Scenes of Grace 30

When Jesus hung on the cross He said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”  In Genesis 50 we find a similar scene of grace as Joseph’s brothers came to him after the death of Jacob.  They were afraid that he was still holding a grudge against them for what they had done to him.  With fear they fell on their faces before him and asked him to forgive them.  In the words of the Lord’s Prayer we pray, “And forgive us our debts (trespasses) as we forgive our debtors (those who trespass against us)”.  Is the scene of grace acted out in Genesis 50 acted out in our lives?

Cecil Alexander wrote the beautiful hymn “Forgive Them, O My Father”.  While capturing the words of Christ from the cross, she also clearly conveys the words of Joseph to his brothers.  The first stanza of her hymn reads: “Forgive them, O my Father,
they know not what they do. The Savior spoke in anguish, as sharp iron nails went through.
No word of anger spoke He to them that shed His blood, but prayer and tenderest pity
large as the love of God.”  Joseph told his brothers that what they had done had been done for their salvation in the divine plan of God.  Jesus suffered for our salvation in the divine plan of God. 

The plan of God for salvation is still working in the world.  When early Christians suffered for their faith, they praised God as they were slain.  The forgiveness they showed their tormentors greatly impacted many for salvation.  Today people are still waiting to see if the forgiveness of God is real.  If it is real, it must be real in us.  We are the little “Christs” in the world today.  We must see that God’s plan of salvation for the world includes us as living demonstrations of His grace.  Joseph forgave his brothers.  Christ forgave his tormentors.  We are to forgive our debtors.  We are to do it because it is the plan of Christ to reach the world of sinners through the ministry of His bride, the Church. 

Cecil’s last stanza reminds us that we are still relying every day on the constant forgiveness of Christ and that we must minister the same grace to others.  “And often I have slighted Thy gentle voice that said: forgive me too, Lord Jesus, I knew not what I did.
O depth of sweet compassion! O love divine and true! Save Thou the souls that slight Thee
And know not what they do.”  Let us act with Christ in this ministry of grace. 

 

 

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

 

 

You may also enjoy this inspirational devotional book, The Gospel According to Molly,     available here:  https://www.createspace.com/4341138

Scenes of Grace 29

Daniel Whittle penned many hymns.  One of those which have become more obscure today is “By Grace Are Ye Saved”.  The first stanza of the hymn reads, “In grace the holy God did full salvation plan, electing in His sovereign grace to save rebellious man.”  When we look at the prophecy that Jacob makes for his sons in Genesis 49 we can see the grace of God poured out on two particularly rebellious men.

Simeon and Levi, the second and third sons of Leah, had taken vengeance on the city of Shechem for the sin of the prince of the city.  He had raped their little sister.  These two brothers had then killed every man in the city in retribution.  In modern parlance we might say that their father Jacob was “not amused”.  In his prophecy regarding these two sons he seems to make an end of them as an enduring part of the tribes of Israel.  What he saw dimly in speaking the prophecy, however, God saw fully in the grandeur of His grace to an end that Jacob could not see.  The prophecy came from God and God had grace in his plan. 

By the words of Jacob the brothers were to be dispersed in Israel and have no land of their own.  This indeed did come true.  But it did not mean their insignificance or destruction.  Levi went on to become the tribe of the Aaronic priesthood.  God made a covenantal statement regarding this priesthood that it would perpetuate until the end of time. We see this priesthood still at work in the restored Israel of the millennial age found in Ezekiel 40-48.  God’s grace did not eliminate but saved this rebellious son.

The tribe of Simeon was also dispersed.  It is where they were dispersed that shines the grace of God.  Simeon was given an inheritance within the tribe of Judah.  While they did in many ways lose their own identity, the identity of where they were was the blessed capital of Israel.  Judah was the crowning tribe.  It was the home of the temple where the Levites served.  The tribe of Simeon survived foreign attacks until the tribe of Judah itself succumbed to the weight of their own sin.  Therefore, the people of Simeon were among the first to be restored to the land after the captivity of Babylon.  God preserved these two brothers by His grace alone.  What seemingly was their end, the prophecy of Jacob, was to be in truth their salvation.  God in his grace planned it all and saved the sinner.  Praise God that He is still in the same planning and saving grace “business” today. 

