For God’s Purpose

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King James Bible Study[Mark 8:34  And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]

Date: Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Chapters: Genesis 37-39
Message: For God’s Purpose

Hello My Friend,

As I am reading these chapters for today, and even when I was praying I was thinking about the decisions we make as Christians, and they are no always wise and yet God somehow manages to use them for a purpose. Two years ago would I have ever thought that I would meet a guy who would turn my world as a Christian upside down? Yet God used that experience to shape me and even this morning I said that He used it all to prepare me for what He has for me today. Do we enjoy these crazy situations that we get into (and I am not talking about sin)? Not one bit. Do we understand them all? Sometimes, but most of the time, no. Do we learn from them? Absolutely, even if it was God telling us, “I told you not to go there.”. And yet, He does not yell at us, He just calmly lets us know that we did not make the wisest decision, but loves us anyway, [Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, – 2 Timothy 1:8-9]

As we continue in the reading of Genesis, we learn that not all of Jacob’s sons lived godly, in fact, they were quite devilish. We learn this through Joseph, the first son that Jacob had with his beloved Rachel, who Jacob would send to check up on them and he would tell him about the things they were doing.

[And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. – Genesis 37:1-5]

[and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.] Jacob favored Joseph more than his brothers, mainly because he was up in age when Rachel had him, but he also stayed out of trouble. His brothers knew that he favored them, which made them envious of him, and to make matters worse he would tell them about these crazy dreams that he would have. I really do not think Jacob loved them any less, but all they saw was that their brother was this goody goody who told their father every bad thing they did. Well, Jacob sends Joseph once again to check up on his brothers, but some of them actually thought about killing him.

[And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks. And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. – Genesis 37:12-19]

[they conspired against him to slay him.] Do you see how they called him, “the dreamer”? They really had no clue that they were playing a part in that dream coming true. However, one of the brothers, Reuben, stepped up and came up with a plan so that he would not be killed.

[And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt. And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard. – Genesis 37:21,24-28,36]

[And they sat down to eat bread:] Reuben’s intention was to actually go back for him after his brother’s left, but again, God had bigger dreams for Joseph. These fools, sitting there eating, just watching and waiting to see what would come of Joseph only to see a caravan heading to Egypt. Let me tell you, the longer I walk with Christ the more I discover that He protects my every step, even when I make a wrong turn a time or two, [My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. – James 1:2-4,12]

Now, with Joseph sold to the Egyptians as a slave to the captain of the guard to the king of Egypt, and Jacob mourning what he thought was the death of his son, Judah separated himself from his brothers, moved further into Canaan, where met a man named, Hirah, by whom he became friends with and he was not the best influence on him. Judah then meets a woman named, Shuah, by whom he had three son with.

[And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her. And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er. And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan. And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him. And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar. And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him. Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house. And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah’s wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.Genesis 38:1-7,11-12]

[was wicked in the sight of the LORD;] Now, we do not know what Er did that angered God so much that He killed him on the spot, but it must have been pretty bad. And the second son, Shelah, well, he angered God as well and He killed him on the spot. It was a custom, and still is with many Jews, that the first son be married first, if he dies before the next eldest is married, then she becomes his wife, and the first born son would be recognized as the son of their first son. Now, that left Shuah who was not old enough to get married yet, so Tamar ended up going back home to her parents house as a widow and stayed there until Shuah was of age, only that never happened. Judah forgot about the arrangement, and did not realize it until his wife died. And there he was, Hirah, talking Judah into seeking comfort through a woman. Judah thought that he was meeting up with a prostitute only it was not, it was his daughter-in-law in disguise, and she ended up getting pregnant.

[And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt. When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff. And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more. And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez. – Genesis 38:24-17,29]

[therefore his name was called Pharez.] This would be the son that Jesus would descend through in the flesh centuries later. Judah did not know it, but God would use this bizarre situation to preserve his seed in not only bringing David, the apple of God’s eye, into the world, but His very own begotten Son also, [The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. – Matthew 1:1-6,16]

My goodness, it does not matter if we are under grace or the Law, and they did not even have the Law yet, God’s faithful can definitely make some wrong decisions which God will use for good. Now, if there is anyone in the Bible who can teach us about purpose and how God works all things working together for good, it is Joseph. It turns out that being sold as a slave was not such a bad thing when you are the captain of the guard.

[And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither. And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. – Genesis 39:1-5]

[And his master saw that the LORD was with him,] Potiphar knew that God was with Joseph, in fact, that was the incentive that, even though he was a slave, Potiphar would have him run the entire estate. Well, someone else was taken by Joseph, Potiphar’s wife, and she had been watching him for quite some time, becoming infatuated with him. One day, when Joseph entered into Potiphar’s house to fulfill his normal duties, Potiphar’s wife confronted him.

[And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her. And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within. And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out. – Genesis 39:7-12]

[and sin against God?] Joseph refused to submit to her, he was not about to sleep with his bosses wife, who had been very good to him, more important he was not about to sin against God. As Christians, we learn morals as we walk with Christ, and even if we know we could get away with something we know that God would know and that keeps us from doing it, [What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. – Romans 6:15-1622]

One of the most liberating things we will ever do is serving God, and it does not matter where we are. Now, when Joseph refused Potiphar’s wife, she spitefully had him put in jail.

[And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home. And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me: And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out. And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled. And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. – Genesis 39:16-21]

[until his lord came home.] I can just imagine her coming up with this ridiculous story and sitting there all day waiting for Potiphar to show up and running up to him, telling him that lie. She thought that she had the last laugh, but in the end, Joseph was actually where he needed to be at that time. Through every trial that we escape we live to tell how God kept things from getting worse. And through every trial we face, we live to tell how He used that situation to see us through. And through every trial that we endure with God, we are stronger, wiser, and more equipped to handle the next. Every faithful, saved, born again Christian will face trials that may or may not be brought on by our own doing or just what is God’s will for us, but each one is used for His purpose and makes us more than able to handle the next situation, it makes us testimonies of what Christ has done through us, [Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. – 1 Peter 4:12-13]

Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for giving me life, and the life You have given me, I know I have made some bad decisions in the past that caused me to be in situations that we not ideal, but You still had a plan and a purpose for me, and used my situation for good when I chose to dedicate my life to You. I have had my ups and downs, and I know I will have more, but I know every fiery trial will all work together for good and for Your glory. I pray this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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