Some things change, some things stay the same

Sunday, 24 July 2022 by

Bernard Gabbott - Sunday, 24 July 2022

Some things change, some things stay the same

Some things change, some things stay the same – and isn’t that the truth reaffirmed in this COVID-climate! It is a truth reiterated continually throughout Genesis – although I wonder whether the first part actually happens. It seems that things stay the same! Isaac and Rebekah have had twins – Esau (the older, hairier, red, outdoors-type) and Jacob (the younger, less hairy, indoors-type). The LORD has stated that the younger will rule the older, establishing again the reality of grace as He commits to dealing with the broken state of the world. The hope of the world lies in the grace of the LORD – and nowhere else…

Scripture References: Genesis 27:41-46, Genesis 28:1-22, John 1:43-51, Matthew 28:16-20

From Series: "Genesis"

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from Bernard Gabbott
In Genesis 40, the summary statement ‘after this’ (although this section really starts in Genesis 39:21), shows that the LORD’s presence remains. These are important to notice and remember because they raise our eyes from a basic morality tale to the plans and promises and commitment of the LORD to this broken world. In this instance, it is in verse 8: ‘Don’t interpretations belong to God?’ Joseph has come to realise that, as he navigates life (and he has now been enslaved for eleven years!), the only interpretation that works, that makes sense, is that of the LORD committed to him. Isn’t this the truth we are encouraged to return to time and time again – just read of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:38-42).
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The repeated phrase in this chapter is the “the LORD was with Joseph”. While never coming into the story, the LORD is central to the Joseph narrative. In both feast and famine, the LORD is with Joseph. Even Potiphar could see the LORD’s hand on Joseph. Our experience of life is often not too dissimilar to Joseph. We may not have been sold into slavery but our world is enslaved and under the yoke of sin. In the midst of living in a broken world, we might ask “where is God?” Genesis 39 reveals not a distant god but the LORD, our covenant-keeping God, who is ever present. That was Joseph’s reality and, even more so, our reality as we look to Jesus who is Immanuel, “God with us”, who has promised to be with is to the very end of the age.