Now I See

He blessed Joseph, and said,

“The God before whom my fathers

Abraham and Isaac walked,

the God who has been my shepherd

all my life to this day.”

Genesis 48:15

Jacob now refers to God as his shepherd, the shepherd that has guided and protected him his whole life. David also referred to God as his shepherd: “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). In John 10:11 Jesus Christ says, “I am the good shepherd.” He is the shepherd that lays down His life for His sheep.

Jacob learned through his lifetime that God was with him. He learned that God was sovereign. He learned that God was the door and God was the gate, and no one and nothing could pass through that gate without God Almighty’s permission. Jacob realized that God had always been there leading him, guiding him, protecting him, even when Jacob was not seeking Him.

I can look back on my life and see so many places where God sovereignly watched over me. I see how “in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:25–26).

The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), and sin has had every right to claim its wage in my life. Yet God protected me. God, in His patience, in His love, gave me time. Now God, by faith in Christ, is my justifier.

Now I look back and see all that He has done for me, even when I gave Him no glory. Now I give Him all the glory, for now my eyes see.

Jacob now saw and knew that it was God who made him lie down in green pastures, and it was God who led him beside still waters. He learned that when he had fallen, it was God who picked him up and restored his soul. It was God who guided him in paths of righteousness, for he knew not the way on his own.

Jesus said in John 10:27–28, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”

Precious one, do you hear His voice?

Is Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, your shepherd?

I pray He is.

Oh Father,

For the sake of Your name and the sake of the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, guide me in paths of righteousness. For I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, the valley of this world. There are temptations and evils on my every side, yet I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff are with me, and I know that You will make the way when there seems to be no way. You are my shepherd, and nothing is too difficult for You. I know that I dwell with You forever, and one day I will dwell in Your house and behold Your beauty. My Jesus, You have been my shepherd, and to this day my shepherd You remain. Thank You for guiding me, loving me, protecting me. You are my everything. To You be all the glory.

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,

Amen

Our Happy Home

Then Jacob said to Joseph,

“God Almighty appeared to me at Luz

in the land of Canaan

and blessed me,

and He said to me,

‘Behold, I will make you a company of peoples, and will give this land

to your descendants after you

for an everlasting possession.’”

Genesis 48:3–4

Our journey through Genesis is drawing to a close. Jacob is on his deathbed. As he speaks with Joseph, he reminds him of the promise given by God to Abraham; the promise that includes the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and through Jacob.

This promise, this covenant, was and is an everlasting covenant. Jacob refers to God as God Almighty, El Shaddai, and he reminds Joseph that God is going to make their family a company of peoples and that the land promised them is in the land of Canaan. God let Jacob know that it would not be in his lifetime that the land would be in their possession, but in the lifetime of his descendants.

We know from history and from this present day that Israel has yet to fully possess her land, but we know that God’s Word is sure. He always keeps His word. One day El Shaddai will fulfill His word.

Behold, I will gather them

out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger,

in My wrath and in great indignation;

and I will bring them back to this place

and make them dwell in safety.

They shall be My people, and I will be their God;

and I will give them one heart and one way,

that they may fear Me always, for their own good,

and for the good of their children after them.

I will make an everlasting covenant with them

that I will not turn away from them, to do them good;

and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts

so that they will not turn away from Me.

I will rejoice over them to do them good

and will faithfully plant them in this land

with all My heart and with all My soul.

Jeremiah 32:37–41

I must admit that I eagerly anticipate that day, the day when Israel will occupy her land, the day when Jesus will reign as Lord of lords and King of kings. I long for the day when all the world will see that when God says forever, He means forever. I long for the day when the world will see that it is God who places the boundaries of the nations (Job 12:23). One day Jesus Christ will ride in on the clouds, clothed in all His brilliant majesty, and every eye will see and all will know that God is indeed El Shaddai.

Oh Father,

You are faithful and Your Word is true. Your purpose will be accomplished. How awesome it is to call You my God. My Jesus, thank You for the price You paid, the sacrifice You made, so that I might be included in and grafted into the covenant with Abraham. Oh Father, how I pray for the grafting in again of Your chosen nation (Romans 11:24), that those who are descendants according to the flesh might become descendants also according to faith. Oh Father, I pray for the day that all would see and know that “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). Oh Father, I pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,

Amen.

Who You Know

And Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

Genesis 47:10

Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, the man who wisely put Joseph under him, the man who now has the world in debt to him because he is the possessor of the world’s food supply, comes in to meet the Hebrew father of Joseph.

Joseph’s father, Jacob, is a shepherd and the head of a family of seventy-five. Joseph presents his father before Pharaoh, and it is not Pharaoh who blesses Jacob, but it is Jacob who blesses Pharaoh. Hebrews 7:7 says, “But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater.”

What made Jacob greater than Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt? It was not his money, his fame, or his social status. It was his God. I can only imagine the conversations that must have gone on between Joseph and Pharaoh as they discussed the kingdom business of Egypt.

Egypt served many gods, and they were a “religious” people. I am sure that Pharaoh must have sought to know more about the God that revealed his dream to Joseph; the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I can imagine Joseph walking with Pharaoh and sharing his God with him through the stories that had been passed down from father to son. So when Jacob, Israel, the man who had seen God face-to-face (Genesis 32:30), came before Pharaoh, a blessing was welcome from him because Israel intimately knew God.

This intimate knowledge and relationship with the God of gods, the Creator of all things, was what made Jacob greater than Pharaoh. It’s said that it is not what you know; it’s who you know. All the whats in this world will someday pass away, but the Who will remain forever.

God does not determine greatness according to the standards of man. In this world, it is easy to get caught up in the strive for fame and fortune. It is thrust upon us and our children through the medias of society. It is driven in us through public education and even well-meaning friends and family.

It doesn’t matter how great we are in this world; what matters is the One that lasts forever. Jesus said in Matthew 5:19 that “whoever keeps and teaches the commandments of God, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” In Mark 10:43–45 Jesus said, “Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant.”

My friends, let us strive to be great in the kingdom of our God.

Oh Father,

That I might serve You. That my life might be given so that other lives might come to know the glory of Your name and the name of Jesus Christ. My Jesus, might I serve You with all my heart, all my mind, and all my strength. All that matters is the crown that one day I will lay at Your feet. Those who fight for money, fame, and power in this life, their reward will perish, but the reward that we are to seek is imperishable (1 Corinthians 9:25). The things of this world will someday pass away, but Your Word will endure forever (Luke 21:33). Your kingdom stands forever; my service to You and to Your kingdom is all that matters.

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,

Amen.

Just Keep Swimming

The years of my sojourning

are one hundred and thirty;

few and unpleasant

have been the years of my life,

nor have they attained the years

that my fathers lived

during the days of their sojourning.

Genesis 47:9

The years of my life are far from attaining the years of Jacob, and sadly, I too can say, “Few and unpleasant have been the years of my life.” I can sympathize with Jacob. He looked back on his life, and he saw the pain of his wrong choices, and I too can see the pain of my wrong choices—choices made before I knew Christ, choices made without consulting Christ when I did know him.

These choices have reaped consequences and continue to reap consequences. These choices have given the enemy of my soul words of condemnation to whisper in my ears. These words he is not afraid to use to try to bring me into a place of depression and doubt.

There is one choice that I have made that trumps all other choices—my choice to surrender to Jesus Christ. Having made this choice, I now rejoice in forgiveness, and when I get caught looking back at past mistakes, I remember the promises of my God. I remember Philippians 3:13–14: “Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Jacob wrestled with the man in the place he called Peniel, and he held on for dear life, knowing that he could not go on without a blessing. I too hang on to Jesus Christ for dear life, knowing that I could not go on if he were not with me. He is my “friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverb 18:24).

This stay on earth may not be the most pleasurable, but that is all right because praise be to our God that this is not home, “for our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). Romans 8:18 declares, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

Jesus encourages us in Revelation 2:10 to “be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” I don’t believe this verse applies just to those who are being tortured and martyred for the faith, but for all believers everywhere, in every circumstance, as we live with new hearts and renewed minds yet still in this condemned flesh.

