The God of Joseph

[Acts 7:9-16]

The text discusses the concept of ‘Brick instead of Bread’ and quotes a saying attributed to the famous news anchor David Brinkley.  The saying illustrates that sometimes life presents us with challenges (symbolized by a brick) instead of comfort (represented by bread).  How we handle these challenges can determine whether they become the foundation of happiness or the cause of unhappiness.  The text then mentions biblical figures who encountered the brick of suffering in their lives, including Joseph from the book of Acts (Acts 7:9-16).  Unlike some, Joseph did not reject the brick of suffering; instead, he accepted it with faith.  Despite committing no wrongdoing, Joseph faced various trials, such as being sold to merchants by his brothers and later being unjustly imprisoned in Egypt.

The text advises that when we go through the passage of suffering, we should look to Jesus, who is familiar with suffering (Isa. 43:3).  By doing so, we can navigate the path of suffering with faith.  The text references a quote by Henry Nouwen from his book "The Living Reminder," emphasizing that healing is not about eliminating pain but about connecting our wounds with God's pain.  True healing occurs when we look at Jesus' cross until our own wounds are completely healed.  This is possible only through faith, as without it, we only focus on our own wounds and become consumed by them.  Ultimately, through the gift of faith given by God, we can look to Jesus and truly understand and experience healing within the wounds and suffering of the cross.

I would like to meditate on Joseph's God under the title "The God of Joseph," focusing on the second part of Stephen's speech in Acts 7:9-16.

First, the God of Joseph is a God who is with him.

Look at Acts 7:9 - " Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him."  Stephen stood before the Sanhedrin, accused of blasphemy by members of the synagogue of the Freedmen, who were acting as agents of Satan.  When the high priest, who presided over the Sanhedrin, asked, "Are these charges true?" (v. 1) Stephen began his response.  He had already spoken about the God of Abraham in Acts 7:2-8, and now in Acts 7:9-16, he speaks of the God of Joseph.  In this passage, he explains how Joseph's ten brothers, who were the ancestors of those falsely accusing Stephen, were jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt (v. 9).  While Joseph's brothers were jealous and sold him into Egypt, Joseph's God was with him, making him prosper in all things (Gen. 39:2, 3, 23).  How did God being with Joseph lead to his prosperity in all things in his life?  We can consider three key points centered around Acts 7:10:

• God delivered Joseph from all his afflictions.

Look at Acts 7:10 - "and rescued him out of all his afflictions  ...."  What does "all his afflictions" refer to?  When Joseph went to where his brothers were tending the flocks, they intended to kill him (Gen. 37:18-20).  As a young boy, Joseph was sold into a foreign land and lived as a stranger (vv. 25-28, 39:1).  He was thrown into prison due to Potiphar's wife's false accusation (39:10-20).  He spent years in prison even though he had committed no crime (39:21-40:23).  However, our Savior God delivered Joseph from all these afflictions.  Thus, Joseph's life was often moved from one adversity to another (Park).  Here, we can understand the mysterious way in which God saves His saints.  It is a way of moving from adversity to adversity, much like Joseph's journey.  What do you think about Dr. Park's words that God's way of saving saints is to move them from adversity to adversity, like Joseph?  This word is nothing short of fascinating.  It goes beyond our usual expectations.  Isn't it an entirely unexpected statement?  When we think that God saves us, we mainly expect an end to pain, suffering, and adversity.  Thus, we cry out to God for the grace of salvation, hoping for an end to tears, pain, and suffering.  At least once, we should deeply contemplate Dr. Park's word.  The reason is that the ultimately unexpected way of God's salvation is not adversity, but blessing.  After all, didn't Joseph become the ruler of Egypt?  Look at Psalms 105:18-19: "They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons, till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the Lord proved him true."

• God bestowed grace and wisdom upon Joseph.

Look at Acts 7:10 - " and rescued him from all his afflictions, and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt and all his household."  In Genesis 41, when Pharaoh had a dream that no one could interpret, Joseph was able to interpret it.  In response, Pharaoh said to Joseph in verse 39: "...Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are."  Even if God's method of salvation involves moving from one adversity to another, He grants grace and wisdom to overcome them.  As Apostle Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 10:13, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."  Even when we find ourselves in adversity like Joseph, the God who is with us enables us to bear that adversity through His grace and wisdom.  The same God who bestowed grace and wisdom upon Joseph is the same God who bestows it upon us, allowing us to endure the adversity we face.

• God appointed Joseph as the governor of Egypt.

