Moses: Growing Into His Calling

A few months ago when I started this broken vessel series my expectation was to take a look at the human and even broken side of many of the esteemed heroes of the Bible. I didn’t want to tear them down, but to examine how in God’s grace, He chooses to use broken flawed people just like me even for His most important tasks. I hoped this study would offer insight and encouragement to anyone like me who has felt for any reason God couldn’t or wouldn’t use them.

I anticipated covering the “big names”; Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Peter Paul, Etc. I did not anticipate spending weeks studying Jacob and his family. I also didn’t expect to be more than 3 months in and just now getting to Moses.  I am by no means complaining. I have only gone at the pace I have felt led to move at and have probably gained as much or more from this study as any of the readers. I have found the characters to be relatable, the stories to be intriguing, and God to be sovereign through it all.

I give the fairly long introduction as a way to somewhat warn the reader; I am not sure how many weeks we will be examining Moses. Last week we made it through the first four chapters of the book of Exodus, that sounds like a long way; until you consider Moses is the main character for the next 4 books of the Bible. There’s a lot of material.  With all of that being said; I suppose we should go ahead and jump into this week’s post.

When we left Moses last week he was standing at the burning bush, trying to convince God that he wasn’t the right choice to send back to Egypt to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land. He was giving God every reason he could think of why he wasn’t worthy or wasn’t capable, but God wasn’t hearing it.  Moses hid behind many of the same excuses we still do today; God assured him He would be right there with him and make sure he succeeded. God warned Moses dealing with Pharaoh wouldn’t be easy; but he also assured that He was with him.  Another great reminder for us.  

God prepared Moses by giving him signs he would be able to show to Pharaoh when he arrived and also sent his brother Aaron with him to help him speak.  So, after much consternation, Moses and his family headed out towards Egypt. The first meeting they scheduled was with the leaders of the Israelites. It was important to get them on board. They had to believe that God had actually sent Moses.   

29 Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, 30 and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, 31 and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped. Exodus 4:29-31

That had to feel pretty good. Moses had been unsure of the reaction he would get from the Israelites; he wasn’t sure they would accept him; but just as God had promised they welcomed him and gave glory to God.  If only it was all that easy. Once we accept God has something for us to do, we may think everything will go silky smooth; as Moses was about to find out that’s not always the case.

After they met with the Israelite elders, Moses and Aaron scored a meeting with Pharaoh.  As God had instructed, Moses told Pharaoh to let the Israelites go into the wilderness so they could have a festival and worship God. Pharaoh scoffed. At first he didn’t acknowledge who God was at all, later he reverted to a more practical reason why he did not want to let the Israelites go. He actually even punished the people for Moses even asking.

4-5 But the king of Egypt said, “Why on earth, Moses and Aaron, would you suggest the people be given a holiday? Back to work!” Pharaoh went on, “Look, I’ve got all these people bumming around, and now you want to reward them with time off?”

6-9 Pharaoh took immediate action. He sent down orders to the slave-drivers and their underlings: “Don’t provide straw for the people for making bricks as you have been doing. Make them get their own straw. And make them produce the same number of bricks—no reduction in their daily quotas! They’re getting lazy. They’re going around saying, ‘Give us time off so we can worship our God.’ Crack down on them. That’ll cure them of their whining, their god-fantasies.” Exodus 5:4-9 The Message

Pharaoh and the slave drivers made things miserable for the Israelites who were forced to work harder than ever.  The denied them the material they needed to make bricks but still required them to make the same number of bricks each day. It made the extremely hard labor even harder. If they didn’t meet their quota of bricks each day they were beaten.   The people who had just supported Moses, now blamed him.

20-21 As they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them. The foremen said to them, “May God see what you’ve done and judge you—you’ve made us stink before Pharaoh and his servants! You’ve put a weapon in his hand that’s going to kill us!” Exodus 5:20-21 The Message

Moses, who had finally trusted God and His calling, was now back to his old ways as well.

22 Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? 23 Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.” Exodus 5: 22-23 NIV

God was there to reassure Moses again. He promised him that He was going to use him for His glory. He promised to make Pharaoh pay for his disobedience and he promised again to give the Israelites the land he had promised to Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob. Unfortunately for Moses, The people were losing trust in him.

 But when Moses delivered this message to the Israelites, they didn’t even hear him—they were that beaten down in spirit by the harsh slave conditions Exodus 6:9 The Message

This couldn’t have been easy for him with his seemingly already fragile self-esteem. God told him to go back to Pharaoh and deliver the message again but Moses was downtrodden.

