TODAY IN THE WORD
The story of Esther is the story of God's providence over even the most terrifying circumstances. Esther was an exiled Jew living in the Persian Empire. When Queen Vashti displeased King Xerxes, Esther was the one, chosen from among many beautiful young women, who won the heart of the king and became the new queen. Later, when a plot emerged to kill all the Jews, Esther was used by God to save her people. Today's verse records the wisdom of Esther's uncle Mordecai who saw God's redemptive hand at work.

Joseph is another example of God's sovereignty. After his brothers sold him into slavery, Joseph ended up in an Egyptian prison, through no fault of his own. Later, through a series of providential events, Joseph became the second most powerful person in Pharaoh's Egypt. Behind Joseph's exalted position, however, we see the hand of God, who used Joseph to save the rest of his family. But we must not overlook the fact that Joseph's administration and policies were a blessing to the Egyptians and the other nations who looked to Egypt for help during the seven-year famine (Gen. 41:56-57).

In today's passage, we find Joseph's family in Egypt because of the severity of the famine in Canaan. Goshen was located in northern Egypt and had excellent pasture land, which Jacob and his sons needed. Clearly the concern here is for Jacob and his family, but notice that Jacob blesses the Pharaoh twice (47:7, 10). In this we see a partial fulfillment of the promise given to Abraham, that through him all the families of the world would be blessed.

As the story of Joseph unfolds, we see that God's purposes for bringing Jacob and Joseph's brothers to Egypt also included reuniting the family. Following the death of their father, however, the brothers were fearful that Joseph might take revenge for their earlier mistreatment of him. Instead, we find one of the most remarkable accounts for forgiveness in the Bible. Joseph clearly understood that God used him to bless his family as well as others in Egypt (50:20).

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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Although the actions of Joseph's brothers were obviously evil, God redeemed the situation and used it to bless many people, both Egyptian and Israelite.

We too may find ourselves in difficult circumstances. But like Joseph, we need to trust God and know that He is in charge. Just as God used Joseph to bless a wide circle of people around him, we never know how God might use our situation. Genesis 50:20 is one of the key verses in the Bible; consider memorizing it this week.

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