Treasure in your sacks! Have you found it? Have you\ndiscovered blessing in an unexpected place? Let\u2019s review a well-known story. I\nhope you\u2019ll take time to read it in Genesis 37 -50.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joseph, a favored son of Jacob, annoyed his ten older\nbrothers\u2014because his father loved him more and because he related his dreams\nindicating someday they would bow to him. They plotted to kill him. Whoa!\nThat\u2019s some intense sibling rivalry!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reuben intervened, suggesting they throw him into a pit. He\nintended to rescue him later. Seeing a caravan of Ishmaelite merchants\ntraveling to Egypt, Judah proposed selling the boy\u2014just seventeen\u2014and they did.\nThey\u2019d stripped the colorful coat their father had made him, killed a goat, and\ndipped the coat in its blood, leading Jacob to conclude an animal had devoured\nhim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Egypt the merchants sold Joseph to Potiphar, an officer\nof Pharaoh, who put him to work in his own house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Lord was with Joseph and he prospered\u2026When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned\u2026the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph\u201d (see Genesis 39:2-5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joseph was a handsome man and the wife of Potiphar went after him, but he resisted and fled. She lied to her husband, who had Joseph thrown into prison. All hope for a productive future could have died there, but the Lord still made the young man prosper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Excuse the interruption but this situation reminds me of my\nall-time favorite quote. \u201cDifficulty is the very atmosphere of miracle\u2014it is\nmiracle in its first stage. If it is to be a great miracle, the condition is not\ndifficulty but impossibility\u201d (Streams in\nthe Desert<\/em>, October 14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Seeing circumstances from that perspective is life-changing.\nMy difficult place is miracle in its first stage. When it reaches\nimpossibility, I know it will be a great miracle indeed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, that we trusted God like that! To believe he\u2019s working when we see hopelessness! To count on him when the night is dark and the path obscure! To expect a miracle when despair cancels dreams!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, that we trusted God like that! To believe he\u2019s working when we see hopelessness! To count on him when the night is dark and the path obscure! To expect a miracle when despair cancels dreams! <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n Back to our story. When the Pharaoh’s butler and baker\nlanded in prison for offending the king, both had a mysterious dream the same\nnight. The Lord gave Joseph\nwisdom to interpret. In three days the baker would be put to death but the\nbutler would be restored to his position.\nJoseph asked him to intercede for him to Pharaoh. He forgot and another\ntwo years passed. And then\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Baffling dreams unnerved the king\u2014seven skinny cows eating\nup seven fat cows and seven thin ears of corn consuming seven full ears. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The butler remembered that guy he\u2019d met in prison and the\nking sent for him. Joseph said the dreams foreshadowed seven years of\nabundance, followed by seven years of severe famine. He recommended storing\ngrain during the plentiful seasons to feed the people during famine and\nsuggested selecting a wise man to oversee the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ruler chose Joseph to be governor over all the land of\nEgypt, second only to himself in authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When famine struck, people streamed into Egypt to purchase grain. And along came Joseph\u2019s jealous brothers, bowing before a man they didn\u2019t recognize. He knew them but didn\u2019t let them know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joseph accused them of being spies and demanded they bring\nthe youngest brother, Benjamin, to prove they were truthful\u2014that they\u2019d come to\nbuy food. After ordering one of them\u2014Simeon\u2014to be bound and kept until they\nreturned, he gave instructions to fill their sacks with corn and to put every\nman\u2019s money back in his sack. Imagine the shock and terror when they emptied their\nsacks and found the silver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hearing their story and the demand to see Benjamin, Jacob\nwouldn\u2019t allow it. But when their grain ran out, he agreed to send him, along\nwith a gift of balm, honey, spices, myrrh, pistachio nuts, almonds, money to\npurchase more grain, and the silver found in their sacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The expectation: seeing Benjamin would convince the ruler they\u2019d been truthful. He\u2019d release Simeon, and all would return home with sufficient grain and live happily ever after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They didn\u2019t expect Joseph to have them for a meal in his\nhouse. What could that mean? Afraid, they explained to his steward they\u2019d found\nthe money but didn\u2019t know who put it in their sacks. He said, \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid.\nYour God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks: I\nreceived your silver\u201d (Genesis 43:23). He brought Simeon to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Please read the rest of the story\u2014Joseph later revealing his\nidentity, the brothers\u2019 response, and the joyful reunion with his aged father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I love that thought: treasure in your sacks. For the\nguilt-ridden brothers, the treasure triggered fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s consider it from another perspective. You\u2019re expecting\nthe ordinary\u2026and suddenly you find something unexpected\u2014a treasure! Blessing in\nan unexpected place. Everything changes. Dreariness turns to joy. Desolation\nturns to hope. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The brothers found a treasure greater than silver. They found forgiveness. Instead of seeking vengeance for their unthinkable cruelty that wasted years of his life, Joseph saw God\u2019s purpose in all of it. No waste. Only God\u2019s purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you\u2026But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God\u2026\u201d (Genesis 45:5-8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n After their father died, the brothers worried Joseph would\nhold a grudge and seek vengeance. He said, \u201c\u2018Don\u2019t be afraid. Am I in the place\nof God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish\nwhat is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don\u2019t be afraid. I\nwill provide for you and your children.\u2019 And he reassured them and spoke kindly\nto them\u201d (Genesis 50:19-21).<\/p>\n\n\n\n That looks like forgiveness to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Entrusting ourselves to God never leads to disappointment. It always leads to treasure exceeding our expectation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Entrusting ourselves to God never leads to disappointment. It always leads to treasure exceeding our expectation. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n Have you looked in your sack lately? You might find an\nunexpected treasure!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Please leave a comment about how Sovereign God worked in\nyour life in a surprising way, giving a hurtful situation a favorable outcome\u2014a\ntreasure. And I’d be grateful if you\u2019d share this with your friends!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n(Scriptures from NIV)\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a9 Dianne Barker 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Treasure in your sacks! Have you found it? Have you discovered blessing in an unexpected place? Let\u2019s review a well-known story. I hope you\u2019ll take time to read it in Genesis 37 -50. Joseph, a favored son of Jacob, annoyed his ten older brothers\u2014because his father loved him more and because he related his dreams […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[9,421,165,5,420,330,77,418,422],"class_list":["post-1133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-dianne-barker","tag-expectation","tag-forgiveness","tag-hope","tag-jealousy","tag-joseph","tag-joy","tag-look-for-treasure-in-your-sacks","tag-prosper"],"yoast_head":"\n