You may also enjoy this inspirational devotional book, The Gospel According to Molly,     available here:  https://www.createspace.com/4341138

Scenes of Grace 28

If you were asked to assess your life up to today, what would you say?  Would you sing along with John Peterson, “Jesus Led Me All the Way”?  Or would you sigh along with Jacob, “Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life”? (Gen. 47:9)  I think this is one of the saddest verses in Scripture for a man of faith to utter.  In light of God’s abundant grace it is hard to conceive this attitude, but Jacob said it.

There are no doubts that Jacob had troubles.  He was a cheat and was cheated.  He wanted it all on his terms both when at home with Isaac and Rebekah and in Padan-Aram with his new family. Both times his impatience and greed cost him dearly.  His dissatisfaction led to family turmoil in both his birth home and his new home.  All of that is true, but it is not the whole story.

The whole story is that God had chosen him by grace before he was born to receive the covenant and the promises.  Before his birth Jesus was leading him!  After his great sin toward Isaac, God appeared to him in a dream with many precious promises.  After his deceit toward Laban, God appeared to him again with more assurances.  When confronted by his potentially murderous brother God again appeared to him and renewed the promises and the covenant.  When faced by the hostility of the Canaanites after the rape of Dinah and his son’s retribution for it, God stayed the hand of the heathens by placing a fear of Himself within them.  When he thought he had lost his favorite son, God had really preserved him for the ultimate salvation of the entire family and Jacob got to see him again.  Instead of starving in Canaan God gave him a home with plenty in Egypt.  God’s abundant grace and the leading hand of Jesus were on his life from beginning to end.

Instead of grumping Jacob should have sung Edward Bickersteth’s hymn “Peace, Perfect Peace”.  Bickersteth takes all the complaints of Jacob and gives them a crisp reply from the throne of grace.  The complaints are: “In this dark world of sin, sorrows surging round, future all unknown” and “death shadowing us and ours.”  God’s grace answers: “Jesus whispers peace within, on Jesus bosom naught but calm is found, Jesus knows and He is on the throne, Jesus has vanquished death” and lastly, “Jesus calls us to heaven’s perfect peace.”  There was abundant grace for all of Jacob’s troubles and ours.  Rejoice in the answers of Grace that God supplies and sing with Bickersteth, “Peace, Perfect Peace.” 

 

You may also enjoy this inspirational devotional book, The Gospel According to Molly,     available here:  https://www.createspace.com/4341138

  

 

 

Scenes of Grace 27

Genesis 44 relates the exciting story of the transformation of Judah.  Here we find Judah and his brothers in the home of Joseph, who they still don’t know is Joseph, and they are faced with a great trial.  Joseph proposes to keep Benjamin in Egypt as his servant and send the rest of the brothers home.  Judah, who had been so quick to sell Joseph as a slave and to deprive Jacob of his favorite son, reveals the new life that God had given him after he confessed his sins and turned to God in Genesis 38. 

Fanny Crosby wrote the popular hymn “Draw Me Nearer” also known as “I Am Thine, O Lord”.  The second stanza reads: “Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord, by the power of grace divine; let my soul look up with a steadfast hope, and my will be lost in Thine.”  Think of those last few words, “And my will be lost in Thine”.  This picture of the consecrated life shines clearly in the action that Judah took in Genesis 44.  He approached Joseph and said, “For your servant became surety for the lad (Benjamin) to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father forever’.”  Then he offered himself to stay as a permanent slave to Joseph in exchange for Benjamin’s freedom.  The will to live his own life, to have his own freedoms, to care for his own family and to live in his own land were all subjected to the needs of others. 

That is the grace of God that we find in Jesus Christ.  He left heaven with all its glory and came to earth to be despised and rejected, to be in want and suffer with mankind and then to be crucified for our sin.  That is the grace of God that we find reflected in the great saints of old who endured much for the sake of the cross of Christ.  That is to be the grace of God reflected in our lives as we give ourselves to Christ.  The evidence of grace is not to be some ancient glory that we recall but not realize.  It is to be the reality of each believer’s life.  As Fanny Crosby wrote, “Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord, to the cross where Thou hast died; draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord, to Thy precious, bleeding side.”  Let our grace walk reflect our nearness to God each day. 

