Daily Devotional Writing from Pastor Scott

From Jailhouse to Penthouse
Genesis 41: Joseph was in charge of the entire country of Egypt.
Within a matter of hours Joseph is elevated from being a prison trustee to being second only to the king. After years of misery God’s plan unfolds and in a matter of hours an event greater than Joseph’s highest hopes are realized. This is so sweeping a change that even Joseph must have problems grasping it all. Beyond that, there’s a feeling of “rightness” about it. Joseph takes off his prison garments and puts on those of royalty and, well, they fit him perfectly. He immediately begins to discharge his duties with authority. You see, he was born for this moment. It was a terrible thing when he was betrayed by, first his brothers, and then Mrs. Potiphar. However, at the same time, the Lord used those events to prepare Joseph for what was coming. Those years in jail were long and unwelcome, but the Lord used them to Joseph’s benefit. I haven’t been as low and I’ve never risen to the heights described in this story. However, I’ve found that the Lord is incredibly patient in accomplishing his purposes. I’ve also found that when it all comes together it all fits perfectly. In fact, it works so well that, if I’m not careful, I miss God’s hand in it and chalk it up to being merely a natural flow of events.

Dreams
Genesis 40: Don’t interpretations come from God?
Joseph’s situation deteriorates from his being a slave to his being a slave in prison. However, even there, God’s with him and, while his life is not that of a favored son, he does rise to a position of authority in this limited world. The most significant thing that happens to Joseph during these years is his contact with the disgraced cupbearer of the King. When he, along with another prisoner, has a disturbing dream Joseph offers to interpret it. With God’s help Joseph is right on in his interpretation and that lays the foundation for the next chapter in God’s plan for him. It’s interesting to think about God speaking to people through dreams and I have to confess that if the Lord has ever spoken to me in that way I missed it entirely. Still, there are stories of dreams and visions from God throughout the Bible. Even the Apostle Paul received his “Come over into Macedonia” request in a dream. I’ve concluded that I don’t think about God-given dreams very much for two reasons. First, unlike those whose stories are in the Bible, I have the Bible as a communication from God. Everything I need to know for my salvation is found there. If I want to know what God is saying to me, I need to spend less time dreaming and more time reading his Word. Second is, I think, lack of expectancy. Godly people of the Bible weren’t surprised to hear from God via their dreams. In some cultures, that amounts to just so much superstition. However, they knew they served the Living God and that he is a Communicating God. With that in mind, it may be that I need to keep praying the child’s bedtime prayer, “Now I lay me down to sleep…” as a sincere request that the Lord watch over me through the night. I might even want to extend to the Lord an invitation to inhabit my dreams if he so desires.

Caution, God at work here
Genesis 39: As it turned out, God was with Joseph and things went very well with him.
When Joseph is sold into slavery the last word to come to mind is “blessed.” Things don’t look like they’re going to turn out “very well.” Being sold into slavery indicates one is being cursed rather than blessed. However, God’s at work here and the first part of the story gives us little indication of what the last part is going to look like. While being sold into slavery isn’t one of our common concerns, it’s true that life takes some unexpected and unwelcome turns. The thing is that such events are, in the least, God’s providential will. That is, he isn’t pulling strings, forcing people to do bad things, but he does allow it to happen. In fact, the Lord specializes in turning stuff like this upside down. Because of that, sometimes things start out looking pretty messy, more like a demolition project than any kind of construction. The key in the passage before us today is the phrase “God was with Joseph.” In fact, that’s the key to the whole Joseph story. It’s almost as though there’s a sign: “Caution, God at work here.” For every setback there’s a more than equal advance. When God’s at work, the end of the story is always “things went very well.” It may not seem to be that way at any given point along the journey, but that’s how it is going to end.

