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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Sunday, 20 August 2023:
Jeremiah 45:5 – And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, I am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the Lord. But I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go.
God does not want you to seek personal success or power in order to build for yourself a personal kingdom as a replacement for The Kingdom. God will not allow you to put yourself on a throne rather than honoring God on His Throne.
Psalm 95:1 – Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
When was the last time your joy in the LORD caused you to shout aloud?
Psalm 95:6 – Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
Worship is motivated by thanksgiving and awe.
Psalm 95:7, 8 – For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts….
God will speak to you today in subtle ways – do not harden your heart. Disobedience comes from a hardened heart. Do what God has put upon your heart. Remember, partial obedience is disobedience. Delayed obedience is also disobedience.
Psalm 96:3 – Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
Will you declare the glory of God today?
Psalm 96:7 – Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
God wants you to worship as a family.
Psalm 96:10, 11 – Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it. Let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.”
God is merciful, but He is also just. Only God understands how to rightfully apply justice, mercy, and grace – how He does this is beyond our comprehension. We all seem to want God to administer justice to those who hurt us, but we want God to show us mercy when we hurt others. We suffer the injustices of the world, but we know that only God’s mercy creates the opportunity for injustice to even occur, since He hasn’t already condemned us in his wrath.
Ultimately, God will bring justice, and all of creation will rejoice in His justice. But today, we rejoice in and proclaim His mercy and grace, while we hope (trust) in the final revelation of His justice. As instruments of God’s mercy and grace, we have been called to a ministry of suffering while we serve as ambassadors to an unjust world. And Peter warns us to not lose perspective and to have both patience as well as a sense of urgency, understanding that the Lord delays in His coming for the sake of sinners, but His return is imminent: 2 Peter 3:9-12 – “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” Be gratefully patient in your suffering but be ardent in your evangelism.
Proverbs 20:24 – A man’s steps are from the Lord; how then can man understand his way?
With Proverbs 20:24 in mind, consider again the story of Joseph:
- Genesis 42:6-8 — Joseph saw his brothers and quickly remembered his dreams about them — “Now Joseph was governor over the land…. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them…. And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them.”
You recall when Joseph was seventeen years old, he was chastised and mistreated by his family because of his dreams of them all bowing to the ground before him. (Genesis 37:1-11). In fact, Joseph sharing this dream with his jealous brothers was likely the impetus for his enslavement – “Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits.” (Genesis 37:19-20) No wonder Joseph sees them and instantly recounts his dreams.
Joseph was seventeen years old when he had his dreams and sometime after that, likely soon after, he was sold into slavery by his own brothers (who had almost killed him). Next, the Bible recounts, “The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man….” (Genesis 39:2) However, it wasn’t long before Joseph was thrown into prison (likely with a life sentence, and this was no white-collar prison) – “But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison” (Genesis 39:21-22) – not the resume bullet most people are hoping for. Eventually, Joseph was miraculously released from prison and immediately commissioned as governor of Egypt – not a career path to which anyone would aspire.
So, since Joseph was around 17 years old when he was sold into Egypt, and was 30 when he became governor (Genesis 41:46), and since the chief cupbearer (who had “continued for some time in custody”) had forgotten about Joseph for two years (Genesis 41:1, 9), we know that Joseph spent more than two years but less than 13 in a prison the Bible calls, “The Pit.” Since Joseph managed Egypt during its seven years of prosperity, and since his brothers came to visit him during the second year of the famine, we know that Joseph was over 39 when his brothers came to see him. No surprise they didn’t recognize him when they saw him. “And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground.” (Genesis 42:6) So, after all these years and after so many trials, the dreams that God gave Joseph had finally been realized.
God had a great plan for Joseph but a very hard path, a path neither Joseph nor anyone else could have ever imagined. As with so many others we can read about in the Bible (Moses and Job particularly comes to mind), Joseph’s journey includes incredible highs and incredible lows – rags to riches, riches to rags, rags to reward….
Some key points to take away from what we have read so far about the life of Joseph with in the context of today’s Proverbs verse –
1) Joseph’s dysfunctional family didn’t change God’s plan for him. Joseph was born into a family full of strife, hate, deception, bitterness, jealousy, favoritism, rage, and abuse. But God was preparing Joseph for God’s greater, unstoppable plan for reconciliation and redemption. Likewise, your family background doesn’t determine your future.
2) No one else could change God’s plan for Joseph. Potiphar’s wife falsely accused Joseph and had him thrown into prison. The cupbearer forgot about Joseph, but God’s plan was unchangeable. No one can change God’s plan for your life either. Don’t worry about what others did, didn’t do or might do. Simply trust in the Lord and remain faithful to Him.
3) God gave Joseph a dream rather than Joseph dreaming his own dream. It is God’s plan that prevails, not ours. Faith is not ‘name is a claim it.’ Faith is about being a part of what God is doing and trusting Him through His plan and with the victory. Never forget, it is not about you! God’s plan for Joseph wasn’t about Joseph, it was about His glory and His ultimate plan for redemption through Jesus. Joseph never knew of God’s ultimate plan, but he was a part of it through the grace of God. Joseph was blessed to be a part of what God was/is doing through unworthy people. Don’t pursue your own plans and miss what God is doing in His plan. Rejoice, trust, and live faithfully day-by-day.
4) God’s plan for Joseph included trials and suffering, and God’s plan for you will include trials and suffering. There is no comfort in the growth zone, and there is no growth in the comfort zone. Pain is God’s chisel to shape you more and more into the image of His Son, Jesus, to create in you Christ-like character.
5) Joseph demonstrated that faith can be costly. Joseph resisted Potiphar’s wife and landed in prison. Perhaps he could have given in to Potiphar’s wife and continued on to live a comfortable life as a slave in a palace. Don’t surrender to sin in order to remain a comfortable slave.
6) Joseph didn’t have a victim mentality. Joseph was no negative whiner, always making excuses, or blaming circumstances for his attitude and failures. When Joseph was thrown in prison, he ran the prison. Be joyful, thankful, and faithful with whatever God has given you. Do all things, big or small, hard or easy for God’s glory.
7) Joseph remained joyful and hopeful though he still had sorrows. The way Joseph named his children reveals that he still had sorrow over what had happen to him. Yet, he remained positive and continued to trust in God. No doubt you carry sorrows, but remain joyful, and when you feel down, rejoice – re-joice, or joy again. Focus on your many blessings and trust in God’s perfect love and fidelity – “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.” (Psalm 9:1, 2)
8) Joseph was successful because God was with him, not because of his own talents, skills, and abilities – “The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man…. The Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison…. ‘Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God? Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command.’” (Genesis 39:2, 21; Genesis 41:38-40) Your greatest asset is your fidelity to God. Above all else, guard your heart….
9) Joseph never ceased to give all glory to God, none to Himself – “Joseph answered Pharaoh, ‘It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.’” Our purpose is to enjoy God, serve God, and glorify God before mankind as we serve as His messengers of reconciliation. Never attempt to take credit and share glory with God. Our message is one of unmerited grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. There is no room for us to boast in anything. If we are pointing at ourselves, we are not pointing to Jesus. If we are telling people about ourselves, we are not telling them about Jesus. If we are representing ourselves or our interests, we are not serving as Christ’s ambassadors.
How does what you have studied today apply to your life?
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 20 August 2023: Today, declare the glory, righteousness, and faithfulness of God to as many as possible today. (Psalm 96)
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 