Good day. And what a day it is. Friday the 13th. And a full moon. I’m told by someone at Farmer’s Almanac.com that it’s been 20 years since this has happened and that it won’t happen again until 2049. (Who studies this stuff? I bet they’re real fun at parties, huh?) Anyhoo, I’m rather fond of Friday the 13th’s because my Margie was born on one, pretty rare right? So, watch out today as apparently this would be the one day you’re likely to see Jason Vorhees fight a werewolf. I’m of course joking, but if Hollywood is listening that would be a great movie.
Well, folks here we are, another milestone. Today we look at Genesis chapter 50, the very last chapter in Genesis. If you factor in word count, Genesis is the second longest book in the Bible at 32,046 words, right behind the longest, Jeremiah, at 33,002 words. The study of Genesis has, as all books in God’s Words have done, changed me. We have seen some amazing events and some even more amazing people here in Genesis. In fact, the things we’ve seen in this 50 chapters boggles the mind. The creation of the world, the introduction of sin, sacrifice and murder, the flood and the scattering of Babel. We saw monumental men and women of God like, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Joseph. We saw faith that soared, and we saw sin that sunk. What an amazing book. By the way, if you missed any of the 50 Genesis studies, they are all archived for your use, anytime, anywhere. Just go to The5MC.com and click on the Genesis tab and every study is there. The 5MC has been funded by readers like you and it is completely free with no ads whatsoever. Please use it and enjoy it!
Today as we finish out Genesis, it ends with a bang and quite the dramatic moment, the death of Joseph. We saw the death of his father Jacob yesterday in chapter 49 and today the Pharaoh loses his right hand man, Joseph. And it’s here in the processing of this story that we will find our lesson for the day.
For the last few decades, Joseph, his father and all 11 of his brothers have been peacefully existing in Goshen, a little flourishing suburb of downtown Egypt. A big happy Brady Bunch living life together in the shadows of the Pyramids. But after their father, Jacob dies, there’s the slightest little rift in the brotherly ranks. You see the fact that the brothers left Joseph for dead over 93 years ago is something they just cannot let go. In fact, I wrote on this as the study of Genesis 42, that is, not being able to let go of past sins. It was titled, “Unconfessed Sin=Guilt that will Torment.” A great study and a harsh reality of life. Sins in our life that are not confessed and given to God will surface in the future and hound us like a good hunting dog on the trail of river coon. Nipping at our heels until we relent and head up the nearest tree in defeat. This is exactly what Joseph’s brothers are experiencing after the death of their father Jacob. You see it was a custom of the day to keep the peace until the patriarch passed. After that it was time for vengeance. You’ll see a ton of this in the books of Judges, Kings and Samuel as kings pass away and their sons take vengeance upon their enemies. Basically, now that dad is gone, I can do what I want. Since Jacob is now gone, the brothers fear that their past sins will now come home to roost. Will Joseph imprison them or even worse, kill them?
In an effort to save their own hides the brothers have a safety net. They had gone to their dad before he died and had him write a message to Joseph asking that he spare his mean ol’ brothers lives. As Joseph reads this note, we get one of the most powerful and emotional moments in Genesis. And as a result, a verse that we can live our lives by.
“So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: 17 ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” (Gen 50:16-20a)
Wow. What you meant as evil, God meant for good. What a tremendous life message we have before us in this text. Friends, God has a distant purpose for everything that we just cannot see. No matter how we squint, beg, pray and pout, we just cannot see what God has planned for us down the road. His good is right around the corner. Let me expound.
Marge and I had been married about 5 years when my job moved us from Wichita Falls, Texas to San Angelo, Texas. San Angelo sits on the cusp of West Texas and it is the beginning of the desert climate region. Land is defined by its weather and this was a land that we had never seen. Large expanses of dry, flat, arid pasture filled with nothing but cactus, mesquite and scrub. It seems that God destined these few plants to rule the land as they were the only ones He allowed to survive. My job there had me travelling a few hundred miles in every direction and if you’ve ever driven West Texas, you know the definition of flat and open it brings. I’ll never forget a stretch of road, FM 208, heading north from San Angelo to Snyder. As you would crest this one particular hill, you would see a stretch of road before you that went on for 21 miles. (I clocked it one day) And you could see every inch of it. No turns, no deviations, no hills. Perfectly straight, perfectly flat, perfectly visible. I used to joke that you could grab a bungee cord and lash your steering wheel straight and then take a nap. When the journey is this straight you can just go to auto pilot. You see, this is the way we want our lives to be. The future clearly spread out before us. All events, obstacles and troubles, easy to see as we approach them. No surprises.
But then we moved to Maui and we first experienced what was called the “road to Hana.” We lived on the West coast of Maui and on the complete opposite side of the island sat Hana. A tiny little seaside village comprised of a whopping 1260 people. But if you chose to drive over to Hana, the city itself was not the reward, the drive was. In this instance the saying was indeed true, its not the destination but the journey. You see, one of the (if not the best) drives in the world, is the road to Hana. It hugs the cliffs of Maui like a clip on bear, the road seeming to levitate above the cobalt waters of the South Pacific. But because of the mountainous island landscape it follows, it’s very curvy. And narrow. And folks, these are an understatement. Over 620 curves and 59 bridges, with most of the bridges being single lane. As you drive the road to Hana you have to prepare, physically and mentally. You see the drive is hard. You can’t see 100 yards in front of you at most times and most of those times you find yourself creeping around a blind hairpin hoping there’s not a car creeping towards you on the other side. The first time I drove it, I felt like I had just taken the SAT while running a marathon. Being constantly prepared for the unknown left me physically exhausted and mentally bankrupt. I was far from the wide open stretches of West Texas highway, but I was much closer to seeing what life really looks like.
You see, we can’t see ahead but God can. We only have a view of the twisty road to Hana, but He can see the wide open expanses of a West Texas highway. We only see danger and the unknown and as a result we react with fear and anxiety. But God sees it all. How you process what you see versus what God sees, will result in the quality of your life. Release the fear, the frustration and the anxiety of not seeing your future and rest assured that God can see it all. He is gazing down that long stretch of road before you, the heat mirage dancing off the hot surface, He can see it all. Your entire future, the good, the bad, the peaks, the valleys the high and the lows. But folks, you can rest assured. No matter what the road looks like to you today, God means it for good.
“You intended me harm, but God meant it for good”
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
Today as you cruise through life, regardless of the highway that you are on, rest assured that God’s view is much different than yours…and He sees good.
