Forged in the Fire...
God’s Sovereign Plan – Genesis 37:5-11
Genesis 37:5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: 7 Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. 9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” 11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.
As we begin to undertake the next piece of Joseph’s life, it leads us to examine the knowledge of God and the revelation of His purposes and plans in the life of Joseph. Mainly, we will touch on what is called the Sovereignty of God. It is important that we briefly define what this means.
In some Christian circles, there are those who struggle with the Doctrine of the Sovereignty of God, but for my faith, it has become such a key doctrine that brings a strong security to my life.
When I contemplate the Word “Sovereign”, as it relates to God, there are several key pieces connected with it, but to simply define in this blog post – God’s Sovereignty means that He is in control and ruler over all things in His World. In light of that, nothing can ever thwart His purposes nor can anyone change them as He reigns supreme.
Here are some really key texts that affirm His Sovereignty and why it is Biblically established and why we should embrace it without question…
Revelation 21:6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
God is above all things and before all things. He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end.
1 Timothy 1:17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
He is the only God, immortal, present everywhere & not limited by anything.
Colossians 1:16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
God created all things and holds all things together, both in heaven and on earth, both visible and invisible. This includes even in the midst of the free choices of man makes.
Psalm 103:19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
God is in control of all things and rules over all things. He has power and authority over nature, earthly kings, history, angels and demons.
Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
God knows all things past, present, and future. There is no limit to His knowledge, for God knows everything completely before it even happens.
There are many other texts I could include and these cover so much. Since God alone can make those claims and can fulfill every one of them, His Sovereignty makes Him superior in every matter in the universe.
Back to Joseph
Joseph is 17 years old when God breaks in through a couple of dreams and says, “I have a plan for you and I want to give you a picture of it”. Not only can God communicate the plan, but the verses above affirm that He can carry out the plan in someone’s life which we will eventually see at the end of Joseph’s life.
Q: Do you remember when the Lord broke into your life and radically changed things and charted your life on a brand new course?
Let’s talk about this Sovereign plan in Joseph’s life
(1) Sovereign Plan of God Gives Purpose to our Lives
Even though God is not mentioned by name at all in Genesis 37, His Sovereign Providence stands tall like a mountain as He will carry out His purposes through the evil actions of Joseph’s brothers, using the godliness of his life, and the unjust wickedness that takes place in Egypt.
In the two dreams, God reveals where Joseph will end up at a point in time in his life, but he does not show the full path and its difficulties along the way.
This is where our submission to His Sovereignty comes into play. His greatness should lead us to faithfully bow before Him all along the way, knowing He is always good even when life here may not be so good. God is never like the rulers of this world who are corrupt and exercise authority in selfishness and pride, God operates His kingdom in holiness and love – His absolute goodness in carrying out His purpose in our lives is affirmed over and over in Scripture and throughout church history.
We should be reminded of this great promise…Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
(2) God’s Sovereign Knowledge Sees our Whole Life
God not only knew where He was leading Joseph, but He can also see how it will all play out. We will not know all of the details in regard to how, how long, or when, but because Christ is not limited by time, He is over time and steps in with His perfect will to accomplish His call and work in our lives.
In spite of the opposition Joseph faced all along the way, God would be present with Him in every setting and step of Joseph’s life, even when injustice was his fate. The God who purposed his life was the very one who sees it all the way to the end.
This is a key to the joy of the book of Revelation – God’s knowledge is not limited by satan, mankind, war, etc., but He sees all the way to the end of time.
(3) Sovereign Power of God Carries Us through our Whole Life
He will be able to carry it all through to God’s intended purpose. He has the power to carry us through to all the places that are good and devastating. Remember these words…Philippians 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
The sovereignty of God finds expression, not only in the perfect will of God, but also rests His absolute power to carry out His will. The power in God is the effective energy of His nature at work accomplishing all things God in the past, present, & future.
Paul spoke of this power at work in his life..
Colossians 1:29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. I am so thankful it is greater than I can handle. If I can fully handle His power, is it really that powerful?
(4) Sovereign Path of God Is Marked by His Goodness
We will eventually get there, but Joseph in the end looks back over his life and says these famous words…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.
He always has something bigger in mind for our lives than we ever could imagine. We look for the path of enjoying Jesus with comfort and few trials and little life change.
God on the other hand has a path that leads us to Christlikeness, and at times it does not involve any kind of comfort, actually it is a road of pain. It can be a path of pain, but it is the only one that has as its aim Christ.
This theme is carried out through all of Scripture, just look at the entire book of Acts and Paul in 2 Corinthians 11 where he speaks of what he had to go through to get the Gospel to the unreached.
In the life of Joseph, to get him to the place to save a people, both joy and pain was the path, and they will both mark ours as well.
This Sovereign path of pain is the path that Joseph had to take, for it was God’s path for Him. God needed godliness in Joseph, not just a man of strength. Godliness is borne in the fire of suffering.
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