Someone is Watching

Someone is Watching
Words of Faith 7-29-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Genesis 43
[15] So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver, and Benjamin also. They hurried down to Egypt and presented themselves to Joseph. [16] When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, "Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare dinner; they are to eat with me at noon."
[17] The man did as Joseph told him and took the men to Joseph's house. [18] Now the men were frightened when they were taken to his house. They thought, "We were brought here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to attack us and overpower us and seize us as slaves and take our donkeys."
[19] So they went up to Joseph's steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. [20] "Please, sir," they said, "We came down here the first time to buy food. [21] But at the place where we stopped for the night, we opened our sacks and each of us found his silver--the exact weight--in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back with us. [22] We have also brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don't know who put our silver in our sacks."
[23] "It's all right," he said. "Don't be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver." Then he brought Simeon out to them.
[24] The steward took the men into Joseph's house, gave them water to wash their feet and provided fodder for their donkeys. [25] They prepared their gifts for Joseph's arrival at noon, because they had heard that they were to eat there.
[26] When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground. [27] He asked them how they were, and then he said, "How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living?"
[28] They replied, "Your servant our father is still alive and well." And they bowed low to pay him honor.
[29] As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother's son, he asked, "Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?" And he said, "God be gracious to you, my son." [30] Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there.
[31] After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, "Serve the food."
[32] They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, for that is detestable to Egyptians. [33] The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn to the youngest; and they looked at each other in astonishment. [34] When portions were served to them from Joseph's table, Benjamin's portion was five times as much as anyone else's. So they feasted and drank freely with him.

Have you ever gotten the idea that someone was watching over you? As if someone was making little arrangements ahead of you and carefully taking care of things? The brothers must have felt that way. The 11 brothers hurried to Egypt in search of food, not knowing what to expect. For all they knew, there might have been a warrant for their arrest because of the silver that mysteriously ended up in their grain bags the last time!
When they arrived, the brothers were taken to Joseph's house. This was either really good or really bad. They were just sure that they were going to be captured and made into slaves. When returning from the first trip, they readily confessed to Joseph's steward about the silver they found in their sacks. The steward said an interesting thing. He told them not to be afraid because their God had given them that money.
God?
Yes God. Your God. Remember him?
Surely the brothers must have been stunned to hear of the providing character of God in a foreign household! How unusual that an Egyptian would give witness to them regarding their God! But that would not be the only mystery of the day.
In another act of unexpected grace, Simeon was returned to them! And then a noon meal was prepared for the 11 brothers. Joseph did not yet dine with his brothers. It might have been simply too emotional. But the brothers presented their gifts to Joseph and bowed before him to fulfill Joseph's dream. Joseph could hardly contain himself when he saw his brother Benjamin. He had to leave the room because he could not hold back his tears of joy.
At the dinner, there was another ominous sign to them. Joseph mysteriously seated the brothers from the firstborn to the youngest. Who could have known such a thing? Who was directing the course of these events? In every situation, the brothers encountered gracious dealings from God through this "Egyptian." Clearly, Joseph was not yet ready to reveal his identity to the brothers. He had carefully managed to get his youngest brother to Egypt, but the goal was to get the whole family there.
The great part of this history is watching how God carefully orchestrated the circumstances needed to preserve His people. Indeed, Someone was looking over their shoulders. Some One was carefully making arrangements. The truth is that He does no less for us!
We may not think we have an "important" part in God's plan. We may feel that we live on the periphery of the big stuff of biblical history, but this is not so. We are a part of God's movement toward the destiny He has planned. We may not see our part. We may not understand our place. But Some One is watching over you. We may discover this truth in the strangest of places. Perhaps it will be a "foreigner" who gives testimony to us of God's grace. Maybe it will be the unexpected grace. But God is indeed watching over us. The glory and wonder of His plan are yet to be seen.

Father God, forgive me for doubting the sureness of Your way and the purpose of Your plan. Open my eyes to see Your hand at work all around me. Open my ears to hear the testimony of Your grace and mercy, even in the most unusual places. 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.