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¹² “He said to them, “No, it is the nakedness of the land that you have come to see.” ¹³ And they said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more.” ¹⁴ But Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you. You are spies. ¹⁵ By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. ¹⁶ Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.” ¹⁷ And he put them all together in custody for three days.” (Genesis 42:12–17 (ESV)

Dr. R. C. Sproul writes, “Joseph’s dream of his brothers’ sheaves bowing to his has begun to come true (Gen. 37:5–8; 42:6), but it still remains for his parents and his youngest brother to come before him (37:9–11). However, he does not know if these others are still alive, and so he moves to find out about the rest of his family. Yet Joseph does not reveal his identity to his brothers when they first bow before him (42:7), probably because he assumes they will not tell him, their envied sibling, the truth.”  

Joseph accused his elder brothers a second time of being spies against Egypt. In their defense, they began to reveal details of their family who lived in Canaan. They described their family as consisting of twelve brothers, the sons of one man. They acknowledged the existence of an even younger brother, Benjamin, who we know remained with his father Jacob (Gen. 42:1-5).

Interestingly, the mention that one of their brothers “is no more.” This is a euphemism to mean that one of their brothers was dead, or perhaps missing. They did not know that Joseph, the brother they sold into slavery so many years ago and perhaps they thought was dead, was the individual who was before them.

Puritan commentator Matthew Henry writes about Joseph’s brothers that “they were very submissive. They spoke to him with all the respect imaginable: ‘Nay, my lord’ (v. 10)—a great change since they said, ‘Behold, this dreamer comes.’ They very modestly deny the charge: We are no spies. They tell him their business that they came to buy food, a justifiable errand, and the same that many strangers came to Egypt upon at this time. They undertake to give a particular account of themselves and their family (v. 13), and this was what they wanted.”

Joseph again accused them of being spies (vs. 14). Joseph initially imprisoned his brothers for three days. He also tested them by saying that they would remain prisoners until their youngest brother came to Egypt. The brothers who threw Joseph into a pit, and later sold him into slavery (Gen. 37:12-28), are now the ones in prison.

Dr. Sproul explains that, “Under pressure, they confess that Benjamin is still alive and begin to allay Joseph’s fears about his brother’s fate. But Joseph does not know whether they have come to acknowledge their guilt for the way they got rid of him. In fact, they gloss over his fate, merely saying that Joseph, before whom they unknowingly stand, is “no more” (v. 13). Joseph accuses his brothers not only to find out about the rest of his family, but also to punish them for their sins. They are put in prison, for example, just as Joseph was imprisoned by them in the pit (37:24).”  

Galatians 6:7–8 (ESV) says, “⁷ Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. ⁸ For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”  

Take the necessary steps today to repent of your sin knowing that you will reap what you sow. The consequences of sin can be far greater than we ever thought imaginable.  

Soli deo Gloria!

⁸ “And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. ⁹ And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. And he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” ¹⁰ They said to him, “No, my lord, your servants have come to buy food. We are all sons of one man. WE have are honest men. Your servants have never been spies.” (Genesis 42:8–11 (ESV)

Joseph recognized his brothers. However, they did not recognize Joseph. Remember, it has been over twenty years. Joseph was no longer a teenager (Gen. 37:1-2). Additionally, while Joseph’s brothers looked like the Hebrew shepherds they had always been (Gen. 37:1-12), Joseph looked and dressed like an Egyptian (Gen. 41:14, 42). Not only did Joseph appear as an Egyptian, but also an Egyptian ruler.

Joseph not only recognized his brothers but he also remembered his dreams from when he was but a teenager (Gen. 37:5-11). Twenty plus years had passed and Joseph experienced many difficulties, but God providentially brought Joseph’s dreams to reality.

Dr. Don Carson writes, “No sooner had Joseph said, ‘God has made me forget … all my father’s household’ (41:51) than his brothers turned up in Egypt. And what was more surprising, considering the many visitors who came to Egypt at that time, Joseph saw them there. He recognized them but, of course, they failed to recognize him.”

