God Cannot Lie (2)
Nothing can stop the word of God. Joseph believed this so much. As a young man, God had shown him that he was going to be a very great man. Though, he didn't quite understand the dreams, but he gladly announced them to his brothers; who out of envy did everything to stop the vision from coming to pass. God manipulated them into not killing him, but they disrobed him, put him in a pit, and later sold him away.
In Egypt, where he was taking to, he became a house boy, falsely accused, disgraced and sent to the prison. And there, the word of the Lord still came for him. He was brought out of the prison and made the Prime Minister of Egypt. Though he went through various difficult (sometimes extreme) processes, God was still watching over His words upon him to bring them to pass. But we will comment more on these in subsequent articles. Let's quickly go to our main text in part one of this message.
When Joseph was about to die at the age of 110 years, he called his brothers and gave them his words. You know the last word of a man is always very important. Every last word of a man always reveals the mind and the most important concern of the person. This is just why a will; which is regarded as the last wish of a deceased is very much respected, final and legally binding. People will always tell you all their heart at the point of death. And this was exactly the same with Joseph.
Though, he was very prosperous, influential, wealthy, respected and taken good care of in Egypt, he still believed and longed for that land which God promised by oath to give to the descendants of Abraham. Now, he told them that God would unfailingly come to take them (the children of Israel) to the Promised Land and he made them to swear an oath that they must, without fail, take his body as they leave to Canaan. Great!
This was 80 years after they arrived Egypt and about 350 years before they left to the Promised Land. This man, though about to die, held tenaciously to God promise. Just look at his statement there, "Soon I will die,' Joseph told his brothers, 'BUT GOD WILL SURELY COME FOR YOU, to lead you out of this land of Egypt. He will bring you back to the land he vowed to give to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. "Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath, and he said, 'when God comes to lead us back to Canaan, you must take my body back with you'. So Joseph died at the age of 110. They embalmed him, and his body was placed in a coffin in Egypt."
This is what faith in God is all about. Your ability to believe his promises beyond the present circumstances. There was no visible sign then that what God promised them would come to pass. But Joseph had learnt over the years that His word does not fail. And here, he is transmitting the same faith to his brothers and the next generations of Israel. I love Israel for that. They know how to transfer their belief, culture, traditions and history to their young ones. Or how did Joseph come to know that God would definitely come to take the Israelites to the Promised Land?
This promise was originally given to Abraham when God told him that his descendants would live in a foreign land for 400 years, but that He would later bring them out and get them established in Canaan. Abraham believed and passed the same information and faith onto Isaac. Isaac to Jacob, and Jacob to his sons, including Joseph. Now, what are you passing on to your children and the next generations?
The Children of Israel led by Moses did exactly what Joseph told them. As they were leaving Egypt that night, Moses gathered the bones of Joseph (as there was no more body to carry) and took them along. About nine generations after! That promise did not fail. What do you say about Jesus?
God started talking about him from the very beginning. From Genesis. In fact, the bible said that he is a lamb slain before the foundation of the world. You will find a link to him in almost all the books of the bible. This promise of God travelled for thousands of years until it found a young virgin to express itself, at the appointed time. Even when the enemy tried to mock and abort it in the womb and at infancy, it stood firm. Even betrayal and death also could not. Jesus fulfilled all that God sent him to do.
The word of God upon your life will ultimately come to pass. But you must trust and obediently follow His plans and directions. What has God told you? He cannot lie. Numbers 23:19 said it all, "God is not a man, that he should lie. He is not a human, that he should change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?" NO! Till next week, God bless!
Rev. Agbo is the author of the book Power of Midnight Prayer. Website: Pastor Gabriel N Agbo (author) on AuthorsDen E-mail: [email protected] Tel: 08037113283