they rewarded me evil for good

8/3/2019 They Rewarded Me Evil For Good

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They Rewarded Evil For Good

They Meant It For Evil

The LORD Meant It For Good

There is a theme in the bible about being rewarded evil for good,and how the LORD can turn the evil inflicted on us for our own

good and the for good of others.

Joseph was the youngest son and favorite of his father Jacob. His

older brothers hated him to the point they wanted to kill him. As

providence would have it, his brothers sold Joseph into slavery.

They then deceived their father Jacob and told him that Joseph was

dead, which broke the old mans heart. Lets read.

Genesis 37: (TANAHK translation)2 And when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than

any of his brothers, they hated him so that they could not speak a

friendly word to him.

His father Jacob asked Joseph to go check on his brothers who

where tending the flocks in another location, and Joseph was atattle tail to his father about his brothers. So, Joseph is going to

check on them. Joseph is seventeen at this time his bother from

four different mothers are much older. (Now were jumping

verses)

18 They (his brothers) saw him from afar off, and before he came

close to them they conspired to kill him.

They said to one another, here comes that dreamer! Come nowlet us kill him and throw him into one of the pits: and we can say,

A savage beast devoured him. We shall see what comes of his

dreams! But when Rueben (his eldest brother) heard it, he tried to

save him from them. He said, Let us not take his life And

Rueben went on, shed no blood! Cast him into that pit out in the


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wilderness, but do not touch him yourselves intending to save

him from them and restore him to his father. When Joseph came to

his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic, the ornamented tunic

that he was wearing and took him and cast him into the pit. The pit

was empty and there was no water in it.Then they sat down to a meal.(remember this they many years

later are going to have another meal). Looking up, they saw a

caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels bearing

gum, balm, and ladanum to be taken to Egypt. Then Judah (notice

the names Rueben & Judah, they play big parts this in the

story, we want to focus on their actions and their years later

responses.) said to his brothers, What do we gain by killing our

brother and covering up his blood? Come, let us sell him to theIshmaelites, but let us not do away with him ourselves. After all he

is our brother, our own flesh. His brother agreed. When the

Midianite traders passed by, they pulled Joseph out of the pit. They

sold Joseph for twenty pieces of silver (ten less than CHRIST) to the

Ishmaelites, who brought Joseph to Egypt. When Reuben returned

to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he rent his clothes.

Returning to his brothers, he said, The boy is gone! Now what am

I to do? Then they took Josephs tunic, slaughtered a kid, and

dipped the tunic in the blood. They had the ornamented tunic taken

to their father, and they said, We found this. Please examine it; is

it your sons tunic or not? He recognized it, and said, My sons

tunic! A savage beast devoured him! Joseph was torn by a beast!

Jacob rent his clothes, put sackcloth on his loins, and observed

mourning for his son many days. All his sons and daughters sought

to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted, saying, No, I will

go down mourning to my son in Sheol. Thus his father bewailed

him.

Joseph was sold to a courtier of Pharaohs court. Now a slave,

Joseph gains he prominence in his masters estate, a few years later

gets thrown in prison by the false accusations from his masters

wife.


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In prison he interprets dreams for men in Pharaohs retinue, then

two years later he interprets two dreams for Pharaoh, who

recognizes Josephs wisdom and makes him second in command in

all of Egypt. Now lets jump to where Joseph meets his brotherssome seventeen years later. Now the tables are turned. Famine

forces the brothers to go to Egypt and Joseph is the one they come

procure food. They dont recognize who Joseph is. Our next setting

of scripture is the King James Version.

Genesis 42:5-21 And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among

those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

6 And Joseph was the governor over the land, andhe it was thatsold to all the people of the land: and Josephs brethren came, and

bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.

7 And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made

himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he

said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of

Canaan to buy food.

8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.

9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them,

and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land

ye are come.

10 And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy

servants come.

11 We are all one mans sons; we are true men, thy servants are

no spies.

12 And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the

land ye are come.

13 And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons ofone man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this

day with our father, and one is not.

14 And Joseph said unto them, That is itthat I spake unto you,

saying, Ye are spies:


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15 Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not

go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.

16 Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be

kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whetherthere be

any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.17 And he put them all together into ward three days.

18 And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live;for

I fear God:

19 If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the

house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your

houses:

20 But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words

be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.21 And they said one to another, We are verily guilty

concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul,

when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this

distress come upon us.

They now know their evil deed to Joseph is coming to fruition.

Notice they say we saw the anguish of his soul, when he

besought us, and we would not hear. Remember Reuben wanted

to save the boy, Judah wanted to sell Joseph - remember this its

important to this study. Lets continue.

Genesis 42:22-28 AndReuben answered them, saying, Spake I not

unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not

hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.

23 And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he

spake unto them by an interpreter.

24 And he turned himself about from them, and wept; andreturned to them again, and communed with them, and took from

them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.

25 Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to

restore every mans money into his sack, and to give them

provision for the way: and thus did he unto them.


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26 And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence.

27 And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender

in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sacks

mouth.

28 And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, itis even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they were

afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done

unto us?

Now theyre blaming GOD. Their poor father Jacob is now to be

anguished even further. Lets continue.

