Genesis 43:23, God who?

“Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks.”
 

The typical Egyptian could have 2,000 deities in mind when he said God. What is the probability that an Israelite could visit Egypt and understand any of this? Maybe zero. But, the steward actually referred to the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob…the God of Jacob’s sons. They would have known exactly to whom he was referring.

Why did Joseph’s steward do this? How would he even know, unless Joseph told him to say this? Unless, of course, Joseph was busy evangelizing his household and the steward was a convert. Or…did the steward regard Joseph as a god (not uncommon)? In which case…the statement is technically true (Joseph was behind it) and theologically true (God directs all the dealings of man).

Wow…

Which brings me to my point: Our culture today is nearly as polytheistic as the ancient Egyptian culture. The only real difference is we don’t use countless names for the countless gods. We use one generic name (God)…and allow it to have countless meanings. Some people say “God” and they mean “Santa Clause”. Or, they say “God” and they mean “Odin”. Some people say “God” and they mean “Mr. Rogers”…or Justice Scalia.

I’m not saying Americans deify these people. I’m saying they attach characteristics to God that approximate these people. We probably never know what people mean when they say “God”. It should occur to us that most people don’t have the same definition of God as born-again Christians have…since most people have never even read scripture. When you and I say “God” we mean “Jehovah”, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In today’s culture we should probably just come right out and say it…like the steward did.

Live boldly out there today…

Genesis 42:21, God’s will…or not?

They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come upon us.”

Sandra Bullock said “I'm a true believer in karma. You get what you give, whether it's bad or good”.

And so it goes…we love “KARMA”. We want to look at every circumstance in our lives as the logical consequence of our actions. Of course we don’t call it “karma”. We call it “God’s will” (far more spiritual). As I once mentioned, my dad used to characterize every promotion I received as “God honoring my faithfulness”. His sentiment makes all sorts of sense except, well, dad couldn’t really have known me that well and still say that! Possibly my promotions were simply God doing what God does.

This is important…

We love “karma” because it puts us in control. If we’re good…good things will come to us. Even if we call it “Gods’ will”, when we’re good…God blesses us. As though this is God’s job…to mete out rewards and punishment. Actually, this really makes us more powerful than God. And, we like it.

I’m not suggesting God does not respond to us according to our conduct. He is a very personal God and He loves rewarding us. I’m suggesting when we make it about our conduct rather than God’s providence we run a huge risk of disrupting the natural order of things. I was thinking…what if much of God’s focus is invested in sustaining his creation…regardless of us…and the only logical consequences are common to all: If we jump in the water we get wet. That’s a lot different than believing God is going to “make us wet” because we jumped in the water.

How else can we explain the times when we really deserved punishment and God gave us a “pass”? Well, it’s just the natural order of God’s creation that we don’t always get what we deserve for everything we do. Otherwise we have to contend with the possibility that God “didn’t notice” of didn’t treat us equally with others. Neither is a good possibility.

Tell me which makes the most sense: “I believe in God so He must let me go to heaven” or “God has designed His creation in such a manner that if we believe in Him we live with Him eternally”. The first is contingent on what “I claim” to be true. The second is contingent on what “God has designed” to be true.

It makes a difference…

Live boldly out there today…

Genesis 42:1, Spiritual paralysis

“Why do you just keep looking at each other?”

It’s not really that uncommon…we know the problem; we know the answer and we know how to accomplish a solution but…we find ourselves frozen with uncertainty and anxiety. We do nothing…which is often more destructive than doing something, even if it’s wrong.

This happened to Jacob’s sons. The famine that Joseph had predicted materialized and spread across the Fertile Crescent. Jacob’s family was hit just like everybody else. The son’s apparently responded by doing nothing…even though they knew Egypt had plenty of grain. Why didn’t they pack up and go down there?

Their dad asked the same question…

Big problems often immobilize us. One of our children has an addiction problem and we do nothing. We know we should get involved but maybe we don’t want to “rock the boat”. Our marriage is disintegrating…but we sit and watch TV. Our company is “down-sizing” but we just can’t seem to go out and look for work. Maybe this is why Nero “fiddled” while Rome burned…he couldn’t think of anything else to do.

Action implies a couple of things. First it implies the existence of a problem. Second, it implies a responsibility for the problem. So, we freeze up: We don’t want to admit there is a problem (somebody might say it’s our fault) and we don’t want to be responsible for it (somebody might say things were fine until we got involved).

It’s certainly a spiritual problem… of sorts. Our spirits are afraid to take action or are too obtuse to recognize the need for action. Jacob’s sons may have starved without their dad waking them up to the dilemma. At least they listened.

We have a heavenly father who regularly prompts us. Are we listening?

