45:1 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood
by him, and he cried out, "Send everyone away from me." So no one
stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.
45:2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of
Pharaoh heard it.
45:3 Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still
alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his
presence.
45:4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come closer to me." And
they came closer. He said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into
Egypt.
45:5 And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold
me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.
45:6 For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five
more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.
45:7 God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to
keep alive for you many survivors.
45:8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to
Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
45:9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph,
God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay.
45:10 You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you
and your children and your children's children, as well as your flocks, your
herds, and all that you have.
45:11 I will provide for you there--since there are five more years of famine
to come--so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to
poverty.'
45:12 And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my
own mouth that speaks to you.
45:13 You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt, and all that
you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here."
45:14 Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, while Benjamin
wept upon his neck.
45:15 And he kissed all his brothers and
wept upon them; and after that his brothers
talked with him.
Wow..."What you meant for Evil...God used for Good." This is the first appearance of the Gospel message in the Old Testament. Evil is free to do what it will...but God is free to use those who turn their hearts towards God! This will preach by fellow preachers. Revpump in Denver
Last week Joe Bell from Gastonia posted on the OT sight. If this is the same person who wrote "Battle Fatique" please email
Mtnwoman60@aol.com.
I would like to get another copy of your book. Someone borrowed mine and you know what that means.
Cindy
Mercy seems to be the theme of all the lections this week. Looks like I'm pretty much alone in using the Genesis reading as my main text. I will be drawing upon both Matthew & Romans as I develop my thoughts for the sermon. However, I have often been struck by the ways in which God's mercy is revealed through people and events that may not seem to have much mercy in them in and of themselves.
There was little mercy to be found in Joseph's brothers as the story began last week -- except for Rueben, who seeks to avoid out & out murder of Jospeh but is silent in the selling of Joseph. Then Jospeh appears to use his power in Egypt without mercy towards his brothers to torment them before ultimately making himself known to them and providing for their needs. Yet, God's mercy is ultimately at work in what the brothers meant for evil and in whatever Joseph's intent might have been towards them when they appeared in Egypt.
God's mercy is awesome and is revealed through people and events that we often take to be of little meaning. Why is it then that we do not seek God's mercy in exactly the people and events we least expect to see it?
StudentPastor in KS
StudentPastor in KS
You aren't really the ONLY one turning to this text. I'm not sure where I'm going with it yet, but there is something about "Joseph's Tears" (which is the sermon title I've given the secretary for this Sunday) and his weeping that is pulling on me. I think I may try to get at the experience of the deep emotional and psychological and spiritual change that seems to have happened to Joseph while he worked through all this, but not yet sure how I'll apply it for my congregants, who are hospital patients, families, and staff. I'll be checking periodically for more thoughts, so keep them coming.
Janice - Also in KS
What about God's sovereignty and human responsibility? 'God sent me' but the meant it for evil. The brothers were guilty of betraying Joseph, but God used it to bring about a blessing to the family of Israel. Bad things happen, yet God can bring good out of these. The trouble for us is the reference point: is it next week, next month, twenty years in the future - God knows.
Joseph changed, but do not forget that he revealed himself after Judah's confession which showed his change in chapter 44.
"What about God's sovereignty and human responsibility?" I had the same question reading StudentPastor's post. But I notice that those of you talking about sovereignty have passed over the crux of Joseph's message, which is not simply that God brought good out of evil, but that God planned the whole thing. If, as Joseph believes (does that mean it's true?), God did all this, including prompting Judah and the others to sell Joseph into slavery, how can they be guilty and God be good?
I remember a story I read in a student publication in college -- it involved a devout Christian sent back in time to become one of the people at the time of Jesus so that we could learn more about what really happened. He was reminded over and over that he could not interfere with the events he was sent to observe (a common time traveler dilemma, as all science fiction readers and Star Trek viewers know). They threw the switch and he gradually became aware of himself, on a small hill, surrounded by a screaming crowd, and holding a hammer.
If we live in the best of all possible worlds (because all happens according to God's plan), then where lies freedom? And where lies responsibility? Or, put another way, is sin still sin if God wills it?
Maybe I'm back to the Gospel after all. Or maybe I should quit running and start struggling.
MDWELPIS in Washington State
Another thought that I forgot in my last post. Has anyone seen the animated movie "Joseph, the King of Dreams"? I thought it did a good job of illustrating Joseph's struggle -- and making clear that he was not free until he was free from his hate. Maybe I'll just show that Sunday instead.
MDWELPIS in Washington State
Thanks for the posts re: "God's sovereignty and human responsiblity." For me, the best thing about this sight is the exchange of ideas that give me something to chew on for a while!
The pull of the common thread of God's mercy continues to work on me for this week. In both Scripture and daily life, the revelation of God's mercy comes in so many ways. The title I am using this week is "Revealing Mercy" in which I THINK I'm going to be asking my congregations to consider how God's mercy has been revealed to them AND how they think they reveal mercy (both God's mercy and their own) to others. Of course, I often plan to go one direction with a thought, only to find the Holy Spirit leading me in an entirely different direction!
StudentPastor in KS
I believe there is a common thread holding all of this Sunday's lectionary readings together. (No surprise, since all of scripture has unity--but sometimes it's more subtle than this week.)
The theme I see is that of God's universal and eternal intent of redemption and renewal. Joseph has to come to see this, along with the rest of his family and the nation of Israel (see the Psalm 133 here, too). Paul comes to grip with it in the Romans reading. And even Jesus grows in his understanding of God's mission. Theologically speaking, God has "fore-ordained" or "predestined" the renewal of all creation--but how that happens has much to do with human response. All of which puts the questions to us--how do we understand our own mission as Christians in light of God's mission? How has our understanding been challenged and changed? How are we sharing in God's own mission?
TK in OK