12 Moses answered God, “Look—the Israelites won’t even listen to me. How do you expect Pharaoh to? And besides, I stutter.” Exodus 6:11. The Message

God again has to become a coach and encourage Moses and Aaron to get back up and try again. I can certainly see Moses’ frustration; he was living this nice comfortable life tending his father-in-law’s livestock in Midian; minding his own business and now here he is back in Egypt. Everyone’s mad at him and just like he suspected, he is not capable of doing the mission God has called him to. He tried to tell God he would fail. When things don’t go as we hope, it’s easy to pack it in and lose hope.  Moses is about to learn a huge lesson for any of us who have ever been discouraged or lost hope when we have encountered failure. The lesson God teaches Moses isn’t quick, and it isn’t easy, but as we will see the results are remarkable.

The first thing he does is gives Moses YET ANOTHER pep talk. God told Moses He would make him “Like a god to Pharaoh” and reassured him once again, that He would prevail. God told Moses and Aaron to go back to Pharaoh and again request he release the Israelites. This time he gave them a sign to use to try to convince him.

8-9 Then God spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said, “When Pharaoh speaks to you and says, ‘Prove yourselves. Perform a miracle,’ then tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh: It will turn into a snake.’”

10 Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did what God commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his servants, and it turned into a snake.

11-12 Pharaoh called in his wise men and sorcerers. The magicians of Egypt did the same thing by their incantations: each man threw down his staff and they all turned into snakes. But then Aaron’s staff swallowed their staffs.

13 Yet Pharaoh was as stubborn as ever—he wouldn’t listen to them, just as God had said. Exodus 7:8-13 The Message

So, that had to be pretty cool for a minute, you throw your staff on the ground and it starts slithering around and turns into a snake. Had to kind of be a little deflating though when the magicians were able to do the same thing. It had to be somewhat satisfying for Aaron’s staff snake to devour the staff snakes of the magicians. That was kind of a weird sentence to write.  Again though Moses followed God’s instructions and again he was rebuffed. Moses could have very easily have gotten discouraged here; but God didn’t really give him the opportunity.

Moses and Aaron would spend the next several days and weeks going to Pharaoh and requesting that he release the Israelites. They would ask several times. Each time they asked Pharaoh refused. Each time Pharaoh refused, Egypt suffered.

First God instructed Moses and Aaron to turn the water in the Nile to blood.

20-21 Moses and Aaron did exactly as God commanded them. Aaron raised his staff and hit the water in the Nile with Pharaoh and his servants watching. All the water in the Nile turned into blood. The fish in the Nile died; the Nile stank; and the Egyptians couldn’t drink the Nile water. The blood was everywhere in Egypt.  Exodus 7:20-21 The Message

That seems like it would be a pretty scary and pretty awe inspiring sign; but the Egyptian magicians were able to match the feat and Pharaoh was not moved to change his mind. The people of Egypt dealt with the bloody stinky Nile for 7 days before God finally allowed it to return to normal.  That’s when Moses went to Pharaoh again and requested he allow the Israelites to leave. This time, if Pharaoh didn’t allow them to leave, Egypt was going to be overrun with frogs.

1-4 God said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘God’s Message: Release my people so they can worship me. If you refuse to release them, I’m warning you, I’ll hit the whole country with frogs. The Nile will swarm with frogs—they’ll come up into your houses, into your bedrooms and into your beds, into your servant's’ quarters, among the people, into your ovens and pots and pans. They’ll be all over you, all over everyone—frogs everywhere, on and in everything!’” Exodus 8:1-4 The Message

The Bible says the magicians were able to make frogs appear as well, but apparently their magic was no match for God’s power. While the magicians made the frogs appear, they must have had trouble getting them to disappear; after days of the frogs invading everyone’s space and grossing everyone out, Pharaoh finally sent for Moses and Aaron and asked them to please make the frogs go away. He even momentarily agreed to let the Israelites leave.  Once God got rid of the frogs, Pharaoh changed his mind.

Since frogs weren’t enough to convince the King of Egypt, God ordered  Moses and Aaron to strike the dirt and he sent swarms and swarms of gnats.  There were gnats everywhere. How disgusting. How annoying.

 He did it. Aaron grabbed his staff and struck the dust of the Earth; it turned into gnats, gnats all over people and animals. All the dust of the Earth turned into gnats, gnats everywhere in Egypt.

18 The magicians tried to produce gnats with their incantations but this time they couldn’t do it. There were gnats everywhere, all over people and animals.

19 The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is God’s doing.” But Pharaoh was stubborn and wouldn’t listen. Just as God had said. Exodus 8:17-19 The Message

This was a significant moment as this was the first time the magicians couldn’t replicate the act that Moses and Aaron were performing. This was the first time they  acknowledged that God was behind what they were seeing.

Even though Pharaoh was still stubborn, Moses was growing stronger in his faith and the people of Israel were starting to believe even more that God had sent Moses and Aaron.  The same story that happened with the frogs and with the gnats was repeated with flies. This time however, God made sure to show anyone who was paying attention that His people were protected from his wrath. The king’s palace was covered in flies, the streets of Egypt all the people and all the livestock were covered in flies. The only part of Egypt that wasn’t overrun with flies was Goshen; where the Israelites lived.  Even Pharaoh could see this was God’s handiwork and after being pestered as long as he could take it, he relented and agreed to let the Israelites go he even asked Moses to pray for him… but he changed his mind again!

