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Letting God

Words of Faith Final

Letting God
Words of Faith 8-1-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Genesis 44
Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: "Fill the men's sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man's silver in the mouth of his sack. [2] Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one's sack, along with the silver for his grain." And he did as Joseph said.
[3] As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. [4] They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, "Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, 'Why have you repaid good with evil? [5] Isn't this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.' "
[6] When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. [7] But they said to him, "Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that! [8] We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found inside the mouths of our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master's house? [9] If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord's slaves."
[10] "Very well, then," he said, "let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it will become my slave; the rest of you will be free from blame."
[11] Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. [12] Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. [13] At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.

What was Joseph doing? What was he up to? Hiding a cup in the sacks of grain to trap the brothers in an unjust accusation? The Spirit of God was leading Joseph to do some unusual things!
Some commentators suggest that this was a divine testing process for the brothers that had to take place before they could move to Egypt and grow over the next 400 years. Certainly, that was going on. But at times, it seems almost as if Joseph was toying with the brothers.
Yet, revenge does not seem to be his motive. We know that Joseph was attempting to lure his father to Egypt but why not simply send a message back that he was alive and there was plenty of food available for the entire family in Egypt? What was going on here?
The elaborate trick of hiding a silver cup in grain bags placed the brothers in an unusual position. Suddenly they were exposed. They, who had committed great injustice, were now the target of a terrible injustice.
The question posed by the steward is very telling: "Why have you repaid good with evil? Isn't this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done." At the heart of the sin committed by the brothers years before was the fact that they had repaid good with evil. They had taken something they had no right to take. They had done a wicked thing.
Joseph may have been seeking to draw out a confession of some sort. He may also have wanted to see if the brothers had changed over the years. Would they now protect a younger brother? Had they found an iota of courage? Or were they just as selfish and ruthless as they had been some twenty years earlier?
A central theme in this part of the story is that of justice and reconciliation. Throughout Joseph's story, we see God's sovereign hand at work. God was using every event to accomplish His goals and intention for his people. He was also carefully revealing the injustices that had been done to Joseph. God was confronting the brothers with their sin and drawing them toward a time of reconciliation. We see a picture of the movement of God in our lives and history.
At times we may feel that a tremendous irreparable injustice has been done against us. We might long for an opportunity for revenge. Yet, Scripture tells us that vengeance belongs to the Lord. Justice will be done in the Lord's time. Wickedness will be exposed. What is said and done in secret will be shouted from the housetops. More importantly, God can use even the darkest of acts for His plan and glory. In this case, the family will be saved, and reconciliation will occur. God was working on it bit by bit.
Have you been concerned about an injustice? Worried over wickedness? God has these things in control. He is at work. Wickedness will be revealed for what it is. God is in control. Let's let Him be God.

Father, teach me the art of simple trust. Give me the faith to simply walk with You and know that You have everything carefully in your hands. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.