Joseph began testing his brothers by immediately accusing them of being spies. He would do this four times (Gen. 42:9, 12, 14, 16). Why did he do this? The most probable answer was to see if his elder brothers had changed. God led Joseph to confront his brothers’ sin and to see if there was true repentance for what they had done to him.

Joseph devised a series of circumstances to test them. His accusations against his brothers would eventually result in Joseph reuniting with the rest of his Hebrew family. This would include not only with his younger brother Benjamin, but also his father Jacob.

Have you ever confronted someone because of their sin? It may have been their sinful behavior in general, or a sin committed against you in particular. Whenever confrontation concerning sin occurs, God commands the more spiritual person to handle the situation in a humble and gracious manner (Galatians 6:1).

Dr. R. C. Sproul explains, “Confronting someone in sin is always difficult. Perhaps you are a parent who must discipline a child. Maybe you are an elder tasked with confronting a church member engaged in unrepentant sin. Whatever the case, it is hard to speak the truth in love when hard truths must be told. But God often uses our confronting of others to lead them to repentance. Do not be afraid to confront sinners, but always do it with compassion and the hope it will produce repentance.”

Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!

⁶ “Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. ⁷ Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” (Genesis 42:6–7 (ESV)

One author writes, “Every long separation is a test: A test to see how powerful or how weak the will of reuniting is.”

Today’s text makes it quite clear that Joseph was in charge of the world-wide food distribution during the seven-year famine (Gen. 41:25-36). This was because the LORD providentially appointed him, through the Pharaoh of Egypt, to be governor over the land (Gen. 41:37-45).

Jacob directed his ten older sons to go to Egypt and buy grain (Gen. 42:1-5). Joseph’s elder brothers came to Egypt along with many others to purchase food. This was because the famine not only affected Egypt, but also the land of Canaan.

Moses writes, “And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground.” The irony here is striking. Joseph’s dreams as a youth (Gen. 37:5-11) become a reality when he is a man. It has taken over twenty years, but the LORD fulfilled His providential plans for Joseph.

Joseph recognized his brothers. However, they did not recognize Joseph. Remember, it has been over twenty years. Joseph is no longer a teenager (Gen. 37:1-2). Additionally, while Joseph’s brothers looked like the Hebrew shepherds they had always been (Gen. 37:1-12), Joseph looked and dressed like an Egyptian (Gen. 41:14, 42). Not only did Joseph appear as an Egyptian, but also an Egyptian ruler.

Dr. R. C. Sproul writes, “Pharaoh’s dreams have come to pass (chap. 41), but Joseph is still waiting to see his family again, which would fulfill the dreams of his youth (37:5–11). This fulfillment begins today when his brothers, out of the innumerable multitude of foreigners looking for food, “happen” to come before their once-hated brother instead of one of the numerous officials Joseph would have had under him to help distribute the grain. Yet we know this is no coincidence. God has orchestrated events to make Joseph lord over his brothers (42:6)”

Events unite to bring about the Lord’s plan for His people. They always do.

Dr. Sproul concludes, “A famine “happens” to occur in Canaan and Egypt. Joseph’s brothers “happen” to come before him instead of some other nameless official. Indeed, God is sovereign over all history. Even when things seem out of control and those who hate the church are in power, nothing happens that God cannot use for good. We should therefore be comforted in these troubled times.”  

Soli deo Gloria!   

“When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” ² And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.” ³ So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. ⁴ But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might happen to him. ⁵ Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.” (Genesis 42:1–5 (ESV)

Twenty plus years had passed since Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery and then told their father Jacob that his favored son was dead (Gen. 37). However, the LORD has a providential way of working through the events in our lives; not only for His glory but also for our benefit (Rom. 8:28-30).

Joseph was unaware how a devastating famine would reunite him with his elder brothers. It would be by God’s providence that the dreams of Joseph as a teenage shepherd in Canaan (Gen. 37:5-11) would be fulfilled as a man who governed the land of Egypt.

Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt. The text does not say how long the famine had been in effect. Moses did write that the famine spread over all the land (Gen. 41:56). This would include Canaan.

Jacob criticized his ten elder sons for their inaction. “Why do you look at one another?” ² And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.”