After the frogs, the gnats & the flies God sent Moses back to Pharaoh and again requested he release the Israelites. Same story; pharaoh refused and God sent down a punishment, this time he sent a disease that afflicted all the Egyptian livestock, but left the Hebrew livestock alone.  Pharaoh still was unrelenting so, when Moses asked again, and he refused again the Egyptian people suffered painful boils all over their body. The Bible points out that the magicians were even covered with boils and couldn’t even try to compete with the signs Moses and Aaron were demonstrating.

God is drawing this out to demonstrate His power. He is showing Pharaoh how powerful he is; but he is also reminding Moses and the Israelites of his power.  The next demonstration from God was a hail storm like the Egyptians had never seen before. The lightning and the hail covered the land for days and ruined crops and killed animals. Even in his stubbornness Pharaoh admitted how powerful God was and begged Moses to make the storm stop. Moses prayed; God stopped the storm. Pharaoh still refused to let the Israelites go.  

Moses has got to be in a weird state of mind now, he is seeing so much of God’s power, yet he still has not succeeded in his mission. The Israelites are still suffering in slavery and Pharaoh is still not allowing them to leave. Knowing the attitude he started with I can imagine Moses was getting a little down on himself. I can imagine him thinking “See God if you would have sent someone better all your power wouldn’t be wasted” What he wasn’t aware of is that the Israelites and the Egyptians were seeing all of God’s glory and power and witnessing God using him for greatness.  God had a plan through it all.

1-2 God said to Moses: “Go to Pharaoh. I’ve made him stubborn, him and his servants, so that I can force him to look at these signs and so you’ll be able to tell your children and grandchildren how I toyed with the Egyptians, like a cat with a mouse; you’ll tell them the stories of the signs that I brought down on them, so that you’ll all know that I am God.” Exodus 10:1-2 The Message

Moses did as God said, he went back to Pharaoh again and requested he release the Israelites. He warned him if he didn’t release them there would be locusts everywhere and they would devour all of Egypt. Even Pharaoh’s advisors were turning on him and starting to see God’s power.

7 Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long are you going to let this man harass us? Let these people go and worship their God. Can’t you see that Egypt is on its last legs?” Exodus 10:7

To avoid a revolt from his own people and to try to save face Pharaoh tried to negotiate. He agreed to let Moses take the Israelite men, but not their women and children.  Pharaoh’s coyness was not amusing to God; who instructed Moses to go ahead and release the locusts.

 God said to Moses: “Stretch your hand over Egypt and signal the locusts to cover the land of Egypt, devouring every blade of grass in the country, everything that the hail didn’t get.” Exodus 10:12

14-15 The locusts covered the country of Egypt, settling over every square inch of Egypt; the place was thick with locusts. There never was an invasion of locusts like it in the past, and never will be again. The ground was completely covered, black with locusts. They ate everything, every blade of grass, every piece of fruit, anything that the hail didn’t get. Nothing left but bare trees and bare fields—not a sign of green in the whole land of Egypt. Exodus 10:14-15

The locusts humbled Pharaoh but again only temporarily. He still refused to let the Israelites go.  With Pharaoh still stubborn God used Moses to bring darkness over the entire land.  Still Pharaoh wouldn’t  budge.  Things get a little dark as God took a very harsh stance with Pharaoh. Moses passed along God’s message that if Pharaoh didn’t allow all the Israelites to leave Egypt he was going to take the life of every first born child throughout the land.  Even though he had seen all the damage God had done, Pharaoh’s pride and stubbornness still wouldn’t allow him to release the Israelites.

29 At midnight God struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, right down to the firstborn of the prisoner locked up in jail. Also the firstborn of the animals.

30 Pharaoh got up that night, he and all his servants and everyone else in Egypt—what wild wailing and lament in Egypt! There wasn’t a house in which someone wasn’t dead.

31-32 Pharaoh called in Moses and Aaron that very night and said, “Get out of here and be done with you—you and your Israelites! Go worship God on your own terms. And yes, take your sheep and cattle as you’ve insisted, but go. And bless me.” Exodus 12: 29-32 The Message

After 430 years the Israelites were finally walking out of Egypt as a free people.  Moses was right when he thought he wasn’t capable, but God was. He had gotten to witness God’s power in ways he never thought possible.

That day Moses led the Israelite people out of Egypt; just like God told him he would. His journey was far from over, in fact he wasn’t even completely outside of Pharaoh’s reach yet; but here was the same guy who pleaded with God to send someone else now at the front of hundreds of thousands of Israelites as they marched out of Egypt.

