A Time of Testing & Surety

1/10/2008 9:48 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                 Focus:  A Time of testing, Surety

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Genesis 42:15-16; 18-20

            Message of the verses:  “15  by this you will be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here!  16  "Send one of you that he may get your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. But if not, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.”  18  Now Joseph said to them on the third day, "Do this and live, for I fear God:

19  if you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in your prison; but as for the rest of you, go, carry grain for the famine of your households, 20  and bring your youngest brother to me, so your words may be verified, and you will not die." And they did so.”

            I have always wondered why Joseph changed his mind about just sending one brother back to get Benjamin and then keeping one there while the rest went back to get Benjamin.  Dr. Wiersbe points out that it would be much safer if nine men went back, and after all they had many sacks of grain to take with them so it would be easier if more went back.  It could be that this was part of Joseph’s test.  I have stated before that it was God who was leading Joseph to do the things he was doing, for it was all part of God’s plan for the benefit of all humanity. 

            There was a couple of hints that probably later on the brothers could have looked back and figured that this person knew a lot about their family.  For one thing the brothers could have brought back any one in place of Benjamin and this person would not have know the difference, and also this person was asking a lot of questions about their family. 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I truly believed that Joseph was praying to God about all the things that were happening even before they began to happen, for God to led him to do the right thing, and so it is with my life as things unfold throughout my life God is the one who is guiding my life even though there are things that seem like that are just happening.  For all of this I am thankful to God that He is the One who is in control of all things in this world and in my life.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  There are still some hunger pains going on with my fast, and so I continually seek the Lord to keep me on this fast as long as He wants me to be on it and to please rid me of these hunger pains.