Saturday, September 22, 2007

Study of Joseph character

Dear Friends,
Among the great men of the Old Testament, Joseph is truly unique, he was the 11th son of Jacob and was born to his father’s favorite wife Rachel in Paddam Aram after she had been barren for 7 years. Information about Joseph is found in Genesis Chapters 37 to 50. The character of Joseph is worthy of careful study in our Christian life. Because his nobility of character, his purity of heart and life and his magnanimity as a ruler and brother. Lets review the life study of Joseph briefly.

As a son in Canaan:-
Joseph was hated by his brothers and they sold him for 20 pieces of silver as a slave to a man Potiphar, who was a high ranking government official, Captain of the guard in Egypt. Joseph was also faithful to his father and willing to obey his wishes.
Joseph as a slave in Egypt:-
Joseph was a overseer in Potiphar’s house, he was blessed by God and found favor in Potiphar’s eyes. Though a young man, he proved industrious and trustworthy. He made the best of the situation and God blessed him and Potiphar. Jospeh was well built and handsome, so he was tempted by Potiphar’s wife and she tried time and again to seduce him. He resisted out of faithfulness to Potiphar and God. Most young men would have been unable to resist, but Joseph knew the difference between right and wrong. He knew God’s law fobade adultery. His reply to Potiphars wife reveals an insight into his values and character and now Jospeh is in his imprisonment.
Overseer in Pharoah’s Prison:-
Joseph was blessed again by God and he is favored by the keeper of the prison. He was placed in-charge of other prisoners with complete trust. He also interpretated the dreams of the baker and the butler and the dreams have been fulfilled yet Joseph was FORGOTTEN. This again taught me that how Joseph was too faithful to God in his calling. Because after giving good interpretation to butler, he could have changed baker’s dream in a nicer way to please others, but he didn’t. Since butler forgot Joseph, he was forced to stay in the prison in another 2 full years. How many times, we have been forgotten by men? But lets assure that our loving god is always mindful on our ways.
As a Prince in Egypt.
Now the day has come for Joseph, this is the days for God’s purpose to be revealed in Joseph’s life. Pharoah sent for 30 year old Joseph in a prison. Josephs prediction and advice to Pharoah’s dream pleased Pharoah and he made Joseph his second in command. And Jospeh wisdom manifested in his administration. If we observe the court scene between Pharoah and Joseph, we could able to find Joseph humbleness and worship to his God.
Merciful in his treatment to his brothers.
This is a wonderful character from the life of Jospeh. He was sold by his brethren, would have created bitterness and anger within. Being away from family and placed in new place, with new people and new language should have made Joseph to be drawn into bad characters, but Joseph WALKED with GOD in Egypt. He learned to wait patiently on God and to look to God for EVERYTHING. It takes tremendous courage to look away from circumstances and to look instead to God.

Conclusion:-
In the life and story of Joseph, I learnt the following.
He was centered in faith and trust in God
Devoted to serving God and man with honor and DEPENDABILITY.
Unwilling to be deterred by the hatred, betrayal and UNFORGETFULLNESS of others.
Willing to forgive the wrongs committed by others.
Able to see the big picture, GOD’s WONDERFUL working.
These noble characters helped Joseph in his youth (tempted and tried with no help from family and friend), in his mature individual (charged with important responsibilities) and in his old age (knowing that death is imminent).

If hard times, bitterness, resentment or anger are things that you and me are struggling with, lets read Joseph’s story and learn from his courage. God probably has a blessing waiting for you and me at our trials too. Amen. May the character of Joseph inspire us to develop our character as well?

Love and Prayers,

DP Vathani

Friday, September 7, 2007

Doubting the goodness of God

Dear Friends,

Let's see the God's command about the knowledge of tree in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2: 16-17 describe "The Lord God commanded the man, you are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die". In the midst of all the opulence of Eden, stood a tree whose fruit God had told Adam and Eve they could not eat.

Was GOD playing some kind of game with Adam and Eve? Was God tempting them beyond their ability to withstand?

The answer is NO. Before going in to detail, let's refresh our mind with chapter 1 & 2 of Genesis. God created living organism from the ground, He made trees to grow out of the ground. He made man from the dust of the earth. God found good method of creation. But He introduced a new method to create woman. He created woman from man, they both had dominion. They were both created in the image of God. This Eve was a flawless woman in a flawless world with a flawless relationship to her creator and to her husband. All His creations have been programmed to respond as God designed it to respond. Birds fly, Fish swim, Deer run, stars move, etc. But in the midst of all creation, a man and woman were created with a difference, in HIS own image.

Why God created Adam and Eve in HIS image??
It was that they stood between God and His created world as His representatives. Imaging God in the world, they had a responsibility to care for everything God put under them. They could choose to love God and obey Him. OR they could choose to turn their backs on God and go their own independent way. God validated choice and He validated HIS image in us by giving us the Power to choose. The tree gave Eve and Adam the opportunity to love God meaningfully. The tree, through its very presence, was the visible reminder to Adam & Eve that they were Creatures, dependant on their creator. Do you have any thing like this in your life? What ever the problem you have or people you feel that they are taking your blessings; they are all visible reminders to us that we are dependant on our creator.

If we see Genesis 3: 1-7, Eve disobeyed God by believing Satan's lie and made Adam to eat the fruit. For Eve, it was really a decision to doubt the goodness of God. Eve chose to listen to SatanĂ¢€™s lies. She chose to believe that God had lied because He did not want His creatures becoming like Himself. She mad a choice to ignore our creator. Fellowship with God was destroyed by her disobedience. Verses 8-13 describe that they hid from God and they shifted blame to one another. How is our choice with God? Do we doubt the goodness of God, if we don't get our prayers answered? Do we hide from God because of our disobedience? Or are we ashamed to communicate with our creator due to our hidden secrets?

In John we see, "My sheep knew my voice". Are we tuned to know and obey to our shepherds voice in the midst of all disturbances? All of our loves are bound up in choice. Without the power to choose, to say that we love God, has no meaning. Are you wrestling with many options? To make wise decision, we must know Gods word and apply it well. I Corinthians 15: 22 say that As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
In Christ we can be made alive; we can choose to have Him establish a relationship that is not broken by our independence and our bad choices. Now, let's make good choice with our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.