Faith

Genesis 46: 1-5 -  So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.  And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night, and said, "Jacob, Jacob." And he said, "Here am I."  Then he said, "I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation.  I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again; and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes."  Then Jacob set out from Beer-sheba; and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.

Jacob…..130 years old….awakens from the depression of losing his son….and packs his whole family….everyone dear to him…and everything he owns…and he sets out toward Egypt. He is so moved by the news that his favorite son is not dead that he takes a moment to offer sacrifices to God at Beer-sheba.  He must have been worried about the trip….maybe he remembered that God had told him not to go to Egypt in Genesis 26….or maybe the way Rachel died on his way to Canaan. Or maybe he worried that the Egyptian idols would influence his family away from God. Or maybe he somehow had knowledge of words spoken to Abraham in Genesis 15:13…and he feared the move would bring about this captivity.

Amazing …how God meets him there that night.  He appears to him in a vision and speaks his name….and tells him to not be afraid to go to Egypt.  God promises to go with him…so he can see his son Joseph once more before he closes his eyes in death. God comes to Israel…and calms his fears…and holds his hand…and renews the promise he made to Jacob. He promises to walk with him to Egypt…..make a great nation out of him…and then bring this great nation back to the land promised to his grandfather Abraham.

Sometimes…God calls us to walk out on faith just like Jacob. Once we take that first step out of our old lives…God will take us by the hand and lead us places that might be out of our comfort zone. We might have to face the memories of past hurts and sadness as we travel this path he chose for us…but God will never leave our side. Jacob in his fear offered sacrifices to God…probably the first time he had talked with him in a long while. And God came that very night…to Jacob’s ready heart…and filled it with strength and knowledge for the days ahead.

As Jacob embarks on this trip…he takes the time to count heads. God makes sure Moses records the small number of 70….which does not include the females that traveled with them. Amazing how God will take this small number and multiply it over the next few hundred years.  God has a way of taking a small amount…and blessing it…and making it more than needed…more than I am sure Jacob dreamed in his head as he rode in those wagons the Pharaoh had sent. More than even the joy…peace…and sweet relief he must have felt as he embraced his son again for the first time in many years.

Father…I thank you that Jesus’ sacrifice of blood on the cross makes it easy for me to stop often and speak with you.  Help me to learn that I need to stop often …and kneel at an altar…and offer up all my worries to you. Come to me like you did Jacob…and speak your promises to me.  Reveal the pieces of my journey with you that will help me to hold tightly to your hand in faith….so I can have the strength I need when the journey is not so pleasant. Bring to me the joy…sweet peace…and vision of the future blessing that you will bring into my life. Amen.

Restoration

Genesis 45:1-5 - Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him; and he cried, "Make every one go out from me." So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph; is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.  So Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me, I pray you." And they came near. And he said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 

Through beautiful tears of mercy and grace ….brought about by the tender loving speech of his changed brother Judah….Joseph reveals himself finally to his brothers. He sends all his servants out of the room so that he can share this tender moment alone with his family….but everyone can hear the sobs through the walls as he allows God to fill him with compassion and love.  He does not pronounce judgment on them for their sin…he tells them to forgive themselves and declares that God will has been done through what they have done.

It is so like God…to bless them.  They are speechless as Joseph rattles on about how they should all move to Egypt…where he can take care of them properly.  No doubt they are staring at him….and each other…in disbelief that he has not thrown them into the darkest prison…in disbelief that he could forgive them for hating him so. And as their fear and dread melted into Joseph’s loving arms of compassion..they found their voice.  They wept together…and talked together….and allowed Pharaoh himself to bless them with more than they needed ….even wagons to make the travel easy for Joseph’s aged father.

Jacob had a hard time believing it too.  He fainted as they told him the great news….but revived quickly as they showed him the wagons and gifts and provisions Joseph had sent. Joseph’s mercy and grace… ….brought about by many years of trusting God….brings restoration to all. Joseph’s epiphany of God’s divine intervention….allows him to understand that all has happened the way it happened to bring about the good of God’s larger promises. Joseph’s forgiveness allows him to reestablish his relationship with his brothers.  Joseph’s brothers are restored by mercy and grace to be a complete family once again…and the happy ending is complete because God worked through Joseph to restore all.

Joseph’s ability to forgive was a direct result of his close walk with God. It gave him the insight and strength to put the past in the past. His brothers will need to develop a relationship of their own to understand completely the love they received from their brother.  It is so very hard to forgive yourself. We believe the worst so easily….but when God’s great gifts are poured out upon us…we tend to hesitate….dumbstruck that he could love us in spite of the sin we fight to hide from him each day. God already knows my sins….and he is just waiting for me to ask for his forgiveness…so he can teach me how to forgive myself….and bask in the blessings of his rich grace and mercy…so he can restore me to walk with him in the newness of his grace each day.

