God’s Directions

Genesis 43:1-12

Judah put it on the line. “You can’t continue to delay and deny the situation. I’ll take responsibility for Benjamin’s life. If anything happens to him, I will bear the consequences for the rest of my days. Come on, Dad, let’s cooperate. If we hadn’t delayed this long, we could already have been down there and back twice with food.”

Judah offered to take the blame, even though blaming is a futile exercise. Yelling at darkness doesn’t make it light. But we like to blame. “Dad,” said Judah, “if you want to blame somebody, blame me. But let Benjamin go. Man, we’re dying here.”

Aging Jacob reluctantly gave in. He responded with what I would call tolerance and uncertainty. First he denied and delayed. Then came blame and deceit. And now, finally, tolerance and uncertainty. The old man was one tough nut to crack!

Perhaps his response went something like this: “Oh, all right. If you have to do it, then here’s the procedure I want you to follow.” See his attitude? And then he reverted to another old pattern. He ordered them to take gifts, things that were native to Canaan. If he had lived in the days of Solomon, he would have claimed Proverbs 21:14: “A gift in secret subdues anger, and a bribe in the bosom, strong wrath.”

Years before, he had done that with his brother, Esau, and it had worked. It might work with the Egyptian prime minister too.

Jacob could see all kinds of schemes, but he still refused to see God’s hand at work. He could not say, “Look, boys, we don’t know what all this means, but we do know that we’re confused and we need God’s help. Let’s trust God for protection and insight on this. Let’s ask Him to give us direction on what to do.”

Parents, this is an appropriate time for me to urge you to call your families to prayer. “Hey, kids, let’s pray about this before we leave the breakfast table.” Or, “Let’s spend some time Saturday morning asking God for direction in this situation. We don’t know what to do.” Maybe one of your sons or daughters is edging into rebellion. Listen to them. Listen longer than normal. Try hard not to butt in. Admit it when you’re not sure how to respond. Then sit down and pray together, asking for God’s direction.

Taken from Great Days with the Great Lives by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

Posted in Bible Characters and tagged .

Pastor Charles R. Swindoll has devoted his life to the accurate, practical teaching and application of God’s Word. He is the founding pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, but Chuck’s listening audience extends far beyond a local church body. As a leading programme in Christian broadcasting since 1979, Insight for Living airs around the world. Chuck’s leadership as president and now chancellor emeritus at Dallas Theological Seminary has helped prepare and equip a new generation of men and women for ministry.

పాస్టర్ చార్లెస్ ఆర్. స్విండాల్ దేవుని వాక్యాన్ని నిర్దిష్టంగా, ఆచరణాత్మకంగా బోధించడానికి మరియు అన్వయించడానికి తన జీవితాన్ని అంకితం చేశారు. ఆయన టెక్సాస్‌లోని ఫ్రిస్కోలోని స్టోన్‌బ్రయర్ కమ్యూనిటీ చర్చి వ్యవస్థాపక కాపరియై ఉన్నారు, అయితే చక్ యొక్క శ్రోతలు స్థానిక సంఘ పరిధి దాటి వ్యాపించి ఉన్నారు. 1979 నుండి క్రైస్తవ ప్రసరణలో ప్రముఖ కార్యక్రమంగా, ఇన్‌సైట్ ఫర్ లివింగ్ ప్రపంచవ్యాప్తంగా ప్రసారమవుతోంది. డల్లాస్ థియోలాజికల్ సెమినరీకి ప్రెసిడెంటుగా, అలాగే ఇప్పుడు ఛాన్సిలర్ ఎమెరిటస్‌గా చక్ యొక్క నాయకత్వం క్రొత్త తరం స్త్రీపురుషులను పరిచర్య కొరకు సిద్ధపరచడంలో సహాయపడింది.