God Brings Captivity to refine us and reveal Himself to Others

Genesis 28-40; 90-day read through the Bible -Day 3.

Genesis 39:2-3 “The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the LORD caused all he did to succeed in his hands.”

There was so much in these chapters that it was hard to choose. I noticed that the theme of captivity and possible danger from man's hands ran throughout the pages; but God.

Joseph, like his dad Jacob, was put in living conditions where submission was imposed, and their freedom and safety /protection were left to men/rulers; but God.

In each story, these men willingly submitted, not realizing God had a plan not for them alone but that God would be recognized as LORD AND KING by those around them. That recognition was not myopic about one life but offered a bigger perspective to be gained. That perspective is the Sovereignty of God. God's Providence allows good and evil lives to run straight across each other's paths, colliding faith and wickedness for His glory. This collision strengthened both the lives of Jacob and his son Joseph in their perspective stories. It also subdued the reach of evil, though it was allowed to touch the faithful.

Jacob, Laban, his uncle, and Esau, his brother, would see and understand that God's outcome is not always conducive to evil plans. For Joseph, his captor Potiphar, a pagan man, would recognize his success came not from his idols but from the hands of a slave whose God brought prosperity to everything he touched. This was despite the circumstances. That’s key!

This education for all was not in times of ease or carefree living. It was in captivity and at the mercy of a man who seethed with hatred, promising death, an uncle who took advantage of the innocent, and a ruler who ultimately threw Joseph in prison. Even there, Providence would build and teach because man never has the final say, though all we see is difficulty; but God.