SERVICES: SATURDAY 6PM | SUNDAY 9AM & 10:45AM. 

We Livestream at www.FaithFellowshipWeb.com/livestream, through the FFC App, and YouTube.

Wise as Serpents

Words of Faith Final

Wise as Serpents
Words of Faith 8-11-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><<><

Genesis 46
[31] Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, "I will go up and speak to Pharaoh and will say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household, who were living in the land of Canaan, have come to me. [32] The men are shepherds; they tend livestock, and they have brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.' [33] When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, 'What is your occupation?' [34] you should answer, 'Your servants have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.' Then you will be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen, for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians."
[47:1] Joseph went and told Pharaoh, "My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen." [2] He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.
[3] Pharaoh asked the brothers, "What is your occupation?"
"Your servants are shepherds," they replied to Pharaoh, "just as our fathers were." [4] They also said to him, "We have come to live here awhile, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants' flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen."
[5] Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you, [6] and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock."

How do you carefully fit a large family into a totally foreign culture? Joseph chose five of the brothers to go and talk with Pharaoh. Having a large group of foreigners living in Egypt was unusual, so Joseph negotiated the arrangement as diplomatically as possible.
Joseph knew from living among the Egyptians all these years that shepherds were "detestable" to the Egyptians. They may have opposed foreign or nomadic shepherds whose flocks took valuable food from their own animals. Before talking to Pharaoh, Joseph asked the brothers to emphasize that they tended livestock (cattle) rather than sheep. This was not a false representation because they had cattle and took care of them. But it was a bit of a stretch because their primary vocation had been shepherding. Clearly, Joseph saw the wisdom in emphasizing the part of their resume that would get them in the door.
Joseph chose five of the brothers to go and meet Pharaoh. Strangely, when asked about their work, the brothers did not heed the advice of Joseph. They answered that they were shepherds. There was no dire consequence for this misstep. Perhaps these brothers were still a little slow to be advised by their younger brother, Joseph. Pharaoh had no reason to be impressed with the brothers, but he did instruct Joseph to assign some of them to his herds if they had any skill for such work.
One of the qualities we see in Joseph in these chapters is a certain shrewdness. Joseph knew the importance of putting the best foot forward. He had learned that there are methods of survival in a foreign place. He had also learned that he could blend in and survive in Egypt without compromising his integrity and commitment to God.
The story of Joseph teaches us a great deal about living in a foreign land. This is helpful because a Christian believer today lives in a foreign culture. Like Joseph, we must learn to communicate with that culture while not compromising our integrity as followers of Christ. Jesus said something similar: "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16). We are to be careful in our walk. Our call is not always to be "in the face" of the pagan culture around us. There are times we need to "blend in" but without compromise.

Lord God, show me how to live in a culture antagonistic to You. Show me how to make those careful decisions about when to confront and stand back. Teach me discernment so that I can stand out at the right times, blend in at the dangerous times, and have integrity at all times. I am listening. In Jesus' name.

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
© 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
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SUBSCRIPTIONS - To receive the Words of Faith devotion five days a week, send an e-mail message addressed to join-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. To stop receiving Words of Faith, send an e-mail message addressed to unsubscribe-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. The daily devotion and archive are posted at https://www.faithfellowshipweb.com/blog
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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.