Scenes of Grace 26

In 1524 Lazarus Spengler wrote the hymn “All Mankind Fell in Adam’s Fall”.  The 3^rd stanza of the hymn expresses clearly the condition of all mankind: “From hearts depraved, to evil prone, flow thoughts and deeds of sin alone; God’s image lost, the darkened soul nor seeks nor finds its heav’nly goal.”  Each part of that verse is directly linked to a biblical description of our human nature.  In Genesis 42 Joseph’s brothers have returned home to Jacob after their first trip to Egypt to buy food.  Things didn’t go very well on their trip.  As they related the events of their first contact with the “ruler of the land”, who they didn’t know was their brother Joseph, they made this comment to their father Jacob, “But we said to him, ‘We are honest men’.”       

If anyone knew that line wasn’t true it would have been the one they told it to – Joseph.  How boldly they lied to the one whom they had sold as a slave.  Honest men might have been their own assessment of themselves, but Joseph knew far better.  Remember that Joseph is a profile of Christ.  While Joseph was not omniscient, he was fully aware in the case of his brothers to what extent of depravity their sins had dipped.  Christ knows it all.

Herein is grace.  Joseph sent them on their way with all the food that they needed.  He didn’t even charge them for it.  He kept one brother in jail in Egypt to guarantee that they would come back for more help that he would give them.  Jesus, who knows all our sins against Him, says to the sinner, “Come unto me.”  As Joseph paid the price for the grain his brothers took home with them, so Jesus paid the price for the wages of our sin.  He died that we might truly have the eternal bread of life.  That is grace abundant indeed.

Now we can look at the 5^th stanza of Spengler’s hymn: “As by one man all mankind fell and, born in sin, was doomed to hell, so by one Man, who took our place, we all received the gift of grace.”  Though confounded by the gifts of grace that Joseph had given to them; though unable to comprehend that they were even gifts; Joseph’s brothers would return to him again and falling on their faces receive the fullness of His grace.  We don’t always understand how it is that God is leading us to His wonderful grace, but we all need to fall on our faces with adoration that He is and that He does receive us when we come.  Oh, the abundant and wonderful grace of Christ! 

Scenes of Grace 25

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

 

You may also enjoy this inspirational devotional book, The Gospel According to Molly,     available here:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BTSN1DU

Scenes of Grace 24

At a church where I pastored we had a tradition at funerals for members of the church.  After the service and before the casket was removed from the sanctuary we would all stand and sing Jeremiah Rankin’s hymn “God Be with You”.  It was a song of parting, but not a song of good-bye.  I hardly picture Joseph’s brothers standing in the pasture waving to him and singing this song while he was drug off as a slave to Egypt.  But whether they sang it or not, God was with Joseph in Egypt – even when it didn’t seem like it. 

The third verse of “God Be with You” asks for this blessing of His presence, “When life’s perils thick enfold you, put His arms unfailing round you”.  (We did not sing this verse at funerals.  We just sang the first and fourth.)  In Genesis 40 we still find Joseph languishing in the dungeon.  He has been elevated, however, to the position of chief trustee.  Trustee or not, he was still in the dungeon and didn’t want to be there.  But he wasn’t alone.  God was there with him and His unfailing arms were around him. 

Two of Pharaoh’s servants had displeased their master and were thrown in the dungeon with Joseph.  Joseph had the opportunity to interpret a dream for each of them.  As the interpretations proved true he asked the surviving servant to take his petition to Pharaoh upon his release.  The servant didn’t at that time, but later a need arose in Pharaoh’s life and he needed just the help Joseph could give.  Calling Joseph from prison, Pharaoh had Joseph interpret a dream for him and then elevated Joseph to the second highest position in Egypt. Now Joseph was in a position not only to save himself but to save all of Egypt, all the lands around Egypt and all his family. 

The second verse of Rankin’s hymn reads, “’Neath His wings protecting hide you, daily manna still provide you.”  God had sheltered Joseph from death by his brothers’ hands, from death by Potiphar, from death in the dungeon and all while still provided his needs.  The same God who was gracious to Joseph all his days is the same God who cares for His children today.  God’s grace has not changed.  The last petition of the first verse of this hymn is the one I like the best. “With His sheep securely fold you – God be with you ‘til we meet again.”  Beloved, rejoice in the God who is there.  Rejoice in His abundant grace. 

You may also enjoy this inspirational devotional book, The Gospel According to Molly,

available here: 

                        http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BTSN1DU