Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
4 Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually!
5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
6 O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones!
7 He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He remembers his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.”
12 When they were few in number,
of little account, and sojourners in it,
13 wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them;
he rebuked kings on their account,
15 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
do my prophets no harm!”
16 When he summoned a famine on the land
and broke all supply of bread,
17 he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 His feet were hurt with fetters;
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19 until what he had said came to pass,
the word of the Lord tested him.
20 The king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free;
21 he made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions,
22 to bind his princes at his pleasure
and to teach his elders wisdom.
23 Then Israel came to Egypt;
Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
24 And the Lord made his people very fruitful
and made them stronger than their foes.
25 He turned their hearts to hate his people,
to deal craftily with his servants.
26 He sent Moses, his servant,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They performed his signs among them
and miracles in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
they did not rebel against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood
and caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in the chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
and gnats throughout their country.
32 He gave them hail for rain,
and fiery lightning bolts through their land.
33 He struck down their vines and fig trees,
and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came,
young locusts without number,
35 which devoured all the vegetation in their land
and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the first fruits of all their strength.
37 Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold,
and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of them had fallen upon it.
39 He spread a cloud for a covering,
and fire to give light by night.
40 They asked, and he brought quail,
and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.
41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.
42 For he remembered his holy promise,
and Abraham, his servant.
43 So he brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
44 And he gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples' toil,
45 that they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord! Psalm 105
Few and Proud
Answers Me in my distress
A Psalm recounting the acts of God.
When they were few in number - They were not yet a nation, but rather that tiny mustard seed, frail and surrounded by hostile neighbors. Jacob knows this clearly and reasonably, but his sons are another story.
Few and Proud
Answers Me in my distress
- Saying, touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm. Abraham and his seed were in the midst of the world a generation of priests anointed to present sacrifice unto the most High God; since to them the oracles were committed, they were also the prophets of mankind; and they were kings too--a royal priesthood; hence they had received a threefold anointing. Their holy office surrounded them with a sacredness which rendered it sacrilege to molest them. - C. H. Spurgeon
When He summoned a famine on the land - God is not like politicians, and this is a jump for parts of what follows comes before, but God shows Himself sovereign even in our trials. Hunger is His agent, famine is His servant, our trials are His ministers to us, ever growing us in the faith.
He had sent a man ahead of them - What a shadow, does not my Lord walk before me, humbling Himself to the will of His Father, taking on the form of a servant, dressed in frail humanity. Joseph had a dream of later rule, but he was sold by his brothers into slavery. He was a slave, who out performed all others, a man of great integrity. He was then accused of a crime he did not commit. He was taken to prison where he interpreted the dreams of others. He was forgotten of men but not of God, and in due time he was called to interpret for the Pharaoh. As the messenger of famine was urging Israel along, Joseph was teaching a nation how to govern and prepare. Hunger drew his brothers to the place where Joseph was used by God so that they all might live. He even forgives those who wrote him off as dead, surely he was dead to them.
…19 But Joseph replied, “Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this— to preserve the lives of many people. 21 Therefore do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones.” So Joseph reassured his brothers and spoke kindly to them.… Genesis 50: 19-21
…6 Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.… Philippians 2: 6-8
I am stuck once again, this time recounting with the song writer, the life of Joseph. Looking at the scripture above, and stepping way back in consideration of the whole, this is peace, Joseph being groomed by God, grew in an understanding of the sovereignty of God. Paul will also echo these same thoughts and principles in his writings to the churches. The story of Joseph is a picture of what will later be explained in the life of Christ, and the teachings of the Apostles. Every juncture of Joseph's life prepared him for the next, looking back he can see that God was in all of it. If we can get this it will change the way we respond to our trials. This was not lost on Paul either, and it is one of the greatest comforts of the faith.
27 And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.… Romans 8: 27-29
Joseph's earthly father viewed him as the favored son, the firstborn of his favorite wife. In a corrupt world this does not lead to a spiritual advantage. People complain and I have to deal with it often myself, "this person is qualified because he is the son of, she is his daughter, has this degree, a member of this club, is good looking, dresses the part, is popular." "We have to hire them because of their pedigree, or because of diversity and inclusion." What if they are not qualified? What if they can't perform the duty assigned? What if there is a more qualified individual who is outside of all these clubs, well oddly enough, that would be actual fair practice and consideration. That would lead to real diversity and inclusion, by stressing actual merit, integrity and performance. Human favoritism leads to spoiling, delusion, stunting of the individual. Favoring honesty, integrity, ability, experience, that builds not only the individual but their character becomes a light for everyone around them. God removes him from his earthly father and the inferior grooming that would result. Joseph will be made into a memory, a photo on a milk carton, lost from the comforts of his father's house and his position based upon a loose primogeniture which overlooked the age of Jacob's other sons. God's ways are not our ways, and so the future ruler of Egypt will start out as a slave. The Savior will leave heaven, the comforts of perfect love and community, enter the world poor and helpless, by our own standard. He will be despised and rejected, sorrowful and acquainted with much grief. Salvation is truly of the Lord.
