S) "18 Now the men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph’s house; and they said, 'It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time that we are being brought in, that he may seek occasion against us and fall upon us, and take us for slaves with our donkeys.' 19 So they came near to Joseph’s house steward, and spoke to him at the entrance of the house, 20 and said, 'Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food, 21 and it came about when we came to the lodging place, that we opened our sacks, and behold, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full. So we have brought it back in our hand. 22 We have also brought down other money in our hand to buy food; we do not know who put our money in our sacks.' 23 He said, 'Be at ease, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.' Then he brought Simeon out to them."
Genesis 43:18-23 (NASB)
O) There are a lot of things happening in this little snippet of the story. Also, in terms of the greater story of Joseph, his brothers, their reunion, etc., this isn't a huge part of it (although, there is some foreshadowing, here). The first thing I noticed is how much fear the brothers have. Granted, they are bearing guilty consciences, on account of what they did to Joseph, but fear is clearly the ruling emotion here. The second thing I noticed, is that they actually had a fairly positive response. They come clean to the house steward, confessing what they found (albeit, quite a bit after the fact). The last thing that really jumped out at me, is the way the steward responds, in telling the brothers that the money they found was not, in fact, their money. He says that he did, indeed, take the money which was theirs, and that the money they found in their bags was actually treasure from The LORD. This is the part on which I really want to focus.
It is revealed later, that Joseph commands his steward to replace the money from the brothers. The point of view of the steward, though, is important to note. He credits God for the treasure, despite the fact that it plainly came from Joseph, or his command at least. It's also very telling that he even calls it "treasure," given the fact that it's not necessarily a large sum of money, or some kind of rare jewel, or some unknown or unquantifiable thing. It's implied that it's the same amount of money they used to buy the grain in the first place (which is why the brothers assumed it was an error).
A) Too often, I think miracles are mistaken as something else. I think we rationalize them, out of fear or lack of faith. I don't want to do that. I think miracles are usually a matter of perspective, definition, and determination to credit God. If I'm seeking to give God credit for the good, or even only possibly-good, then it can take something that might cause fear and instead, turn it to a reason for joy.
P) Father, I am choosing to believe Your promises and Your Word. Over and over, the Bible shows us Your faithfulness, power, mercy, provision... on and on the list of Your goodness goes. I don't want to miss any things You do, for the miracles they are. You are increasingly good, even beyond my ability to perceive or comprehend. So, I determine to try. I determine to search for Your goodness in everything around me. Not as some kind of superstition, and not in some esoteric or mystical way, but in a biblically defined, edifying way. In humility and reason, by determination and definition, I want to see the miraculous in my life. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
It is revealed later, that Joseph commands his steward to replace the money from the brothers. The point of view of the steward, though, is important to note. He credits God for the treasure, despite the fact that it plainly came from Joseph, or his command at least. It's also very telling that he even calls it "treasure," given the fact that it's not necessarily a large sum of money, or some kind of rare jewel, or some unknown or unquantifiable thing. It's implied that it's the same amount of money they used to buy the grain in the first place (which is why the brothers assumed it was an error).
A) Too often, I think miracles are mistaken as something else. I think we rationalize them, out of fear or lack of faith. I don't want to do that. I think miracles are usually a matter of perspective, definition, and determination to credit God. If I'm seeking to give God credit for the good, or even only possibly-good, then it can take something that might cause fear and instead, turn it to a reason for joy.
P) Father, I am choosing to believe Your promises and Your Word. Over and over, the Bible shows us Your faithfulness, power, mercy, provision... on and on the list of Your goodness goes. I don't want to miss any things You do, for the miracles they are. You are increasingly good, even beyond my ability to perceive or comprehend. So, I determine to try. I determine to search for Your goodness in everything around me. Not as some kind of superstition, and not in some esoteric or mystical way, but in a biblically defined, edifying way. In humility and reason, by determination and definition, I want to see the miraculous in my life. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment