Our difficult times increase our longing to live in a better place.
5 Then Pharaoh said to
Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have joined you here,
6 choose any place in the
entire land of Egypt for them to live. Give them the best land of Egypt. Let
them live in the region of Goshen. And if any of them have special skills,
put them in charge of my livestock, too.”
Genesis 47:11-12 So Joseph assigned the best land of Egypt—the region
of Rameses—to his father and his brothers, and he settled them there, just
as Pharaoh had commanded.
12 And Joseph provided food
for his father and his brothers in amounts appropriate to the number of
their dependents, including the smallest children.
Exodus 1:8 Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew
nothing about Joseph or what he had done.
Nobody wanted a rescue when they first got to Egypt, why would they want to, they just got rescued from the famine in Canaan. Life has been good ever since Joseph saved them from the famine and now they have been living in the best area of Egypt, their livestock were in the best pastures and their families were well fed. But God would soon make sure that they were not comfortable there forever.
There is a new
Pharaoh in town and he isn't as smart as the previous one. The previous one
was impressed with the God given wisdom of Joseph but the new man didn't know
anything about Joseph or about his God. Just as Joseph was unfairly forced into slavery, now his
ancestors have been unfairly put in the same situation.
Pharaoh feared what the Canaanites should have feared. If Pharaoh knew the God
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob he would have realized that the land that God's
people were supposed to take away from it's current residents was not Egypt.
The promised land that they would conquer is the place where the Canaanites
currently reside.
Pharaoh attempted to shorten the life expectancy and slowdown the birthrate
of God's people through slave labor and infanticide seemed like a wise plan
but he didn't achieve the intended results. God's people continued to increase despite the harsh treatment.
Pharaoh assumed that he was in charge and that his plans would have the desired outcome. Man's wisdom is wrong so much of the time that we should be very careful. Sometimes God allows the wisdom of evil men to prevail for a long time before he
steps in and proves who is really in charge.
Pharaoh's plans were used by God to create a desire to live in a better country Pharaoh didn't have any idea that God would use the
persecution to create a longing within his people to live free in the land
that was promised to their father Abraham. (Hebrews11:13-16)
God's people need a rescue but their leader that will take them out of bondage isn't even born yet. God's people don't have any idea that they are waiting for a slow plan that will allow them to suffer for many years as they wait for their deliverer.
God's rescuer will come as a baby, babies have to grow up, which means they have to be protected from the plans of evil rulers. Ironically, instead of being killed by the evil ruler, this baby would be protected and become a member of the family of the man that wanted him killed.
God’s grace and sovereignty made a way for Moses’ mother to nurse her own baby, get paid for it, and guarantee that the baby would not be killed. God put Pharaoh's daughter in the right place at the right time and gave her the compassion to care for Moses.
God's rescuer will have to be prepared, he will have to grow up physically and spiritually, he will need time to learn from the mistake of following man's wisdom, and he will have to go to God's classroom in the wilderness to learn godly wisdom.
2 Peter 3:8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.
God isn't concerned with our clocks or calendars, God's people have always been in God's waiting room, he almost always moves much slower than we want. Our faith gets stronger when we don't get instant answers to our prayer request.
God's glory shines the brightest when it looks like the desired outcome is completely impossible. Very often he allows our situation to get as bad as possible before it looks like he is reacting and then he reacts in a small way that doesn't even seem to help.
Isaiah 64:4 For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!
God is at work and he is competent and faithful to complete what he has promised. Life is hard but how much desire would we have for a deliverer if we lived in comfort all the time?
It is difficult to understand how God could be merciful to the Canaanites and hold back his judgment on them while his people lost favor with the world around them which resulted in them being persecuted. The world doesn't tolerate us as well as it used to, the church is being persecuted more and more while God delays in delivering us from this evil world.
All of the difficult times remind us that we are not home yet. Our trials increase our longing to live in a better place, a place without bondage to sin, a place with justice for all, a place where we will fully know God and enjoy the rest of his promises that we have not received yet.
RELATED ARTICLES
God Works for Those Who Wait for Him
(desiringgod.org)
