Day 17, or January the 17th. Our God is totally
reliable. Our thought today is rooted in Genesis
chapter 50, verses 24 and 25. God will surely
come to your aid. God will surely come to your
aid. Now the big picture surrounding these verses.
Joseph brings both of his sons born in Egypt
to his father Israel for a blessing. This usually
only happened to sons, not grandsons, but Jacob
says that he will treat them as sons, just the
same as Reuben and Simeon, etc. He blesses them
and treats Ephraim as the elder, just the same
as Jacob had been treated as the elder over Esau
many years earlier. Jacob then proceeded to bless
all his other sons as his death approached. When
he dies, Jacob is treated as an Egyptian nobleman.
He is embalmed and mourned nationally for seventy
days. Joseph dutifully takes his father and buries
him in Hebron, in the same cave that contained
his father Isaac and grandfather Abraham. Joseph's
brothers are scared now. They fear reprisals
from Joseph, now that their father has died,
but Joseph reassures them that he's not looking
for revenge. When Joseph dies, he's buried in
Egypt on the understanding that when his people
do leave Egypt for the Promised Land, he will
be taken with them for burial. He was willing
to wait. And now our action step for today. In
two consecutive verses, we are reassured by this
lovely truth that God always comes to the rescue.
Even in the darkest hours, Joseph knows that
his God would come to his aid. Even when he was
sold into slavery, even when he was unjustly
imprisoned, through it all, Joseph knew that
his God would come to his aid. If you are going
through good times at the moment, it's easy to
say amen to this. If you are going through trials
and difficulties, it stretches your faith sometimes
to believe this, but it is nevertheless true.
The account of Joseph is so reassuring, and it's
not because he was his father's favourite. It's
because he trusted God in good times and in bad.
Trusting can become a habit; one of the best
you can ever develop.