Perspective: Wk1 - THU
Silver
Genesis 37:25-28
Then, just as they were sitting down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders taking a load of gum, balm, and aromatic resin from Gilead down to Egypt.
Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime. Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother—our own flesh and blood!” And his brothers agreed. So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt.
Knowing the end of the story allows us to ask a significant question: how many imperfect things did God use to save His people? Joseph will clearly serve as the instrument Yahweh employs to rescue the Egyptians, the surrounding nations, and Jacob’s family from famine. To do so, he will overcome Jacob’s favoritism, Joseph’s pride, the competitive fury of his ten brothers, and the Midianites’ slave trade, to name a few. Out of man’s sinful nature, He is weaving a royal coat of His own. The miraculous power of God uses the scraps of our failings to quilt together the fabric of salvation.
During this pivotal moment that leads to Joseph’s slavery, Reuben is missing again. This time, Judah steps in to save their younger brother’s life. Slavery, barely better than death, is the loophole God needs for His plan to succeed. The Midianite slave traders can see that these shepherds are desperate to offload their prisoner. With no bargaining leverage, Joseph is sold for 20 pieces of silver, the minimum price allowed in the culture of the day.
Stripped, sold, shackled. As the sun sets, Joseph’s homeland and all he loves drift into the distant sands. His life is over. Or is it just beginning? Perspective. For him and for us, we might always suspect that the most difficult moments are when God does His best work.
For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
Isaiah 43:19
Genesis 37:25-28
Then, just as they were sitting down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders taking a load of gum, balm, and aromatic resin from Gilead down to Egypt.
Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime. Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother—our own flesh and blood!” And his brothers agreed. So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt.
Knowing the end of the story allows us to ask a significant question: how many imperfect things did God use to save His people? Joseph will clearly serve as the instrument Yahweh employs to rescue the Egyptians, the surrounding nations, and Jacob’s family from famine. To do so, he will overcome Jacob’s favoritism, Joseph’s pride, the competitive fury of his ten brothers, and the Midianites’ slave trade, to name a few. Out of man’s sinful nature, He is weaving a royal coat of His own. The miraculous power of God uses the scraps of our failings to quilt together the fabric of salvation.
During this pivotal moment that leads to Joseph’s slavery, Reuben is missing again. This time, Judah steps in to save their younger brother’s life. Slavery, barely better than death, is the loophole God needs for His plan to succeed. The Midianite slave traders can see that these shepherds are desperate to offload their prisoner. With no bargaining leverage, Joseph is sold for 20 pieces of silver, the minimum price allowed in the culture of the day.
Stripped, sold, shackled. As the sun sets, Joseph’s homeland and all he loves drift into the distant sands. His life is over. Or is it just beginning? Perspective. For him and for us, we might always suspect that the most difficult moments are when God does His best work.
For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
Isaiah 43:19
- What is something you have had to sell in a hurry? What price did you get for it?
- What is something or someone you have found particularly difficult to say goodbye to? How have you journeyed through it?
- What are you going through right now that feels disastrous? How could God bring salvation from this problem? What would you like to say to Jesus about it?
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