Look at Acts 7:10 - " and rescued him from all his afflictions, and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt and all his household."  The God who was with Joseph not only delivered him from adversity, moving from one trial to another, but ultimately, through the grace and wisdom given by God, Pharaoh appointed him as the governor of Egypt.  As a result, Joseph named his sons "Manasseh" and "Ephraim."  The name "Manasseh" means "God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house" (Gen. 41:51).  The first son was named Manasseh, which signifies "to forget."  The name "Ephraim" means "God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction" (v. 52).  The second son was given a name that signifies "to be twice fruitful."  The God who was with Joseph, even in the midst of his adversity, ultimately blessed him with the astonishing blessing of being the governor of Egypt, causing him to forget all the memories of adversity and hardship.  This God of Joseph is indeed our God.  When He is with us, even in the midst of adversity, He grants us grace and wisdom, enabling us to overcome and adding His blessings upon us.  The God who is with us imparts this word to us: "And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age'" (Mt. 28:18-20).  Our Immanuel God is the God who is always with us.  Therefore, we have a responsibility to obey His command.  Like Stephen, we must proclaim the gospel to those who falsely accuse and bear false witness against us, making disciples of them.

                Second and last, Joseph's God is a God who brings poverty.

Look at Acts 7:11 - "Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food."  Our God is a God who brings poverty.  As an example, consider the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32.  The son received his share of the inheritance from his father, went to a far country, and squandered it all in reckless living.  Eventually, a severe famine arose in that land, and he began to be in need (v. 14).  Ultimately, it was God, the Creator, who brought about a severe famine in the land where the prodigal son was residing.  As a result, the son said, "But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!'" and he returned to his father's embrace (vv. 17-20).  The same God who was with Joseph also brought about a famine in the land of Canaan, where Joseph's brothers were living.  Can you imagine it?  A famine in a land where milk and honey flowed, like Canaan.  No matter how abundant it may seem to us, if it is God's will, even a place like Canaan can experience a famine.  Egypt also experienced a famine, but God had already sent Joseph, giving him wisdom and discernment, to prepare and store grain so that Jacob's entire family could eat and survive.  Therefore, when Joseph's ten brothers came to obtain grain, he said to them, "And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors" (Gen. 45:7).  Due to the famine, Joseph's brothers, the ancestors of the Jews who accused Stephen, experienced great distress because there was no food (Acts 7:11).  Isn't it interesting?  Both Joseph and his brothers experienced hardship.  What's different?  Joseph's hardship ("all his afflictions") was caused by his brothers' jealousy, but ultimately, God made Joseph governor of Egypt and, in turn, allowed his brothers and their entire families to migrate to Egypt.  Look at Acts 7:12-16.  When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit.  And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh.  And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all.  And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.  The God who had moved Abraham from Ur of the Chaldeans to Haran, then from Haran to the land of Canaan, had now moved Jacob and his entire family from the land of Canaan to Egypt.  The God who orchestrates all things ultimately aims for the salvation of His chosen people.  As Dr. Yoon-seon Park stated: ‘The famine, too, was something God did to fulfill the promise He had given to Abraham (Gen. 41:25).  When we see these facts, we can understand that everything in this world revolves around the salvation aimed at God's chosen people’ (Park).  How great a blessing it is for us to know that even famines, orchestrated by God's will, ultimately aim for our salvation!  Our God, who coordinates all things to achieve good, is working for our salvation, whether in times of famine or abundance.  Look at Genesis 50:20- "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."  Despite Joseph's brothers intending to harm him by selling him as a slave in Egypt, God turned all the trials and tribulations Joseph endured into good.  Through Joseph, He saved the people of Israel.

This God of Joseph, in order to save us, sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth.  And because of His poverty, God made us rich.  Look at 2 Corinthians 8:9 - "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich."  Jesus, who made us rich, is also Immanuel, God with us. He is the Lord who makes us prosper by being with us.

How do you and I react to the bricks of adversity in life?  Are we too busy trying to break those bricks?  Or are we using those bricks as building blocks to construct a home?  God allows the bricks of adversity in our journey of faith to both impoverish and enrich us.  However, God, in His power, uses all of this to bestow upon us the grace of salvation.  Therefore, we must hold on to the promise of God's Word.  God, in the era of Joseph, the fourth generation from Abraham, who, in order to fulfill the promise given to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, came to be with him, ultimately raised him to be the governor of Egypt amid adversity.  This led to the eventual salvation of his impoverished brothers, the ancestors of Israel, and their families.  Our Lord is working within our community to fulfill the promise of Matthew 16:18 that He gave to our church.  In the midst of that, no matter what bricks of adversity are thrown before us, instead of trying to kick them away, we must use them as cornerstones to build up our church.

Believing in Immanuel, God with us, who is with us, let us give thanks for God's impoverishment and enrichment.

James Kim

(Thanking God for His impoverishment)