The story of Joseph in the book of Genesis is full of drama, but more importantly, lessons. After being sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, Joseph rises to the position of overseeing all of Egypt, under only Pharaoh. God blessed Joseph with the ability to see and interpret others’ dreams, and he was able to interpret one of Pharaoh’s dreams, which foretold seven years of bountiful harvest that would be followed by seven years of famine.
Based on this glimpse of the future in a dream, Joseph recommended the following plan, which they put into action: “Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plentiful years.”[1] This stored provision of food would help get Egypt through the years of famine. But there’s also another lesson in Joseph’s plan.
Like Joseph, we have knowledge of the future that, in our case, we have learned through the Bible – that destruction is coming to this world. Not just a regional famine, but worldwide, total judgement and destruction. God’s word is like a dream that God has interpreted for His people through His Spirit so we may prepare for that future time.
In Joseph’s case, he had Egypt use its current resources to invest in the future he knew was coming. We can do the same, but how? We can invest through our tithes and offerings. By loving someone as Christ would. By giving our time in service. By supporting missionaries. By being a strong witness in word and deed. We do it when we do anything to advance God’s kingdom in this world, in His church and among our neighbors near and far.
These investments don’t save us – we are only justified by faith in what Christ has done for us – but that same Christ has told us to “lay up” these investments in Matthew 6:19-20, which says:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
Many of us save and invest diligently for goals like retirement, college, vacation, a house or a car, and we should. But we should also save and invest diligently in eternity, “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”[2]
In Shakespeare’s play Othello, the evil Iago says the line: “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! / It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock / The meat it feeds on.”[1]
Jealousy can be a monster that takes control of us if we aren’t careful, so since at least 1603, people have been describing this powerful emotion as being taken over by the “green-eyed monster.” What is this emotion? Merriam-Webster says we are jealous when we feel “hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage.”[2] Even though jealousy is a hostile emotion, “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,”[3] so He must be able to work through the green-eyed monster.
The first use of the word jealousy in the ESV Bible comes from Genesis 37:11, which begins with: “And [Joseph’s] brothers were jealous of him.” This jealousy came from the favoritism Joseph’s father Jacob showed toward Joseph over his 11 brothers, but also the dreams Joseph shared where his family was bowing to him. So, in Genesis 37:19-20, the brothers “said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.’” But Joseph was rescued and ended up in charge of Egypt’s food supply during a famine, enabling him, through God’s providence, to feed and save the rest of his family. Therefore, what started as jealousy resulted in Israel’s deliverance from famine. Joseph tells his brothers: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20)
Later, in the New Testament, jealousy was a cause of the persecution of the early Christian church. Acts 13:44-45 says “The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him” and Acts 17:4-5 says “And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.” (Emphases added)
The apostle Paul was quite aware of this fierce jealousy, but instead of getting upset and annoyed about it, he knew that God would use it for the good of His people. In fact, while Paul knew his ministry to the Gentiles provoked jealous feelings among Jews, he also hoped jealousy would bring some Jews to faith in Christ: “Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them.” (Romans 11:13-14)
But the biggest example of God working through jealousy and its relative, envy, can be found at the cross. Pharisees and other religious leaders of Jesus’ day were jealous of the crowds that followed Him, of the authority He wielded, and of the miracles He performed. Therefore, they plotted against Jesus to silence Him, and when they finally seized Him and turned Him over to Pilate, the Roman governor of the region, Matthew 27:18 records that Pilate “knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.” What began as jealousy led to the cross and the only way our sins could be paid for was fulfilled!
Jealousy remains a harmful emotion, and God never creates evil in us, but jealous feelings not only resulted in the temporal salvation of Israel from famine and eternal salvation for some Jews in the New Testament, but jealousy also contributed to the crucifixion of Jesus, which made all salvation possible. When Paul wrote “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,” it included God overcoming “all things.” Even jealousy, the green-eyed monster.
In life there are many difficult questions, and two of the hardest are also common objections to Christianity: 1) Why doesn’t God do anything about the evil in this world? and 2) Why do bad things happen to good people?
However, the Bible does not leave Christians without hope in the face of these questions.
First, part of what God is doing about the evil in this world is the fact that everyone dies. The Bible teaches that every bad thing in this world is a result of sin – people deviating from God’s purposes – and that because of that sin the world is cursed[1]. Not only do people hurt each other, but the creation itself, including human nature, is not in its ideal state.
Death was not originally part of this world, but came in to the world as a result of sin and is a constant reminder of it. In Genesis chapter 5, there is a genealogy from Adam to Noah. The phrase “and he died” is repeated over and over again and is a reminder that this world is not perfect. God created a consequence for the sin of mankind: death. While the Bible doesn’t explain why there was a snake in the garden or why Adam and Eve sinned, it does describe what God is doing about it. When we ask why bad things happen, we acknowledge that bad things exist, that they shouldn’t exist, and that they can happen to anyone. God isn’t doing nothing about the evil in the world – we all die and that is part of the judgment.
So, the two objections to Christianity (Why doesn’t God do anything about the evil in this world? and why do bad things happen to good people?) end up being contradictory because part of what God does about the evil in this world is that bad things (death) happen to everyone.
However, the Bible teaches that there are two deaths: a physical death and a spiritual death. In the first, our soul is separated from our body and our body dies. In the second, our soul is separated from God eternally and our soul dies but exists forever away from God’s presence and blessings. A second thing that God is doing about the evil in this world is that the first death is universal, but the second death is not.
Fortunately, judgement and death aren’t the only things God is doing about sin. What does this mean? Note the second half of God’s curse on the serpent from Genesis 3:15 –
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Who is being bruised here? In the last phrase, Satan is injuring Christ through the crucifixion, but it’s described as a wound to the heel because it is not fatal. Jesus was raised to life eternal. On the other hand, Christ shall bruise the head of Satan – a fatal blow that he will never recover from. This was determined from the beginning.
