Get ready to start a journey…a journey through the pages of the Bible and the pages of your life.
The Book of Psalms has served as the worship and prayer guide for the nation of Israel as well as for believers today. We’ll take lessons from Genesis, echoed in the Psalms, to purposefully drive these key truths deep within our lives, ensuring that this knowledge moves from our minds to our hearts.
This brings us to the final chapter of the first book of the Bible. Thank you for joining me on this journey. I believe that to truly understand the Bible, one must know Genesis. Today, I will focus on the interaction between Joseph and his brothers in Genesis 50. And next time, I’ll provide an overview of what we’ve learned throughout this study. Then, we will review by reading selected psalms related to events in Genesis.
What we do today impacts tomorrow. Our actions influence those around us, particularly our children and grandchildren. No one lives within themselves. Our lives and legacies, for better or worse, extend to future generations.
When God makes a promise, he keeps it. The results come in his timing and way, but God always does what he says he will do. In today’s passage, Jacob repeated God’s promises as the patriarch blessed Joseph’s sons. Let’s work our way through Genesis 47-48.
The Christian life is a life of faith. I get that. I also know that Hebrews 11, the chapter in the Bible that shows what genuine faith looks like, lists eight people we’ve followed in Genesis. Through these individuals, we’ve learned that faith is not blind. God shows up repeatedly to confirm who he is and where he is taking us. We’ve seen this throughout our study and will again in today’s passage.
God is always at work. Sometimes, he works in the sunlight. Other times, he works in the shadows. He is continuously writing his story in our lives. Some chapters of our story are painful, and as we will see today in Genesis 45, God is actively present during those challenging times.
The study of Genesis begins with God. God created all things, including his crowning creation of man. I just read about scientists discovering what they called the “watery past” of Mars. They theorize that a rock broke off from Mars and landed on Earth, producing the first forms of life. Humanity is always trying to write God out of the story, but Genesis teaches us that he is writing the story! Sometimes, he works in the sunlight, sometimes in the shadows, but he is always at work. And he is writing his story through you.
Last time we learned that a widespread famine had swept the land, Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy grain. When the brothers arrived, they bowed before the governor, not realizing it was Joseph, the brother they had sold into slavery two decades before. He accused them of being spies. (Gen. 42:14-15). This is the first of two critical tests. The next one occurs in Genesis 44. So, why did Joseph consider it necessary to test his brothers? Hold that question, and I will answer it next time.
There are some meetings you never expect to have—a person from your past that you haven’t seen for years, an old friend with whom you lost touch, a partner whose relationship with you ended poorly, a person who hurt you, and the hurt still lingers. Today’s passage shows how God orchestrates a surprise meeting behind the scenes. Let’s consider Genesis 42.
Two theological truths echo throughout the story of Genesis: The Person of God and how he works in our lives. God is sovereign over all. In Genesis 1, he spoke the world into existence. In Genesis 41, he is behind the scenes, giving dreams to the king and Joseph the ability to interpret them. So, it is in our lives. Sometimes, we see God working directly, sometimes indirectly, but all the time, he works out his plan according to his will and timing. As the song says, he never stops working.
Still reeling from his brothers’ betrayal and alone in a foreign land, God was blessing Joseph’s endeavors while he served in Potiphar’s house. Then, the whole ordeal with Potiphar’s wife took place. She accused him of sexual assault, so Joseph was sent to prison. Think of it—Joseph was in jail because of his obedience to God!
Two threads of theological truth run throughout the book of Genesis. One thread is the awe-inspiring Person of God. In Genesis, God speaks the universe into existence and breathes life into man. When Satan led Adam and Eve into rebellion, God promised to send One to crush Satan’s head (Gen. 3:15) and chose a people through whom to send the Savior. Genesis continually points us to the cross as God’s unbreakable covenant is passed on from generation to generation. God always keeps his promises.