Hidden in Plain Sight!

The Torah portion for this week is Genesis 44:18 - 47:27.

It would be hard to find in the Bible a more perfect type of Messiah than Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob. The similarities are amazing! One of these similarities is the 30 pieces of silver which paid for both men's betrayal by their "brothers." Another is that both men were hidden in plain sight. Let me explain.

Paul teaches us in Romans that the Jewish people are currently experiencing a blindness or sleep in regards to recognizing their Messiah.

Romans 11:8 (KJV)
⁸ (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. (from Deuteronomy 29:4)

Romans 11:25 (KJV)
²⁵ For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Now the tendency for Gentile Christians is to say that the Jewish people are foolish not to recognize Jesus as their Messiah. However, we see from Romans that our attitude towards the Jews should not be one of superiority. Rather we should understand that God has allowed this to occur in order for Gentiles to enter into Messiah's Kingdom.

Also, if believers would seriously look at the Old Testament and examine Joseph as a type of Messiah, they would see that Joseph was not recognized by his brothers either. When Jacob's other sons came into Egypt they met the nation's second top man. He had an Egyptian name, He spoke in the Egyptian language. He was dressed as an Egyptian. He was revered by the Egyptians. He did not resemble their brother Joseph at all. It wasn't until after Judah offered to be held as a bondsman in place of Benjamin that Joseph revealed himself.

Genesis 45:4 (KJV)
⁴ And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.

In a way, Joseph was hidden in plain sight!

Now let's look at Yeshua. He has a Greek name (Jesus from Iesous). His Hebrew/Aramaic language comes down to us through not only the Greek language, but from a Greek understanding of Scripture. Often artwork portrays Him in Medieval European dress and very European features. Gentiles worship Him while ignoring the Torah and creating a new religion. Is is surprising that most Jewish people can't recognize their own Messiah? Yeshua also seems to be hidden in plain sight!

One day, though, as we  learn from the Old Testament, as well as Paul, that Messiah will reveal Himself to His brothers.

Romans 11:26-27 (KJV)
²⁶ And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
²⁷ For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. (from Isaiah 59:20-21)

"Vayigashu......ani Yeshua akhikhem....."   "Please come near to me.....I am Yeshua your brother....."

Perhaps as Gentile and Jewish believers we need to help our brothers of all stripes learn to recognize our very Jewish Messiah by peeling back the Greek and Gentile traditions that have hidden our Messiah so well.

God's Plan for Wealth

Last week's Torah Portion came from Genesis 41:1 - 44:17.

Joseph had asked the chief butler to remember him to Pharaoh when he was released from prison and returned to his court duties, but as we found out at the end of our last Torah portion, the chief butler had totally forgotten about Joseph. Chapter 41 begins with this:

Genesis 41:1 (KJV)
¹ And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.

TWO YEARS of waiting! Joseph's discouragement must have been extreme, yet God had not forgotten Joseph. He had plans for His servant!

Pharaoh dreamed two dreams and none of the magicians could tell Pharaoh the dreams, nor interpret them. Finally, the chief butler remembered Joseph and recommended him to Pharaoh. Although Joseph was able to interpret the dreams for Pharaoh, he quickly credited God for the interpretation.

Genesis 41:16 (KJV)
¹⁶ And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.

Pharaoh took Joseph's suggestion to appoint a vizier, or a high government official, to oversee the collection and distribution of food for the people during the upcoming seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. Pharaoh chose Joseph for this role. With this decree, Joseph permanently left the prison and became second in command over Egypt.

God had certainly rewarded Joseph for his faithfulness, but as Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy food, we see that God was not yet finished. The brothers face Joseph, the brother that they had sold into slavery. They bow down to him without recognizing that he is their brother. They were now to be tested. Had they changed in any way or were they the same self-centered brothers that Joseph had known? More on this next time!

There are some who believe that it is God's will for His people to be wealthy. After all, even though Joseph spent many years as a slave or in prison, he was eventually raised to an almost unbelievable status. Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham all had great wealth, but is this the norm? When we examine the entire Bible we find that Yeshua, His parents, and His disciples were not wealthy. Consequently, there is no reason to automatically assume that wealth is a given for God's people. Some are wealthy and some are not. A person's bank account is only dependent on what God plans. Wealth may be God's will for some, but it is not for all. If wealth would bring glory to God through a believer's life, then wealth may be the result. However, wealth can also bring great sin, often in the form of idolatry.

Are you wealthy? Thank God and use it responsibly for God. Don't let it become a god. Are you poor or somewhere in between? Be thankful for what you do have and be thankful that wealth has not become an added difficulty. Don't yearn for wealth, for that is also idolatry.

God is trustworthy! Trust Him in all the things of your life!

Why, God?

Last week's Torah portion came from  Genesis 37:1 - 40:23.

I have several true born again believer friends who love to tell me about how this or that has happened so perfectly in their lives that they know that God has orchestrated these events. Yet, when terrible or unpleasant things occur, it is Satan that is attacking them. But I think we are too quick to attribute method and motive to both the Lord and our enemy.

Most of the Bible's characters are complex, in that they display both good and bad, but Joseph, who is introduced in this section of Scripture, seems truly to be a type of Messiah, where his sterling good character generally shines continuously. In chapter 37 Joseph is seventeen years old and the favored son of his father Jacob. Because of Jacob's favoritism, Joseph's brothers are jealous. Then through a series of events, a many colored coat, tattling on his brothers, and dreams of supremacy, his brothers decide that Joseph needs to be killed. As the account unfolds Joseph is finally not killed but sold to a caravan of Ishmaelites/Midianites on their way to Egypt. When they reach their destination Joseph is sold to Potipher as a slave.

At this point in Joseph's life, everything must have looked exceptionally bleak. What was God doing? Or were these events an attempt by Satan to "break" Joseph?

Joseph prospered in the house of Potipher. That is until Potipher's wife takes notice of Joseph's good looks. When Joseph refuses to commit adultery with Potipher's wife, she cries that Joseph tried to assault her. Potipher has Joseph thrown into prison. Again, what was God doing?

Next, as Joseph is in prison, he is again prospering. He even interprets the dreams of Pharaoh's butler and baker who had been thrown into prison with Joseph. As the dreams come to pass in reality, Joseph asks the butler to remember him when he is freed from prison and put back in place as Pharaoh's chief butler. Our account ends like this:

Genesis 40:23 (KJV)
²³ Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.

From a human perspective, Joseph must have been discouraged. He could not see God's purpose and plan. He could credit God with his prosperity, and he could blame Satan for his difficulties, but would this have been correct? Does this tell the full story?

Too often we forget that God is in ultimate control of everything. This is not to say that God micromanages everything for us, that we have no decisions or choice in our lives. Nor, is it false to say that our enemy is at work here on our fallen world. But everything that we go through has been scrutinized by God and will only be permitted if it is His will. Sometimes, that means that good happens. Sometimes that means that bad happens. Sometimes our own choices are foolish. Sometimes our choices are smart. Sometimes God allows our foolishness. Sometimes He does not. Looking at our lives we have really no way of knowing the whys. We can not see God's ultimate plan and purpose. We can only trust!

Joseph's story continues in the next Torah portion. We will finally get a glimpse of what work God is doing. This will be the same for us. One day, in eternity, we will see how each piece of our lives connected, to mold us and make us into the people that God wants us to be.