While on the plane from Panama City to Quito (besides napping) I read a few chapters in my Bible. My “planned” reading has me in the final chapters of Genesis. And while on the plane I read that classic text in Genesis 50:18-21a concerning Joseph and his brothers.

 

Remember Father Jacob has died and been buried. Now, his brothers faced Joseph without Jacob alive. Jacob had loved Joseph as the firstborn of Rachel.  Out of envy and hatred, Joseph’s brothers had sold Joseph into slavery many years previously. Through slavery, then false accusation, and imprisonment Joseph definitely experienced detours, delays, disappointments, and unjust sufferings.

But, through the interpretation of dreams, and especially Pharaoh’s dream, Joseph ended up as second in command in Egypt. It was the famine in the area that brought Jacob’s brothers face-to-face with Joseph originally. Joseph had already had interactions with his brothers and had revealed himself to his brothers by the time you get to Genesis 50. Joseph had invited the whole family to move to Egypt for their well-being and protection.

But, now Jacob was dead. Would Joseph seek revenge on his brothers? His brothers invent a story to keep Joseph from harming them and then offer to be his servants.

As I reflect on this account, especially in the light of the little inconvenience that I experienced on my trip, there are a few simple truths that I want to share. I had the opportunity to share these at a church service here in Quito as part of a testimony on Sunday morning.

Throughout the Joseph narrative, you have a great sense of the favor of God upon Joseph, and you sense also Joseph’s awareness of God and His favor. Here, in this final interaction with his brothers in Genesis 50, as his brothers seek to make sure that Joseph will not take revenge, Joseph says, “Am I in the place of God?” Joseph had shown kindness to his brothers and forgiveness which were God-like characteristics.

Vengeance was God’s prerogative, not Joseph’s responsibility. But, in asking this question, I think Joseph was revealing that he knew that the whole of his journey and the bringing of his family to Egypt were God’s doing, not his doing.

Joseph, the second in command in Egypt knew that God was God and that he was not God. His question demonstrated Joseph’s awareness of the sovereignty of God and the fact that God was in all that was taking place.

Forgiveness and reconciliation were a part of this sovereign plan as well. God was in control. God was involved. God was and is God. This is a simple truth, but one that we must believe when we seek to assess our own journey in life, and how to respond to hardship, difficulties, and even injustices.

The evil of Joseph’s brothers was utilized by God for good. God is good and He works for the good of those who love Him (ex. Romand 8:28). Sometimes it is hard to see “the good” because we are so aware of the evil. Joseph does not deny that his brothers did evil, but what guides his response to them is the greater truth.

 

God put Joseph in a position to save the lives of many people including his own family. This was God’s doing, which underlines the truth that God is good. Again, this is such a simple truth to state, but it needs to be believed whole-heartedly. Even though Joseph is saying this in Genesis 50, there is no indication that Joseph doubted God along the way.

How about us? Does the goodness of God help us to evaluate our circumstances and challenges? God is good.

 

 

All three of these points are really interconnected and interrelated. It is in the better understanding of God’s purposes that we can see His goodness more clearly. Joseph states very clearly that God’s purpose was to bring about the saving of many lives.

Joseph’s brothers were caught up in that purpose, so they did not need to be afraid. All of their own evils that they were concerned about ultimately were used by God according to His purpose to save their own lives and the lives of others.

This did not mean that such evils did not merit confession, repentance, and the necessary reconciliation. There is a whole other aspect to this account that could receive focus. 

 

But, our focus today is on this:

Joseph’s understanding of the purpose of God guided his thinking and behavior. 

 

Let’s remember: God is working out His purposes in our lives as His people as well. He is saving us (past, present, future), He is making us more like Christ, He is seeking to use us in His redemptive mission.  The revealed purposes of God should help us to stay true to the Lord even in the midst of hard-to-handle circumstances.

God is God. God is Good. God is Purposeful. 

 

A strong grasp of these truths is imperative for us as we hold onto God in the midst of the sin and evil around us and sometimes the sin and evil done to us.

Our Lord Jesus committed Himself to His Heavenly Father when He suffered unjustly (1 Peter 2:21-25). Sometimes in the purposes of God, we are called to suffer unjustly. We learn from Joseph, but we are called to follow the example of our Lord Jesus Christ. The truths for committing ourselves to God are the same: God is God, God is good, and God is purposeful.

 

This recent change of plans reminds me of another flight that did not go according to plan. On September 11, 2001, I was sitting on a jet from Gatwick International airport (England) to Detroit, Michigan, planning on getting a connecting flight to Memphis, TN.

This was after a time of ministry in the UK. Flying off the coast of Ireland, the pilot said something along these lines:

“I regret to inform you that we have to return to Gatwick International Airport. Airspace over The United States has been denied for security reasons.” The plane turned around and we headed for Gatwick.

I often wished I had written to commend the Northwest Airlines people for how well they handled a very complicated critical situation. No information about what had happened to cause this denial was given. At the moment, that was irrelevant and I’m not sure that the details were clear anyway.

What needed to be said was what was to happen when we arrived back in Gatwick. Think of the chaos.

We needed to know where to go to get our luggage. We needed to know that no flights would be going to America so there was no reason to try to re-book a flight at this time.

We needed to know where to find accommodation because we would probably be in the area for a few days.

Imagine the flights returning to Gatwick, flights on the ground that were cancelled, other flights still trying to take off to other locations, etc.

I could say a lot more about that day and the days that followed, but I just want to make a simple observation.

I guess the pilot of the plane could have given us a political speech and his opinion about what had taken place.

But, his job was to provide safe travel for the passengers on the plane he was piloting. His job was to take care of the lives that literally were in his charge on such an occasion. The job of the airlines was to give people the information that they really needed at that moment in time.

I think there is an application here for preachers. Sometimes preachers are tempted to try to address the big context of issues and to give their opinions, without helping people know what they need to know and what they need to do right now.

It is a helpful exercise to think through what your people need to know in relation to a Biblical text and truth.

What would be the most spiritually helpful insights and applications? Can some detailed commentary be left for another time?

What are the clear specific truths and applications that need to be known and the type of directions that are most necessary?

Time obviously is a factor in what is presented. But it is good to major on the major abiding truths and to minor on the minor details or personal opinions.

 

It is good to say what is most spiritually relevant that comes directly from the text of God’s Word.

 

David O.