This is how it would be if justice were in my hands:
Damn jealous brothers! I'll make you stumble into a dry cistern one by one, a cistern that is twice deeper than the cistern you threw Joseph into. And then you'll cry out for help, and forgiveness. I will just be there watching you until your throat and eyes go dry.
Now, if I were Joseph, I would rejoice in sorrow suppose someone brought me the news about my jealous cruel brothers. Long live karma! Hurray.
But what actually happened meanwhile was:
The Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.
Joseph never heard anything to his satisfaction that his cruel brothers had been made pay their karma. The Lord, King of Justice, did nothing like that for him but:
The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered...the Lord gave him success in everything he did... And finally, Potiphar put him in charge of his household.
The Lord, King of Justice, didn't make Joseph's brothers pay for their cruelty but instead the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.
While the Lord seemed to leave Joseph's brothers to their hearts' content, freed from their rival, Joseph was wronged for a second time. Potiphar's wife slandered Joseph which made his master put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.
Hellooo... King of Justice? Why is it Joseph again? What's wrong with being favored by a father? What's wrong with being faithful to a master? On the contrary, can't You do something with Joseph's brothers?
But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.
Once again, the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did including interpreting the cupbearer's dream.
Although the warden had put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, a prison is still a prison. So Joseph begged the cupbearer: "When all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”
I have done nothing to deserve being... bla, bla, bla, King of Justice, don't You notice that? You said, you are with Joseph, didn't You?
Now, if I were Joseph, I would rejoice in sorrow and in prison, suppose someone brought me the news that Potiphar after all divorced his wife. It would also be to my best satisfaction to re-meet the chief cupbearer back in jail. May he learn the lesson of being ungrateful. Long live karma! Hurray.
Nothing as such happened. Not even close.
Pharaoh got his turn for a dream. Another success for Joseph. “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?” was Pharaoh's final verdict.
If it were me, Pharaoh would have said, "Can we find anyone like this woman, one in whom is the spirit of bitterness?"
So Pharaoh said to Joseph (not to me), “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”
Egypt! Egypt! Egypt, you know! That's equal to the United States today, you know! If only I had a brother who would throw me into a cistern!
To cut a long long long story short, none of Joseph's brothers fell into a cistern or got in prison. But fate has it that they meet Joseph and fall to his feet... exactly like what Joseph told them when he was just a little boy. The most disgusting thing turned to be the most inevitable thing. Had the brothers fell into a cistern one by one like the justice of my version, there wouldn't be the moment of the brothers disgracing themselves doing the most disgusted thing. All the time when the Lord was with Joseph, He actually had planned the most perfect revenge on Joseph's brothers. He, The King of Justice, didn't throw any of the brothers into a cistern twice deep, but He stirred them there, in the inside, many times deeper, lasting for a life time.
When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”
Hence, they threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.
No wonder the Lord, the King of Justice said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay." because He knows best how to do it. Let Him do it.
Now, if Joseph were thrown into a time tunnel, I'm sure he would go through exactly the same tunnel. After all, it's far better to be second to let's say, Obama in equivalence of today, than merely being a Dad's favorite all his life and then become spoiled in the end. It would seem like he had gotten all the best things in life while it was nothing at all. Most important of all, he wouldn't want to forfeit God's master plan in his life, as Joseph said to his brothers:
"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."
And still, The King of Justice repays for both parties -- equally. Don't forget that. Let Him do it.
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Source: Genesis Chapter 37 to 50; Rome 12:19 NIV
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