The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is studying God's providence or divine providence in the lives of David and Joseph and how we can apply His providence in their lives to our lives today.
The providence of God is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. Divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. He is sovereign over the universe. He is in control of the physical world. He is in control of the affairs of nations. He is in control of human destiny. He is in control of human successes and failures. He protects His people.
Last week, in we saw evidence of God's favor toward Joseph although a lot of time had passed. Joseph was still in prison. when Pharoah's cupbearer finally remembered Joseph and his ability to hear God through the interpretation of dreams.
God taught Joseph and taught us;
1. During the waiting period, trust God without panic. Be faithful during the waiting periods of life. God will not forget you or forsake you.
2. When the reward comes, thank God without pride. Only God can bring you through and out of the tough times. Only God can reward you for your faithfulness. Be grateful, not proud.
This week in Session 28 we look at how we should respond when we are rewarded for righteousness. We will learn that lengthy afflictions need not discourage us, bad memories need not defeat us, and great blessings need not disqualify us from service.
For our study we are using Great Lives: David: A Man of Passion and Destiny, and Joseph: A Man of Integrity and Forgiveness by Charles R. Swindoll. To study along with us you can purchase the books by clicking the Links here or the images after the notes.
The providence of God or divine providence is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. Divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. He is sovereign over the universe, He is in control of the physical world, He is in control of the affairs of nations, He’s in control of human destiny, He’s in control of human successes and failures, He protects His people. Through divine providence God accomplishes His will.
Time is a part of our lives. It’s inescapable. That is what Solomon was talking about when he wrote, “For everything there is a
season, a time for every activity under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 NLT).
We find two important words in this verse: “season” and “time.” The Hebrew word for “season” refers to a fixed, definite portion of time, while the word for “time” refers to a beginning or a starting period.
When we put those words together, we see that Solomon is telling us that God has appointed everything that comes into our lives for a specific purpose. God knows just when to bring things in, and He knows how long they should last.
The things we experience are not random events that float in and out of our lives. Rather, they are specific events that God has chosen, and they are timely and purposeful. This includes the good times that we experience and the bad times we experience.
And in retrospect, we’ll see that many of the bad times will turn out to be good times. That’s because it is through those so-called bad times that we learn some of life’s most important lessons.
We also will recognize that we’re not in charge of our lives. God is. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we come under His protective care. This means God is fully aware of everything that happens to us.
God is always paying careful attention to the smallest detail of our lives and is in complete control of all circumstances. There’s a season for everything. We’re not victims of fate or dumb luck. God is guiding and directing our steps
Last week in our session we talked about the fact that after being completely forgotten and still in prison he was finally remembered. The chief butler told Pharoah, who had two very disturbing dreams, which his wise men couldn’t interpret, that he knew someone who could interpret his dream because he a accurately interpreted a dream for him.
Not only did Joseph interpret Pharoh's dream but because he had during the time that he was a slave and then falsely imprisoned developed and grown his God given administrative and management abilities and skills, he advised Pharoah as to how to handle the things that God told him he was going to do in prospering Egypt and then plunging them into a deep famine.
Genesis 39:4-6, 20-23 NIV Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
Genesis 41:25-36 NIV Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine. “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon. “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”
Pharaoh said I think we have found the right man so he promoted him to second only to him in Egypt.
Genesis 41:37-40 NIV The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”
Joseph’s Cinderella-like promotion was incredible. But when God determines the time is right, that’s the way He operates. Joseph has been appointed, chosen, selected, prepared, and refined into gold by Almighty God.
In today’s session we will talk about Joseph finally reaping the rewards of his trust of God and how we look at and respond to people who God has blessed tremendously. Also, we will look at how a person who has faced undeserved difficulties should respond to show that they trusted God in those difficulties.
Let’s first look at another person who faced underserved difficulties and leaned on his relationship with God and the support of of other Christians.
Philippians 4:10-14 NIV I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.