The man who had thought he had failed one his very first try was now feared by the Egyptians and followed by hundreds of thousands. Moses obeyed God even when he didn’t always want to and he persevered even when he wanted to quit.  In the end God had done exactly what He said He would do.

God used the stuttering murderer to show all the people how powerful He was. Our weaknesses are a tool for God to show His strength.  He used the stubborn King for the same reason. The more stubborn the resistance the more we learn we have to rely on God and the more we learn that God is more powerful than any resistance we may face.  

He is more powerful than doubt, sin, discouragement, suffering, or any King or Pharaoh we may ever encounter.  

There is a lot more to Moses’ story and when we pick up next week we will see one final conflict with Pharaoh and a lot of amazing signs and wonders from God. We will also see Moses deal with some more human emotions including anger and pride.

As a side note when my 13 year old was younger we gave her a Bible that had several lists in it. Before he learned the 10 commandments or the twelve apostles; she learned and memorized the plagues of Egypt.

God's Plan is Bigger Than Joseph's

Over the last couple of weeks, the blog has taken a different turn as it has focused more on my own brokenness and problems I have been dealing with and less on our character studies of our Biblical heroes. I thank everyone who may be reading for bearing with me. My grandmother’s health is currently stable but we have a long arduous road ahead.

Getting back to form; let’s shift our focus back to studying Joseph.  Some of what follows will be a review from a couple of weeks ago. While Joseph’s story is remarkable, many of his struggles are the same things we deal with today.

Ever been at your lowest point, not real sure how to deal with your problems and some well-meaning Christian reminds you that it’s all part of God’s plan? Those words can bite. Why is it God’s plan for me to suffer? Why is God’s plan so painful? There is simply no way to see God’s plan in your current circumstances.

A few weeks ago as we looked at Joseph’s afflictions we were able to see God’s hand of provision there for him the entire time even when he probably felt like he was all alone.  As Joseph went from favorite son, to slave, to prisoner it was probably very difficult to even think that what was going on was all part of God’s plan.  God’s plan was bigger than Joseph and his current situation. Around 200 years before Joseph was born, God had already told his great grandpa what was going to happen.

“And 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. But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve; and afterward they will come out with many possessions” Genesis 15:13-14.

God’s larger plan was probably the furthest thing from Joseph’s mind while he was in prison.   He was sitting in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. It had been 13 years since his brothers had sold him into slavery; I am sure the last thing he wanted to hear at the time was that it was “all part of God’s plan.”

Two years prior Pharaoh had thrown 2 of his officials; a cupbearer and a baker into the prison Joseph was in.  I imagine Pharaoh had a bad meal and became sick. He had to blame either his cupbearer who had allowed him to drink poison or the baker who had cooked him a bad meal.   Neither of the officials slept well that night and both had disturbing dreams. Joseph was able to help them both understand their dreams. Joseph predicted that the baker would be put to death and the cupbearer would return to his job.  Again, using my imagination I can picture Pharaoh dealing with his food poisoning for a day or so than launching an investigation to figure out which one of his servant had tried to kill him.  I would love to see a special CSI: Ancient Egypt to see exactly what processes he used to finally determine the baker was guilty. Whatever the process, Joseph had interpreted the dream correctly, the baker was dead and the cupbearer was back on the job tasting pharaoh’s drinks.  Joseph did ask one favor in return from the cupbearer:

¹⁴ But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. ¹⁵ I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.’ Genesis 40:14-15

Despite Joseph being completely right about his fate, the cupbearer forgot about Joseph. He left him them to languish for 2 more years.  Finally, one night Pharaoh had 2 dreams that disturbed him greatly. He called for all of his magicians to help him interpret the dreams. Keep in mind we aren’t talking about Chris Angel type magicians; these were highly intelligent people who were trained in magic arts of the day but also were trained in dream interpretation. They likely had interpreted many dreams for Pharaoh.   They were completely stumped this time though.  It was then, after watching all the wise men fail and watching Pharaoh grow more and more uneasy that the cupbearer finally remembered Joseph. 

Now 30 years old with nearly half his life spent as a slave and a prisoner Joseph was getting called before Pharaoh.  I am sure I would have wanted to take this opportunity to plead my case before the ruler of the land. Let him know my circumstances. Or at least bargain with him; “Sure, I can interpret your dream, but in exchange I want my freedom.” Joseph didn’t do either of those things; in fact, he humbly interpreted the dreams, letting Pharaoh know that Egypt and the entire region could expect seven years of great prosperity followed by seven years of extreme famine.  Joseph didn’t stop just with the interpretation though; he also laid out a plan for Pharaoh.