Oh Father,

My sin is ever before me, and I know that it is against You alone that I have sinned. In this knowledge it is Your forgiveness I seek. I recognized finally through the power of Your grace that Your Word was true and I had transgressed Your law. The consequences of my own heart choices were the cause of my pain, and yet You, my Jesus, died for me while I was still in my sins (Romans 5:8). Oh Father, I confess the good confession (1 Timothy 3:16). I believe the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Luke 4:17–21). Oh Father, thank You for forgiveness. Thank You for mercy and for Your grace. My allegiance is to You and to Your kingdom. You are my king. My heart, my life, is Yours today, tomorrow, and forever.

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,

Amen.

So when life gets you down, take hold tightly to the hand of Jesus and just keep swimming...

Do I Stay or Do I Go

He said, I am God,

the God of your father;

do not be afraid to go down to Egypt,

for I will make you a great nation there.

Genesis 46:3

In Genesis 12:1–2, God called Jacob’s grandfather Abram out of the Ur of Chaldeans, and He told him to go to a land that He would show him. God told Abram that there He would make him into a great nation.

In Genesis 26:2, God appeared to Jacob’s father, Isaac, and told him not to go down to Egypt.

Now here, in Genesis 46 Jacob has been sent word to not just visit Egypt, but to pack up and move there. Jacob hesitates to make this move, with good reason.

God knows our hearts. He knew the dilemma that Jacob was struggling with within himself: to stay in the land that he knew God had promised his family and their descendants, or to move to a land that his father had been commanded not to go to.

God knew the struggle going on within Jacob, and so God came to him. “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). We cannot put God in a box. Abraham and Isaac were not to go to Egypt because it was not time. However, with Jacob, now it was time.

It was time for the word of God to be fulfilled: “God said to Abram, ‘Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years’” (Genesis 15:13).

God may call us to live in one place, to take one job, to teach one class, and then after a time, He might call us again. We have to remain open to the voice of God and remain in daily communication with Him.

He has a purpose and a plan for our lives. Acts 17:26 tells us that God has determined our appointed time and the boundaries of our habitation. In Psalm 32:8 God tells us, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.”

God assures Jacob that he is to go to Egypt and that He would be with him. God does not hide His will from us. If we seek Him, He will instruct us in the way that we should go.

Oh Father,

“I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:8). If we seek You and open our eyes and ears and hearts to You, ready to walk in willing obedience, You are always faithful to show us the way. Oh Father, how I desire to walk in Your will and not in my own. Oh Father, I live by the Spirit; therefore I should walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). Oh Father, that I would not be foolish but that I would understand Your will (Ephesians 5:17). I ask that I would be filled with the knowledge of Your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, that I might walk in a manner worthy of my Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, that I would please You, my God, in all respects

(Colossians 1:9–10).

My Jesus, it is in Your name that I pray,

Amen.

Believing Without Seeing

They told him saying,

“Joseph is still alive,

and indeed he is ruler

over all the land of Egypt.’

But he was stunned,

for he did not believe them.”

Genesis 45:26

Mary Magdalene leaves the feet of the risen Christ and runs to share the glorious news to the disciples, and “when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it” (Mark 16:11).

How many refuse to believe, but refusing the truth does not make it any less true. Jesus has risen. He lives to make intercession on behalf of those who believe and receive him as Savior. He is our eternal high priest (Hebrews 7:23–25).

When Jacob heard that Joseph was alive, he did not believe. He was stunned, just as the disciples were stunned by the news of Jesus Christ. Their disbelief did not come from a stubborn and unrepentant heart, but of stunned reaction that such wonderful news could really be accurate. Their unbelief quickly became belief, and in this, they rejoiced and rushed to be reconciled to the One whom once was dead but now was alive.

Joseph was alive, and he was ruler over all of Egypt and the surrounding lands because God had given him the ability to give life. In John 5:21 Jesus says, “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.” Joseph had limited power to give and sustain life to those who would come and seek his grain. He is just a small picture of the reality of Jesus Christ. Jesus has all power and all authority; the life He offers is eternal. There are no limits to the power of Jesus Christ.

When Jacob heard the words that Joseph had sent through his brothers, and when he saw the wagons filled with the gifts from Joseph, Jacob believed. There was one disciple that held on to his unbelief a little longer than the rest, and Jesus said to him, “Reach here with your fingers, and see My hands; and reach here with your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” He then said, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed” ( John 20:27, 29).