Let’s look at how we, Christians respond to people when they are down and then when they are super blessed.
It is easier for us to support people when they are down, perhaps because that’s easy. When we see that they are blessed we find it tougher to support them because we may be jealous.
There seems to be something more spiritual about the hurting, weeping days and something almost carnal about the prosperous days.
Picture him first when he was in the throes of suffering, rejected by his family, sold into slavery, and falsely imprisoned. I’ll guarantee you; his name would be on the church’s prayer list. We care about those who are booted out of their homes. Wecare about those who are mistreated and find themselves in great pain. We are concerned about them. We intercede for them. We often reach out to help them. Yes, Joseph's name would have occupied the top of any prayer list.
Joseph suddenly became powerful and prosperous. Pharaoh promoted Joseph to a very powerful position and with it came tremendous power.
Genesis 41:41-43 NIV So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and people shouted before him, “Make way!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.
I want to remind us that this whole idea of promotion was Pharoh’s and Joseph had nothing to do with it. He did not ask for the job.
Let’s reflect on our response to someone being promoted. Especially someone we know well. We may have worked together on projects we may even think our skills are better would we ask questions like; “How did he get there? What did he have to do to get this kind of influence and power? Who does he think he is, wanting us to listen to him?”
We often really have a problem when that person is a young person. Joseph was about 30 when he was promoted. The Bible gives us examples of other young people being promoted, through God’s providence.
We forget, or don’t consider what someone has gone through before promotion. Joseph had been thrown in a cave, sold as a slave, falsely accused and imprisoned, then forgotten. He had led a very hard life. Yet he never complained, and he worked on improving himself and his skills.
David was not even twenty when he was anointed king by Samuel
1 Samuel 16:10-13 NIV Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.
1 Samuel 17:33 NIV Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
The term Saul used here to describe David’s age is broad and can refer to anything from an infant to an adolescent. David was a teenager, 16–19 years old. The fact that David was not yet serving in the army tells us he was under twenty.
Numbers 1:3 NIV You and Aaron are to count according to their divisions all the men in Israel who are twenty years old or more and able to serve in the army.
and only thirty when he took office.
2 Samuel 5:4-5 NIV David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
When King Nebuchadnezzar picked Daniel to be one of the top men in his court, Daniel was only a teenager.
Daniel 1:3-6 NIV Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service. Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.
Daniel 1:18-20 NIV At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.
Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign as king
2 Chronicles 34:1-2 NIV Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.
The Virgin Mary was still in her teen years when she bore the Christ child.
Matthew 1:18 NIV This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
In this passage of Scripture, we are not told Mary’s age, yet we are told she was a virgin and was pledged to be married to Joseph. During this time in history, Jewish girls would have been betrothed (engaged) to their husbands as early as the age of 12-years-old. Scholars believe Mary would have been somewhere between 12-16 years old when she had Jesus
So, Joseph was still a young man, and he is a model of how we should handle the rewards or righteousness. Make no mistake Joseph was rewarded for maintaining his integrity despite all he had gone through.
Joseph was humbled by his promotion and the evidence of God’s favor and so should we when we are promoted because it’s not us being so great it’s God’s favor on us.
As we said last week When the reward comes, thank God without pride. Only God can bring you through and out of the dungeon. Only God can reward you for your faithfulness. So, be grateful, not proud. Remember, with humility, that it is God who has put you there.
Joseph showed his humility by the names of his sons. After Pharaoh promoted Joseph, he changed his name and gave him a wife
Genesis 41:45 NIV Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt.
Joseph named. his sons Manasseh and Ephraim.
Genesis 41:50-52 NIV Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” The second son he named Ephraim and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”
The names are significant because in the meaning of the names Joseph gives God all the credit for him being in the position that he is in after all the unfortunate things that have happened to him He takes no credit he gives all the credit to God.
In naming his sons as he did, Joseph proclaimed openly that God had made him forget all his troubles, even those in his father’s household. Beyond that, God had made him fruitful in a land and in circumstances that had brought him nothing but trouble.
