The archers bitterly grieved him, shot at him ... But ...

There were a couple of verses that stood out to me in this morning's daily readings. The first in the title from Genesis 49:23, 24,  is a description of what Joseph had gone through because of his brothers.  The second is “Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). The context of the Genesis reference is of Jacob on his deathbed blessing his sons, and the title is part of Jacob's words to Joseph. The “But” continues in verse 24 with “his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob.” The imagery of the archer is reminiscent of Paul's admonition to “above all, take the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one” (Ephesians 6:16). And all of the above points to the unseen battles in the  heavenly places that rage behind the scenes of what is seen,  and experienced.

In particular, the cause of Joseph's bitter grief is described in Psalm 105:18,19 as having his feet in fetters, and the word of the LORD testing him “Until the time His (i;e. God's) Word came to pass.” So how did Joseph's deal with his “bitter grief?” Did he stay bitter, or did he guard his heart with all diligence? Well, he found favour both with Potiphar his slave master, and with the jailer,  and both promoted him in their respective domains (Genesis 39:2-4, 21, 22). So it's pretty clear that while he may have started off bitter, he did not stay there. It is interesting to ponder whether Joseph knew he was being tested by God. He certainly would have heard the stories of Abraham being tested (Genesis 22). But how about you and me, when things happen that bring us better grief, how do we respond, do we guard our hearts with all diligence, or do we fall into the Devil's snare?

I keep coming back Ephesians 6:12 which tells us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood. And so, if we are to guard our hearts, we need to realize that people and circumstances are not the enemy. Certainly people and circumstances are issues, but it is how we deal with these and other issue, that will determine whether our path is the path of life, or the path of death. I used to jokingly paraphrase the Ephesians reference as “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but we do wrestle!” And we need to wrestle, and to wrestle through, like Joseph did,  to victory. Jacob's story was also no doubt in Joseph's mind as he wrestled,  so that  he too would not let the Lord go until He blessed him (Genesis 32:26).

Father, we need Your Grace least a root of bitterness spring up and defile us and those we love (Hebrews 12:15). If Joseph could do it without the indwelling Holy Spirit, surely we can do it with Him. Show us any way Lord that we may be failing to obtain this Grace, and make us strong too by "the Mighty God of Jacob"  in Jesus Name Amen