Just a Few Days

Genesis 47:9 KJV

And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

When Pharaoh asked Jacob his age he said 130 and then made these remarks;

·       He had not lived as long as his fathers

·       (But he did live longer than any of us will)

·       His years, though long by modern standards, were few by his father’s standards

The Bible encourages us to number our days, to keep before us the brevity of our sojourn through life and to do so that we might apply ourselves to make the best use of every moment. There is no time for idle words or for things that profit little. Our life is a vapor that appears and vanishes. It must be well used while it is here.

The Tools of Forgiveness

Genesis 45:5 KJV

Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

Joseph displays marvelous grace in forgiving his brothers (after of course trying them to learn their character and of the true well being of his father and brother). He could forgive his brethren for the terrible thing they had done first because he saw it as an act of God not of them and second because he recognized the valuable purpose of it.

The best tools to overcome bitterness and practice heartfelt forgiveness are these:

See all things as acts of God

Even Satan's attacks on Job are also acts of God. I am not saying we should accuse God. He has done nothing but good. I am saying we should see the hand of God.

See the purpose in every event

Likely you won't be promoted from slave to governor or save an entire nation as a result of some trial you face but every event has purpose and for the Christian it is a good one. Find that purpose and focus on it.

If you have done these you have no need to be angry or bitter towards anyone.

Not In Man

Genesis 41:16 KJV

And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.

When Pharaoh first approached Joseph about his dream he said "thou canst". He placed the credit upon Joseph. Joseph immediately set the record straight. "It is not in me". Now, Pharaoh must have known that. How could it be in a man to understand another man's dreams? There was no school that could teach it (though some psychiatric systems attempt today). It was not an inherited skill. In those days even wise men were thought to have magical or supernatural powers by being possessed of a spirit or god. Pharaoh innately knew it was not in Joseph to interpret the dream but placed the ability upon him anyway.

It is our nature that, though we know the Bible places all the burden and ability for ministry upon Christ, to slip into the mindset that it is in man.

·       Some are born with natural abilities

·       Some inherit them being in a preacher's family

·       Some acquire them at one of the best colleges

Or so we begin to believe. But that is not what the Bible teaches. Ministry is not in man. It is in Christ. As we surrender control of our lives to Him He performs ministry through us. We can plant and we can water but it must be God who gives the increase or else it is wood hay and stubble.

Joseph could have made up his own interpretation and, given his record, been believed. But it would have helped no one and in the end been discovered as a fraud. Only God could reveal the meaning that God intended it to have. Only God could foretell their future and only God could have so moved Joseph that he had a plan regarding that future.

It is not in man but God. 

Be a Blessing to Everyone

Genesis 39:5 KJV

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.

Joseph had been sold by his brothers, carted off to Egypt and bought by Potiphar. He had every reason to be depressed despondent and downright bitter. Who would have blamed him if he had determined that his role was to make the life of a slave owner miserable? He could not change his circumstances but he, he might have reasoned, could help generations to come by setting an example and refusing to work as a slave.

Joseph took a different tact and it was one blessed by God. He chose instead to be a model slave. He chose to be honest, to work well and to help his master prosper. It is here that the Bible says God blessed his master's house for Joseph's sake.

My question is, could the same thing be said of us? Would we even want God to bless a person, a people or a purpose we view as enemies, let alone that He do it on our account? God blessed Nineveh for Jonah's sake but Jonah wasn't happy about it.

We are our best testimony when we are a blessing to everyone and leave vengeance and retribution in the hands of the Lord.

Observe the Truth

Genesis 37:11 KJV

And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

Though Jacob was at first upset about Joseph's dream and rebuked him for it there is a fundamental difference between Jacob's reaction and the brethren; Jacob got over it and the others did not. Jacob came to his senses and observed Joseph's dreams. His brothers held on and envied him for them. Jacob recalled his dreams and watched to see what God would do. The brethren remembered and challenged the dreams with a "let's see what happens now" attitude after throwing him in the pit.

The sin nature resides in all of us and very often shows itself in an immediate repulsing of biblical truth. But the sin nature does not have to win over that truth. We can, though at first rejecting, repent and come to observe the truth of God's Word. The outcome of that will be a victory for the spirit over our flesh.