GOD IS OVER ALL!

GOD IS OVER ALL!

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.” So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died, ‘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. His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 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. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. —Genesis 50:15-21

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you…   You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. —Psalm 16:1-2, 11

            Our past sin can have a devasting effect on our lives life-long if we don’t get things right.  Decades had gone by and Joseph’s brothers were still carrying the guilt, and now fear, from what they had done to Joseph.  Now they were going to finally communicate with Joseph about it, but it took the death of their father for them to do so.

            They asked Joseph to forgive them for the evil they did to him and were willing to be his servants.  This was the dream that Joseph had in the past, before his brothers sold him into slavery, that they would bow down to him.  Here they were doing so a second time— the first when they came to Egypt for grain.  What would Joseph do?

• Joseph wept
• Joseph told his brothers not to fear
• Joseph said he was not in the place of God
• Joseph told them that they had done evil to him
• Joseph told them that what they meant for evil God meant for good
• Joseph told them God did this so many people should be kept alive
• Joseph told them not to fear because he realized this was God’s plan
• Joseph said he would provide for them
• Joseph comforted them
• Joseph spoke kindly to them

Joseph knew that apart from God he could do nothing good.  He knew God laid out the path of his life.  He knew joy only came from knowing God and that He is the one who gives pleasures.  Yes, Joseph surely believed that God was sovereign.  May we take that lesson and apply it to our own lives.  Yes, Dear Father, may this be so through the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Your Beloved Son Jesus.  May this be all for Your honor and glory and surely for the benefit of others and our own.  So may it be. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsyyxJZTkjU