August 19
Scripture Reading: Genesis 50:12-21
Seventeen years had passed since Joseph made himself known to his brothers in Egypt. They had stood before him as the officer that was second in command over all the land of Egypt, standing there, filled with fear and dread. When he revealed to them that he was Joseph that they had sold into slavery, they were stunned. He assured them that they did not need to fear him, and that he would not exercise any form of retribution for the vile and unjust treatment he had received of their hands. After the death of their father, the brothers feared that there might yet be some retribution from Joseph, and he certainly had the power to order such actions against them. When they approached Joseph with their fabricated account of their father’s appeal for leniency, he was overwhelmed with emotion. The Bible declares, “And Joseph wept when they spake to him.” After caring for them and their families for seventeen years, his brothers still feared him and the power that he could have wielded against them. Unresolved guilt can cause many things in the lives of the guilty, especially fear. These brothers had never really resolved the guilt of their dealings with their younger brother.
Joseph makes one of the greatest statements of faith found in Scripture in Verse 20: “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” He was able to see and understand the greater plan that God had in his life. O, that God would give us this understanding of His hand in our lives. If the Bible is true, and it is without question, all things do work together for good to them that love God, to the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) Joseph’s years of difficulty were fashioned by God to bring to pass a much greater good; a good that Joseph would come to understand years later. God is good! His hand is in the details of our lives. Let us trust Him and ever allow Him to have His perfect will and way in all that we do, in all the we experience and in all that we are. Amen!
Pastor Steve Smith