Good Morning Friends,
“Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come
close to me.’ When they had done so, he said, ‘I am your brother Joseph, the
one you sold into Egypt! 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. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me
father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.’” (Genesis
45:4-8)
It’s easy to see why God sent Joseph to
Egypt. God used the jealousy and hatred of Joseph’s brothers to send Joseph to
Egypt as a slave so that he would be in the perfect position to help all of his
family – and all the people of Egypt – when the famine struck.
It took many years before God’s purpose
became clear to Joseph, but even he could see God’s plan by the time his
brothers came to him for food. The years as a slave and the years in prison
would have been difficult and it would have been easy for Joseph to give up and
grow bitter. But they were all a part of God’s serpentine plan to bring Joseph
to just the place He needed him, at just the time He needed him there.
God didn’t cause Joseph’s brothers to be jealous
and to hate Joseph. They were responding to the wickedness in their hearts by
giving in to those attitudes. God wasn’t pleased with their sinful attitudes
toward Joseph, they grieved Him deeply, like all sin does. God wasn’t pleased that
their hatred moved them to want to get rid of Joseph. But, God did use their
sinful attitudes and actions. At just the right time, God sent a caravan past
the spot where Joseph’s brothers were plotting against him. Without that
caravan Joseph would probably have been killed. The caravan saved Joseph’s life
and sent him on his way to Egypt.
God’s ability to use even the sinful actions
of mankind is a part of His amazing wisdom and power. God’s plans are never thwarted
by man’s sins.
Joseph’s story is a reminder of the truth of
what Paul declared in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works
for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his
purpose.”
His, by Grace,
Steve
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