However, Jacob did not let his youngest son Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, travel with them. Jacob feared that Benjamin might be hurt and harmed. Jacob’s thinking was probably affected not only by his age, his love for Benjamin, but also by his memory of Joseph’s reported death twenty years before.

Therefore, Joseph’s ten elder brothers came to Egypt to buy grain. They were among many others who came from Canaan for the same reason. The famine was that extensive.

Dr. R.C. Sproul explains, “We see in today’s passage, the hunger present in the land of the Nile (41:55) was also found in Palestine. Learning that food was available in Egypt, Jacob tells his sons to straighten up and go there to buy grain (42:1–2, 5). Unbeknownst to him, the availability of food is due to the wisdom of his son Joseph, and a worldwide famine has occurred, in God’s providence, in order to bless and protect God’s people by bringing them into Egypt (46:1–4).”

We see in today’s text, and the unfolding narrative, that there are no coincidences. God remains in complete control of all the circumstances of life. This was not only true in Joseph’s life, but also in our own. May each of us rest in that biblical truth.

Soli deo Gloria!  

We will continue to devote each Lord’s Day weekend in 2022 at hiswordtoday.org to present a portion of the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF). For those unfamiliar with the WCF, a brief explanation is appropriate. 

The Westminster Confession of Faith is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it became and remains the “subordinate standard” of doctrine (to Scripture) in the Church of Scotland and has been influential within Presbyterian churches worldwide.

It is to that “most precise and accurate summary of the content of biblical Christianity” that we will give our time and attention to each Lord’s Day in the year of our Lord, 2022. I trust you will be edified and encouraged each week by The Westminster Confession of Faith.

Chapter Twenty Six. Of the Communion of Saints.

1. All saints that are united to Jesus Christ their head, by his Spirit and by faith, have fellowship with him in his graces, sufferings, death, resurrection, and glory:^a and being united to one another in love, they have communion in each other’s gifts and graces,^b and are obliged to the performance of such duties, public and private, as do conduce to their mutual good, both in the inward and outward man.^c

a. John 1:16; Rom 6:5-6; Eph 2:5-6; 3:16-19; Phil 3:10; 2 Tim 2:12; 1 John 1:3. • b. 1 Cor 3:21-23; 12:7; Eph 4:15-16; Col 2:19. • c. Rom 1:11-12, 14; Gal 6:10; 1 Thes 5:11, 14; 1 John 3:16-18.

2. Saints, by profession, are bound to maintain an holy fellowship and communion in the worship of God, and in performing such other spiritual services as tend to their mutual edification;^a as also in relieving each other in outward things, according to their several abilities and necessities. Which communion, as God offers opportunity, is to be extended unto all those who, in every place, call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.^b

a. Isa 2:3; Acts 2:42, 46; 1 Cor 11:20; Heb 10:24-25. • b. Acts 2:44-45; 11:29-30; 2 Cor 8-9 throughout; 1 John 3:17.

3. This communion which the saints have with Christ, doth not make them in any wise partakers of the substance of his Godhead, or to be equal with Christ in any respect: either of which to affirm is impious and blasphemous.^a Nor doth their communion one with another, as saints, take away or infringe the title or propriety which each man hath in his goods and possessions.^b

a. Psa 45:7 with Heb 1:8-9; Isa 42:8; 1 Cor 8:6; Col 1:18-19; 1 Tim 6:15-16. • b. Exod 20:15; Acts 5:4; Eph 4:28.

I encourage you to read the portions of Scripture listed in this post. Have a blessed Lord’s Day.

Soli deo Gloria!

We will continue to devote each Lord’s Day weekend in 2022 at hiswordtoday.org to present a portion of the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF). For those unfamiliar with the WCF, a brief explanation is appropriate. 

The Westminster Confession of Faith is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it became and remains the “subordinate standard” of doctrine (to Scripture) in the Church of Scotland and has been influential within Presbyterian churches worldwide.

It is to that “most precise and accurate summary of the content of biblical Christianity” that we will give our time and attention to each Lord’s Day in the year of our Lord, 2021. I trust you will be edified and encouraged each week by The Westminster Confession of Faith.

