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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
"And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.”
When the news reached Pharaoh's palace that Joseph's brothers had come, Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased. Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Tell your brothers, 'Do this: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan, and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can enjoy the fat of the land.'"
“You are also directed to tell them, 'Do this: Take some carts from Egypt for your children and your wives, and get your father and come. Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours.'"
So the sons of Israel did this.
Joseph gave them carts, as Pharaoh had commanded, and he also gave them provisions for their journey. To each of them he gave new clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes. And this is what he sent to his father: ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other provisions for his journey.
Then he sent his brothers away, and as they were leaving he said to them, "Don't quarrel on the way!"
So they went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. They told him, "Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt."
Jacob was stunned; he did not believe them. But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. And Israel said, "I'm convinced! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die."
Genesis 45:5-7, 16-28
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Midway through Genesis, chapter 45, we find where Joseph has finally revealed his identity to his brothers and reconciled himself to what they had done to him, selling him into slavery before faking his death. The scriptures show us how Joseph attributed it all to God’s greater plan for his life and the lives of his family members, testifying that it was the Lord who had sent him ahead of his brothers to Egypt in order to save lives.
In other words, God had a purpose behind everything that happened to Joseph just as He does for anyone who believes in Him, something we should all keep in mind as we go through our day-to-day living.
For indeed, God is writing a page in the story of our life every day and those pages should eventually turn into chapters that reveal all the purposes He had in store for us. Those purposes will become evident and realized as they are fulfilled as long as we first seek them and then carry them out in obedience. After experiencing his life events, Joseph understood that his ultimate purpose was saving lives in Egypt and in other surrounding nations like Canaan. We too will one day see how God used us to carry out His plan during our own lives and as Christians, we need to know that our ultimate calling is to help save lives as well, not necessarily from a famine but certainly from the penalty of Hell.
Well, in regard to famine, Joseph shares with his brothers that it is nowhere near over. In fact, five years still remained and so Joseph knew that the very survival of his family was at risk. And so he demands that his brothers return home, get their father, and then return to reside in a region of Egypt that would be set aside for them:
“Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. 10 You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. 11 I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’” Vv.9-11
As if this wasn’t amazing enough, we even find Pharaoh getting involved, cementing Joseph’s invitation by saying:
"Take some carts from Egypt for your children and your wives, and get your father and come. Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours."
And so with Pharaoh’s blessing, Joseph gave "each of them…new clothing" and to Benjamin "he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes." Joseph, through the prior testing of his brothers, knew he could favor his youngest brother without worrying whether the brothers would become jealous and envious as they had been with him before selling him into slavery.
Additionally, Joseph sent goods to his father, giving him "ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other provisions for his journey." His actions were meant to help validate what his brothers were about to tell Jacob, for Joseph knew his father would find it hard to believe that his long lost son was still alive.
Indeed, Joseph’s suspicion did play out as he thought because we find Jacob in a state of disbelief after his other eleven sons returned and shared what had happened. But the scriptures tell us that "when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back”, Jacob’s “spirit” became “revived", the years of mourning lifted in a moment. We read where all this led Joseph to proclaim:
"I'm convinced! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die."
Now, it’s important to note here that when Jacob was relying on his own understanding, he failed to believe what was true when told that Joseph was alive. But after fully hearing his sons’ testimony and seeing the physical evidence to support it, he (Jacob) was convinced that all he heard was indeed truth as his inner spirit was brought alive and this was just a continuation of God’s plan, a plan that would establish the Israelites in Egypt.
Friends, from this message, we can glean a lot of wisdom as we ourselves deal with matters of discernment. For too often, we also are faced with matters that can be very confusing and complex, matters that can leave us awash in trying to figure everything out with the absolute truth seemingly unattainable. In those times, we need to simply place out trust in the Lord and allow Him to help our inner spirits through the power of the Holy Spirit who will always guide us to what we should believe and what we should do. For when we do this, and only when we do this, will we be led to the true will and way of the Lord through the One who is the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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