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PRAYER FOR TODAY
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Wednesday October 1 - Healing begins
Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and
Benjamin embraced him, weeping. Genesis 45:14
Once Joseph has revealed himself to his brothers his tone changes. Initially (vv 8-11) he’s the one in charge, issuing several brisk instructions: “hurry back”, “come down”, “don’t delay”, “you shall live”, “I will provide”. He doesn’t expect any argument! But then he changes from being the powerful politician to being a son and brother. It’s the way Joseph sees himself that makes the start of healing possible. He longs to see his aged father and embraces his brother Benjamin. He feels a special bond with Benjamin, Jacob’s youngest son, because they were full brothers, having the same mother. The others were actually his stepbrothers.
The healing process involves a number of elements. It starts with humility: Joseph set aside his status and was willing to forgive. It involved confronting the truth. It involved tears. It involved touch as Joseph and Benjamin hugged each other. It involved talk. And it took time. The journey home, and then back to Egypt with their father, would be slow.
Humility, truth, tears, touch, talk and time are still seen as the key elements of a healing process. Speaking the truth requires sensitivity. Blurting everything out may not be helpful. Embracing family members may be natural but touching, despite its acknowledged healing power, also requires great care. This encourages us to reflect on our broken relationships and how, with God’s grace, they can be healed.
Restoring God, I lament my broken relationships and pray for your Spirit’s strength to make progress on the path to healing. Amen.
Thursday October 2 - An astonishing miracle
“Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be
yours.” Genesis 45:20
For several years our world has struggled with mass migration as people have sought to leave behind poverty or persecution in search of a better life. In the UK the cry has been, “Stop the boats.” In the USA, it's been “Build the wall.” Barriers are erected across the western world to protect the assets of wealthier nations and secure their own peace and prosperity.
It was always so. This makes Pharaoh’s invitation to Joseph’s family to migrate nothing short of astonishing, even more so given the famine the region was suffering. Pharaoh didn’t act unwillingly: he was ‘pleased’ to support them (v 16). He didn’t settle them grudgingly but exhibited extraordinary generosity. He welcomed them not just to Egypt but specifically to Goshen, a rich and very fertile region of Egypt. This can’t be accounted for purely as an expression of gratitude for Joseph’s role in saving his country from the crisis. More was going on. As always in Joseph’s story, God was at work, albeit unseen. He was the sovereign in charge of even pagan rulers, controlling their decisions, whether they realised it or not. God was showing favour to his chosen people and using Pharaoh to do so. Acting like this, Pharaoh was behaving towards the vulnerable and the immigrant as God’s law required (Deuteronomy 10:18-19). What a miracle!
Ruling God, we pray for human rulers, that they might govern according to your will and wisdom, and not for the self-protective interests of the powerful and prosperous. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY