Woven throughout the pages of
scripture are many vignettes of God's provision and deliverance
of that people that He loves with an everlasting love. This
is nowhere more vividly illustrated than in the account that we have
of Joseph being sold as a slave into Egypt. for the specific
purpose of ministering deliverance to the household of Israel. In
this particular account we see layer upon layer of various circumstances
and occurrences which manifest the absolute predestination of
all things by the hand of an all-wise and absolute God. In
man's natural understanding, he would attribute such things
to luck, coincidence, or karma. Yet to those to whom it is given
to rejoice in a sovereign God, they see the hand of God demonstrated. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to His purpose. Every incident that occurs during
this unfolding saga has its own set of circumstances which define
each particular occurrence. When analyzed separately, they
can each be attributed to various causes and effects, such as the
animosity and jealousy which arose among Joseph's brothers
that led to their decision to sell him into slavery, to the
dreams which Joseph was unable to interpret for the baker and
the butler, which ultimately led to his interpreting Pharaoh's
dream and arriving at a place of honor and power in the kingdom
of Egypt. While each one of these events
produced its own individual results and in a measure accomplished
a specific and particular purpose of its own, it is as we see the
whole unfolded and each of these episodes woven into a greater
fabric of an overall purpose that we are made to rejoice and
give glory to Him who does all things well and for the benefit
of those whom He loves. It is impossible for men to predict
or understand the outcome of every step that the Lord is pleased
to design in the unfolding of His purpose. As we read, For
as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher
than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Surely Job
would not have known, nor could he have foreseen, that the loss
of all that he held dear was the result of the Lord's challenge
to Satan. He could not have known that
the whole scenario was designed by the Lord to bring him to a
true understanding of the majesty of the Most High God, and that
every trial in that journey was ordained by the hand of Him who
loved him before he ever drew his first breath. He did not
enjoy each step of that sojourn, but by the grace of God he could
afterwards reflect upon it and give glory to Him who is worthy
of all glory. We see Pharaoh instructing that
wagons be sent together the household of Jacob from the land of Canaan
to deliver them from the famine in order that they might have
ease of journey to the land of Egypt. He also sent asses laden
with good things simply because of his great love and regard
unto Joseph. Jacob nor any of his family would
have a standing or regard in Pharaoh's sight were it not that
he had regard unto Joseph. Now in this we see illustrated
the regard which the Father has for those whom he has chosen
in Christ from before the foundation of the world. They are precious
in his sight because they are hidden in Christ, and he is their
mediator and deliverer, even as Joseph stood as such for his
kinsmen. The Father has respect to all
who are seen in the righteousness of Christ, and none for those
who are not. The grace of God is the sufficiency
of the saints of God. There is no other conveyance
which can bring the saints out of the land of famine and barrenness
and into the land of plenty. He supplies all that is necessary
for them to arrive safely at their destination. The biggest
hindrance to the entrance of men into the kingdom of God is
self-righteousness, which is having any sort of regard to
one's own actions, merits, or obedience as a means of gaining
the favor of God. Nothing makes a religious man
angrier than when he is told that he has no power or ability
to gain the favor of God, and that he cannot even believe apart
from the gift of faith from the Lord. This is the message which
the Lord preached to the Pharisees, and they hated him and his message.
Yet to those sinners for whom Christ came, it was a welcome
sight, even as the wagons of Pharaoh were to Jacob and his
family. His grace is sufficient. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at 4the4 at windstream dot net.