The video I shared the other day (click here to check it out), really got me thinking about how the people mentioned made it through their times of sheltering. So I had a wee look at some of them in a bit more detail.
Noah - in Genesis 7 and 8 - was sheltered in the ark when God flooded the earth. Yes, he and his family were saved, but can you imagine being in a boat for any period of time with animals? It’s hard enough when you go to visit one of the farms nearby, or a zoo - the smell alone is strong! But in a confined space it would be horrendous.
But it didn’t stop there. When the rain stopped (after 40 days), they had to wait until the waters had receded and the boat ran aground (150 days), then until other mountain tops were visible (2.5 months), then until ground was drying (54 days), and then until God said ‘leave the boat’ (another 2 months).
It didn’t just go back to normal for them as soon as the rain stopped. They had a long way to go, but God was preparing the earth for them, and preparing them to keep relying on Him. And in the end he was the one God chose to become the father to all the nations on earth today.
Likewise, things will take a bit of time to go back to normal for us. Even when they stop the lock-down, we will still have social distancing measures, fear of the second wave of deaths, a wariness of being in crowds of people… But remember that before this, during this and after this, God is right there beside us and helping us to do great things for Him!
Joseph - in Genesis 37 to 45 - had a horrible time. From the moment his brothers decided to throw him into a pit, he went through a series of challenges - he was sold, then a slave, then almost-seduced, then stuck in prison, then brought before Pharaoh. What a story!
Do you think Joseph enjoyed being a slave? Do you think he enjoyed being in prison? I would imagine the answer to both is a resounding no! Yet the one thing he knew was that God had a plan. God was with him in the pit. He took him to Egypt and was with him throughout his slave days, but God also blessed him - so much so that Potiphar saw it and made him head of his house. He excelled but then Potiphar’s wife took a liking to him. Of course he tried to do the right thing - he refused to cooperate with her. And the result? He ended up in prison.
Now is the time he’d really be questioning - why would God allow me to go through all this only to end up in prison. But the Bible tells us that God was with him in the prison - so much so that the prison guard put him in charge of everything inside the prison!
So now things are ok - yes he’s still in prison but he’s in a place of power - and now the next crazy thing happens. The two palace workers - the butler and the baker - have been put into prison and they have weird dreams. God is with Joseph again and He reveals what the dreams mean. When he is completely right with his interpretations, he is brought to Pharaoh when he had a weird dream.
Huh? So now God has brought him to the attention of Pharaoh and he ends up being his 2nd in command… I’ll say it again - what a story!
God had a plan in all of this. He was with Joseph all the way through. In fact all of this needed to happen in order for the story to move to Moses, then to the kings and eventually to Jesus. There’s always a plan - no matter how hard things look.
Esther’s story is found in the book of Esther, not surprisingly! It is the only book in the Bible that never mentions God. Never. At all! Her story is amazing.
Her people, the Jews, had been in exile when her story begins. They weren't living in Jerusalem but were scattered all over Persia. They could go home at this stage, but Jerusalem was at war, so many chose to stay where they were. Her personal story also has a sad beginning. We are told that her parents were both dead, and so she was living with her older cousin, Mordecai.
She is picked to be part of the King’s harem, again not her choice, when the king decided to take all the young virgins of the area to his palace. We aren't even going to start with having to go in to be with the king, not by choice but an order, while he tried all the girls to see which one he liked.
In her culture that meant that she was now living in the second quarters - reserved for the concubines. No other man could be her husband, this was it for her. As a young girl you can imagine that nowhere in her wildest dreams would this have been in her life plan. Can you even imagine? I can't.
But when in the palace the king takes a particular liking to her. God is ingrained in her behaviour, how she acts, speaks etc, and I believe that is why the king notices her. And he chooses her to be the new queen.
The story quickly goes south again, when she realises that one of the king’s advisers has persuaded the king to make a law that basically kills her people. All of them. Annihilation.
She fast, prays and throws herself on the king's mercy to stop it - knowing that he could have her executed as quickly as lighting - and it is only through her spirit, and God working through her, that the people are saved.
I can’t imagine what it was like for her in there. She experienced loss, being taken from her home, paraded in front of the king, effectively taken against her will, and possible execution. Yet God used something so awful, to save the Jews. She was there at exactly the right time. For exactly the purpose God needed her to do.
We can clearly see, even though He isn't mentioned once, how God had a plan, and used Esther and her cousin to fulfil it.
I just love reading more into these stories, as we see God work in amazing ways, through situations we wouldn't wish on our worst enemy (as the saying goes). And it serves to remind us, as we go through these weird times, as we see loss upon loss, that God has a plan and is right in the midst of this, working it out for all our good. I hope this encourages today.
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