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THIS WEEK’S BIBLE INSIGHTS ARE BY:
Peter Cockrell and are based on Genesis 50
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ MORE ON THIS WEEK’S MAJOR THEME:
Genesis 50 (in full)
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: 17 ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but
God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
22 So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father’s house. Joseph lived 110 years. 23 And Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation. The children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were counted as Joseph’s own. 24 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
(ESV and NLT version)
Sunday November 2 - It’s real life!
Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written
down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 1 Cor 10:11
I once heard it said the Bible can be explained as: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth! But it’s not an encyclopaedia, dictionary or manual on how to live well. Whilst it comprises many different styles of writing – history, law, poetry, prophecy, wisdom literature, gospels, letters – often it is presented in the form of stories. By that I mean that God communicates with us as he did with the familiar characters of the Old and New Testament.
He doesn’t just give us a textbook to follow but shows us who he is, what he’s like and how we can know him, by showing us how he has related to and guided people throughout biblical history. We learn of his holiness and our sinfulness by observing his dealing with people who were just like us (James 5:17). We see his grace and forgiveness extended to sinners, just like us. We see God faithfully keeping his covenantal promises to his own, never leaving nor forsaking them. Joseph’s story makes visible, in ways we can relate to, the wonder of being under the loving supervision of God. The narrative consistently highlights God’s favour upon Joseph, stating that ‘The Lord was with Joseph, and he prospered...’ (Genesis 39:2). God was present when all others rejected or forgot him. The point being that, if God can make the difference during Joseph’s suffering, he’ll be there for us too.
Father, thank you that I can count on your covenantal faithfulness, as demonstrated in the life of Joseph. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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