CELEBRATING the ‘END RESULT’ that God has PLANNED for US!
January
15 Bible Reading: Genesis Chapters 43-45
CELEBRATING the ‘END RESULT’ that God has PLANNED for US!
Then they went up out of Egypt, and came to
the land of Canaan to Jacob their father. And they told him, saying,
"Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of
Egypt." And Jacob's heart stood still, because he did not believe them.
But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them, and when he
saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their
father revived. Then Israel said, "It is enough. Joseph my son is still
alive. I will go and see him before I die." (Gen 45:25-28)
About three
years ago, the sons of Jacob had brought the blood stained multi-colored tunic
of Joseph to their father while acting innocent of any wrong doing. At that
time, Jacob had jumped into the conclusion that his beloved son Joseph was dead
being torn into pieces by a wild beast (Gen. 37:31-33). Out of grief, Jacob
tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist and mourned for his son for many
days (v. 34). During that time, he refused
to be comforted by anyone, and was convinced that he will go into the grave
with his son in mourning (v. 35).
Now the same
sons had returned with very different news for their father: Joseph was alive in Egypt, and not only
that, he was the governor over all the
land of Egypt as well. Jacob was stunned and his heart “stood still” - he almost
died of shock. But he soon revived
when he saw the carts that Joseph had sent to carry him. Jacob is now called
Israel in verse 28, as he has got his vigor renewed, and could now see his
favorite son, whom he had believed to be dead.
Though he
was old and the journey would be arduous, Israel made a decision to go to Egypt
and see his beloved son Joseph before his death. This decision actually shaped
the destiny of the nation Israel. As Kline analyzed, the nation of Israel “was destined to emerge in a land not theirs,
their return to Canaan requiring God’s mighty acts in Exodus and conquest that
stamped on Israel’s possession of the kingdom, the character of a sovereign
grant from a divine Savior”.
Israel had now started to celebrate
the end-result that God had planned for Him. During the last many years, he was weeping and
mourning for his son whom he had believed to be dead. Little did he know that
God was planning something better for
him than what he could ever imagine! Surely, the end justified the means that God used to save Israel and his
family from death and annihilation (Gen. 45:7-8).
When things
happen in our lives that we do not anticipate, we should spend some time
reflecting the events in our lives from a theological
point of view. This means that we should look backward from time to time to
see how God has worked in our lives. God’s ways and thoughts about us are much higher than our thoughts, ways and
expectations about our lives. Let us understand that God has planned something better for us than we can even imagine,
and look forward to the day when we too can celebrate the end-result that God
has planned for our lives!