³³ ‘And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. ³⁵ They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. ³⁶ This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.’ Genesis 41: 33-36

The king liked the plan so much that he immediately implemented it, and chose Joseph to be the “discerning and wise man” in charge.  Pharaoh gave Joseph an Egyptian name and an Egyptian bride. He clothed him in the clothing of an Egyptian ruler and had him adorned with fine jewelry. Joseph even rode around in Pharaoh’s chariots.  He was kind of a big deal.  

The prosperous years were great! Joseph implemented his plan and the Egyptians looked like serious doomsday preppers, they put away some serious stores of food getting ready for the hard times that were to come.  When the hard times started Egypt was ready, but much of the neighboring region was not. This leads us to Joseph finally being reunited with his brothers.

 The famine had gotten bad in Canaan; Jacob and his family were feeling the effects. Word got around that there was grain to be bought in Egypt and Jacob’s boys went to go buy some. They had left their youngest brother Benjamin at home to take care of their now elderly father.  There were people there from all over the region each having to see the Viceroy (or Governor) of the land to make their purchase. That Viceroy was Joseph.

This is where the story gets intriguing to me. Here stood ten of Joseph’s brothers waiting in line to buy food from him, he recognized them immediately. These are the same brothers who had sold him into slavery a few years prior. Whether it was because of the 22 years that had passed that had turned Joseph from a boy into a man, or whether it was the Egyptian garb he was wearing the brothers did not recognize him. 

I can only imagine Joseph’s thoughts. If it was me I would be thinking; what a great opportunity to get back at these jerks.   All the years of suffering Joseph had endured: the slavery, the imprisonment, being taken away from him home and his loved ones; now he was finally going to get his chance at revenge. He was governor over all of Egypt and these jerks were now in front of him wanting to buy food. He could trump up charges and have them thrown in jail. He could have them put to death.   Look at them, they didn’t even recognize him. They had probably forgotten all about him. They would remember him now.

When we feel like someone has wronged us and caused us pain it is easy to consider revenge. It is easier still to consider celebrating when bad things happen to them. We see from the next couple of chapters that Joseph struggles with this just like we do. 

Joseph did not speak directly to his brothers; he used an interpreter. He did not want to reveal himself. He accused them of being spies and put them in prison for three days. On the third day, he same to them with an ultimatum.

“I am a God-fearing man. If you do as I say, you will live. ¹⁹ If you really are honest men, choose one of your brothers to remain in prison. The rest of you may go home with grain for your starving families. ²⁰ But you must bring your youngest brother back to me. This will prove that you are telling the truth, and you will not die.” Genesis 42: 18-20

The brothers decide to leave Simeon behind and take the grain and supplies back home. Scholars debate Joseph’s intentions here. Some suggest he is merely testing his brothers and means no harm to come to them.  While that may be the case, knowing their history, knowing what they already did to him, what confidence can he possibly have that they will come back for Simeon?  There is little in their history to think that other nine love Simeon enough to endanger Benjamin by bringing him back to the Viceroy. 

I wonder how Simeon must have felt being left behind. Wondering if he would rot in prison or be put to death; how much confidence could he really have in his brothers?

When they returned home and told their dad about the trip to Egypt and about having to leave Simeon behind, he was distraught. He was not in favor of sending them back for more food, especially with Benjamin.

³⁸ But Jacob replied, “My son will not go down with you. His brother Joseph is dead, and he is all I have left. If anything should happen to him on your journey, you would send this grieving, white-haired man to his grave.^[b]” Genesis 42:38

It wasn’t until the family was almost out of food that Jacob would even listen to an impassioned plea by Judah to go back to Egypt, get more food, oh yeah and rescue Simeon.  When the brothers finally arrived back in Egypt they were afraid. They didn’t know if they could trust the Viceroy.

I wonder if Joseph was surprised to see his brothers come back. I wonder if he was surprised their dad had let them bring Benjamin.  Joseph didn’t want to reveal himself, he wants to remain aloof; but seeing his brothers come back and seeing the baby brother he had never met caused him to really struggle with his emotions.

²⁴ The manager then led the men into Joseph’s palace. He gave them water to wash their feet and provided food for their donkeys. ²⁵ They were told they would be eating there, so they prepared their gifts for Joseph’s arrival at noon.

²⁶ When Joseph came home, they gave him the gifts they had brought him, then bowed low to the ground before him. ²⁷ After greeting them, he asked, “How is your father, the old man you spoke about? Is he still alive?”

²⁸ “Yes,” they replied. “Our father, your servant, is alive and well.” And they bowed low again.

²⁹ Then Joseph looked at his brother Benjamin, the son of his own mother. “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?” Joseph asked. “May God be gracious to you, my son.” ³⁰ Then Joseph hurried from the room because he was overcome with emotion for his brother. He went into his private room, where he broke down and wept. ³¹ After washing his face, he came back out, keeping himself under control. Then he ordered, “Bring out the food!” Genesis 43: 24-31

Joseph has now seen his little brother for the first time. He has found out his father is still alive and he is setting to dine with all of his brothers for the first time in 22 years. What a swirl of emotions he must have had; but he couldn’t show any emotions at all. He couldn’t even sit and eat with his family because Egyptians viewed Hebrews as lower class than them. 