Chapter Twenty Five: Of the Church. Part 3.

5. The purest churches under heaven are subject both to mixture and error;^a and some have so degenerated as to become no churches of Christ, but synagogues of Satan.^b Nevertheless, there shall be always a Church on earth to worship God according to his will.^c

a. Mat 13:24-30, 47; 1 Cor 13:12; Rev 2-3 throughout. • b. Rom 11:18-22; Rev 18:2. • c. Psa 72:17; 102:28; Mat 16:18; 28:19-20.

6. There is no other Head of the Church but the Lord Jesus Christ:^a nor can the Pope of Rome, in any sense be head thereof; but is that Antichrist, that man of sin and son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the Church against Christ, and all that is called God.^b

a. Eph 1:22; Col 1:18. • b. Mat 23:8-10; 2 Thes 2:3-4, 8-9; Rev 13:6.

I encourage you to read the portions of Scripture listed in this post. Have a blessed Lord’s Day.

Soli deo Gloria!

There is a biblical reason for the rise of totalitarian and autonomous state control in the world and particularly in the United States of America. American citizens have witnessed an increase in the sheer size of the federal government and its increasing efforts to control the lives of its citizens. What that biblical reason is, and how Christians are to respond to a rising secular government, is our subject for today.

First, the biblical reason for the rise of state control begins when a nation at large rejects God. This rejection of God not only involves a rejection of His authority in the lives of a nation’s citizens, but also a rejection of God’s very existence. This scenario is set forth in Romans 1:18-23.

Romans 1:18–23 (ESV) says, “¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”

A society’s rejection of God, which then accords with the rise of the state, involves four distinct but related behaviors according to Romans 1:18-23. First, there is the systematic rejection and suppression of the truth of God’s existence. Second, there then follows a refusal to honor and worship God. This is a natural consequence for if a society denies God’s existence, there is then no reason to worship and honor a nonexistent God. Third, a refusal to give thanks to God. Why, society reasons, should we be grateful to a God who does not exist? Finally, the rise of idolatry, which seeks to replace God with another object of worship. Make no mistake, people have an inherent desire to worship an object greater than themselves.

When a society and culture commits the sins set forth in Romans 1:18-23, then the state will rise to take God’s place. This scenario has been repeated throughout history, but is often forgotten. As 20^th century philosopher wrote in 1905, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

What ought to be the perspective and responsible, biblical behavior to the rise of state by believers in Christ? The Bible sets forth several. Here are seven.

• Be obedient to and seek to fulfill The Great Commission. Matthew 28:16-20.
• Be Salt and Light in a morally corrupt and dark world. Matthew 5:13-16.
• Do not conform to the world’s immoral ethics and values. Romans 12:1-2; I John 2:15-17.
• Pray for government leaders. I Timothy 2:1-3; I Peter 3:13-17; 4:12-19; 5:6-11.
• Be a good citizen and submit to government as along as doing so does not violate Scripture and conscience. Acts 4:13-22; Romans 13:1; 14:1-15:13; Titus 3:1-2; I Peter 2:13-17;
• Be prepared to suffer persecution for your faith in Christ. 2 Timothy 3:12-13.
• Always remember that Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is forever in control. Psalm 2; Acts 17:16-31; 1 Timothy 6:13-16.

Have a blessed day.

Soli deo Gloria!

The state, or government, is one of several societal realms God created, established and sustains. These other realms include the following: family, church, labor, community, and the relationship between God and man. All of these social realms are to revolve around and receive their purpose from the One, True God. In other words, the God of the Bible.

Take note of the following Scripture passages as they pertain to one of God’s created social realms: the state.

²⁰ “Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. ²¹ He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; ²² he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.” (Daniel 2:20–22 (ESV)

⁹ “He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” ¹¹ Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” (John 19:9–11 (ESV)

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” (Romans 13:1 (ESV)

Dr. Tel Tackett explains, “God’s perspective on the state, is that it is strictly subordinate to His sovereign dominion and control. Just as the Son is subject to the Father, the wife to the husband, and the elders of the church to the headship of Christ, so the authority of the state, within the economy of the divine design for the political sphere, is subject to and dependent upon the authority of God himself. Governors and magistrates hold their power purely as delegates and representatives of the King of all kings.”

