Page 54 - Living Light 90

Wednesday October 29 - The favoured son “Joseph is a fruitful vine, near a spring...” Genesis 49:22
Now it is Joseph’s turn to hear his father’s blessings. Joseph, the dreamer and interpreter of dreams, is the son of a dreamer (Genesis 28:10-17). It’s no surprise that he is Jacob’s favourite son. His mother Rachel was the only woman Jacob had ever really loved, and for whom he had worked fourteen long years (Genesis 29:30). The bond between Joseph and Jacob was strong. When they were reunited after many years apart, Joseph ‘threw his arms around him and wept for a long time’ (Genesis 46:29).
Jacob calls Joseph “a fruitful vine, near a spring whose branches climb over a wall.” A wonderful picture of Joseph’s life – the fruit of it impacted everyone around him. He had literally saved countless lives from the famine that ravaged the land. Even in a famine, Joseph ‘bore fruit’. If there was ever a man who had the right to have the wrong attitude, it was Joseph. If there was ever a man who had the perfect excuse to be bitter, it was Joseph. If there was ever a man who had a reason to hold a grudge, it was Joseph. Jacob knew that, but all he saw was fruitfulness, not bitterness or anger or hatred.
When life is difficult and hard – what is seen in my life? Sourness and anger? Or something of God; something that still bears his fruit?
Father God, may I be a fruitful vine too. Amen.
Thursday October 30 - Steadfast!
“But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed supple.”
Genesis 49:24
Jacob’s overview of Joseph’s life continues – the life his brothers once tried to destroy. They are now present, alongside and listening. Unlike Reuben whom Jacob referred to as “unstable as water”, here he speaks of Joseph’s strength in the midst of all he had faced. He remained ‘steadfast and immovable’ (1 Corinthians 15:58). This is quite a contrast to how Reuben lived his life. The early years of Joseph’s captivity were horrendous; at just 17 years of age his brothers sold him into slavery; he was maligned, imprisoned, forgotten, overlooked. Yet he remained steadfast.
In his encounter with Potiphar’s wife, Joseph knew he needed to flee! Somehow, Joseph remained strong. Jacob knew how; Joseph knew too: “because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob.” God was his ‘very present help in trouble’ (Psalm 46:1). What lessons can we learn today from Joseph’s life?
I can imagine that for some of you today life might feel like it’s closing in – the pressures, the conflicts, the circumstances, the pain and the loneliness... I wonder if in these moments you can just be still... as you settle I’m praying that you will have a sense of ‘a hand on your shoulder’, enabling you to remain steadfast in the strength God gives you.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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Father God, the Mighty One of Jacob, may your hand rest on each of us now. Help us to be steady and strong too. What you did for Joseph, please do for us today. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY