Admittedly, I struggled with committing to the amount of “homework” required by the study that Darcy wanted me to join her in. I committed anyways, God gave me the time, and it turned out to be less like homework because I was digging deep into God’s Word and mining treasures that left me deeply satisfied while longing for more. God supplied Living Water for my thirsty soul, and I’d like to whet your appetite (so to speak) with a few of the characters that I learned from.
Sarah, the wife of Abraham, doubted God’s supernatural power, tried to take matters into her own hands at times, but walked in faithful obedience beside her husband. There she learned that nothing is too hard for the Lord. My belief in God should be matched by faithful obedience to Him, followed by reverent and joyful worship as I daily observe that nothing is too hard for the Lord.
The book of Genesis goes into great detail to describe the utter wickedness that came to characterize Judah, the fourth son of Jacob. Despite his key role in selling his own brother into slavery, his bringing up of two wicked sons whom God justly struck dead, and his sexual relations with a prostitute who turned out to be his daughter-in-law, God redeems his soul and appoints him as heir to the promise. Judah becomes the son through whom the line of Christ is passed, and his change of heart is clearly evidenced throughout the Joseph narrative. God is no respecter of persons. Nothing is too hard for the Lord—especially the redemption of a soul drowning in wickedness.
Joseph’s story is a familiar one, but his resemblance to Christ is worth revisiting time and again, as God’s ultimate goal for His children is that they become like Christ. Joseph never doubted God’s presence with him in all places, which led him to be vigilant about sin. He fled from “secret” sin because of His unwavering belief that God was there standing witness to all of His actions. Joseph never failed to give God all the glory due to Him. Men were quick to praise Joseph for His ability to interpret dreams, and Joseph was quick to make them understand that the interpretation of dreams belonged only to God. By faith, Joseph testified that God was at work through all of his circumstances in order to bring about good for the nation of Israel and glory for Himself. Joseph refused to bear a grudge against his wicked brothers because he had eyes of faith to see God wisely and lovingly orchestrating all the events of his life.
I’ve only brushed the surface of all that Genesis has to offer. Finding Christ there, and seeing God work in and through sinful men and women has left me hungry to mine the Scripture for even more precious gems of truth.
Comments