Grace of the Sovereign God

Singing is a great way to make the day brighter and the burden lighter.  Matthias Claudius heard just such singing as the farmers gathered their crops in 18^th century Germany.  He composed a poem from their harvest song which has since been made into the beautiful hymn “We Plow the Fields”.  All ancient cultures had a god who controlled the affairs of agriculture.  The one true God of heaven often revealed Himself as being God of gods by proving that He alone was the God of seedtime and harvest, of rain and sun and of all the blessings of fruitful labor.  In Genesis 41 God demonstrated to Pharaoh that He was in charge of the affairs of Egypt by sending both harvest and drought.

Multiple proofs of God’s abundant grace came from the harvest of plenty and then the great drought in Egypt.  First, God released Joseph from bondage by giving him the ability to tell Pharaoh what his dream meant.  Second, God was able to raise up a man over Egypt with the wisdom to help the nation survive the seven bad years.  Third, God was able to save His chosen people, the descendants of Jacob, through Joseph’s ascension to power in Egypt.  Fourth, God was able to reveal His glory and salvation to all nations that went to Egypt to find food during the famine.  Fifth, God didn’t just judge false gods, but provided salvation for all who would come to Joseph for their bread of life.

The false Egyptian gods of agriculture could do none of those things.  The Egyptian wise men/priests could not tell Pharaoh his dream.  The Egyptian wise men/priests had to agree with Pharaoh that there were none among them as wise and discerning as Joseph.  The gods of Egypt could not overrule the edict of God that there would be a drought.  Joseph was able to proclaim that God alone was God of the whole earth as people came to Him to buy bread.  God’s people were brought to Egypt just as God had told Abraham and would stay there until God once again demonstrated His power against all false gods and brought them back to the Promised Land.

The first stanza and chorus of Claudius’s hymn praise God for these gifts and proofs of His grace.  “We plow the fields, and scatter the good seed on the land, but it is fed and watered by God’s almighty hand. He sends the snow in winter, the warmth to swell the grain, the breezes and the sunshine, and soft refreshing rain.  Refrain:  All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above, then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord For all His love.”     

  The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

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