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2/13 Reading Portions: Genesis 46; Mark 16; Job 12; Romans 16
Genesis 46:31
Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household,
“I will go up and tell Pharaoh and will say to him,
‘My brothers and my father’s household,
who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me.’”
SAY
I’ve encountered several persons over the years who were inclined to think that God “looked down the corridors of time” to see the seven years of famine coming, and responding as such, He put things in order so Jacob’s family could be saved. This simply cannot be. To suggest God must react to our situations as if He had to “see” them ahead of time to “make His decision” is a fanciful, unbiblical thought that causes God to be something He is not. God is Self-sufficient, so He has no need. To suggest a need in the Complete One, is to imply God is less than perfect; that He must learn because there’s something He doesn’t know. Yet God knows all things (omniscience); and He is sovereign in all His work and dealings. Almighty God does not forsake one attribute to exercise another. Both justice and mercy are complete in Him. “Why then,” I’ve been asked, “did Jacob have to leave the land God promised to him and his fathers only to be called out of Egypt to return to the land of Canaan years later, as God promised in verse four?” God’s sovereignty, man’s responsibility, and the world’s circumstances can only be reconciled in God through Christ— in other words, these things are resolved by the gospel; for…
“…the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Revelation 19:10
Joseph’s betrayal and sufferings prophetically testified of Christ’s gospel by His betrayal and sufferings. Joseph’s promotion to second ruler of the land testifies of Christ’s gospel ascension as well as His eternal deity. Moreover, when Israel is delivered from Egypt during the days of Moses, it reflects YHVH God’s redeeming His people through the gospel of Christ— delivering us from the rule of Satan (Pharaoh), redeeming us from the grip of the world (Egypt), and saving us from the bondage of sin (slavery). Even the words of Joseph were gospel words of God’s prophet, foreshadowing the gospel plan of Messiah to bring His people unto Himself. Jesus said,
“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.” John 14:3
As Joseph spoke to Pharaoh concerning his family, Jesus will one day say to His heavenly Father,
“My brothers and My Father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to Me.”
Hallelujah! What a Savior!