Jacob didn’t have to physically see Joseph to believe he lived; he responded to Joseph’s sent word and the evidence that his word was true. We have not physically seen the risen Lord Jesus, but we respond to His sent Word (John 17:20, Romans 10:14) and the evidence (James 2:18) that His Word is true. Blessed are those who believe yet do not see.

Oh, precious one, have you believed?

And if so are you sending out the Word to others?

Oh Father,

My Jesus is alive! He is the ruler of heaven and earth; in Him I believe and I rejoice. My Jesus, You are my King. You are my Lord. I lay at Your feet, prostrate before You in complete adoration and awe of the beauty of Your majesty. Though I have never seen Your face, I know that You are.

Oh, my Father, what a glorious day it will be when my Jesus I shall see, when I look upon His face, the one who saved me by His grace. Oh Father, here I am; my Jesus here I am. I worship You!

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,

Amen.

Love Held Him

Now do not be grieved

or angry with yourselves,

because you sold me here,

for God sent me before you

to preserve life.

Genesis 45:5

The life of Joseph is the perfect commentary for Romans 8:28: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

The heart of Joseph amazes me. He looked back on his life, and even looking on the actions of his brothers, he did not look back in hatred or bitterness, but with peace and confidence in the sovereignty of God.

Joseph’s heart was so much like the heart of Christ.

Jesus came to earth to be loved by some, hated by others, betrayed by His brethren, convicted of a crime He did not commit, hung on a cross to die, yet raised from the dead because death could not hold the sinless Jesus Christ.

David wrote in Psalm 37:25, “I have not seen the righteous forsaken.” Joseph believed God, and that belief was accredited to him as righteousness, just as it was his father, Abraham. God never did forsake Joseph. However, it was Jesus who cried out on the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me.”

Oh precious one, He was forsaken so that those who trust in Him would never be forsaken. Let this truth resonate in your heart and in your mind. Let it sink into the depths of your soul. Our Creator God is holy. Sin will not be in His presence, and He will not look upon it.

When our sin was laid upon Jesus, in His holiness, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit had to turn their faces away from God the Son. Of all that Jesus experienced as the Word made flesh, this had to be the most painful moment. Yet, even in this, the risen Lord does not look at us with contempt because He was betrayed, mocked, forsaken, and slain. He looks at us with eyes filled with love that we cannot even begin to imagine or understand and says it had to be done this way so that we might live.

Joseph was sent to preserve life, and through his life we get a picture of the coming Christ; our Jesus, who would come not just to preserve earthly life, but to give eternal life. In John 11:25, Jesus is speaking to Martha after the death of her brother Lazarus and He says to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.” Death could not hold Jesus Christ, and it cannot hold those who have trusted in Him.

The pain from hurts and betrayals by others did not control the heart of Christ, and they did not control the heart of Joseph. We have a choice to make in this life. We can choose to see all our hurts and pains as God against us, or we can choose to see that our hurts and pains are just this life and it is God that works in us to make even these glorious.

What will be your choice?

Oh Father,

How much I learn about the greatness of who You are just from the book of beginnings. You are sovereign, and Your plans will be accomplished. Your love for us is true and sure. Your grace abounds, and Your mercies never end. How I denied You and betrayed You by my actions. It was my sin that nailed You to the cross, yet it was Your great love for me that held You there until You cried, “Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit” (Luke 23:46). Oh Father, into Your hands I commit my life. My Father, that I might have a heart like Joseph, and when I am in the face of circumstances I don’t understand, may I trust in You and in Your love. May I trust that You are in control and You have a plan. I have no words adequate enough to express the praise and worship of You that swells in my heart when I think of all that You have done and are doing for me and in me. Worthy, worthy is the Lamb!

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,

Amen.

Exposed

God has found out the iniquity of your servants.

Genesis 44:16

How many times have we thought we have “gotten away” with sin?

Judah and his brothers fall before Joseph and beg for the life of Benjamin. Judah proclaims that God has found out their iniquity. The guilt over what they had done to Joseph and what they had done to their father had never left them. They know now beyond the shadow of a doubt that God knows about their sin.

