God’s People Divinely Protected

• God’s People Divinely Protected
• Genesis 45:4-8
• Covenant with Abraham ...
• Genesis 12:2-3 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you ... and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
• The Suffering of Job ..
• Job 1-2 God allowed Satan to bring unimaginable suffering into Job’s life..
• The Suffering of Job ..
• Job 8:3-6 Does God subvert judgment? Or does the Almighty pervert justice? 4 If your sons have sinned against Him, He has cast them away for their trans-gression. 5 If you would earnestly seek God And make your supplication to the Almighty, 6 If you were pure and upright, Surely now He would awake for you, And prosper your rightful dwelling place.
• The Suffering of Job ..
• Job 23:10-15 But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. 11 My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside. 12 I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food. 13 "But He is unique, and who can make Him change? And whatever His soul desires, that He does. 14 For He performs what is appointed for me, And many such things are with Him. 15 Therefore I am terrified at His presence; When I consider this, I am afraid of Him.
• The Suffering of Job ..
• Job 30:20-21 "I cry out to You, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You regard me. 21 But You have become cruel to me; With the strength of Your hand You oppose me.
• God answers Job ..
• Job 38:1, 4-5 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said .... "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?

• God answers Job ..
• Job 42:3-6 You asked, 'Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know....5 "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. 6 Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes."
• Joseph sold into Egypt ..
• Genesis 37 Joseph was hated by his own brothers, put in a pit, then sold into slavery in Egypt …
• Joseph accused and imprisoned ..
• Yet in prison, Joseph is blessed by God and given ability to interpret dreams… gained Pharaoh’s respect and was appointed to important government position … Gen 40-41
• Joseph accused and imprisoned ..
• Genesis 39:2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
• Genesis 39:21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
• Genesis 39:23 the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.

• Joseph reunited with his brothers ..
• Joseph’s brother came to Egypt for food in the famine … Joseph finally reveals himself and comforts his brothers …
• Joseph reunited with his brothers ..
• Genesis 45:4-8 . 7 And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
• Genesis 50:20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
• A seemingly random happening ..
• Genesis 37:25 And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt.
• God was in control ..
• God had planned for His people to spend time in Egypt and eventually be delivered by His sovereign power for His glory …
• Illustration of Ocean Liner ..
• The ship leaves for its destination … the people on board move about by their free will … all the time the ship moves on to its destination …
• God’s People Divinely Protected
• Genesis 45:4-8