To me, Joseph’s next move was a bit curious. As his brothers were preparing to head back home with the food they had purchased; he had his servants hide his silver cup in Benjamin’s travel bag. After giving the brothers a head start he then sent his guards after them to arrest them for stealing his silver cup. After bringing the brothers back before Joseph he decreed that whoever stole the cup would have to stay with him as his slave.

I find this curious because I am not sure how Joseph thought this would play out or what he hoped he would accomplish. Was he has still harboring anger and resentment for his brothers and this was the set up for his final payback. Was he hoping they would sulk off and leave Benjamin there with him so he could get to know his brother? Did he think they would try to fight him? Did he think this would shame them and they wouldn’t come back to Egypt? Did he consider how this would affect his father? Did he think Holding Benjamin as his slave would get his Dad to come to Egypt for a big suspenseful reunion?

I don’t understand his motives, but I can’t imagine he fathomed what would happen next. Judah, the same brother that had sold him so many years ago, the same brother who had so little regard for anyone else was now passionately pleading for Benjamin’s life and safety over his own. His long plea ended with Judah offering himself as a slave instead.

³³ “So please, my lord, let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers.³⁴ For how can I return to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see the anguish this would cause my father!” Genesis 44: 33-34

This outpouring was more than Joseph could bear.  If he had a diabolical plan still in store for revenge on his jerk brothers watching Judah’s heart break in front of him had put it to rest. Judah was revealing his heart in a way Joseph couldn’t have imagined. 

I think Joseph knew God had a bigger plan the entire time, I believe in this moment he was finally sure of it. I believe that until this moment Joseph had doubts. He doubted he would ever see his family again. He doubted sometimes if God was there in his suffering. He questioned if God really had a bigger plan for him. I imagine he questioned right up to that moment what he would do to his brothers.  I firmly believe that in that moment Joseph’s doubts and questions ended. I believe he knew at that point that everything prior to that had been to prepare him to keep his family through the famine.  In that moment, Joseph understood that everything that had happened to him had all been ordained by God.

Joseph could stand it no longer. There were many people in the room, and he said to his attendants, “Out, all of you!” So he was alone with his brothers when he told them who he was. ² Then he broke down and wept. He wept so loudly the Egyptians could hear him, and word of it quickly carried to Pharaoh’s palace.

³ “I am Joseph!” he said to his brothers. “Is my father still alive?” But his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them. ⁴ “Please, come closer,” he said to them. So they came closer. And he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. ⁵ But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. ⁶ This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. ⁷ God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors.^[a] 8 So it was God who sent me here, not you!  Genesis 45: 1-8

The brothers would return to Canaan and bring their entire family back to live in Egypt even their dad, Jacob. Because of Joseph’s relationship with Pharaoh the family was given a prime spot to live and flourish in Egypt. They were safe from the famine and free to grow into the mighty nation God had promised they would be. God’s Plan was bigger than anyone could see.

Joseph didn’t want to hear about God’s plan when he was a slave or a prisoner. We don’t always want to hear about it when we are going through our tough times. His plan is always bigger and greater than we can possibly understand. Though Joseph finally grasped part of it, he still didn’t understand that his family would become slaves in Egypt. He didn’t know they would grow while serving in Egypt into a great nation. He didn’t know that one day through his family lineage a Savior would come and change our lives these thousands of years later.  Like Joseph it isn’t easy for us to see God in our current suffering, but it is important to know he is there and that he his plans are so much bigger than we could ever imagine.

The other lesson we can learn from Joseph in this encounter is about how to treat those who have wronged us. I have been wronged many times, but I have never been sold into slavery.  Joseph would have been totally justified in the modern eye to just totally go all savage on his brothers. If we were watching on TV we would even cheer for him as he trounced them.  We will never know where his plan was taking him; he may have trounced them and reveled in their destruction. Fortunately, God had worked in Judah’s heart and never allowed Joseph’s to grow hard. Instead of a great revenge story we get a great redemption and restoration story It is important that we have our hearts open to forgive our brothers and sisters too, no matter how difficult. No matter what others try to do to us; God’s plan is bigger.

²⁰ You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. Genesis 50:20

Finding God's Glory: Slave, Prisoner, Dreamer, Ruler

Sometimes God’s glory is easy to see. Sometimes we are sitting on top of the mountain watching the most breathtaking sunrise and the entire world is going our way. More often than that, we find ourselves mired in sin, suffering or other circumstances that make God’s glory seem miles away.  As we have progressed through our Biblical heroes we have seen a lot of sin but we have also seen God’s amazing, redemptive power still uses sinners for His glory.  This week’s story, the focus isn’t about sin as much as it is suffering and circumstance and how God’s grace and His glory are still there even in the midst of it all.

