THREE STRIKES, BUT NOT OUT

 

In this week’s Torah reading (12/13/2014), Joseph’s brothers reject Joseph and sell him into slavery.  How many times did Joseph’s brothers reject Joseph?  I count three times:

 
“They hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.” (Gen 37:4)
 “They hated him even more.” (Gen 37:5)
 “So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.” (Gen 37:8)
 

It was after rejecting Joseph three times that his brothers “plotted against him to put him to death,” (Gen 37:18).  Of course you know where I am headed with this analogy.

 

Most believers know that shortly after professing a willingness to die for the Master (Matt 26:35), Peter denied knowing Jesus three times, (Matt 26:69-70, 26:71-72, 26:73-74).  With the third denial, Peter “began to curse and swear, ‘I do not know the man!’”, (Matt 26:74).  What is less known is that the leadership of the nation of Israel also denied Jesus three times.

 
(1) “Then Pilate said to the chief priest and the crowds, ‘I find no guilt in this man.  But they kept on insisting saying, ‘He stirs up the people’” (Luke 23:4-5),
 (2) “‘Therefore I (Pilate) will punish Him and release Him.’ But they cried out all together saying, ‘Away with this man and release for us Barabbas!’” (Luke 23: 16-18),
 (3) “And he (Pilate) said to them a third time, ‘Why what evil has this man done? I have found in Him no guilt demanding death; therefore I will punish Him and release Him.’ But they were insistent, with loud voices asking that He be crucified.  And their voices began to prevail.” (Luke 23:22-23).

Peter’s third denial came with an oath, “I do not know the man!” (Matt 26:72)  An oath is considered unchangeable, (Heb 6:17-18), as reflected by the words of the Hebrew author, “The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, ‘You are a priest forever,’” (Heb 7:21).  The good news is that Peter, and every believer, is able to find a path back to God through repentance, (Matt 26:75)(Luke 22:32).  Through repentance, God is able to change that which is unchangeable, “With God all things are possible,” (Matt 19:26).

 

We know the outcome of Joseph’s brothers.  The brothers repented of their hatred toward Joseph (Gen 42:21, 44:33), Joseph forgave his brothers (Gen 45:15), and Joseph never held a grudge or ill-will against them, (Gen 50:20-21).  Scripture also foretells of a future time when the nation of Israel will repent, “They will look on Me whom they pierced; and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for and only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn,” (Zech 12:10). 

 

Believers should be encouraged by all these examples.  No matter how far we drift away from God, denying Him by our words and deeds, there always remains a path back to the Father and the Son through repentance,

 
“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the LORD: and He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time,” (Acts 3:19-21).
 

The believer should never give up or consider that repentance is beyond reach.  Even though it took Joseph’s brothers over twenty years, and Israel’s national repentance still awaits after 2000 years, repentance was, and still will be accepted by God. 

 

God rewards persistence, which is fundamental to repentance.  Elisha was told by Elijah three times to stay and stop following him, saying “Stay here” (2 Kings 2:2), “Elisha, please stay here” (2 Kings 2:4), and “Please stay here” (2 Kings 2:6).  To these requests, Elisha responded, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.”  For his perseverance and faith, Elisha was rewarded with a double portion of the Spirit when he saw Elijah carried away by “a chariot of fire and horses of fire…And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven,” (2 Kings 2:11). 
 
Never let people tell you that the path to the Father and the Son is closed, for even, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself,” (2 Tim 2:13).
 
All the best - Scott