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, as throughout the whole of scripture, 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 Paul's declaration clearly
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
the 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 in 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. 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
reflect upon it after the fact and give glory to him who alone
is worthy of all glory, even in the same fashion as King Nebuchadnezzar
could, even after being made to eat grass like an ox. We see
Pharaoh, the sovereign ruler of Egypt, instructing that wagons
be sent to gather the household and belongings of Jacob, so that
they might have ease of journey to the land of Egypt, in order
that they might escape the famine and dwell in a land of plenty.
He commanded this because of his great love and regard unto
Joseph. Thus we see Jacob's household
as the objects of his affection. Jacob nor any of his family could
have a standing or regard in his sight were it not that Pharaoh
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 in their room
and place as their kinsman. The Father has respect to all
who are seen in the righteousness of Christ, and none for those
who are not. We see a picture of the grace
of God in the wagons which Pharaoh sent for Jacob. These wagons
belonged to Pharaoh, who commanded that these wagons be sent to
Canaan to fetch the house of Israel. There is no other conveyance
which can bring the saints out of the land of famine and barrenness
and into the land of plenty, nor can they supply any of their
own sustenance along the way. He supplies all that is necessary
for them to arrive safely at their destination. For by grace
are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It
is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at 4the4 at windstream dot net.