Genesis 37 -- Watching For The "Just So Happeneds"

My commentary says this chapter “unfolds the destructive dynamics of a family that knew the true and living God and yet sinned against Him and each other by what they said and did … Consider the destructive forces at work in this family, forces that God in His grace overruled for their good.  Where sin abounded, grace abounded more.”

A big question is why Jacob exhibited such favoritism toward Joseph when he knew it would cause problems. My commentary speculated, “Jacob’s first four sons had Leah as their mother, and Jacob hadn’t intended to marry Leah.  The full intent of his heart was to marry Rachel, but Laban had tricked him.  Jacob might have reasoned, ‘In God’s sight, Rachel was his first wife, and Joseph was her  firstborn.  Therefore, Joseph has the right to be treated as the firstborn.’”

God’s providence is evident throughout the story, overruling the actions meant for evil.  Once the brothers had bought into the plan to rid themselves of their brother, he was placed in a dry cistern where he might never have been found, but then a caravan composed of their second cousins “just happened” to draw near.  God knew their hearts and used their greed to keep Joseph alive and God had devised this as a way to get him to Egypt so that later he’d be in position to help them survive the famine.

God’s providence was also seen in the fact that the traders sold him to someone who would later have access to Pharaoh, so that Joseph wouldn’t just get to Egypt, only to die of the famine, but would be right where God wanted him to be to interpret dreams and rise to the top.

There are way too many just so happeneds in this story, and this serves as evidence to us that God was active in the details, and this should help us today to see how we can find God active in our own lives today. 

Father, help my sons to understand that the very fabric of their lives was woven by You  -- not by accident but with great skill in order to get them right where You wanted them, for a divine purpose.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford