Sometimes we get put down or shut out on purpose. Someone, or some group, goes out of their way to cause you problems or get you out of the way. In the midst of the frustration, it’s hard to imagine any good coming from the situation.

Joseph’s brothers sold him to slave traders who carted him off to Egypt. There he lived for several years as a servant. Then, falsely accused, he spent at least two years in prison. If anyone had reason to get back at his brothers, Joseph did.

Years later, after Joseph rose to power and saved everyone from starvation, those same brothers came groveling. They worried that now (after the death of their father) Joseph might finally turn against them. But Joseph held no animosity. He replied, Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 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.

Looking back, Joseph saw God’s plan in the rollercoaster events leading up to that moment. God worked through jealous brothers, bent on violence, to accomplish his good purposes. I wonder where God is working like this today? It may be personally, or it may be on a broader stage, but we ask God to turn the evil in this world into good. This is not beyond his power. I pray that you and I can see the hidden hand of God bringing life where others intend death.

Genesis 50:19&20

Photo by Jon Tyson

Our world runs on power. Nations project power through military and economic strategies. Gangs fight over resources, the stronger taking from the weaker. Mobs form to push their agenda through fear and intimidation. It’s interesting to watch how those in charge of governments around the world manipulate levers of power.

The ancient world was no different. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, ruled a vast and wealthy country. When he elevated Joseph, the foreign slave turned dream-interpreter to his second in command, Pharaoh transferred a massive amount of power. This king recognized that God worked through Joseph, even giving him a new name, Zaphenath-paneah, which means either a revealer of secrets, or God speaks and lives.

Later Joseph presented his father, Jacob, to the king. In a remarkable inversion of power, Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Held to be the human embodiment of Ra, the sun god, Pharaoh usually did the blessing, and indeed he blessed Jacob and his family with food and a place to live. But this particular Egyptian saw beyond his religion. Perhaps he understood that he was no god at all. Perhaps he realized the work of the true God when he saw it. Perhaps the goodness of this God whom he did not worship nor acknowledge yet who provided for him and him country during a time of extreme famine overwhelmed his previously held beliefs.

Pharaoh allowed the blessing to take place. In this story we see how Jacob, a foreigner with little earthly power, represented God’s covenant, making him spiritually superior to the world’s most influential ruler. In our world of competing power claims, it’s good to realize that no one is truly great, or truly powerful, without the blessing of God.

Genesis 41:45 & 47:10

Photo by Robert Thiemann

You don’t get to choose your ancestors. Each of us are born into families filled with wonderful people, along with those we tend to not discuss. All our people are sinners, of course, so we inherit that trait along with crooked teeth and stringy hair. We are broken people who come from broken people. Which is why the grace of God means so much.

Jesus came from the tribe of Judah, and the paterfamilias carried his own baggage. Judah joined his brothers in getting rid of Joseph, their younger brother. They debated killing him, but Judah had a better idea. He argued, What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites. After the transaction they claimed Joseph was killed to their father, who mourned for years.

Judah next cheated his daughter-in-law Tamar out of her rights as a widow. Only after being found out in a most dramatic fashion did Judah finally admit to his guilt. God put two of his sons to death, because they were wicked in the sight of the Lord. All to say, Jesus didn’t come from the purest of stock. His family tree contained men and women of great faith, and others so corrupt God ended their lives prematurely.

My forbearers, near and far, may not measure up to certain ideals. But upon closer inspection neither do I. Thankfully, the Lord redeems each of us based on our own response to Him. Jesus, The Lion of Judah, inherited good and bad from his family history, and certainly overcame the villainous people of his lineage. The Lord empowers you and I to do so as well.

Genesis 37 & 38

Photo by Anne Nygård

Jacob wrestled with God. On a move to a new land with his family and all his earthly possessions, Jacob separated himself from the main camp for the night. While he was alone, a man wrestled with him until the break of day. The man wrenched Jacob’s hip from the socket and left him with a permanent limp. But Jacob didn’t let go and demanded a blessing, clearly sensing the divine nature of his opponent.

The man responded, Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.

Jacob battled with everyone around him. He cheated his brother out of his blessing, butted heads with his father-in-law over his daughters and his wages, and endured ongoing drama between his wives as they vied for his wandering attention.

Jacob battled with God as well, and God left him wrestle away. Perhaps this is what Jacob needed, to encounter the One whom he could not manipulate or deceive. As Jacob exhausted himself, the angelic wrestler left him with a permanent injury, reminding him of his dependence on God. Then he gave his a new name—Israel—meaning one who strives with God.

I find hope in this story because Jacob didn’t just doubt God, or whine to God, or pout before God. He violently grappled with God. The Lord doesn’t fear our doubts or anger or frustrations or questions. He meets us as we seek him, even with our doubtful mindsets and flawed lifestyles.

It’s okay to wrestle with God. In fact, it seems the Lord rather likes wrestling. Go get you some, as it might be just the encounter with God you need.

Genesis 32:22-32

Painting by Eugène Delacroix (1861)