THE LORD SPOKE (January 16)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Genesis 38-40

Sterling character. The two words seem to go together - just not very often. Everyone has character. It may range from tarnished to polished. But sterling character speaks of a high standard, something genuine and trustworthy.

Joseph had it. Character is what you are when no one is looking. Character is what you’ll do when you think you can get away with it. Character is what’s really inside you when the surface is scraped away.

Joseph had the external layers scraped away several times. First, his own brothers sold him as a slave to a band of Ishmaelites from Midian on their way to Egypt. Check that out on a map and you’ll wonder what they were doing clear up in central Israel near Dothan. By the time he lands in the house of Potiphar, an important theme is established in the text: “the Lord was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master” (Gen. 39:2).

Then there was the affair with Potiphar’s wife. Actually, the non-affair! Joseph’s sterling character was put to the test like never before. A young man, not without hormones, in a remote place where no one would know, with an opportunity like you wouldn’t believe. Joseph’s sterling character landed him in jail and another surface was scraped away. But again, in that raw condition we’re told that “the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden” (Gen. 39:21).

Yet a third time “the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did” (Gen. 39:23). And another surface was scraped away when his prison mate, the royal cupbearer, forgot him and left him moldering in the jail. How many chances are you going to get in prison? This lost opportunity was cause for despair.

But the peacock’s feathers were genuine. Though he’d strutted a little too much in early days, Joseph’s true colors showed and in the following chapters God is going to exalt him to an almost unbelievable level. From disgraced slave in prison to distinguished second-in-command in the palace! And many times over in what follows, Joseph’s sterling character is going to collide with God’s amazing grace.

Make you want to work a little on your own character, doesn’t it?!


New Testament: Matthew 16

“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” So said Peter, and Jesus blessed him saying that these words came by revelation from the Father in heaven. Jewish people then and now don’t come easily to this conclusion. Knowledge of the deity of the Messiah won’t come easily from a quick reading of the Old Testament. That’s why so many Jewish people still don’t see it. Oh, it’s there; it’s just not easy to pick up on if you don’t have eyes to see and a heart to believe. However, it you look to the New Testament quotes and references to messianic passages of the Old Testament, it stands out clearly.

Many are the New Testament references to the deity of the Messiah but few are the Old Testament statements. One is found in Psalm 2. There the reference is to the Lord and “his Anointed One” (Hebrew = mashiah) and he’s called the Son (vs. 7 & 12). Another text is Isaiah 9:6 where the promised child is also called “Mighty God”. One more is in Proverbs 30:4 where we’re told that the Holy One has a son. So, it’s there but it has been conveniently side-stepped for centuries. The fact that Peter saw it clearly came by revelation from the Father.

What follows in Matthew 16 retains great significance for us today. Jesus identifies Peter’s great confession as the rock upon which He will build His church (vs. 17-18). It’s certainly true. Apart from a person recognizing that Jesus is the Son of God, there is no salvation. It is what qualifies Him to be our savior. He said himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Peter adds, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

What’s so amazing in the continuation of this chapter is that a very short time later this same Peter is used as a tool of Satan. Having made such a great confession, you’d think he be forever home free. But no! In verse 22 he contradicts the Lord who rebukes him, saying, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men” (16:23). What a sting that must have left. But Peter didn’t run away. Again in the next chapter, he is the one closest to the Lord, never letting Him out of sight, always wanting to speak to and of Him.

Yes, Peter made lots of mistakes. But he failed falling forward. Even when he fell back, he picked himself up and pushed forward again immediately after. He’s an example to us. Don’t you want to be like that too? “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Prov. 3:5-6).