EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!
SATURDAY AUGUST 1, 2020.
SUBJECT: GOOD OUT OF EVIL!
Memory verse: "But as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” (Genesis 50 vs 20.)
READ: Genesis 37 vs 27 - 28; 45 vs 5 - 8:
37:27: Come Let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened.
37:28: The Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
45:5: But now , do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.
45:6: For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.
45:7: And God sent me before You to, preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
45:8: So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his House, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
INTIMATION:
God is sovereign, and His creations are tools in His hands to achieve His purposes and plans. His knowledge and wisdom are beyond human comprehension and searching out. People may man evil against you, but such situations in God’s place is for good. No matter what you are going through in life, or in the hands of others, remember God is in control. When others intend evil toward you, remember that they are only God’s tools. As Joseph said to his brothers in our memory verse, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.”
Perhaps no other account in all of Scriptures illustrates the strange vicissitudes of life more vividly than the biography of Joseph (The Dreamer). Joseph was born into privilege. He was the eleventh, and the favorite son of Jacob, one of the patriarchs of Israelite history. Though Joseph was loved by his father, he was hated by his brothers because of his favored status. Joseph stoked his brothers' hatred by telling them of dreams he had; dreams in which his brothers bowed down to him.
One day the brothers could contain their rage no longer. They seized Joseph and threw him into a pit. Their first thought was to kill him, but they changed their minds when they saw a caravan heading for Egypt. Instead of murdering him, his brothers sold him as a slave to members of the caravan—the Ishmaelites. They returned home and told their father that Jseph had been killed by a wild beast.
In Egypt, Joseph became the trusted servant of Potiphar, an official in the king's court. Unfortunately, Potiphar's trust was shattered by one false accusation against Joseph by his wife. Without so much as a court hearing, Joseph was thrown into prison. He was doomed, or so he thought. But a perplexing turn of events raised him to unexpected heights.
In prison, Joseph met the king's cup bearer and the king's baker. Both men were troubled by strange and mysterious dreams. When they told Joseph their dreams, he interpreted the strange visions for them. Days later his words came to pass in precisely the way he had announced. What kind of special powers did Joseph possess? How could he interpret these dreams? Joseph merely attributed his ability to the God of Israel, a God not worshiped in Egypt. Two years later, Pharaoh had a dream. His advisors could not even begin to interpret it. Joseph was summoned from the prison to decipher the strange, troubling images. After a moment of silence, Joseph declared the visions meant that Egypt would be blessed with seven years of abundance, followed by seven years of famine.
In grateful response, Pharaoh appointed Joseph second-in-command in Egypt (a Prime Minister in a foreign land). Again, Joseph downplayed his own abilities and spoke instead of the power of the Awesome God. And just as he predicted, the seven years of abundance came, as did the seven years of famine.
Joseph's appointment to second-in-command, remains an astonishing moment in ancient history. A man's unique supernatural gift of God propels him to power. How do we explain his rise from an impoverished foreigner to an imperial leader? "God turned into good what you meant for evil. He brought me to high position I have today so I could save the lives of many people" (Genesis 50 vs 20). And that is the best explanation of all the wonderful act of an awesome God. He brought good from the brothers’ evil deed, Potiphar’s wife’s false accusation, the butler’s neglect, and seven years of famine. The experience in Joseph’s life taught him, and teaches us, that God brings good from evil for those who trust Him.
Do you trust God enough to wait patiently for Him to bring good out of bad situations? You can trust Him because, as Joseph learned, God can overrule people’s evil intentions to bring about His intended results. Although Joseph’s brothers didn’t kill him outright, they wouldn’t expect him to survive for long as a slave. They were quite willing to let cruel slave traders do their dirty work for them. Joseph faced a 30-day journey through the desert, probably chained, and on foot. He will be treated like baggage and, once in Egypt, would be sold as a piece of merchandise. His brothers thought they would never see him again. But God was in control of Joseph’s life and had other plans.
Joseph’s brothers had wanted to get rid of him, but God used even their evil actions to fulfill His ultimate plan. He had sent Joseph ahead to preserve their lives, save Egypt, and prepare the way for the beginning of the nation of Israel. God is sovereign. His plans are not dictated by human actions! Hallelujah!
Prayer: Abba Father, my trust is in You. Your thought for me is of good, not of evil. May You upturn all evil intentions of people in my life for good, after the order of Joseph in the Scripture, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.
PRAISE THE LORD!
