Genesis 46
Genesis 46
The Joseph narrative is coming to a close and Joseph has instructed his brothers to bring the whole family, including his father, down to Egypt. Off they go.
This story is resolving right before our eyes, but that does not mean that all fear was gone or that forgiveness is easy. In fact, I am sure there was still some fear. And for Joseph I am sure it was still hard to bless his brothers. But I think we see a couple things in this chapter today to apply to our lives.
TRUST GOD’S VOICE > FEAR’S VOICE
Have you ever heard God tell you to do something that was scary? You probably have. More than likely you experienced a somewhat crisis of belief/faith where you had to choose to trust God over your fear. So did Jacob/Israel.
He had set out to Beersheba but when he was there he was afraid to go further. How do I know? Because God appeared to him in verse 3-4 and told him NOT to be afraid to go down to Egypt. So do you see what Jacob did in verse 5. He set out for Egypt.
Trust God’s voice > fear’s voice.
CHOOSE FULL FORGIVENESS > PARTIAL FORGIVENESS.
When you forgive someone you do it fully (or you should). This does not mean that you are now their best friend but this should mean that you no longer have any bitterness. You have released it to God. I believe Joseph’s forgiveness was put to the test in the latter half of this chapter.
He told his brothers exactly what to say. He went up before them to make sure that they would be taken care of. He cared for his brothers and family FULLY. He could have made an excuse… saying to himself, “I already got them here, let them figure it out.” But he did not do that. He had their best in mind. This is what we do when we forgive.
Choose full forgiveness > partial forgiveness.
I think these have real world applications for us. I think that we face fear often. Look at God’s Word. L0ok at His promises. Look at His commands. Trust His voice.
I think when we are hurt by others it is easy to only partially forgive. We need to practice full forgiveness.
It is at the heart of the gospel. I am thankful Jesus didn’t die on the cross to partially forgive our sin but to FULLY forgive our sin. As we have been forgiven, we should extend this forgiveness.
By: Nick Parsons
The Joseph narrative is coming to a close and Joseph has instructed his brothers to bring the whole family, including his father, down to Egypt. Off they go.
This story is resolving right before our eyes, but that does not mean that all fear was gone or that forgiveness is easy. In fact, I am sure there was still some fear. And for Joseph I am sure it was still hard to bless his brothers. But I think we see a couple things in this chapter today to apply to our lives.
TRUST GOD’S VOICE > FEAR’S VOICE
Have you ever heard God tell you to do something that was scary? You probably have. More than likely you experienced a somewhat crisis of belief/faith where you had to choose to trust God over your fear. So did Jacob/Israel.
He had set out to Beersheba but when he was there he was afraid to go further. How do I know? Because God appeared to him in verse 3-4 and told him NOT to be afraid to go down to Egypt. So do you see what Jacob did in verse 5. He set out for Egypt.
Trust God’s voice > fear’s voice.
CHOOSE FULL FORGIVENESS > PARTIAL FORGIVENESS.
When you forgive someone you do it fully (or you should). This does not mean that you are now their best friend but this should mean that you no longer have any bitterness. You have released it to God. I believe Joseph’s forgiveness was put to the test in the latter half of this chapter.
He told his brothers exactly what to say. He went up before them to make sure that they would be taken care of. He cared for his brothers and family FULLY. He could have made an excuse… saying to himself, “I already got them here, let them figure it out.” But he did not do that. He had their best in mind. This is what we do when we forgive.
Choose full forgiveness > partial forgiveness.
I think these have real world applications for us. I think that we face fear often. Look at God’s Word. L0ok at His promises. Look at His commands. Trust His voice.
I think when we are hurt by others it is easy to only partially forgive. We need to practice full forgiveness.
It is at the heart of the gospel. I am thankful Jesus didn’t die on the cross to partially forgive our sin but to FULLY forgive our sin. As we have been forgiven, we should extend this forgiveness.
By: Nick Parsons
1 Comment
Great message! He forgave us of ALL our sins! Amen! Great study on the book of Genesis! I got several new insights on this book. Sometimes you can read the scriptures and something new pops out! Genesis is like that for me. 🙂