Talk about sibling rivalry!
Genesis 37: The story continues with Joseph.
Things finally settle down for Jacob and his journeys come to an end. His many children grow up as he and his wives grow old. It’s time to focus on the next generation. Jacob’s multiple wives plus their maid servants have produced lots of kids, especially sons. The fundamental flaw of this polygamous system is apparent in Jacob’s having a favorite wife who, in turn produces favorite children. The women struggled with this approach and their children aren’t as docile about it as their mother’s were. Their sibling rivalry is similar to what their father and his brother experienced decades earlier. When Jacob makes it clear that Joseph is his favorite the other brothers band together in their hatred of him. It’s only a matter of time before this pot boils over and the day comes when the brothers are given a golden opportunity to act against Joseph. At the last minute they modify their plan to murder him and sell him into slavery instead. The thing that comes to mind as I consider this story is the amazing flexibility of God. He works through situations that are mishandled. Had the brothers gotten along I still think Joseph would have become a powerful man. I also think all of their lives would have been easier. Still, when they act as they do, the Lord’s purpose is not ruined and he immediately goes to work to accomplish his purpose while honoring their free will. As I read this story, I’m reminded that it’s better cooperate with what God wants in the first place and enjoy his blessing along the way. Still, while the Lord holds me accountable for how I live my life; poor decisions on my part will never negate his ultimate purposes in the world.

Things don’t look good for God’s purposes in the world. A wicked nation is doing very well. Their capitol city sits at the heart of incredible power and evil. God’s people are small in number and spirit. Is this the end of it all? Will sin and evil win the day? Nahum calls for calm as he declares good news for all those who love that which is good. Nineveh appears to be on top of the world, but “God has something to say about all this.” The “top of the world” position of that wicked city is a mere anthill in the eyes of God and when the Almighty acts, even that anthill will be “mowed down flat.” Through the centuries there have been many times when it seemed this world was out of God’s control and that the cause of righteousness was lost. There have been times when God’s people were speechless in the face of overwhelming sin. That’s okay. You see, even when we’re at a loss as to what to do or say, at just the right time, God will speak. What appears to us to be overwhelming circumstances are a mere anthill to him. My mission in such times is, first, to keep trusting in him even when it seems unrighteousness has the upper hand and second, if he can use me, I want to be a part of God’s remedy for a sin-sick world.

Through Ezekiel, the Lord recounts the history of his dealings with the people of Israel. We find ourselves remembering the Exodus from Egypt and Moses going up on the mountain for an encounter with the Almighty. A result of that meeting is the Law. They now have Ten Commandments to live by and soon there is an entire body of Law to go with them. In the passage before me today the Lord tells their descendants his purpose in all of that. He did it as a part of his project to make them holy. From the beginning and down through the centuries the Lord has continued to work to that end. As he speaks through Ezekiel we find that God’s purpose has not been watered down or diverted. In this passage, the Lord tells them that the whole “Sabbath day” approach was for this purpose, part of his grand plan. This message is addressed to another generation that insists on resisting the Lord and the result is his rejecting them, erasing many lines that have been drawn, and nearly erasing them from the face of the earth. What’s next? The answer is obvious: it’s God’s purpose. Their failure doesn’t change his purpose for them. In new ways and with a new generation the Lord will return to the “business of making them holy.” As he said to their ancestors, “Be holy because I am holy.” I’m reminded today of just how committed God is to this business of holiness. As one of his people, I want to cooperate with his purposes for me and for the entire human race.

Sin separated them from their Maker and destroyed their nation. God sent their enemies to conquer them and then to scatter them throughout the world. Now, that day is ending and the Lord is making plans to gather his people from the four corners of the earth and make them into a nation of especially blest people once again. Isaiah encourages them that it won’t be long now before it happens. What played out in the history of Israel reflects the larger journey of humanity. We read in Genesis of the fall of humans in the Garden and the resulting “driving out” that took place. Later on, Cain’s sin causes him to, again, be driven out. Then after the Flood, God tells the renewed human race to fan out and populate the face of the earth. Instead, they gather at Babylon to build a tower. The Lord confounds their languages, forcing them to scatter into many different people groups. This, though, is not the final intention of God. When the time is right, he will gather his people to himself. Jesus tells his followers that God wants to make us one. He encourages us that in his Father’s house there is room for all and that he will take us there. Even as Isaiah described a reuniting of Israel, the larger picture of the Bible is God’s plan to reunite humanity in an eternal relationship with himself. Since that is God’s plan we can be sure that he’ll “make it happen.”