Blessings from Wells and Prison Cells

DAY 13
10-2-09
GENESIS 37-38-39


Good Morning!

I’m not in the mood to address Judah, Tamar, and especially Onan. I think I will limit my comments to Joseph…and why not? At this point Judah is not the point man in God’s plan – Joseph is. God’s principle family and their continual sin-drama leads to one of the most soul searching episodes I’ve read so far.

Jacob loves Joseph more than he does his other sons. Joseph is cocky. But he is blessed by God with dreams that are not understood fully. His jealous brother’s desire to do him in, but Reuben and Judah do half of the right thing and save his life.

By God’s providence, Joseph begins a faith journey that rivals, if not eclipses Abraham’s. Joseph had to hold on to his faith from the bottom of a well; as a captive in a caravan; as slave in an Egyptian house; and in an Egyptian prison. In all this trial and grief, God blessed everything that Joseph touched. What does that tell us?

This had to work on Joseph’s head, his heart, and his faith. Questions of “why?” surely came up. Although the text doesn’t say it, human nature and weak flesh cause us to wonder why bad things happen to us. Yet, God’s blessings speak to Joseph from the well and the cell.

People of faith will struggle. God will bless us through it all. We can’t escape from God’s blessings…but we can let circumstances cloud our view of them. Thank God for his blessings. Even the blessings of struggling with faith in hard circumstances.

Barry

I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. (Phil 1:18-19)