We may be successful in hiding our sin from others, but we cannot hide it from God. Numbers 32:23 says “And be sure your sin will find you out.” In Matthew 9:4 we learn that Jesus knows our thoughts, and in John 2:25 we learn that He knows what is inside of us. Nothing is hidden from the sight of our all-knowing God.

We cannot hide even what we think we have done in secret, for “God will judge the secrets of men through Jesus Christ” (Romans 2:16). Sin will be dealt with; it will be judged. Sin cannot hide in the dark forever because the light will shine into all darkness and one day expose what it is trying to hide (John 3:20). In Psalm 51:3, David cried out, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.”

Oh yes, God will find out the iniquity of all. He sees it before Him. He has every right to bring immediate judgment, but instead He offers opportunity to confess and be cleansed. “For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust” (Psalm 103:14). He knows our sin, and yet He loves us. He loves us so much that He makes the way for us to confess. He makes the way for us to be cleansed. He makes the way for us to be reunited into fellowship with Him. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

He has been making the way from the beginning, and He will continue to do so until the end of the age. Oh, precious one, I beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Oh Father,

My sin was ever before me, and how often I transgressed Your law, but You did not leave me without hope. You did not leave me to die in my sins. You came in the form of man, as Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty of my sin upon the cross. You tell us in 1 Corinthians 11:31 that “if we judge ourselves rightly we would not be judged.” Oh Father, I looked at myself and I knew that You spoke the truth about me. I was a sinner. I was dead in my trespasses. I had broken Your law and was deserving of Your judgment, and then I heard the good news of Jesus Christ. I heard that He had already paid my penalty, and if I accepted His substitute death for mine I could be made alive in Him (Colossians 2:13–14). My Jesus, thank You for the cross, for I died with You and have been raised in You a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). As of now I am still in this flesh, and so I struggle; and at times I still fail and sin against You, yet Your faithfulness remains. The more I understand and study Your Word, I begin to get a grasp of the power that is mine in Christ; the power to live righteously and in accordance to Your will and in obedience to Your Word.

My Jesus, I love You so, and it is in Your name I pray,

Amen.

Heart of Truth

Joseph hurried out,

for he was deeply stirred over his brother,

and he sought a place to weep;

and he entered his chamber

and wept there.

Genesis 43:30

The brothers return to Egypt with Benjamin and with gifts ready to present to the one who was ruler over the land, Joseph. When the brothers came before Joseph the first time, they bowed before him, and Joseph remembered his dream—the dream of the sheaves and the dream of the sun, moon, and stars bowing down before him.

God does not place dreams in our hearts and in our minds that He does not plan to bring to fruition. He will accomplish what He begins in us, not in our time and not in our ways, but accomplish it He will.

When Joseph lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, he was overcome and he left to find a place to weep. Real men love with all their hearts. Joseph wept and Jesus wept (John 11:35, Hebrews 5:7). Their tears were not for show, not to win pity, not to get their way, but for love. Their tears were for the glory of God and for His faithfulness.

We are allowed the privilege of seeing right into the heart of Joseph through the Word of God. Through the recorded life of Joseph, we are able to see right into the heart of Jesus, and from the heart of Jesus, right into the heart of God. The Word of God is the heart of God lay bare and open before us. We see His love for us. We see His faithfulness toward us. We also see His strength and His righteousness and His patience. It is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4).

Joseph dries his tears, washes his face, and returns to his brothers in complete control of his emotions, “for the love of Christ controls us” (2 Corinthians 5:14). Only by the power and grace of God has Joseph been able to control himself at this point, for if we walk by the Spirit we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).

It has been close to twenty years since Joseph has seen his little brother, but God has not allowed Joseph to reveal himself as of yet, and so Joseph waits, for now is not the time. It is easy for us to allow emotions to control us. We must not forget that our hearts can still deceive us, but we know that “God is greater than our heart” (1 John 3:20). Joseph’s heart was overwhelmed with emotion, and he knew he needed to leave the situation before he acted on these emotions instead of the will of God.

My friend, you have heard let your heart be your guide?

This is a lie, let the truth be your guide.