I have been asked to share my testimony before and I have always said it wasn’t remarkable. I was about 7 years old when I walked down the aisle of an old country Baptist church. I read John 3:16 and accepted Jesus as my savior.  So, if you fast forward 30 something years, I guess you would expect everything from that point on to have been all smiles with nothing but peace and prosperity. If that’s what you expect you would be wrong. My testimony doesn’t necessarily speak to salvation as it does to God’s protection and provision.  My parents were probably too young to have kids when I was born, both of them had addiction issues at the time and both would spend time behind bars. I was passed around from grandparents to aunts and uncles, returning to my mom’s care every time she would “get her life together”.   I didn’t really know my dad until I was older. I remember having no food in the house at all. I distinctly remember the beginning of the month when we would get our WIC basket with off brand cereal, some fine yellow cheese, powdered milk, and that disgusting generic peanut butter. I witnessed more domestic violence and substance abuse than any kid should have to witness.  I truly believe everyone involved in raising me did the best they could at the time; however through no real sin of my own and despite putting my trust in God at a young age I often times found it very hard to see His glory. 

As I begin preparing for this week’s post looking at Joseph, I started to wonder if, because of his circumstances, he too didn’t often find it difficult to see God’s glory.  In looking at Judah in a previous post I talked a little bit about Joseph’s story, but nowhere near enough to do it justice.  In today’s post we are going to discuss some key events and how God’s hand of providence was there even when Joseph felt like it was miles away.

As far as background, Joseph was Jacob’s 11^th son and his first son with Rachel, the woman he really loved. All of his other children had been born to Rachel’s sister Leah or to one of his concubines. Because of his love for Rachel, and because he had waited so long for Joseph, Jacob preferred him to all of his brothers.   Jacob’s favoring of Joseph was not a secret; all of his brothers could see it.  Even though he was the youngest, scholars believe at the age of 17 he was already put in a position of authority over his brothers. His dad had also made him a special coat that wasn’t just fancy to look at but also was likely a symbol of the authority he had over his brothers. 

“Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them”. Genesis 37:2b

When the Bible mentioned that Jacob brought back a bad report about his brothers some people immediately think this is referring to some type of childish tattle telling.  More likely this is more of a supervisor reporting back to the “big boss” about workers who were not behaving as they should be. Perhaps Jacob had put Joseph in the authority role, but his older more experienced brothers didn’t respect him or recognize his authority.  In any case between knowing their dad favored Joseph, being put under his authority, having to look at his special coat their dad made for him, the animosity grew between all the brothers to the point that they didn’t even speak to Joseph.

³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. ⁴ When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. Genesis 37:3-4

Joseph didn’t ask his dad to love him more, he didn’t ask his brothers to hate him, but also didn’t help things either. I can see this 17 year old man-child relishing his role as favorite son. I can see him taking advantage of the authority he was given. His biggest issue though may have been he didn’t understand how much his brothers hated him.  Joseph had a dream, in the dream it indicated that he would reign over all of his brothers. Even after all the animosity was already present, Joseph excitedly shared his dream with them.

His brothers said to him, ‘Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?’ And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. Genesis 37:8

Perhaps Joseph was young and naive and thought his brothers would be super excited about his dream, maybe he was an arrogant jerk who wanted to rub their noses in it, or perhaps he just had no concept of how much jealousy and resentment they had for him; either way, he shared not just the one dream, but also a second dream that included his parents bowing down to him as well. This dream was enough to not just get an angry response from his brothers but also a rebuke from his dad as well. 

The next time the brothers took the livestock to graze, Jacob sent Joseph to go check on them. As a kid I think I envisioned Joseph just kind of bounding up full of teenage energy just kind of wanting to hang out. In truth the brothers were close to 70 miles away from home and Joseph was most likely being sent as a supervisor to check on them. He was to make sure they were grazing the sheep the right way and that they weren’t misbehaving. As we noted in some previous posts, based on some of their actions, they probably needed someone to check on them; however they didn’t want it to be Joseph.

As they saw him approaching all their hatred boiled over; I am sure they thought “here comes daddy’s little boy in his fancy little jacket to tell us how to do our jobs.” As we discussed in Judah’s story, the brothers first wanted to kill Joseph but eventually decided to sell him into slavery instead.  So now Joseph is stripped of his special coat and of his position of authority; he is taken from the home where he is loved and now becomes someone else’s property. That must be a pretty hard place from which to see God’s glory.

The traders who bought Joseph took him on to Egypt where they sold him to one of Pharaoh’s officials where he had become a household servant. On a side note I have not found any accounts where slave traders or slave owners in that time treated their slaves with any type of kindness or dignity. 

