Monday December 18th, 2023
« You plotted evil against me, but God turned it into good, in order to preserve the lives of many people who are alive today because of what happened »
13 When they had been gone for some time, Jacob said to Joseph, “Your brothers are pasturing the sheep at Shechem. Get ready, and I will send you to them.” “I’m ready to go,” Joseph replied.
14 “Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are getting along,” Jacob said. “Then come back and bring me a report.” So Jacob sent him on his way, and Joseph traveled to Shechem from their home in the valley of Hebron.
15 When he arrived there, a man from the area noticed him wandering around the countryside. “What are you looking for?” he asked.
16 “I’m looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Do you know where they are pasturing their sheep?”
17 “Yes,” the man told him. “They have moved on from here, but I heard them say, ‘Let’s go on to Dothan.’” So Joseph followed his brothers to Dothan and found them there.
18 When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him.
19 “Here comes the dreamer!” they said.
20 “Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”
21 But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he said.
22 “Why should we shed any blood? Let’s just throw him into this empty cistern here in the wilderness. Then he’ll die without our laying a hand on him.” Reuben was secretly planning to rescue Joseph and return him to his father.
23 So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the beautiful robe he was wearing.
24 Then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
25 Then, just as they were sitting down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders taking a load of gum, balm, and aromatic resin from Gilead down to Egypt.
26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime.
27 Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother—our own flesh and blood!” And his brothers agreed.
28 So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt.
Out of envy and hatred, Joseph’s brothers wickedly plotted evil against him.
They even wanted to kill him but God intervened, so they decided instead to the merchants who led him to Egypt, where he served Potiphar for several years before being sent to prison.
Jailed for a crime he didn’t commit, his chances of regaining his freedom became slimmer and slimmer as the days went by.
After a period of about fifteen years, God visited Joseph with His mercy and brought him out of prison and slavery with a strong hand.
He became second in command to Pharaoh in the whole of Egyptian empire, a position that was by all means impossible for a foreigner to occupy, not to mention a slave and an ex-convict.
Most remarkably however, throughout his experience, Joseph was never bitter, angry or vengeful towards his brothers, because he believed that God’s purpose was being fulfilled through everything he faced.
Indeed, the ways of God are past finding out.
What Joseph said to his brothers in Genesis 45:5-8 MSG is so instructive to us today:
5 But don’t feel badly; don’t blame yourselves for selling me. God was behind it. God sent me here ahead of you to save lives.
6 There has been a famine in the land now for two years; the famine will continue for five more years—neither plowing nor harvesting.
7 God sent me on ahead to pave the way and make sure there was a remnant in the land, to save your lives in an amazing act of deliverance.
8 So you see, it wasn’t you who sent me here but God. He set me in place as a father to Pharaoh, put me in charge of his personal affairs, and made me ruler of all Egypt.”
Joseph did not want his brothers to feel sorry for their past wickedness against him, because he did not view that as an act of hatred but rather as God’s way of strategically positioning him for the fulfillment of His greater purpose.
Although he did not try to whitewash the evil his brother did, he was determined to show them that God had a saving purpose for the cruel events of his life, otherwise, how else could he have gotten to the position he found himself in Egypt if he had remained with his father in the land of Canaan?
This same message is echoed to us by the Holy Spirit in Romans 8:28CW, which says:
« And we know that God is working the good and the bad in favor of those who love Him, in favor of those who are living by His standards. »
I therefore pray that God will strategically position you and that all things will begin to work together for your good and the overall blessing of your entire family in the Mighty Name of Jesus.
Prayer Focus – Father, please let every evil plan of the enemy work together for my good in Jesus’ Name.
Author – Bishop Enoch. A. Adeboye.
Edited by Naomie
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