Let the Holy Spirit and the Word of God be your guide.

Oh Father,

How I long for the day that my Jesus is revealed in all His glorious splendor. Oh, for the day “when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire” (2 Thessalonians 1:7). As I wait for You, my Lord and my King, I pray that I will be diligent to be found by You in peace, spotless and blameless, and that I will regard Your patience as salvation.

I pray that I will not fall from my own steadfastness, but that I will grow in grace and knowledge of You, my Savior (2 Peter 3:14–18). I pray that each day I will walk by Your Spirit that You have given me as a pledge of my inheritance and my assurance that I am Yours. To You be all the glory forever.

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,

Amen.

My Life for His

I myself will be surety for him;

you may hold me responsible for him.

If I do not bring him back to you

and set him before you,

then let me bear the blame before you forever.

Genesis 43:9

The brothers returned home. They shared with their father that the only way they could get more grain and retrieve their brother Simeon was to return to Egypt with Benjamin.

Jacob would not hear of his only living son of Rachel being taken to Egypt. Reuben offered his sons as a pledge, but Reuben’s words brought no comfort to his father.

The day came when they had no choice but to travel back to Egypt to get more grain, and the brothers knew that they would receive nothing without Benjamin. Judah looked at Jacob, and he did not offer his son’s life, but he offered his own. We read in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” I believe Jacob looked into Judah’s eyes, and he saw that he could trust Judah with his precious Benjamin.

Judah knew of Jacob’s pain, and he understood Jacob’s love, having already lost two sons himself. Here we see Judah act as the redeemer for his brothers. Here, for the first time, we can begin to see the picture of Christ rising up in Judah, the son of Jacob.

Jacob knew the promise of God. He knew that he was in covenant with God. He knew that this covenant would carry through one of his sons. What he did not know was which son it would be. I wonder, as Jacob watched his eleven remaining sons ride off toward Egypt, if he was reminded of his grandfather Abraham and his father, Isaac, and the time when God said, “Take your son whom you love and offer him as a sacrifice to Me.”

As I read this, my imagination takes me to the heavens.

Can you see the conversation in heaven, between the Holy Trinity, as God the Son looks at God the Father, and says, “I will go and lay down my life for them, as You love them I love them, as You created them, I created them”...

Jesus said in John 10:15, “Even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father and I lay down My life for the sheep.” If we could ever fully grasp the love our Creator has for us, we would never doubt Him.

“See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us,

that we should be called children of God”

(1 John 3:1).

Oh Father,

That I might trust in You and in the promises of Your Word. That I would live each day letting go and giving You my all. Oh Father, that I would come to You with open hands, an open heart, and an open mind, ready and willing to do your will. That I would walk in obedience to Your voice, trusting in Your sovereignty. Oh Father, why You love me, I’ll never understand. I am not worthy of Your love, have done nothing to deserve or earn it, yet You love me. My Jesus, thank You for the life that You laid down that I might be raised in new life. I am a willful and thankful debtor to You, my Redeemer.

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,

Amen.

Stop Hiding

By this you will be tested …

that your words may be tested,

whether there is truth in you.

Genesis 42:15–16

Joseph questions his brothers as they stand before him. He accuses them of being spies, and this leads them into explaining who they are and where they came from. Joseph could not see his brothers’ hearts, but he could see that they were lying about him and to him.

Joseph’s deepest concern here was the condition of his little brother Benjamin. I am sure he was afraid that Benjamin was now the hated one. In order for Joseph to discover the truth about the safety of his little brother, he placed a test before them that would bring Benjamin to Egypt.

Jesus told us that we would be known by our fruit (Matthew 7:16–20). Joseph would know the truth of his brothers’ words by the produced “fruit” of Benjamin. I am sure he did not know that the test he would lay before them would trigger the guilt of their sin.

In this test, the brothers immediately went to the memory of what they had done to Joseph so many years before. Joseph’s brothers argue before him in Hebrew; they do not know that Joseph understands. They do not know it is Joseph. Joseph is so overwhelmed that he has to turn away from them and weep.

I wonder, had the brothers turned to Joseph at that moment and confessed their sin before this man that they did not know was Joseph, would he have revealed himself to them then? I believe he just might have.

