••KEEP••Gary Barker 1 of 1bw
Dr. Gary Baker is an independent columnist for The Atascadero News and Paso Robles Press; you can email him at pastor@gracebaptistpaso.org.

GENESIS 45:4-8

One of the most blessed truths that is revealed in the holy scriptures of the Bible is that God has a special purpose to fulfill thru the lives of His faithful servants. From a human perspective, the events of Joseph’s life that resulted in him becoming a slave in Egypt don’t appear to have any significant purpose or meaningful benefit. Because of his brothers’ hatred, Joseph was exiled into Egypt as a slave. Because of the lie of his master’s wife, he was put into prison. Because of the forgetfulness of a fellow prisoner that Joseph helped, he was forgotten and remained in prison for another two years.

Finally, by God’s grace, Joseph was enabled to supernaturally interpret two of Pharaoh’s dreams and as a result was released from prison and promoted to become the Prime Minister of Pharaoh. This promotion made Joseph a very powerful and wealthy man in Egypt. Joseph became the overseer of a vast amount of grain that would deliver Egypt and many other people from a future famine. This was the main purpose that God had for Joseph’s life. He had absolute control over who would receive any grain that was stored up in Egypt. The future famine was the way God would use to bring Joseph and his family together again. In our next meditation, we will discuss the events that led up to the family’s reunion.

Joseph would then be used by God to preserve his father’s entire family by enabling them to move from Canaan to Egypt. In this move, the Hebrew nation would prosper and numerically grow to become a great nation. All this happened because of the Divine plan and purpose God had for Joseph’s life. This is actually what Joseph would tell his brothers when they came to Egypt to buy some grain (Genesis 45:4-8). Joseph said: “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here but God”. Joseph realized that all that had happened to him was ordained by God and became the main purpose in his life. God’s divine plan became a great source of blessing.

Lessons to Be Learned.

  1. All the events of a believer’s life are controlled by God’s Divine plan.
  2. God’s Divine plan when experienced always results in His Blessing. (Romans 8:28).
  3. God’s Divine plan gives purpose and meaning to a believer’s life.