While judgement comes to all in physical death as a result of sin, through Christ there is a way out from spiritual, eternal death. Jesus has paid the price for our sin and has conquered eternal, spiritual death as a result.
“The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” – 1 Corinthians 15:26
Many times, in the Old Testament, places were named or re-named to remind people of something significant that happened there. One of these times happened in Genesis 22:14, which says: “So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”” Those who know their Bible well and who have walked along with the Lord know that God provides in many places and at many times, but only one place was given this name. What did God provide to Abraham and why was it so meaningful that a place needed to be named for it?
Back in Genesis 22:1, we are told that “God tested Abraham” by telling him to go and sacrifice his only son Isaac on Mount Moriah. This is startling is so many ways, not least because human sacrifice is involved. Although some cultures in Old Testament times practiced human sacrifice, in modern times it’s probably universally condemned.[1] To Abraham however, it would also be startling because Isaac was his only son, and God had promised Abraham that “I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven.”[2] If Abraham killed his only son, who was born in Abraham’s old age from the previously barren womb of his wife Sarah by the promise of God, how would Abraham have so many descendants that he couldn’t count them?
While this didn’t make much sense, Abraham trusted God anyway and decided to follow His command. Hebrews 11:19 tells us that Abraham believed God could raise Isaac from the dead if He so chose. However we got there, God was going to keep His promise. Abraham was able to keep this faith even though the trip to Moriah took more than 3 days.[3] His faith in following through on this seemingly barbaric command was tested by time, but Abraham kept walking in faith.
Which brings us back to the place name “The LORD will provide.” After Abraham had bound his son Isaac, laid him on the wood and prepared to offer him as a burnt offering, God called out to him, saying “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”[4] Abraham then saw a ram caught in the bushes nearby, a perfect substitute for Isaac as a burnt offering! Isaac was set free and the ram was sacrificed. Dilemma resolved. Then the place was named, but also, we read “as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.””
When the Bible says “as it is said to this day” it usually means until the day the passage was written down. So, the saying “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided” lasted until Moses wrote the book of Genesis. But when and why did the phrase fall out of practice? When reading this story, I thought this saying needs to be revived! God still provides for us in amazing ways, but maybe not on Mount Moriah.
Does He provide for us whenever we want Him to? Warren Wiersbe answers this question as: He provides for us “in the place of His assignment. Abraham was at the right place, so God could meet his needs. We have no right to expect the provision of God if we are not in the will of God.”
Abraham, in faith, knew that God would provide a solution to a seemingly offensive and impossible situation, and so He did. But in our case, there are at least two ways we can fall short of obtaining God’s provision: one, we fail to follow His command because it doesn’t make sense to us, and two, we can expect Him to provide what we need for us even though we aren’t doing what He wants us to do.
What if God is asking us to do something that seems unwise financially, socially, or otherwise? Maybe it doesn’t even make sense theologically, as it may not have to Abraham? God wants to provide for us a way through that, a way to reward our faith and glorify Himself for our good. But, if we aren’t willing to follow Him in that instance, we miss out on the blessing.
What if we feel like we’re missing out on some blessing and we don’t know why? Maybe we don’t feel close to God, we don’t feel like He answers our prayers, we don’t feel like He loves us?[5] It may be that He is asking us to do something and we aren’t following through. We expect the blessings to flow at no cost to us.
If Abraham had not followed God’s command, he would have not been able to experience the amazing provision from God that led him to name the place “The LORD will provide.”” And sometimes if we aren’t walking with God in faith (or maybe not even spending enough time with God to know what He wants), we will never learn how He can provide.
What might God be asking you to do today? Have you asked Him? Follow Him and He will prove Himself faithful. He will be glorified and it will be for your good.
Amen.
[1] I’m not aware of any place that still practices it, but I’m not an expert. [2] Genesis 26:4 [3] Genesis 22:4 [4] Genesis 22:12 [5] I don’t mean to minimize the fact that some people just won’t feel good for medical reasons, such as clinical anxiety or depression. Sometimes there are other factors at play that need to overcome in other ways.
In the story of the Old Testament prophet Hosea, God told him to marry a prostitute named Gomer to teach a lesson about idolatry, but also about God’s steadfast love and mercy. Gomer was not only a prostitute physically, but also spiritually, worshipping other gods, which isn’t limited to literal, physical idols. Hosea 2:8-9 explains that idolatry includes giving credit to other gods (or no gods) for things that the LORD had actually provided. God said through Hosea:
“And [Gomer] did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine, and the oil, and who lavished on her silver and gold, which they used for Baal. Therefore I will take back my grain in its time, and my wine in its season, and I will take away my wool and my flax, which were to cover her nakedness.”
In other words, if Gomer (who represents all of Israel) doesn’t recognize the true source of her blessings, God is fully justified in taking them away. Fortunately, He is a God of love and mercy, who provides for our nakedness – both physical and spiritual, beginning all the way back in Genesis 3:21, which says: “And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” Adam and Eve had fallen and became ashamed of their condition, expecting God to judge them, but instead He covered them physically, and also set in place a plan to redeem His people by the blood of Jesus.
In Gomers case, “And the LORD said to me, ‘Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.’ So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley.” (Hosea 3:1-2)
Fifteen shekels was not a lot of money, meaning other people didn’t value Gomer much, but God and Hosea were faithful and loved her. The real price of God’s people – His own Son – was much steeper, but He decided we’re worth it even though we are unfaithful. It is His faithfulness that really matters.
Therefore, today be thankful! For the One who gives us “the grain, the wine, and the oil” and the “silver and gold” is the same One who died for us to make us His own people.
