{"id":16854,"date":"2021-07-25T22:00:15","date_gmt":"2021-07-26T05:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/genesis_49_18-33-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-07-25T14:41:44","modified_gmt":"2021-07-25T21:41:44","slug":"genesis_50_14-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/genesis_50_14-26\/","title":{"rendered":"The World Your Words Create"},"content":{"rendered":"

Genesis 50:14-26 \u00a0\u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Genesis 50:14-26.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Genesis 50:14-21 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died:
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 14-21:\u00a0 Back in Egypt after burying their late father in Canaan, Joseph\u2019s brothers wonder if Joseph still holds a grudge against them and has plans to exact revenge for all the ways they treated him long ago.\u00a0 They send\u00a0a message to Joseph saying that their father requested that Joseph forgive his brothers and asking Joseph to forgive them.\u00a0 It\u2019s unclear whether their father actually spoke those words or not. After all, if it was so important to Jacob that Joseph forgive his brothers, and given the close relationship between Jacob and Joseph, wouldn\u2019t you expect Jacob to talk to Joseph about this directly?\u00a0 In any event, Joseph weeps upon receiving the message.\u00a0 Though Joseph\u2019s brothers offer themselves to be Joseph\u2019s slaves, Joseph tells them essentially that he holds no grudge against them, that though they intended to harm him, God intended it for the saving of many lives.\u00a0 Joseph reassures them that he will take care of them and their children and speaks kindly to them.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

First, God allows pain in our lives not because He is cruel but because He has a plan to use that pain in a greater way than we could imagine.\u00a0 When we respond to our hurts by focusing on exacting revenge on those who hurt us, we put ourselves in God\u2019s seat, and because we are not worthy to sit in God\u2019s seat, we just make a bigger mess of the situation.\u00a0 As Joseph says, \u201cAm I in the place of God?\u201d (v19) But\u00a0when we respond to our hurts as Joseph did by trusting God, we give God room to use the greatest hurts and pain we experience in life to write a greater story than anything we could imagine.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Second, Genesis 1 began by showing us the power of words.\u00a0 God created the heavens and the earth with the power of His spoken word.\u00a0 Here in the last chapter of Genesis we see the power of words once again.\u00a0 In verse 17, Joseph\u2019s brothers send him a message asking for forgiveness, and Joseph weeps.\u00a0 In verses 19-21, Joseph chooses to speak kind and reassuring words to his brothers. Thus their relationships, though once strained, are full of intimacy, love and warmth.\u00a0\u00a0Just as God has the power to create a world with His words, so you and I create our world with our words too.<\/strong>\u00a0 As the Proverbs say, the tongue has the power of life and death.\u00a0 Every day make it a point to speak life-giving words to those around you.<\/p>\n

Genesis 50:22-26 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 22-26:\u00a0 The book of Genesis concludes with the death of Joseph, who lives long enough to see his great grandchildren (v23).\u00a0 Joseph tells his brothers and the rest of the Israelites that though he is about to die, God will continue to be their helper.\u00a0 In fact, twice in verses 24 and 25 Joseph says, \u201cGod will surely come to your aid\u201d.\u00a0 Joseph is so certain that God has called his people to eventually leave Egypt for the land that God promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, he even makes the Israelites swear that they will carry his bones from his coffin in Egypt to that promised land one day.\u00a0 Many generations later, Moses would fulfill that promise in Exodus 13:19.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 God had used Joseph to save his brothers\u2019 lives, but Joseph reassures his brothers that even though he is about to die, God their Saviour will still be there to help them.\u00a0 Similarly,\u00a0you and I will lose people who are dear to us and who played a saving like role in our lives, but even when they are gone, God \u2013 the ultimate Saviour \u2013 is still with you.\u00a0\u00a0 He will never leave you or forsake you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like his father Jacob before him, Joseph lived in Egypt but his heart was set on the promised land.\u00a0 Similarly,\u00a0though we live in this world, keep your heart set on heaven.\u00a0 Because of Jesus, heaven is where our true permanent residence is.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, thank You for every wonderful lesson we can learn from the book of Genesis.\u00a0 Thank You for showing me today that it is not my place to exact revenge on those who hurt me.\u00a0 Instead I can trust in You and You will take even the greatest pain I experience in life to write a greater story than I could imagine.\u00a0 Since we create our world with our words, may I use the power of words to bring life to others. Though I live in this world may my heart always be set on heaven.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Genesis 50:14-26.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Genesis 50:14-21 (NIV)
\n14\u00a0\u00a0After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.
\n15\u00a0\u00a0When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”
\n16\u00a0\u00a0So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died:
\n17\u00a0\u00a0‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
\n18\u00a0\u00a0His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.
\n19\u00a0\u00a0But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?
\n20\u00a0\u00a0You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
\n21\u00a0\u00a0So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.<\/p>\n

On verses 14-21:\u00a0 Back in Egypt after burying their late father in Canaan, Joseph\u2019s brothers wonder if Joseph still holds a grudge against them and has plans to exact revenge for all the ways they treated him long ago.\u00a0 They send\u00a0a message to Joseph saying that their father requested that Joseph forgive his brothers and asking Joseph to forgive them.\u00a0 It\u2019s unclear whether their father actually spoke those words or not. After all, if it was so important to Jacob that Joseph forgive his brothers, and given the close relationship between Jacob and Joseph, wouldn\u2019t you expect Jacob to talk to Joseph about this directly?\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16856,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16854"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16854\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16855,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16854\/revisions\/16855"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}