Today’s Reading Genesis 44 Joseph turns the screws tighter and tighter. The plot develops to the place where something has to give. Joseph has played his cards perfectly to bring his brothers to a place of complete submission. Nothing can ever repay for what they have done to him, but he has made it clear to this point, he is in complete control of their destiny, and he has a plan to reveal himself before them. He will seem ‘like God’ to them now. This represents a very, very dangerous point for Joseph, he must overcome the great, great temptation to abuse the position of power to which God has elevated him. Joseph who is so squarely in control is just about to be out of it. Joseph must remember why God has raised him to where he is now… For the first time… yes the first time we see the sons of Jacob have a spirit of sacrifice and acting in love. We see now the work that Jacob’s grieving for years over Joseph has done on the brothers. Surely they never imagined that their father’s grief would so affect them. Let alone their own guilt in the matter of what they did to Joseph. I suppose that’s the way it is. We are just not aware of how much our sins affect others until we experience it over a sweep of time. We are given a glimpse at the end of chapter 44 of Jacob and told that his ‘life is tied up closely’ now in Rachel’s only other son Benjamin, the wife that he had the most love for all along. The other sons of Jacob, especially Judah, are now in a mode of doing all that they can to protect Jacob their father. That’s what love does isn’t it? When it sees a weakness or vulnerability in another whom it loves, it does all that it can to cover it and protect the weakness from others who would exploit or use it to advantage. Judah and his brothers now seek to protect Jacob the best they can by protecting Benjamin. We all detest the movie or the script that comes to the moment of climax and says, “Stay tuned next week for the exciting conclusion to…” Yet that’s what we have friends …. Monday’s reading is a hum dinger! That is… unless on a snow day, you want to read ahead a little : ) Please everyone be safe today and know how deeply God loves you! All God’s blessings in Christ, John
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 11:23:42 +0000
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