Genesis 42:29-38 And they came unto Jacob their father unto theland of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying,

30 The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and

took us for spies of the country.

31 And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies:

32 We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the

youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.

33 And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall

I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with

me, and takefood forthe famine of your households, and be gone:

34 And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know

that ye are no spies, but thatye are true men: so will I deliver you

your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land.

35 And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold,

every mans bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they

and their fathersaw the bundles of money, they were afraid.

36 AndJacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved

of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will takeBenjamin away: all these things are against me.

37 And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if

I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring

him to thee again.


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38 And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother

is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in

the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs withsorrow to the grave.

As providence would have it the grain runs out and the brothers

have to go back to Egypt and the plot thickens.

In this wonderful story, of Joseph being sold in to slavery by his

older brothers. At the death of their father Jacob, the brothers

feared the retribution for the rotten deed they had done to Joseph.

Genesis 50:15-20 And when Josephs brethren saw that their father

was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will

certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.

16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did

command before he died, saying,

17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the

trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil:

and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the

God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.

18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and

they said, Behold, we be thy servants.

19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: foram I in the place of

God?

20 But as for you,ye thought evil against me; but God meant it

unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people

alive.

Amazingly Joseph was not bitter, but had a lofty and spiritual

insight on the incident. Ye thought evil against me; but GOD

meant it unto good.Joseph was able to see the plan of GOD in his

life in spite of the evil he received at the hands of his brothers.


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This theme of GOD being able to make good come out of evil deeds

against us is prevalent in the bible and essential to the faith in the

Judaic/Christian religion. The LORD can make good come out of

what seems like tragedy. Good always overcomes evil for thosepursuing the LORD, even though it might appear so.

In the life of king David his greatest enemies turn out to be those

of his own household. Absalom, Davids third son did him the

most harm, in trying to usurp his kingdom. (Read my study named

Ahithophel for more detail of the terrible conspiracy committed

against David).

Psalms 109:5 And they have rewarded me evil for good, and

hatred for my love.

Matthew 10:36 And a mans foes shall be they of his own

household.

Psalms 35:11-16 False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my

charge things that I knew not.

12 They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul.

13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was

sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned

into mine own bosom.

14 I behaved myself as though he had been my friend orbrother: I

bowed down heavily, as one that mournethfor his mother.

15 But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves

together:yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me,

and I knew itnot; they did tearme, and ceased not:16 With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me

with their teeth.


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David had a tender heart that is why the LORD made him the king

of Israel. Yet David seems to have been too soft on his children

and they wound up almost being his destruction.

At the death of his son Absalom David grieved as one that

mourneth for his mother.

Jeremiah 18:20Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have

digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to

speak good for them, andto turn away thy wrath from them.

Jeremiah in speaking the truth to Judah was reviled by the religious

and civil leaders of Judah, even though Jeremiah stood before thee

(GOD) to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath fromthem. For his effort Jeremiah received horrible persecution from

them. Judah would not listen to the prophet and for that they were

ejected out of their land at the hands of the Babylonian king

Nebuchadnezzar fulfilling this next proverb.

Proverbs 17:13 Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not

depart from his house.

Jeremiah asked in Jeremiah 18:20,Shall evil be recompensed for

good? The answer of course is no!

According to Judaic-Christian thought we are supposed to pray for

those who despitefully use us.

Jesus CHRIST is the ultimate example of being rewarded evil for

good. He came down from heaven to bring salvation to His

creation and his creation brutally murdered Him. Yet, He had no

hate, He didnt threaten, rail or revile. He is the ultimate exampleof love and forgiveness.

Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them

that curse you, do good to them that hate you, andpray for them

which despitefully use you, and persecute you;


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Luke 6:28 Bless them that curse you, andpray for them which

despitefully use you.

I think that anyone who tries to adhere to the principles of theGOSPEL will suffer being rewarded evil for good. Its for our

spiritual growth. Jesus told us it would be so.

Matthew 18:7 Woe unto the world because of offences!for it must

needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the

offence cometh!

John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me yemight have peace.In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of

good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Offences and tribulation are almost guaranteed.

1 Thessalonians 5:15See that none render evil for evil unto any

man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves,

and to all men.

1 Peter 3:9Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but

contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye

should inherit a blessing.

1 Peter 3:17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer

for well doing, than for evil doing.

It is better to suffer for well doing, than to do evil and avengeyourself. This is a hard lesson, if and when you are rewarded evil

for good, think it not strange for - it is the trial of our faith, a sure

sign that we are growing in the LORD


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One of the most beautiful parables of the LORD is the parable of the

Good Samaritan.

Luke 10:29-37 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus,

And who is my neighbour?30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from

Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him

of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half

dead.

31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and

when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and

looked on him, and passed by on the other side.33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was:

and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and

wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and

took care of him.

35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence,

and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him;

and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will

repay thee.

36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto

him that fell among the thieves?

37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus

unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Shalom al haaretz(peace on earth). Good will toward men.


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Copyright 2011 John W. Wilder

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any

means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written

permission of the author or the estate except in the case of brief quotationsembodied in scholarly or critical articles and reviews. Teaching others

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they rewarded me evil for good

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