Thursday, January 17, 2008

Genesis 43-46

It took me about 15 minutes to read this passage.  The story of Josephs life is powerful in terms of faith.  It is a wonderful story of how God works providentially in his peoples lives.  We understand all the Joseph does as second in command of Egypt, but sometimes we neglect to see the impact his faith had on the people around him.  For 9 years Joseph had been leading Egypt when his brothers came back the second time to get food.  The administrators and stewards who worked under Joseph had learned his character.  Part of that is revealed in 33:23 when Josephs manager responded to his brothers explanation about the money they had brought the first time.  ..the God of your fathers has blessed you…”  was his answer.  There was a pantheon of gods in Egypt, but the God of Israel was not one of them.  Here was an Egyptian official who spoke of the God of Israel with an understanding of how he works and how he blesses.  There can be no other explanation other than the influence of Joseph.

Stuart

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