Father …I thank you for the mercy and grace that allows me to be more than I am able to be on my own.  Thank you for your forgiveness…and teaching me how to forgive myself…so that I can be strengthened by your love each day.  Show me how to fill up my heart with the love of your son….and allow the gift of salvation he gave me to empower me to do your work.  Restore me as you did this family every day you allow me life on the earth…so I can daily seek your will for my life. Amen.

Sacrificial Love

Genesis 44: 1-2 and 33-34 - Then he commanded the steward of his house, "Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man's money in the mouth of his sack,  and put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his money for the grain." And he did as Joseph told him. …… Now therefore, let your servant, I pray you, remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord; and let the lad go back with his brothers.  For how can I go back to my father if the lad is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would come upon my father."

Joseph’s final deception is severe…he directed his household manager to put all the money they had brought to pay for the grain in the necks of their grain sacks…and to hide his silver divination cup in the top of Benjamin’s.  He waits just a little while….then sends the manager to catch up with them and accuse them of stealing it. Oh how confident they are of their innocence ….and just as their father Jacob pronounced a curse on Rachel…they pronounce just as bad a curse on poor innocent Benjamin….only Benjamin is not sitting on the evidence…he is caught.

They all tear their clothes and follow the house manager back with Benjamin…and Joseph lets go with the best drama yet. An act he had contrived to test the hearts of his brothers…to see if Benjamin was hated as much as he. But he doesn’t have to wait very long to see if his brothers have truly changed…their remorse is evident as they fall humbly to the ground. And Judah emerges as the spokesman for the group…and declares their past sins to Joseph.  Broken and full of shame for all the actions that have condemned his youngest brother….his heart melts completely…and we see an example of sacrificial love that rivals the knife of Abraham.

Oh what a marvelous lesson of sacrificial love Judah teaches me. His speech of truth and conviction proclaims his guilt to Joseph…and he offers to take the place of his younger brother. And we see how the admission of sins brings a hard ….bitter…jealous heart to its knees. We see God melt the hate and years of lies into a moment of real maturity for Judah. We see Judah admit his sins of the past to a seeming stranger…and pour his heart of new love out to Joseph….to try and save his brother and his father back home.

Father…I thank you that you have patience with me….a sinner like Judah.  Help me to search my heart for the deepest hidden sin….and admit it to you and the world…so you can clean my heart and prepare it to do your work.  Give me the sacrificial love that Judah had….and show me when and how to use it to lead others to your truth. Amen.

Give up Your Security Blanket

Genesis 43: 11-14 - Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry down to the man a present, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds.  Take double the money with you; carry back with you the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight.  also your brother, and arise, go again to the man;  may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, that he may send back your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved." 

They were out of grain….they had eaten all that they had bought…well really had been given by the brother they don’t know is still alive. So Jacob tells them they must go get more. He had to make a decision….starve his whole family to the point of death so he could keep Benjamin…or release his hold on him to allow all the brothers to return for more grain.  Jacob was surely afraid…he had lost the love of his life Rachel in childbirth ….and lived daily thinking that his favorite son Joseph was torn to pieces by wild animals. Jacob …like many of us when we lose something dear…found another person…to cling to in his grief. Jacob put his time and energy into keeping Benjamin safe. He drew close to the one son he had left by his sweet Rachel…but in doing so he drifted away from his God.

But thank God…there comes a time when God will take that security blanket away…so we can learn to depend more on him. God will allow us to reach a very low point in our lives…so we know that we must depend on him again for everything. And so God’s plan being worked through Joseph many miles away from his father…is going to help Jacob move forward from his grief. Jacob’s pain will not subside for a while…it might even get worse…for I am sure when his children leave…he allows Satan to place visions of the worst in his head This release of Benjamin as his security blanket is the beginning of God drawing Jacob closer to him….but it will be some time before he realizes that he has drifted so far away from God…and ask him to help him.

We can have the knowledge of God…but never ask him to be a part of our lives.  We can do Godly things…but never involve God in the decision to do those things.  We can sit in a church pew out of pure habit every Sunday….but never allow the words we hear to convict us of our sins. We can remember that day we ask him into our lives…but drift far away…like Jacob.  We may have received the promise of God long ago…..but we have let the sorrows of life beat us down…make us think God has deserted us. But God is working a plan…to bring you back….to be close to his side….and listen to him for directions to help him bring the lost into his kingdom.  He will never be happy…never stop chasing you…until you give up your earthly crutch….and lean wholly on him again.

