Scripture: Genesis
37:25-28
Then
they sat down to eat a meal. And as they raised their eyes and looked, behold,
a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing
aromatic gum and balm and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt.
Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it for us to kill our
brother and cover up his blood? "Come and let us sell him to
the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own
flesh." And his brothers listened to him. Then some
Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out
of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of
silver. Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt.
Insights: Today’s Thoughts by Scott are
very similar to yesterdays, but with a slightly different nuance. What we observe in today’s verses is not the
same as envy, but rather of greed. In
other words, yesterday the brothers were envious of Joseph’s position. In today’s verses, however, they are greedy
for financial gain. Joseph’s pit just
went from bad to worse because of the greed of his brothers. It was bad enough to have been stripped of
his tunic and thrown into the pit. Now,
however, he is going from the favored son to being a slave. And for what does Joseph have to go through
this transformation? Money! Beloved, we
in America are driven by the all-powerful dollar. It drives us to work. It drives us in our decision making. It drives us in virtually every aspect of our
lives. And it will drive us right into
the pits of life as well. There is only
ONE who can ever satisfy our hunger and greed and that is Jesus. When we jump on the greed cycle we go from
bad to worse because greed can never be satisfied. Greed always wants more and more and
more. Just like yesterday in regards to
envy, let me encourage you to run to Jesus.
Let Jesus be the fulfiller of your life.
Let Him be the One who lets you know you have enough and can be content
in life with little instead of a lot.
Find Jesus!
Questions:
- Is
your life characterized as a greedy one?
- Do
you understand that if you get the next greedy thing, then there will be
another greedy thing around the corner?
Prayer: Father, protect
me from my own sinful desires. Help me
become content with what You give to me and let me find my satisfaction in You
and not the things of this world. Amen.
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