The country in which I am a citizen, the United States of America, is another example of a nation which God caused to exist and institute. Even in its colonial infancy, the founding colonists, and the founding fathers of America’s constitutional government, recognized this as truth; not just for Christian citizens, but for all citizens.

The Mayflower Compact, the New England Primer, and other colonial constitutions acknowledged the biblical truth of God’s sovereignty over human government and that human government was not sovereign in and of itself.

Dr. Tackett continues by saying, “The New England Primer, the second best-selling book (after the Bible) of the colonial era, provides an intriguing window into the attitudes of early Americans. In particular, it reveals an outlook and a way of life powerfully shaped by the teachings of Scripture. The pervasiveness of this outlook is further demonstrated in statements made by America’s early political leaders, legal and social architects, and educational pioneers—people such as Benjamin Rush, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, Charles Carroll, Noah Webster, and the founders of Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia Universities. In spite of the fact that not all of them were practicing Christians, these luminaries agreed with President John Adams that the success of America’s republican form of government would prove directly dependent upon the virtue and morality of her people, and that virtue and morality are necessarily founded upon religion—by which all meant the Christian religion. These early thinkers were convinced that the state must be held accountable to the authority of a higher ethical and spiritual standard—the “Natural Law” or the “Law of Nature’s God”—if the human rights abuses they had observed in Europe and throughout history were to be avoided on this continent.”

What has occurred in the world, and particularly in the United States, is that the biblical worldview of God and government has been abandoned? Scholars place several reasons for this occurrence.

To begin with, Darwinian evolutionary theory has made its influence felt in the study and observance of the rule of law. In 1869, Harvard Law School Dean Christopher Langdell advanced the view that law is based not upon the transcendent standard of “Nature’s God,” but rather upon a fluid and constantly mutating body of “doctrine,” a set of purely human ideas that inevitably change “by slow degrees.” In other words, law and ethics, like biological species, are “evolving.”

Secondly, this provides insight into the perspective by many in America that the United States Constitution is a so-called “living document. This viewpoint is in contrast to those, like late United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (1936-2016), who are originalists and texualists in their interpretation of the Constitution.  

Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes (1841-1935) declared that the law is “simply an embodiment of the ends and purposes of a society at a given point in its history.”  Holmes’ perspective thus effectively granted to the state the power to establish society’s ethical norms.

Thirdly, American psychologist John Dewey (1859-1952) implemented these aforementioned ideas into the realm of public education. “There is no God,” said Dewey (nicknamed “The Architect of Modern Education”), “and there is no soul. Hence, there are no needs for the props of traditional religion” in America’s schools.

However, there is a biblical reason for what has occurred in the United States, and in many other countries, regarding the rise of the state and its increasing control in the lives of its citizens. What that biblical reason is, and how Christians are to respond to a rising secular government, will be our topic next time at His Word Today.

Soli deo Gloria!

The state, or government, is one of several societal realms God created, established and sustains. These other realms include the following: family, church, labor, community, and the relationship between God and man. All of these social realms are to revolve around and receive their purpose from the One, True God. In other words, the God of the Bible.

Take note of the following Scripture passages as they pertain to one of God’s created social realms: the state.

²⁰ “Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. ²¹ He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; ²² he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.” (Daniel 2:20–22 (ESV)

⁹ “He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” ¹¹ Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” (John 19:9–11 (ESV)

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” (Romans 13:1 (ESV)

The state holds its power purely as delegates and representatives of the King of all kings. In other words, the God of Scripture. The Lord appointed and armed the state with the sword in order that it might 1) punish evil and 2) condone good (Romans 13:1-4). Those who forget these principles and become puffed up with a sense of their own importance are, like Ahab (1 Kings 21), Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:20-30), Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26), and Herod (Acts 12:21-23), liable to swift and severe judgment.

