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Hear here, the narration of today's devotional: https://bit.ly/33QDy4Q
1 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, "Send everyone away from me." So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3 Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence. 4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come closer to me." And they came closer. He said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, "Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. 10 You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 I will provide for you there—since there are five more years of famine to come—so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.' 12 And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. 13 You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here."14 Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him. (Genesis 45:1-15 NRSV)
Welcome, Wednesday! You, the most welcome of days for those working and watching the clock! Yes, I was one of those in my secular days! May you be open to the blessings this dear reader may share with you as s/he prays, reads, understands, accepts, and acts on all God revealed to them! So, Friend, be open to what God may share with you during this day!
I could have called this The Big Reveal, because as you heard read or as you read this passage, the big picture of God was finally revealed to all, especially those we might have deemed as not worthy of receiving anything! Yes, many would have said, what those brothers who sold their brother deserved was to be thrown into a jail cell where they would spend the rest of their days thinking about what they did. It makes us think back to the days we were disciplined. I have shared how my father and mother both believed in spankings. My father's strict rule was that if any of us got spanked by Mom, when he got home, we would be spanked again. Yes, the same man who would tell my teachers the very thing; if my son misbehaves in school and has to be spanked or swatted, please do, and let me know if that happens and then I will again spank him when I get home. Gulp. As the only child for four years I played best alone. When my sister came along, I was disappointed, and didn't know how to play well with her. She only knew to intrude, interrupt, and irritate. And somehow, I only knew to push and hit. And she knew to cry in automatic response. She would have made a world class soccer player, as you and I have seen, who get slightly touched in play, and they will fall in such pain and horror that a penalty is called. She would have done well in the WNBA as we'll, any slight touch on her, and she would have fallen in agony to the floor where she would scream loudly awaiting the trainer and team doctor to come to her rescue. And she would have easily won the Oscar for her performance, reprised, as my Dad's car drove up. It was brilliant, moving, convincing, and critics present would have voted for her to get the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She would wobbly walk to Dad and in halting words, between tears, say, "He.....hit....me...WAAAAH!" That's all it took and Dad took action. Sigh.
God does not work that way. God did not punish Joseph's brothers, other than the pain most of them felt for their dad, who for many years lived with the reality that his favored son was gone, even dead. And while the rest of the world was dying of hunger, here they were, in the presence of the ruler of the wealthiest country, one blessed with much food, ready to do whatever they could to get food for themselves and their families. I encourage you to read the complete story that is found in the chapters and verses leading up to this occasion. Yet, this scene is priceless. Joseph is the acting ruler of the country, serving as he himself says, as "a father to Pharaoh," who had been entrusted with overseeing the house of Pharaoh and ruler of all the land of Egypt. This man had the power to grant to them their request which would have given them life through the food they did not have and had come begging for. And, he also had the power to sentence them to death. What this outstanding man of God desired was to grant them his love and the food they needed. What he needed was an audience only with his brothers. There, in the privacy of his brothers, he wept. He wept loudly, "and so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it." Wow! This reminded me of the scene in the movie, "The Princess Bride" where the man in black is tortured and he wails so loudly, his traveling companions hear it and Inigo Montoya says, "Do you hear that? That is the sound of ultimate suffering! My heart made that sound when my father was killed." The cry was heard throughout the kingdom in that movie. And such was the pain Jospeh had been holding back all these years; betrayal, fright, fear, then joy, and now having his brothers, whom he truly always loved, standing right in front of him..
It's a this moment that Joseph can say, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt." I think at that moment fear may have run through the hearts of all his brothers, but Joseph quickly says, "And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life." He reminds them of the famine the entire world is suffering, and adds, "God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God." And he shares how they are now welcome to move into Egypt (Yes, foreigners were allowed into that great nation!). And the reunion was complete. God's big picture had been revealed; God's plan was now understood.
The reality is that this happened over a period of many years. Many things had happened, and many other things could have happened, such as the father could have died, but he didn't; any one of his brothers could have died or run off, but they didn't. They were all present to see and experience the awesome power of forgiveness. This forgiveness brought to them life, and the fullness thereof. Just in the same way, that God desires that for you and yours. The heartache of the father would not be over until the caravan of the older brothers arrived back home to tell the old man; and then the trip back to Egypt would take another long journey; but what a difference that return trip to Egypt brought to Dad! He would travel with his heart filled with joy and anticipation of seeing his son again.
This week has been all about stressing to us, the desire that God our Father has for us to be in relationship with Him. The components have all been addressed; repentance, forgiveness, acceptance, and the journey back to the Father. Where are you on your journey dear friend? Are you moving faithfully onward and upward?
PRAYER: Loving Father, Thank You for this story and all the stories of this week. We confess we may not be where Joseph was; we may still be harboring anger towards our children or our parents; but we pray you would forgive us and give us an opportunity to make right that which is wrong in our lives. I pray for those whose homes still away the return of that wayward child, grant them patience and the desire of their heart, Lord, according to Your purpose. I pray for those who don't yet know Your love that they may soon learn how awesome Your love truly is; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Show someone the way home today with your words, and actions!
Receive my blessings of love and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
Reminder: A Pop Up Bible Study later this morning at 10:30 a.m.
Click here to Join Zoom Meeting https://us04web.zoom.us/j/9636064687?pwd=K2lMQytud2tMQW5xeUNNNGE2VGVxUT09
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