Father…I thank you for breaking me…and showing me that I never need to cling to an earthly person or thing to be happy.  I thank you for the happiness that you gave me when you drew me close to your side and began to show me how to serve you. Forgive me for the many times I digress back to thinking that Earthly things or people can ever substitute for your love.  Help me this morning to always stop and pray for your direction in my life…and ask you to help me accept every good and bad thing as a pathway to your peace that surpasses all human understanding. Amen.

Guilt

Genesis 42: 19-24 -  if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined in your prison, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households,  and bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die." And they did so.  Then they said to one another, "In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he besought us and we would not listen; therefore is this distress come upon us."  And Reuben answered them, "Did I not tell you not to sin against the lad? But you would not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood."  They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them.  Then he turned away from them and wept; and he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.

The famine was everywhere…so Jacob sent 10 of Joseph’s brothers to buy grain. They don’t recognize Joseph…as he must have changed some in appearance as he grew from 17 to almost 40 years of age. He would also have been dressed like an Egyptian…maybe even have shaved all the remnants of his Hebrew hair and donned the typical black wig of the high office he held. He even spoke Egyptian and let a Hebrew interpreter translate for him. But Joseph knew his brothers instantly….as soon as they came into his presence and bowed low before him….and he remembered his dreams.

Joseph doesn’t tell them I told you so….but he does speak to them harshly…and accuse them of being spies. He listens in on the conversation they have…..a tender moment of recollection of the evil they did….and the knowledge that God is allowing this moment to punish them for being so mean to their brother.  Joseph is so touched and moved by this guilt that they share that he goes somewhere private to regain his composure….for it brings the first tears of pain we ever see recorded of this strong man of faith.   Joseph must have prayed in that moment too…and ask God how to melt their hearts…and turn this guilt into repentance….and so he throws them all in prison for 3 days.

Joseph releases them…but tells them that to prove their honesty…and ever buy more grain….they must return with the youngest brother they spoke of…..and he keeps Simon in prison as security that they would return. Joseph knew that there is a difference in feeling guilt over something wrong that you did…and repenting and asking forgiveness….so he allows God to help him weld a plan to melt the hearts of these 10 brothers who had strayed so far away from god’s plan for their lives. God sure can’t use them to build the nation of Israel as they are!

I can just see the guilt and pain building in these brothers as they travel the many miles back to their father.  They find the money they paid for the grain they carry in a one of the sacks they open to feed the donkeys…and deep fear mixed with the guilt of their past begins to melt their hearts. The evil must be very deep…for even the loss of Simon doesn’t break their spirit. They decide to tell their father most of the truth….but they don’t tell Jacob what they did to Joseph yet.  A clear sign that God hasn’t melted all the evil out of their heart yet.

It is so amazing to me how God never stops working on us….when he know that we still love him….no matter what we have done to stray away…he will do what it takes to get our attention.  He will put us in prison…he will remove from us a loved one….he will even use the people we hurt with our sin to help him get through to our hard cold hearts that have spent way too much time close to the worlds evil. 

Father….help me to search my heart for any remnant of sin I harbor. Help me to remember…like Joseph’s brothers anything  I have done that was wrong…and feel the guilt that will bring me to repentance.  Work on the parts of my heart that are not fully yours yet….help me to search deep within my soul to find the sin that holds me back from serving you in full measure. Thank you God for loving me so much that you always chase after me and never give up on restoring me to a right relationship with you. Amen.

Confidence

Genesis 41: 16, 25 and 32-33   -  Joseph answered Pharaoh, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer." …..  Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dream of Pharaoh is one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ……   “And the doubling of Pharaoh's dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.  Now therefore let Pharaoh select a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.”

It is so amazing to me how God works sometimes. The Pharaoh had two dreams….in one night…and they ‘troubled his spirit’ ….so much so that he sought his magicians’ help. The meaning was hidden from these men who used Satan’s power….so that the butler could finally remember who helped him understand his dream….and Joseph is not just pulled out of the dungeon…but given a bath and new clothes before he is placed in front of the great king.

I love his words to Pharaoh before he tells what God has revealed to him. Joseph in his humbleness….seizes an opportunity to give God all the credit for his gifting and says, “It is not me, God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.” And he proceeds to tell Pharaoh about the next 14 years…making sure that he told him that the two dreams of the same content meant they were soon to take place.  And Joseph doesn’t stop with the meaning of the dreams…he pours out to Pharaoh the vision of storing the grain grown in the 7 years of plenty…..so that no one would starve during the 7 years of horrible famine.

It is Joseph’s strong faith that has brought him to this moment…Joseph’s personal relationship with God that has revealed these dreams to him….and as he allows God to speak through him ….Pharaoh sees the benefit of having a man that worships and holds on to Yahweh for his strength in charge of such a huge task. The organization of all that Joseph outlined would need the blessing of something greater than Pharaoh had ever worshiped….and so God orchestrates the promotion that places Joseph…second in power to Pharaoh….the great King of Egypt.

One of the commentaries I studied triggered one other thought. Joseph started out as a lowly shepherd boy…and as he went through the storms that trained him for this huge job with Pharaoh…he put his heart and soul in God…who gave him success in every small task he was given.  Each season of his storm…each moment of his slavery in Egypt…he was trusted with a job…and he did them well. The commentaries reminded me of Luke 16:10…which says, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.  Joseph was trusted with little…and God blessed him with more and more…until the day he was ready to be trusted with much!

I am confident this morning that God is training me through my own storm…it was pretty rough there for a while….I know I complained my way through the last job I was given….made many mistakes…failing miserably to be who God needed me to be.. But like the butler in this story was restored to try once again to serve Pharaoh….I was restored through his goodness and mercy to try once again to get it right.  And the amazing thing is…. how life is good right now.  I am waking to a great schedule every day….and I love my job once again.  I bubble over with joy in what I do…and hope that I can stay in this good place a long time.

Father…words just can’t describe how much I love you…and how thankful I am for what you have done in my life these past three years. I thank you for the storms that not only gave me intense pain….but I thank you for the intense joy that you intermingled with it. Give me a strength and faith like Joseph…to be confident in the gifts you have given me…and always give you the glory for every blessing you have rained down on me in my 53 years of life. Give me Joseph’s ability to see the positive in every task that you assign to me...and help me to stop many times a day to thank you….and worship you…and praise you. Thank you for the mercy and grace that allows me so many second chances…thank you for the saving blood that washes me clean anytime I admit my sins to you and ask for your forgiveness. Amen.

Replacing Bitterness with Faith

Genesis 40:6-9 -  When Joseph came to them in the morning and saw them, they were troubled.  So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in custody in his master's house, "Why are your faces downcast today?"  They said to him, "We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them." And Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, I pray you."  So the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, "In my dream there was a vine before me, 

Typical Joseph…making the best of his confinement….always looking for way to help others….giving God the glory for all his talents and gifts.  Joseph sees the two prisoners he has been charged to take care of sad…and downcast.  They had probably let their imprisonment slowly wear on their soul and body..and let fear and sadness overcome them. The dreams must have further upset them…and they had no one to interpret them and help them understand their meanings.

Joseph doesn’t berate them or judge them…he uses this moment for God…sees it as an opportunity to witness…to show what God could do through him. He allows God to give him the meaning of two very different dreams…one very hopeful….and one completely morose and disturbing. Joseph showed compassion on these two prisoners….and shares the great news of freedom to one….but does not hide the horrible future of the other’s death sentence. He gives the meaning as God gives it…not hiding a bit of the sadness or joy.

Joseph also seizes a moment to request a favor from the one who was going to be restored. And as he requests the butler to remember him when he is freed in three days…his true character is revealed in his reflection upon his own imprisonment.  He simply states in verse 15, “For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews; and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.” How amazing that he does not list all the wrongs and injustices of his life…instead this simple statement of where he finds himself now…and the confidence that he is guilty of no wrongs to deserve it.

God is using this example of Joseph to teach me this morning….that I need to be more careful when I reflect on my own hurts in life.  And as I think back to the times when I have berated the ex….or verbalized other hurts to others….it did not make me feel any better to place blame on anyone else. Things happen that are not always explained by the hatred of others…or the lack of love after years of marriage….and God allowed these pains and hurts in my life for a purpose. Maybe I don’t see the reason right now….but I know in my heart that he has plans for me…a purpose….plans to prosper me and use me just like he used Joseph. I must somehow learn to let go of the bitterness…and embrace God….so that I can serve him more fully.

Father…thank you for your wonderful love that can bring strength and deep faith…even after the worst storms in life. I thank  you that you are teaching me to let go of the pain and bitterness of the past through the story of this great man Joseph.  I ask that you help me erase all those statements I used to  use to describe my divorce…..and replace them with a more simple statement of faith…that will show your strength in my new found faith in you.  Place in my mouth good words that contain only the truth that you would have me reveal to others that you place in my care and charge. Amen.