God’s providence was still covering Joseph because he rose quickly to a place of trust in his Egyptian Master’s home. Joseph worked hard and took care of everything his master wanted him to take care of. The household flourished and the master gave Joseph more and more trust and responsibility.  Joseph had again ascended to a position of authority and even though he was now a slave, he was treated well and given dominion over the other slaves. That is until once again circumstances turned against him as his master’s wife began trying to seduce him.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, ⁷ and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, ‘Come to bed with me!’

⁸ But he refused. ‘With me in charge,’ he told her, ‘my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. ⁹ No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?’ ¹⁰ And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even to be with her.” Genesis 39: 6-10

Like with his brothers Joseph tried to do the best he could with the authority he had been given; but again things seemed to happen to him that he couldn’t prepare for. After rebuffing her advances many times Joseph again found himself alone with his Master’s wife. This time she was more persistent, insisting he go to bed with her right then. In a moment of panic, Joseph ran away; but he left his cloak behind.

One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. ¹² She caught him by his cloak and said, ‘Come to bed with me!’ But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house Genesis 39: 11-12

I am sure there is probably some theological thought about him leaving his coat/cloak behind every time something bad happens, but I am not smart enough to know what it is.  Angered about being rebuffed yet again and probably scared that someone would find her with Joseph’s cloak, the Master’s wife began to scream that Joseph had raped her. She claimed that he had left his cloak behind when she started to scream and resist him. Of course this made the Egyptian master extremely angry. He had trusted Joseph with his household and now he is being told Joseph raped his wife.

Surely one of Pharaoh’s officials could have had Joseph put to death. He was nothing more than a Hebrew slave who had disrespected him and defiled his wife. Some scholars believe the Egyptians actually believed Joseph, others believe he was embarrassed by the entire situation. For whatever the reason instead of having Joseph killed he threw him in prison.

Now through no real fault of his own, Joseph has gone from the favorite son of a rich man in Canaan to a slave and now to a prisoner in an Egyptian prison. Again these are tough circumstances from which to see God’s glory and provision. Joseph remarkably still wasn’t broken; he continued to always do his best and continued to serve the God of his father.

But while Joseph was there in the prison, ²¹ the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. ²² So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. ²³ The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. Genesis 39:20-23

Joseph had once again made the most of his circumstances and had risen to a position of authority even amongst the prisoners.  Even being in a position of authority, he was still a foreigner in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, a place he wound up staying for many years. It must have been very difficult, but Joseph never lost sight of God’s glory and His provision, even though it would have been very easy to. 

While in prison, Joseph interpreted a dream from Pharaoh’s chief baker and his cupbearer. It was good news for the cupbearer, not so much for the baker.  The cupbearer promised Jacob he would remember him when he got out of jail, but he didn’t, not for another 2 years. Finally, when Pharaoh had a dream no one else could interpret, the cupbearer remembered Joseph.  After languishing in prison for many years, Joseph was called to interpret the dream.

So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.

¹⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.’

¹⁶ ‘I cannot do it,’ Joseph replied to Pharaoh, ‘but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.’ Genesis 41:14-16

Joseph had not lost sight of God’s power and glory despite his circumstances. He was able to interpret Pharaoh’s dream and was not only granted his release from prison, but was also granted a position working as an official second only to Pharaoh himself.

³⁹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. ⁴⁰ You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.’ Genesis 41:39-40

This is a seminal moment in history for the Egyptians, and the Israelites. With Joseph having such a high position of power, he was eventually able to move his father and his brothers to Egypt. This was important for a few reasons. First it helped them survive the great famine that occurred at the time. Secondly because of their status as foreigners the Egyptians would not marry and procreate with the Israelites. This was important to help them build their faith in God and hopefully turn away from some of the behavior they had fallen into in their homeland. While living in Egypt, even though they eventually became servants Jacob’s family, the Israelites grew to be a mighty nation with a rich history and a deep culture. When Jacob and his family arrived in Egypt there were 70 in there party. A couple hundred years later the Bible says when the Israelites left Egyptian captivity there were more than 600,000.

Despite every negative circumstance, despite how easy it might have been to take his eyes off of God, Joseph was always under God’s grace and provision. When his brothers hated him, when he was a slave, when he was falsely accused of rape, and when he was a prisoner God was providing for him in ways he couldn’t even imagine.  In our lives we encounter so much hardship every day; it’s so easy to lose sight that God is still at work in our lives. It wasn’t easy for me to think God could use me when I was growing up as a poor son of an addicted mom and a broken family. It also isn’t easy to imagine He would want to use a slave that became a prisoner from a family that didn’t even want him.

He can use us regardless of our circumstances. His grace is always more than sufficient

Joseph dealt with a lot of circumstances but kept his eyes on God. We will look more at his life next week including how he sought to get a little payback at his jerky brothers.