every day. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
I understand what repentance is, and that remorse is not needed nor is it essential. However, repentance is a hard thing to do is it not? Is that why most people choose remorse at times or simple faking upon that of repentance? I mean, I can try to repent, but at times is it the devil that is making me do the choice later not to repent, or is it just me?
Comment by tsou — May 21, 2010 @ 8:42 pm