By naming his first son Manasseh, Joseph was saying, “God has made me forget.”, all the bad stuff. By naming his second son, Ephraim, he was saying, “God has blessed me beyond measure in a place that once seemed to bring only suffering.”
He is giving God all the credit. God has taken away the weight of all the bad stuff and replaced it with joy. God made him forget the pain, the anguish of what had happened. We know the memories are still there, because later he talks about them with his brothers.
Genesis 50:15-21 NIV When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept. His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said. But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
But God made him get beyond the initial hurt of the memory. We’ve talked about this when we have talked about forgiveness and whether we can ever forget what someone did to us. I say that you can forgive, still remember, not let that stop you from forgiving.
Matthew 6:14-15 NIV For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Refusing to forgive is a sin. If we receive forgiveness from God, we must give it to others who hurt us. We cannot hold grudges or seek revenge. We are to trust God for justice and forgive the person who offended us. That does not mean we must forget the offense, however; usually, that's beyond our power. Forgiveness means releasing the other from blame, leaving the event in God's hands, and moving on.
We may resume a relationship with the person if we had one, or we may not if one did not exist before. Certainly, the victim of a crime has no obligation to become friends with the criminal. We leave it to the courts and to God to judge them.
Nothing compares to the freedom we feel when we learn to forgive others. When we choose not to forgive, we become slaves to bitterness. We are the ones most hurt by holding on to unforgiveness.
"When you release the wrongdoer from the wrong, you cut a malignant tumor out of your inner life. You set a prisoner free, but you discover that the real prisoner was yourself."
Joseph’s promotion meant that he was super blessed materially. He was rich and he actually controlled everything in Egypt. Here’s the point Joseph was now in a position to hoard his blessing or to share the abundance.
Genesis 41:53-57 NIV The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.” When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt. And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.
We have been blessed beyond measure in fact Jesus said He came to give us abundance.
John 10:10 NIV The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
God is not overly concerned with the physical circumstances of our lives. He assures us that we need not worry about what we will eat or wear. Physical blessings may or may not be part of a God-centered life; neither our wealth nor our poverty is a sure indication of our standing with God.
Although we are naturally desirous of material things, as Christians our perspective on life must be revolutionized so must our understanding of “abundance” be transformed. True abundant life consists of an abundance of love, joy, peace, and the rest of the fruits of the Spirit not an abundance of “stuff.” This is what we should share as Joseph shared the abundance of Egypt.
Three other things we learn from Joseph that we can apply to our lives.
First, lengthy afflictions need not discourage us. Remember from the time that Joseph was seventeen until his promotion at 30 his life had been hell, even though the Lord was with Him, and he was sharpening his skills as an administrator and manager, he was still a slave and a prisoner. Thirteen years since the bottom dropped out of his life. Thirteen years before things changed for the better. Thirteen years of difficulties, but mostly downs, worsening. Thirteen years of one setback after another. But during all this time we don’t ever see Joseph complaining or showing any signs of discouragement. Even when he asked the cupbearer to talk Pharoah, he was just stating facts not indicating discouragement.
Genesis 40:14-15 NIV But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”
Second, bad memories need not defeat us. We all have some bad memories. Some because of things we did, some because of things others did. Like Joseph did, in naming his sons we have to lean on God to help us get past the bad memories, so we don’t get stuck there and let those bad things defeat us. You may need help in turning the wound into a stingless scar. You need a friend, a mate, even a professional counselor to come alongside to help you in the process of getting rid of those stings.
Third, great blessings need not disqualify us from service. Don’t let success go to your head so that you forget others. Remember when we are blessed with success material or spiritual, we are vulnerable to the sin of pride. we need to humble ourselves before God’s mighty hand and say, “Jesus Christ, I need You. I have all of this to account for. We are accountable for all that we are blessed with, so with blessing and abundance, if we want to stay out of trouble, we need humility and integrity.
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