The Tenderness of God

 So Israel (Jacob) set out with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. ² God spoke to Israel (Jacob) in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” ³ He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. ⁴ I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will close your eyes. (Genesis 46:1-4)

Jacob had lost his dear son.  He thought he was dead, killed by wild animals, but when you read the story of Joseph, you see this is not true.  Jacob and Joseph, both made a lot of mistakes.  Jacob favored one son above all the rest.  This stirred up jealousy and resentment amongst his brothers.  These feelings grew until his brothers finally did something about it, they sold their brother into slavery.  Then they faked his death, and lied to their dad about it.  Jacob was devastated, having no idea that his son was actually alive, as a slave, in a foreign land.  But God’s will prevails, even in the midst of our mistakes, our failures, our shortcomings, our sins.  I cannot relate the whole story, but go to Genesis today and read the story of Joseph from beginning to end.  It is one of the greatest stories of God’s redemptive love in all of Scripture.  I fall in love with God every time I read this true story. 

God loves us enough to rescue us, discipline us, grow us up, and use us.  He does this despite all of our rebellion, disobedience and sin.  But one of the most beautiful things in the story is how God restores Father and son, and tells Jacob, “and Joseph will close your eyes.”  What a Precious, tender and beautiful God of mercy, love and kindness, we serve.  He is the same Yesterday, Today and Forever.  He will rescue you, redeem you, restore you and revive you.  In the midst of life’s storms, we have an anchor that holds us secure and close, against the tides that threaten to tear us apart.  We have God, but more importantly…He has us.