The answer to how the people wound up in Egypt is clear at one level. They got there by means of the terrible betrayal. It was nothing less than attempted murder, greedy slave-dealing, and the heartless deceit of a broken-hearted old man. On the surface Joseph must have felt like his entire life had been shipwrecked and left derilect on the shore. But the Bible describes this as a fulfillment of God’s prophecy.
First, in our reading today (v. 5), Joseph says to his brothers who are very afraid of him:
“Do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.” He understood it was God’s way of sending Joseph to Egypt in order to save the very ones who were trying to kill him. And lest we think this was a side comment with little significance, we read the very same thing in Psalm 105:16-17, only there the stakes are raised even higher. Not only was God ruling the actions of these brothers to get Joseph to Egypt, but God was ruling the famine as well: When he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. So put out of your mind the thought that God foresaw a famine happening on its own or happening by Satan. God summoned the famine. And God prepared the deliverance.
So the first way the Bible describes the fulfillment of God’s prophecy that his people would come to Egypt is by saying God sent Joseph there ahead of them. The second way the Bible describes this prophecy is even more penetrating and sweeping. The brothers come before Joseph again, this time after the death of their father, and they are again afraid he will take vengeance on them. Joseph says: Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. (Genesis 50:19-20).
The second way the Bible describes the way God fulfilled his prophecy is: The brothers meant the sale of Joseph for evil, but God meant it for good. Notice it does not say that God used their evil for good after they meant it for evil. It says that in the very act of evil, there were two different designs. In the sinful act, they were designing evil, and in the same sinful act, God was designing good. This is our God! Nothing surprises him; nothing overtakes Him in his relentless development of good in our lives!
Friday, May 24, 2019
Enslaved and Forgotten - Pt 4
So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” 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. (Genesis 45:4-5 ESV).
The answer to how the people wound up in Egypt is clear at one level. They got there by means of the terrible betrayal. It was nothing less than attempted murder, greedy slave-dealing, and the heartless deceit of a broken-hearted old man. On the surface Joseph must have felt like his entire life had been shipwrecked and left derilect on the shore. But the Bible describes this as a fulfillment of God’s prophecy.
First, in our reading today (v. 5), Joseph says to his brothers who are very afraid of him:
“Do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.” He understood it was God’s way of sending Joseph to Egypt in order to save the very ones who were trying to kill him. And lest we think this was a side comment with little significance, we read the very same thing in Psalm 105:16-17, only there the stakes are raised even higher. Not only was God ruling the actions of these brothers to get Joseph to Egypt, but God was ruling the famine as well: When he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. So put out of your mind the thought that God foresaw a famine happening on its own or happening by Satan. God summoned the famine. And God prepared the deliverance.
So the first way the Bible describes the fulfillment of God’s prophecy that his people would come to Egypt is by saying God sent Joseph there ahead of them. The second way the Bible describes this prophecy is even more penetrating and sweeping. The brothers come before Joseph again, this time after the death of their father, and they are again afraid he will take vengeance on them. Joseph says: Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. (Genesis 50:19-20).
The second way the Bible describes the way God fulfilled his prophecy is: The brothers meant the sale of Joseph for evil, but God meant it for good. Notice it does not say that God used their evil for good after they meant it for evil. It says that in the very act of evil, there were two different designs. In the sinful act, they were designing evil, and in the same sinful act, God was designing good. This is our God! Nothing surprises him; nothing overtakes Him in his relentless development of good in our lives!
The answer to how the people wound up in Egypt is clear at one level. They got there by means of the terrible betrayal. It was nothing less than attempted murder, greedy slave-dealing, and the heartless deceit of a broken-hearted old man. On the surface Joseph must have felt like his entire life had been shipwrecked and left derilect on the shore. But the Bible describes this as a fulfillment of God’s prophecy.
First, in our reading today (v. 5), Joseph says to his brothers who are very afraid of him:
“Do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.” He understood it was God’s way of sending Joseph to Egypt in order to save the very ones who were trying to kill him. And lest we think this was a side comment with little significance, we read the very same thing in Psalm 105:16-17, only there the stakes are raised even higher. Not only was God ruling the actions of these brothers to get Joseph to Egypt, but God was ruling the famine as well: When he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. So put out of your mind the thought that God foresaw a famine happening on its own or happening by Satan. God summoned the famine. And God prepared the deliverance.
So the first way the Bible describes the fulfillment of God’s prophecy that his people would come to Egypt is by saying God sent Joseph there ahead of them. The second way the Bible describes this prophecy is even more penetrating and sweeping. The brothers come before Joseph again, this time after the death of their father, and they are again afraid he will take vengeance on them. Joseph says: Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. (Genesis 50:19-20).
The second way the Bible describes the way God fulfilled his prophecy is: The brothers meant the sale of Joseph for evil, but God meant it for good. Notice it does not say that God used their evil for good after they meant it for evil. It says that in the very act of evil, there were two different designs. In the sinful act, they were designing evil, and in the same sinful act, God was designing good. This is our God! Nothing surprises him; nothing overtakes Him in his relentless development of good in our lives!
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