Now as a slave Joseph is honest, God has given him ability, and his master becomes well aware. He is elevated to charge of the house, a position that given to him, a man of great integrity, allows his master to have no worries. Potiphar can concentrate on the affairs of state knowing that his household affairs are in order. I have two fantastic leads at work and even when my health failed I knew that I could depend on them to keep things running. It is a blessing, a weight off your back, and Joseph is that for Potiphar, he has relieved much of his burden. God has used this to teach him how to serve, to be humble and yet so effective in humility that he is the natural choice for a leader. He is gaining experience.
Enter the dragon, Potiphar has a wife, and given his rank, she is probably a trophy wife, most likely a very attractive woman. She has a thing for Joseph, which would be tempting for most men, but Joseph does not reciprocate. Joseph doesn't play with fire, doesn't look for a way to justify doing what she wants, instead he flees. He takes the unpopular route, the way that sets him against the powers and principalities, he is once again disrobed, once again stripped of his dignity. She accuses him of rape, and though he has done nothing of the sort, the one who he has served faithfully now throws him in prison. I have gone through trials in my life before, but most of them I could relate to a deficiency in my own character. Where God has said, "no, that is sin, and you're My child, so here is My correction." I drank until I coughed up blood. I overdosed. My romantic relationships were all failures, and they were all for my honor, my entertainment, my lust, and they all bombed. Maybe Joseph was a little cocky as a kid, but did it justify throwing him into a pit? Did it justify selling him to slave traders and hurting your father? But now, in Egypt, what has he done other than good, other than serve? Oh that this were true of my life, that when I am accused of wrong, it is a lie, that is the better goal, a clear conscience before God. You can never take down a godly man, an honest, circumspect man, by way of his own wrong doing, so you will always have to make something up. To the next lesson, God is still grooming him and I would encourage you to read the entire of his story in Genesis but I am going to keep moving.
…14 But when it goes well for you, please remember me and show me kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh, that he might bring me out of this prison. 15 For I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing for which they should have put me in this dungeon.” Genesis 40: 14-15
He makes a good argument, if this is a place for criminals, for rapist, for the guilty, then what am I doing here? I haven't done anything to which this place was designed for, I am innocent of the accusations which are against me. I would ask, "what kind of God would allow this?" Men are quick to judge. For the same thing they would seek the highest penalty against you for, even without real witness, evidence or any legitimate proof, being guilty of the same thing or worse, they would not hold themselves to such a standard. They would think the consequence against them too severe. They would cry unfair in their own case, and so if your hope is in men, it is a false hope, it is flawed. He does good in prison though, he is again lifted to a position of respect, he is again faithful to God's moral law. Joseph is so different than me. When I was young and got a bad review, I would reason in my mind that I am now going to live up to your view of me, which means I am going to do less. He stands out as a slave and as a prisoner, he is being changed, grown, matured in God, but his resolve to do what's right is unchanging.
He helps two other prisoners interpret their dreams, one is not a happy ending, but he tells him what God says, not what the man probably wants to hear. He tells the truth and it comes to pass. The other man is in a job which is close to the Pharaoh, who is most likely very hard to work for. Pharaoh's standards are high, his word is law, but the other man is restored to his position and Joseph ask that he remember him. Of course he forgets him. Another thing about men, once they are okay, their needs are met, they forget you. God is not done however, and at the right time, the dreamer, who interpreted others dreams will now be called to memory. The chief butler will be like, "I know a guy." Joseph will interpret Pharaoh's dream, and not only that, but the dream will also lead to his new job, which God has trained him for. His new job will lead to the saving of millions of people from starvation, including his father and brothers, who live far away. This will lead to another great aspect of the doctrine of God's sovereignty. Joseph will look back upon his life and have the peace that comes with the knowledge of God's providence, of His constant care over His creation, His rule in the affairs of men. God's providence in Joseph's life will lead his estranged family to reconciliation. It will fill Joseph with compassion that overflows to a people that cannot understand it. They were guilty, his brothers would have murdered him, and he now has the power to repay them for what they did to him, but instead he forgives them. He looks back over all that happened and he acknowledges that they were wrong, but he sees God's hand and realizes something greater than revenge.
