Genesis 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me: but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
That’s God’s way Friends? People intend to do us harm, but our ever faithful, merciful God turns those same evil intentions to our advantage. Exactly what He did with Bruh Joseph. Yes, he deserves elevation to the status of Bruh. (smile) His brothers sold him into slavery to hurt him, but the Most High concocted an ingenious plan that eventually saves the lives of those same wicked brothers and their families. And even after experiencing Bruh Joseph’s great kindness and mercy, when they return to Egypt, after burying Jacob in Canaan, their guilt makes them sore afraid. Thinking that Bruh Joseph hates them, and without their father to keep him in check, would exact his revenge, they send him a message saying that before Jacob died, he decreed that Bruh Joseph forgive them of their sin against him. ‘And now we pray thee forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.’ (vs.17-18) The many times Bruh Joseph wept, and his brothers bowed before him, surely caused a lot of tension. I wonder, if in all their obeisance, they remembered how they laughed him to scorn when he foretold it as a boy. Don’t ridicule the dreams of others, Friends. It has a bad habit of coming back to haunt you. They also did not take into account the powerful spirit of God moving within Bruh Joseph. ‘And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?’ (vs.19) Oh Friends, what a most worthy answer! Is he God, to be taking revenge? Hn,hn! I chuckle because all along I’ve been reading that line as ‘I am,’ instead of ‘am I’ and wondering what it meant. But when it mattered most, the Lord set me straight. Praise His Holy Name People! And Bruh Joseph continued in forgiveness. ‘But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.’ Wow! He wasn’t God, but he sure acted as magnanimously, through God’s Spirit moving within him. And Bruh Joseph lived to the ripe old age of one hundred and ten, enjoying God’s favour to rock his great grand children on his knees. At the end, he said to his family, ‘I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.’ (vs.25) And he made them promise to take his bones to the Promised Land with them. Remember children. (smile) ‘So Joseph died…and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.’ (vs.26) Ah Friends, what a wonderful story! It shows the lengths the Lord would go to for us; both to teach us some lesson and to prove His LOVE. He chose a simple, dreamy, Hebrew shepherd boy, made him suffer much injustice, then made him a beloved icon in a foreign country, while weaving in the necessary fabric to create His Chosen People, the Children of Israel, and their holy grail; the Promised Land. Oh people, this is the last instalment of Bruh Joseph’s story. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, for every time you read the Word, you glean something new, get a deeper understanding. That certainly happened to me with Bruh Joseph. I’ve certainly developed a greater appreciation and higher respect for him. Do you realize Friends, that not once, through all his suffering, did we hear of him doing any serious wrong. All God’s other devotees did: From Abraham right down to Bruh Paul. Why is that eh? It reminds me of a reggae song I recently heard, called The Promised Land, which suggests that it’s not so much a physical entity, but more a state of mind. I tend to agree. For we walk by faith, not by sight, so making a conscious effort to live now, the way we’d expect to live then, assures us of a better life. I think Joseph discovered that secret and lived it; holding that constant vision, through faith, even till the end, when he confidently assured his brethren that God would come and lead them to the Promised land; which He did. Oh Friends, may we develop such a state of mind, through faith and the Holy Spirit’s help, until, like Bruh Joseph, we reach that Promised Land. Much LOVE!…walking in, through, and by faith…sure works wonders…in the human spirit…
That’s God’s way Friends? People intend to do us harm, but our ever faithful, merciful God turns those same evil intentions to our advantage. Exactly what He did with Bruh Joseph. Yes, he deserves elevation to the status of Bruh. (smile) His brothers sold him into slavery to hurt him, but the Most High concocted an ingenious plan that eventually saves the lives of those same wicked brothers and their families. And even after experiencing Bruh Joseph’s great kindness and mercy, when they return to Egypt, after burying Jacob in Canaan, their guilt makes them sore afraid. Thinking that Bruh Joseph hates them, and without their father to keep him in check, would exact his revenge, they send him a message saying that before Jacob died, he decreed that Bruh Joseph forgive them of their sin against him. ‘And now we pray thee forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.’ (vs.17-18) The many times Bruh Joseph wept, and his brothers bowed before him, surely caused a lot of tension. I wonder, if in all their obeisance, they remembered how they laughed him to scorn when he foretold it as a boy. Don’t ridicule the dreams of others, Friends. It has a bad habit of coming back to haunt you. They also did not take into account the powerful spirit of God moving within Bruh Joseph. ‘And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?’ (vs.19) Oh Friends, what a most worthy answer! Is he God, to be taking revenge? Hn,hn! I chuckle because all along I’ve been reading that line as ‘I am,’ instead of ‘am I’ and wondering what it meant. But when it mattered most, the Lord set me straight. Praise His Holy Name People! And Bruh Joseph continued in forgiveness. ‘But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.’ Wow! He wasn’t God, but he sure acted as magnanimously, through God’s Spirit moving within him. And Bruh Joseph lived to the ripe old age of one hundred and ten, enjoying God’s favour to rock his great grand children on his knees. At the end, he said to his family, ‘I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.’ (vs.25) And he made them promise to take his bones to the Promised Land with them. Remember children. (smile) ‘So Joseph died…and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.’ (vs.26) Ah Friends, what a wonderful story! It shows the lengths the Lord would go to for us; both to teach us some lesson and to prove His LOVE. He chose a simple, dreamy, Hebrew shepherd boy, made him suffer much injustice, then made him a beloved icon in a foreign country, while weaving in the necessary fabric to create His Chosen People, the Children of Israel, and their holy grail; the Promised Land. Oh people, this is the last instalment of Bruh Joseph’s story. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, for every time you read the Word, you glean something new, get a deeper understanding. That certainly happened to me with Bruh Joseph. I’ve certainly developed a greater appreciation and higher respect for him. Do you realize Friends, that not once, through all his suffering, did we hear of him doing any serious wrong. All God’s other devotees did: From Abraham right down to Bruh Paul. Why is that eh? It reminds me of a reggae song I recently heard, called The Promised Land, which suggests that it’s not so much a physical entity, but more a state of mind. I tend to agree. For we walk by faith, not by sight, so making a conscious effort to live now, the way we’d expect to live then, assures us of a better life. I think Joseph discovered that secret and lived it; holding that constant vision, through faith, even till the end, when he confidently assured his brethren that God would come and lead them to the Promised land; which He did. Oh Friends, may we develop such a state of mind, through faith and the Holy Spirit’s help, until, like Bruh Joseph, we reach that Promised Land. Much LOVE!…walking in, through, and by faith…sure works wonders…in the human spirit…
SCRIP-BITS 