Missionary Renegade: The Daily Guide-The Daily Devotional grow. pray. study. for Tuesday, 3 November 2015

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

The Daily Guide-The Daily Devotional grow. pray. study. for Tuesday, 3 November 2015 - "Joseph and his brothers met again"

The Daily Guide-The Daily Devotional grow. pray. study. for Tuesday, 3 November 2015 - "Joseph and his brothers met again"
Daily Scripture: Genesis 42:1
Now Ya‘akov saw that there was grain in Egypt; so Ya‘akov said to his sons, “Why are you staring at each other? 2 Look,” he said, “I’ve heard that there’s grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us from there, so that we can stay alive and not die!” 3 Thus Yosef’s ten brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt, 4 except for Binyamin, Yosef’s brother. Ya‘akov did not send him with his brothers, because he was afraid something might happen to him.

5 The sons of Isra’el came to buy along with the others that came, since the famine extended to the land of Kena‘an. 6 Yosef was governor over the land; it was he who sold to all the people of the land. Now when Yosef’s brothers came and prostrated themselves before him on the ground, 7 Yosef saw his brothers and recognized them; but he acted toward them as if he were a stranger and spoke harshly with them. He asked them, “Where are you from?” They answered, “From the land of Kena‘an to buy food.” 8 So Yosef recognized his brothers, but they didn’t recognize him.

9 Remembering the dreams he had had about them, Yosef said to them, “You are spies! You’ve come to spot our country’s weaknesses!” 10 “No, my lord,” they replied, “your servants have come to buy food. 11 We’re all the sons of one man, we’re upright men; your servants aren’t spies.” 12 “No,” he said to them, “you’ve come to spy out our country’s weaknesses.” 13 They said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Kena‘an; the youngest stayed with our father, and another one is gone.” 14 “Just as I said,” replied Yosef, “you’re spies! 15 Here’s how you can prove you’re not lying: as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave here unless your youngest brother comes here.

43:1
But the famine was severe in the land; 2 so when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.” 3 Y’hudah said to him, “The man expressly warned us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food; 5 but if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’” 6 Isra’el said, “Why did you bring such trouble my way by telling the man you had another brother?” 7 They answered, “The man kept questioning us about ourselves and about our kinsmen. He asked, ‘Is your father still alive?’ ‘Do you have another brother?’ and we answered according to the literal meaning of his questions. How were we to know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”

8 Y’hudah said to Isra’el his father, “Send the boy with me; and we will make preparations and leave; so that we may stay alive and not die, both we and you, and also our little ones. 9 I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me responsible. If I fail to bring him to you and present him to your face, let me bear the blame forever.

29 He looked up and saw Binyamin his brother, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” and added, “May God be good to you, my son.”

(vii) 30 Then Yosef hurried out, because his feelings toward his brother were so strong that he wanted to cry; he went into his bedroom and there he wept.

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Reflection Questions:
Jump ahead many years. Facing a famine, Jacob sent his sons (all but Benjamin, Rachel’s other son) to Egypt for food. Over time, Joseph had thrived in Egypt (the story is in Genesis 39-41), and ran the famine relief plan. His brothers didn’t know him, and bowed to him. (Remember his dreams?) But Joseph recognized them.

Now imagine yourself in Joseph’s place. In all Egypt, only Pharaoh had more power than he did. What might Joseph have done when he saw his brothers coming before him? On a spectrum from “most vengeful” to “most generous,” where would you put his response? How would you have responded in his position?
God had been at work on both sides of this story. Judah, who’d helped sell his brother Joseph, now pledged to protect Benjamin at all costs. And Joseph, despite his tough initial questions, could hardly keep his composure when he saw his youngest brother. When have you seen God gradually change angry, hate-filled feelings into caring and love despite the strains of life?

Today’s Prayer:
Lord God, St. Francis of Assisi prayed, “Where there is hatred, let me sow love.” Grow me into the kind of person who treats others in the same reconciling spirit with which you treat me. Amen.
---------------------Insights from Courtney Felzke

Courtney Felzke is Pastor of Silver Link. Resurrection’s Silver Link Ministry serves senior adults who become unable to fully engage in the life of the church, including those who are physically frail or suffering from dementia. Courtney seeks to maintain a connection with all such Resurrection participants through pastoral care and worship.
In reading today’s GPS, particularly the second bullet point, and in listening to Rev. Forbes’ message last weekend, what comes to my mind is the thought that God is always with us, working in and through our lives. Rev. Forbes gave several examples of how God has been at work in human lives since the beginning of time and continues to be at work in our lives today. I love the phrases he used, “The hand of God was there and the hand of God is here.” God is at works at all times in our lives.
I’ve seen Gods hand at work countless times in my own life. I’ve been faced with some really difficult situations where I’ve felt great anger toward another person. It’s amazing to me to see, how over time, my anger and hatred slowly turns into grace and forgiveness. Believe me when I say this extension of grace and forgiveness didn’t happen overnight. On one particular occasion it took years before I was able to extend love and grace. But as I look back at this situation and many others, the key to my change of heart was God. It was through giving God my problems, my anger, my jealousy, my hatred that I was then able to have a change of heart.
Let us remember, myself included, to daily give our lives, our problems, our anger to God. And watch God’s amazing and mighty hand at work.
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