The Vision (10.10.25): A man in whom the Spirit of God is

 

Image: The Saqqara relief showing famine scene on the causeway of the Pyramid of Unas, Egypt,

c. 3rd century B.C.

Note: Devotion based on last Sunday's sermon on Genesis 41.

And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? (Genesis 41:38).

Perhaps the key doctrinal term in the narrative of Joseph is providence. God was at work in the life of Joseph to bring about greater and wider purposes than even Joseph was aware. God was providing for Joseph and through him for the people of Israel and, indeed, for all men. He was preparing the way for the Messiah. In time of grievous famine, Joseph would preserve the nations, including his own family, including the brothers who had betrayed him, including unrighteous Judah, who had suggested he be sold into slavery (Gen 37:2-27). But who came from Judah in the fullness of time? The Lord Jesus Christ.

I’ve suggested the theme verse of Genesis chapters 37—50 might be Joseph’s words to his brothers in Genesis 50:10, “ye thought evil against me, but God meant it for good.”

The New Testament equivalent to that verse is Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

The Lord allowed Joseph to undergo the most outrageous misfortunes and suffer the cruelest injustices, but all the while God was working out his plan of salvation, first heralded in Genesis 3:15. Joseph has a role in that plan.

In Genesis 41 we see the tide dramatically turn in Joseph’s life. He goes from the prison to the king’s palace. The Lord can sovereignly reverse a man’s condition and circumstances in a matter of mere moments. That’s what happens when we are saved. We go from sinners to saints, from orphans to co-heirs with Christ.

What Joseph’s brothers could not see (having been blinded by their own sin) in Joseph, even the pagan king of Egypt saw: That Joseph was a man in whom the Spirit of God was.

God is still at work all around us. As an old saying goes, “We cannot always trace His hand, but we can trust His heart.” Our lives are sometimes like a pebble cast into a pond. We never see where the ripples end. But if we are men and women who have been filled with the Spirit of God, we trust that he has worked in us, he is working in us, and he will work in us in ways that are greater than we could ever ask or imagine.

We entrust all things into his hands. Even our lives.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle