January 22 Readings:
Genesis 44:1-45:28; Matthew 14::13-36; Psalm 18:37-50; Proverbs 4:11-13 (NIV)
My OneThing Thought key verses for today: Genesis 45:5-8a
5 “And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.
6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping.
7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God...”
This is a well-known story in the Bible that we have heard since our early Sunday School days. Joseph has been sold into slavery and ends up in Egypt. He suffered and was abused, but now, many years later his brothers come seeking help without knowing who he really is. In these verses, Joseph is finally revealing himself to them.
As I read verses 5-8, I could not help but think of Jesus. My sins have served as abuse to Him, yet He tells me “...don't be upset and don't be angry with yourself because of the way you have treated me...It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your life...God has sent me...to keep you and your families alive and preserve many survivors.”
Later in today's reading was a passage in Psalms. Psalm 18:46-50 is a fitting response to the lesson picked up from this moment in Joseph's life and what it taught me this morning:
“The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Savior!
He is the God who avenges me,
who subdues nations under me,
who saves me from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes;
from violent men you rescued me.
Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O Lord;
I will sing praises to your name.
He gives his king great victories;
he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.”
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