Hab
Life is full of tension. We’ve all experienced our share from the pandemic alone, but real life continued in the midst of it, so we faced other tensions as well. Sometimes the tension can be so great it feels like we’re “hitting a brick wall.” This Sunday we’re going to look at Habakkuk’s faith journey. We’ll see how this Old Testament prophet dealt with incredible tension and how God met him in it. Bring your Bibles on Sunday and let’s see what Habakkuk has to teach us.
Gen 44:1-45:15
This week we come to the final chapter in the long process of reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers, where Joseph sets up the third and final test to determine whether his brothers are trustworthy. The first test concerned their honesty and greed. The second test was designed to plumb their ability to accept the inequalities of love. The brothers passed both tests with flying colors. The third and final test is designed to see whether they will exhibit a sacrificial love that will place their father’s interests above their own, and count their brother’s life as more important than their own. In the end, the brothers will “collectively exhibit the virtues of reconciliation have become the kingdom of God, a family fit to rule the world” (Bruce Waltke).
Genesis 43:1-34
When wounds cut deep and family members separate and no longer speak to one another, the work of reconciliation becomes extremely difficult. Last week we left our story of Joseph’s reconciliation with brothers deadlocked in a stalemate between a son in Egypt and a father in Canaan who refused to come to the table. When the head of the home refuses to lead spiritually, what can children do? The text is a masterpiece of God’s grace in the process of reconciliation and serves as a model of how to be a leader for reconciliation, even when you haven’t been given the authoritative role.