What happens when initially an individual in particular, or eventually a society at large, rejects the One, True God being the center of all existence and societal realms? When this occurs, the vacuum or vacancy must be filled. Society must find something, or someone, for which to derive their purpose for existence. Who, or what, will fill this position when God is rejected by society (Romans 1:18-23)? The answer is the state.

When the state occupies the positon God originally designed for Himself, the state then determines the purpose for the other societal realms God created. The state will begin to authoritatively rule over the family, church, labor, community, and the relationship between God and man. In effect, the state will establish itself as a replacement for God.

This pattern of the rejection of God, and the replacement of God by the state, has occurred many times throughout recorded history. What is initially entertained philosophically, becomes a reality politically and societally. When God is denied and rejected by mankind, the state fills the vacuum thereby becoming autonomous and accountable to no one. 19^th century German philosopher Friedrich Hegel, and influencer to  Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche, proposed the glorified state which is authoritarian.

How does this ominous reality pertain to the Journey of Joseph?  Joseph and Pharaoh did not set out to establish an authoritative state replacing the LORD when Egypt provided food and sustenance for a starving world (Gen. 41).

However, the Pharaoh of the Exodus did. He not only refused to acknowledge the importance of Joseph in Egypt’s history, but by reasonable logic he also did not acknowledge the importance of the God of Joseph. Therefore, this resulted in the orchestrated mass infanticide of new born Hebrew boys ((Exodus 1).

Dr. Tel Tackett explains, “The Bible and history demonstrate, when human rulers overstep their bounds, deny the sovereignty of the various social spheres, and seek to establish state control over every other area of human life, tyranny, oppression, and violence are sure to follow. The godless expansion of the power of the state has reared its ugly head many times in the past, most notably in the 20th century regimes of rulers such as Stalin, Lenin, Hitler, Mao, and Pol Pot. It is raising its head again in our own time. Without God, truth, or any higher moral standard, people are increasingly looking to the state as savior and supplier of every human need.”

How is the United States of America, Canada, or other countries evidencing a biblical perspective of God and the state? Or are they? Answers to these questions will be forthcoming in the next installment of His Word Today.

Soli deo Gloria!

⁵³ “The seven years of plenty that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end, ⁵⁴ and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. ⁵⁵ When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do.” ⁵⁶ So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. ⁵⁷ Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.” (Genesis 41:53–57 (ESV)

Moses recorded that Joseph was thirty years old when he began serving Pharaoh, the king of Egypt (Gen. 41:46). Joseph’s service coincided with the beginning of the seven years of plenty (Gen. 41:47).

Today’s text indicates that the seven years of plenty ended and the seven years of famine began to come (Gen. 41:53-54). This would make Joseph thirty-seven at the beginning of the seven years of famine. Joseph was in the prime of adulthood.

As God revealed through Joseph to Pharaoh (Gen. 41:25-36), the famine was devastating. No country was exempt from the agricultural crisis. However, the text states that there was bread in Egypt (Gen. 41:54).

United States Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey Jr. (1882-1959) wrote, “There are no great men, only great challenges that ordinary men are forced by circumstances to meet.” With respect to the Patriarch Joseph, he was an ordinary man who faced a great challenge but who the One, True God equipped him to meet the challenge.

Not only did the Egyptians come to buy grain from the storehouses, but also did other people from other countries. When Moses wrote, “Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth,” he was using the literary figure of speech known as hyperbole or exaggeration. We must always remember to interpret the Scriptures literally. This means to recognize that the Bible is literature and contains the various components of such. This will assist us in rightly dividing the Word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

Dr. John MacArthur writes, “The use of hyperbole with “all” (vv. 54, 56–57) emphatically indicates the widespread ravaging impact of famine far beyond Egypt’s borders. She had become indeed the “breadbasket” of the ancient world.”

Today’s text reveals the temporal salvation from physical starvation of the then known world depended on one descendant of the patriarchs: Joseph (Gen. 12:3; 39:5). Likewise, the eternal salvation of God from His judgment depended upon one descendant of the patriarchs: Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38).

Take the opportunity today to thank God for providence and care: both temporally and eternally. Thank the Lord for equipping you, and other ordinary people, to meet great challenges. Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!