Genesis 43:14c. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.
Oh boy! Summer is now officially finished, and it went out with a bang yesterday; beautiful sunshine with warm temps! But thank the Lord, autumn is also coming in with a bang today, this Lazy-day Saturday! For there’s glorious sunshine and warm temps in the offing. So, hopefully the change in seasons will just be an official name change, but the weather will stay like that for the next little while. Yes, we know that it’s going to change at some time, for that’s the way the Lord planned it, but we’re just hoping that it will be later rather than sooner. (smile)
But enough inane talk now, let’s turn to our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer. As one sincere voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And I can feel a subtle change occurring in my spirit as I pray that prayer; one of peace and calm, and a greater awareness of God’s presence. I sincerely hope that you feel that same easing in your troubled spirit as our God LOVINGLY permeates our souls in response to our prayer. And that’s the basic purpose of prayer; to grow closer to our heavenly Father. And since we’ve now increased our awareness of Him this morning, we can now turn to His awesome story of Bruh Joseph.
We’ve reached the point where the food brought from Egypt has run out, and Jacob wants them to go back down and buy more, but the sons refuse to do so unless he sends the youngest Benjamin with them, since the man (Bruh Joseph), who’s in charge of the food, specifically said that they would get in to see him unless their youngest brother was with them. And while the famine scorched the land, Jacob and his sons disputed the wisdom of sending Benjamin down to Egypt with them.
Finally, ‘Judah said unto Israel (Jacob) his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones. I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever: For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.’ (Gen. 43:8-10) Judah makes a good point, if they had not spent so much time pussyfooting and arguing about Benjamin going with them, they could already have gone down and come back and food would be plentiful.
But such are the eccentricities of men, and it ofttimes takes much hunger and suffering to bring wisdom and reason to men’s hearts. Thus it happened: ‘And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take (some) of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts (pistachios), and almonds. And take double money in your hand: and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand, peradventure it was an oversight.’ (Gen. 43:11-12).
Ah friends, Jacob’s heart must have been truly hurting for his lost sons and the possible loss of another, but his mind was functioning perfectly, as he gave his children wise advice. Then he came to the crux of the matter: ‘Take also your brother (Benjamin), and arise, go again unto the man. And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.’ (Gen. 43:13-14) Yes, Jacob realizes that food for the entire family was more important than his feelings of loss. If that’s what God desired then, so be it.
And isn’t that the way with many of us in these trying and difficult times? Our hearts are crying out for one thing, but our minds are pressing the wisdom of other stuff on us. And as we said yesterday, in the words of Eleanor Roosevelt; we’re damned if we do, and damned if we don’t. The important thing in such situations though is that we make a decision as quickly as possible, because too much wasted time only makes the consequences more severe.
And as always, the best way to make decisions is with the help of our wise and wonderful God. It’s to Him that we should always go for help…and not the last person, like so many of us do, but the first One, for He’s the ultimate controller of our destiny and thus, always knows what’s best for us. He might send us to ordinary men for help eventually, but let that be His decision, not ours.
And the saga of Bruh Joseph keeps unfurling, as the drama heightens with tension and the great unknown. (smile) The Bible tells us that after Jacob finally agrees to send Benjamin with them: ‘And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.’ (Gen. 43:15) Now can you imagine how the brothers must have been quaking in their boots, not knowing what Bruh Joseph was going to do.
But friends, the greatest dramatist, Almighty God, had everything under control, as He always does. And He further heightens the tension. His Word says: ‘And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house (his steward), Bring these men home, and slay (slaughter an animal), and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon. And the man did as Joseph bade (ordered); and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.’ (Gen. 43:16-17)
Glory be, mih people! And all yuh say our God is not a great dramatist! Only He could concoct such a daring and dramatic tale! Can you imagine though how those men felt, when a high-ranking official who had earlier insisted that they were spies, and adamantly refused to let their brother go, suddenly invites them to his home? And I’m sure Bruh Jospeh’s house was not some shabby shack at the side of a hill, but something very worthwhile for the second man in the prosperous land of Egypt.
But my fellow saints, that’s the way our great and omnipotent God goes about His business. He is the Creator and the Controller of the universe and all therein, and thus He has the authority and power to do as He pleases. The important thing for us the created is to know Him and do as He bids us. The whys and wherefores of the situations are not our concern. Our concern is simply to believe His awesome and faithful promises, like He will never leave nor forsake us, and will work everything out for our good eventually. And if we’re obedient and faithful to His Word, then we will fulfill the wonderful destiny He has planned for us! Much LOVE!
…ours is not to question why…but to do…and hopefully not to die…
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