Thursday, May 30, 2013

Behold the Son -- He Will Preserve You From Death (And Set You up for the Good Life)

18And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. 19And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. 20Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. 21And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. 22And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again. 23And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; 24And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. (Genesis 37: 18-24)

By this time, Jacob-Israel had all twelve sons, including his beloved Joseph and Benjamin, the children of his old age, the children whom he had received from his beloved Rachel.

By this time, Joseph had received many dreams which foretold that he would be a great  leader (Genesis 37: , and that his brothers, and even his mother and father, would bow down to him. His brothers so resented his favored position with their father Jacob, that they conspired to kill him.

Reuben, however, was not aware of this plot, and even intervened to protect him from death.

When we first beheld the son and received Him as our Savior, he saved us from death:

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." (Romans 10: 9)

and

"So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." (Hebrews 9: 28)

and

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit" (1 Peter 3: 18)

Most importantly:

"1And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:" (Ephesians 2: 1-6)

Just as Joseph was first throne into a pit and sold into slavery, only to be taken from a dungeon, where he was unjustly  imprisoned, so too everyone of us in Christ have been taken from the bondage of sin and death to sit in heavenly places in Christ.

Behold the Son, and even in your worst moments, you can know and believe that God's love is setting you up for the good life.

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