SERIES
Sojourn: Toward an Enduring City
2017-02-26T08:00:00-06:00
37:1 Jacob lived in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan.
2 These are the generations of Jacob.
Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.
5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more.
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: 17 ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 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. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
22 So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father’s house. Joseph lived 110 years. 23 And Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation. The children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were counted as Joseph’s own. 24 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” 26 So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright (c)2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. http://www.esv.org
On Sunday I was struck again by the beauty of the flowers in the sanctuary. The variety, the color, and the arrangement all remind me of our Creator’s handiwork and attention to detail. But as I looked closer, something else captured my attention. One pink petal had fallen to the ground. It lay there alone, a reminder to me that even our best attempts to create beauty come up short of perfection in this broken world. Few would deny the beauty of fresh flowers, but we often forget that these very flowers are already perishing. Where can we find the imperishable beauty for which we long?
The struggle to find something that lasts is certainly not unique to flowers. Our relationships navigate the tension between the joy of communion and the fear of loss. The child wonders, “Will we always be best friends?” The lover daydreams, “Will we always be together?” The aging wife asks, “How many more years do we have?” We long for the beauty of a relationship that will never end, but every relationship on earth faces the specter of separation. Why do we long for something that seems unattainable?
C.S. Lewis writes, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” We believe that the Lord God made us. He designed us for an enduring relationship with Himself. Amazingly, one metaphor that the Lord chooses to explain His love for His people in the Bible is marriage. As Mark Davis reminded us on Sunday, marriage was God’s idea, and we can never understand it unless we consider His design. From beginning to end, the Bible reminds us that the human institution of marriage is a picture that God has given us to help us understand how He relates to His people. “For your Maker is your husband,” the Lord says in Isaiah 54:5. During His years on earth, Jesus referred to Himself as the bridegroom, and His life, death, and resurrection reveal a love that sacrificed everything to make us His treasured possession.
The roles of husbands and wives can be a controversial topic in our time. We will begin to unpack the wisdom of God’s Word on this topic in the coming weeks, but before we consider these details, have we really embraced God’s design? Let’s remember—whether we are single, married, or divorced—if we know the Lord, our primary identity is that we are His holy and beloved people. We are His bride. The next time we feel the fading beauty of this world, will we rejoice in the imperishable beauty of our sacred marriage to the Lord Jesus Christ?