Live boldly out there today…

Genesis 41:41, Opportunities

So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”

After years of preparation…at the age of thirty I became an Air Force Chaplain. I thought I was the King of the World! At the age of thirty Joseph actually was. All because he honored God.

Pharaoh shared his strange dream with Joseph. It was all about fat cows and skinny cows…fat grain and skinny grain. It didn’t make much sense. But, Joseph knew exactly what it meant.  It had to do with an approaching calamity and the very future existence of Egypt.

Joseph told Pharaoh to find a man he trusted and invest authority in him to implement a strategy for saving the kingdom. Pharaoh needed just the right man so he gathered his princes around him and asked (listen to this) “can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?” As Pharaoh thought about implementing the strategy it occurred to him that Joseph was the very man he needed. He said “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace and all my people are to submit to your orders“.

I love how God works….amazing things happen when we give Him the glory.

Live boldly out there today…

Genesis 41:15, Prolonging the dream

“Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”

Perfect…the very thing that Joseph credited to God (the interpretation of dreams) is the same thing that ultimately got him out of jail. God’s perfect design.

Granted, the cupbearer finally remembered Joseph. But this was only because the cupbearer remembered Joseph’s Divine gift. So, the cupbearer tells the Pharaoh and the Pharaoh calls for Joseph. He said “I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it“. Once again Joseph replies “I cannot do it…but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires“.

God has bestowed gifts on all of us…for his glory and pleasure. As we look at our past we may wonder what happened to some of them. Maybe God gifted us to successfully pray for the physical healing of others…but we haven’t done it in a long time.  Maybe He gifted us to pastor large congregations and we haven’t seen one in ages. Maybe he gifted us to teach the Body of Christ and opportunities just don’t seem to be available.

I wonder if there’s a connection between our willingness to clearly give God credit and God’s willingness to give us opportunities. It seems that way with Joseph…

Live boldly out there today…

Genesis 40:23, Best laid plans

“The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him”.

“Please…I’d rather do it myself.”

Joseph’s conduct in prison was perfectly reasonable…and understandable. He began to view God’s faithfulness as a function of his circumstances. When he was living the good life in Potiphar’s’ house it was all about God. In prison? Not so much.

After refusing the advances of Potiphar’s wife and refusing to sin against God, he ended up in prison anyway. So much for the blessings of obedience. Joseph had a bit of a relapse. He was surely disappointed with God and began managing his own life. It works like this…

We begin evaluating all our actions in terms of the benefits that we receive in turn.  So, I do you a favor with the expectation that you will do me a favor. Many great philosophers believed this is the root of all human behavior. There is no such thing as altruism. So, Joseph interpreted a dream…but not for free. After doing it he said”when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison“.

It’s not evil. Joseph didn’t go completely over to the dark side. He still acknowledged that the ability to interpret dreams came from God. He found the perfect pragmatic balance between God and man.  It’s just out of character for Joseph…or any of us who see our lives as the product of God’s benevolence. Our character is supposed to reflect everything back to God…even when our circumstances are disappointing. It’s in our nature to say “God didn’t come through for me so I’d better handle things myself“. It’s just not the nature that God wants to see in us.

Joseph tried handling his own problems…and look where it got him. The cupbearer, in whom Joseph placed his trust, forgot about him. I suspect we already know we achieve the same results. Pragmatic balance doesn’t really deliver what it promises.

Live boldly out there today…

Genesis 39:9, Temptation

“How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered…

Wonderful words. We believe them. We count on them for our own lives. But, often that’s as far as it goes.

Life is filled with blessings. The source isn’t always clear. Sometimes blessings seem to be the result of our own hard work. Sometimes blessings seem to come from family or friends…or employers. Joseph worked for Potiphar and lived in his house. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Potiphar put him in charge of his household and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So he left in Joseph’s care everything he had; “with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate”.

Practically speaking, it was Joseph’s house. He could have chosen to view himself as a “self-made” man or he could have credited Potiphar for his success. Either way, he was a big deal. Even Potiphar’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”

Here’s where it gets interesting. Most of us would say “I can’t do that. Potiphar has given me everything I have. I won’t insult him like this, or betray his trust.”  From a human perspective we would be right.

Not Joseph. He understood that if God prospered him he was then under God’s authority and control. Joseph didn’t even think about Potiphar. He correctly regarded Potiphar as nothing more than a tool in God’s hand. Therefore, he was of no consequence when Joseph made decisions about right and wrong.

This is important because the world is full of “Potiphar’s wives“, people who tempt us to misbehave. What if that person is a person of earthly influence? Are we more likely to give in? Of course.

Or, we could live like Joseph and view these as people of no consequence.

Live boldly out there today…