God is in Control
February 22nd, 2006
Brett Gilchrist
Now, therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers. Genesis 44:33
Things are not going well for the brothers, Israel. Guilt ridden for selling their brother Joseph to the Ishmaelites (distant 1/2 cousins) for twenty shekels of silver. Nearly starved due to the famine that is sweeping their land, their dad angry with them for taking his youngest, and favorite, son Benjamin back to Egypt, and now this… the Egyptian ruler (Joseph) will not allow them to return with Benjamin. They can think of few fates worse than to return to the land of Canaan without their youngest brother, it will kill their father. To date there has been little to indicate that these men posses character, but now Judah steps up. He offers himself as a slave to this Egyptian ruler in trade for the freedom of his little brother. This is admirable and prophetic, but ultimately not required. The very gesture proves to be more than Joseph can endure and he reveals his true identity and this fairly dysfunctional family is one step closer to being restored. I am impressed by God’s consistency in the midst of man’s folly. Having been sold into Egyptian slavery Joseph now holds the power and the food that can save the family of Israel, the very family that would become a nation and provide us with a savior. God uses the brother’s sin to keep His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The brother Judah’s act of courage foreshadows the righteous act the Lion of Judah that would become Lamb of God and offer Himself for our sins, keeping the Father’s ultimate promise to mankind, a savior. God, I am so grateful for the honesty of the stories in the Bible, they reveal man’s nature, my nature, and more importantly they reveal your unconditional commitment to me. Thank you for loving a lost world.
February 22nd, 2006 at 5:42 am
I was reading Matthew 14 again this morning, and verses 28 through 31 touched me again, as they always seem to. We often look down on Peter because his faith was not great enough to keep him from sinking into the stormy waters, but I am always reminded that Peter had GREAT faith… enough to cause him to step over the gunwale of the boat onto the rough water of the lake… at night. Would I have the same faith… enough to do the same thing in that same situation? I would hope so… but I fear not. I need to always keep in focus that walking on water… if it be God’s desire for me… is just as possible today… for me… in my life… as it was for Peter. God is no less capable of holding us up out of the stormy waters today than He was on that night for Peter. I need to remember that when God calls me to a specific service for Him… He may be calling me to do the unimaginable… the impossible… the unbelievable. But it is not for me to worry about whether the task is possible or not… it is just for me to choose to do it… and let Him, who can do all things, enable the impossible. Lord, Help me to always remember that ALL things are possible for You. Help me to remember those times… in my life… when You have done the unbelievable… for me. And strength me to always make the choice to follow You when You call me. In Jesus’ name I ask this, Amen.