In Matthew 15:8, Jesus quoted the Prophet Isaiah: “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me.” God is omniscient. He knows our hearts and our innermost thoughts. He doesn’t need to test us to see if we speak truth. We, on the other hand, need him to test us so that we can see for ourselves if we speak truth.

As the saying goes, “talk is cheap.” It is easy to speak words; it is harder to actually back those words with action. We may say one thing, but through trials and testing, we and others may discover that we did not mean what we said. James 1:2 tells us to consider it all joy when we go through various trials, knowing that through endurance by the testing of our faith we might be made complete and perfect.

Joseph’s brothers stood before this man who was ruler over them, and though they were attempting to honor him with their lips, they were lying through their teeth. They were trying to make themselves better men than what they were by hiding their sin from him.

Precious one, are you trying to hide your sin?

Do we not do this before God?

Do we not come to Him on Sunday and sing a beautiful song and hope that if our words are sweet enough He will just look over what is hidden in our hearts?

When struggles come in your life, do you see them as some type of punishment for a past sin?

My friend, it is not punishment. It is simply God’s way of encouraging you to come to Him. He wants you to be free, to be perfect and complete before Him.

Do you know that Jesus said that whoever commits sin is the slave of sin (John 8:34)? Do you know that not confronting and confessing your sin keeps you in bondage to that sin? Do you know that Jesus said that it is the truth that sets you free (John 8:32)?

My friend, do you know that “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1)?

Oh, precious one, don’t hold on to your sin; “confess your sins one to another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed” (James 5:16). God built His church that we might edify one another and hold one another accountable. Find someone you can trust and lay aside whatever sin, past or present, that is entangling you (Hebrews 12:1). Draw near with confidence before the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16) and let the truth (John 14:6) set you free.

Oh Father,

How many times did You weep for me as You stood before me, right in front of me, and yet I did not see? How many times were You waiting patiently for me to turn to You and confess my sin, to confess my guilt against You? Many years I carried guilt and shame because of my sin against You and others, and all along You were there waiting for me to come to You. You were there, hearing my cries, watching my tears, as I turned to everyone and everything but You. Oh Father, thank You for Your patience. Thank You for never turning a deaf ear to Godly sorrow, to true repentance, to a cry of forgiveness from a broken and contrite heart. Thank You, my Father, for never giving up on me.

My Jesus, it’s in Your name I pray,

Amen.

Now I See

But Joseph had recognized his brothers, although they did not recognize him.

Genesis 42:8

In the previous devotion we discussed how Joseph’s brothers’ ignorance in recognizing who he would be allowed him to become who he is now, second in power over all of Egypt. We learned how their sin against him was used by God to save them and the world. Now their sin once again keeps them from recognizing him, even when he stands right in front of them.

Joseph had power over his brothers not just because of the authority of the position he held, but also because of the advantage he held in the knowledge that his brothers would only recognize him if he chose to reveal himself to them. The whens, wheres, and hows were all completely in Joseph’s control.

For you see, Joseph’s brothers could not recognize him because they were not looking for him. If they had been searching for him with all their heart, they would have recognized him immediately.

You see, the brothers were not looking for Joseph because to find Joseph would mean they would be faced with the guilt of their sin, and this guilt they wanted to keep hidden.

When I read this verse in Genesis and this part of Joseph’s life, I am reminded of Luke 24:15–14: “While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.” When Peter made his confession in Matthew 16:16, Jesus replied, “Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”

We are so blinded by our own sin and by the god of this world, Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4) that we cannot and could not see God if He did not reveal Himself to us. We would not even know to look for Him if He did not call out for us. To find Him means we must come face-to-face with our sin against Him. We, like the brothers, want to keep this sin hidden.

God, in His great mercy and grace, reveals Himself to us through His creation (Psalm 19:1–6), through His Word (Psalm 19:7–13), and through Jesus Christ (Psalm 19:14). God has never left us without a witness or without signs declaring that He exists and He is God. Psalm 65:8 says, “They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs.”

It doesn’t matter where we are or who we are, God has revealed Himself openly, outwardly, and publicly to all men. Not only this, but God calls us each individually through His gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:22–32).

Oh, how He loves us! We think we need to hide our sin. We think as long as it is hidden then no consequences will come. However, He knows that this sin, which we think is well hidden, is killing us. He has provided the cure for this disease that ends in death. He has opened the door, has a free clinic (Revelation 22:17); all we have to do is believe and receive.

Oh Father,

I love You! Thank You for revealing Yourself to me. Thank You for seeking me and choosing me. Thank You for opening my eyes to the depth of my sin against You through Your Word, through Your law. Thank You for providing the way by which I and any who would come can be saved. You are worthy of all my praise. All glory belongs to You! My Jesus, I worship You, the Author and Finisher of my faith. You are my Lord and my God. You are my Rock and Redeemer. You are He who cleansed me of all unrighteousness and clothed me in Your own. You revealed Yourself to me, and You called me by name. I once was blind, but oh, now I see! All praise to You, my King.

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,

Amen.

Suffering Saves

Behold, I have heard

that there is grain in Egypt;

go down there

and buy some for us from that place,

so that we may live and not die.

Genesis 42:2

Jacob and his eleven sons and their families need food in this famine. Jacob sends his sons—all but Benjamin— to Egypt. Oh, what a surprise it will be when they learn that the very one they wanted to rid themselves of is the only one who can give them life.

My friend, what a surprise it will be when those descendants of Israel who have so wanted to get rid of Jesus discover that the very Jesus they have been trying to rid themselves of is the only One who can save them. In Acts 2:36 we read, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Paul explains to us in Romans 11 that God has placed a partial hardening over His people so that the nation does not recognize Jesus for who He truly is, but the day is coming when the hardening will be removed. Then all of Israel will be saved.

They will recognize Him and they will worship Him. They will mourn when this realization hits, but still they will praise Jesus as the Messiah. They will know Him as Lord and King.

As Jacob said, “Behold, I have heard there is grain in Egypt,” Israel will say, “Behold, I have heard that there is life in Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17). They will say, we have heard that He is the true bread that comes down out of heaven and whoever eats this bread lives forever (John 6).

In Zechariah 12:10 we read, “They will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him.” We can read on in Zechariah 13:6 that “one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then He will say, “Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.”

Yes, Jesus was wounded by those who once claimed to love Him. He was not turned over to the cross by the Gentiles but by His own people. Yet it was for God’s purpose. Had the nation of Israel recognized Jesus for who He truly was, then they would never have sent Him to the cross, and it is only by the cross of Christ that we may all be saved, Jew and Gentile.

If Joseph’s brothers had recognized him for who he was going to be, then they would not have sold him as a slave. Yet by the suffering Joseph received from his brothers, he was not only able to give them life, but he was able to give life to the world.

So are we to hate Joseph’s brothers for their ignorance?

Joseph, the one they sinned against, did not hate them. Joseph saw the big picture. He knew that God was in control, even when he didn’t completely understand. Joseph never stopped loving his brothers.

My friend, Jesus does not hate those who put Him on the cross. He has never stopped loving them. It was His great love for them, for us, that led Him to that cross and held Him to that cross. Sin was what threw Joseph in that pit. Sin was what sold him as a slave, and it was sin that sent him to prison. The same is true of the cross. Sin—mine, yours, and the world’s—sent Jesus to the cross.

Oh, precious one, do you hear?

Do you hear that He provides for His own in ways that we cannot even fathom?

Have you heard that the nation of Israel would have perished before the nation could have ever begun had it not been for her God, who sent Joseph ahead of her to Egypt, and not just Israel, but the nations of the world? Here we are, and here is the whole world dying in our sins, yet there is a way. Have you heard there is the way (John 14:6)?

Oh yes, Jesus is the way!

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Oh Father,

I hear that Christ died for my sins, according to the Scriptures. I hear that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures. I hear that He appeared to many (1 Corinthians 15:1–6). Oh Father, I hear and I believe! This gospel, this good news, that was promised beforehand through Your prophets and in the Holy Scriptures (Romans 1:2), this truth so displayed through the book of Genesis and in the life of Joseph, oh Father, I believe. My Jesus, I believe that You are God and You are my Savior. I love You and I thank You.

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,

Amen.