A Study of the Doctrine of Providence Pt 7 Governing Providence: A Case Study
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No thought can enter into the mind of man better adapted to promote its piety and peace than this—that the world is under the government of God, and all the events of our lives under the direction of His providence. — Orton
Preserving Providence- God continually preserves and maintains the existence of every part of His creation, from the smallest to the greatest, according to His sovereign pleasure.
Governing Providence- God guides and governs all events, including the free acts of men and their external circumstances, and directs all things to their appointed ends for His glory.
The words or the terms we use are of VITAL IMPORTANCE!!
Notice we did not say that God initiates or causes all events. If we are to maintain a biblical perspective on the doctrine of providence there is one very important principle that we must keep in mind.
“We must be willing to acknowledge all that the Bible clearly affirms but at the same time insist on no more that the Bible clearly affirms.”
Why is that such an importance principle to keep in mind? Failing to do both parts of this statement will lead into error. Explain?
Can God Do Anything?
Can God Do Anything?
Can God make a rock so big that He can’t pick it up? Of course He can … and then He can pick it up too! (A silly question deserves a silly answer) It really is an absurd question! Think of it this way,
Is omnipotence so omnipotent that it can defeat omnipotence?
Can God make 2+2=6? (No only the public school system can pull that off)
Charles Ryrie- “One might as well ask if a nuclear explosion could make 2+2=6.”
The point is that there are things God cannot do. Can you do things that contradict your nature? Examples? Can you survive indefinitely without food or water? Why not? It is contrary to your nature.
God cannot do things that contradict His own nature any more than we can.
13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.
2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,
Are the things that God cannot do a worry or a comfort to you?
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.
Yet the Scripture is equally clear and insistent that God rules over and uses (for His glory and our good) even those sinful actions that He neither encourages nor initiates—but that He allows.
What Does the Bible Say?
What Does the Bible Say?
If you had to break up the Bible into percentages, how much of the Bible is straightforward propositional truth and how much of the Bible is stories?
Why do you think God chose to communicate so much of His revelation to us in the form of stories?
“Doctrinal statement are like skeletons—bare bones, but absolutely essential to give form and order and interconnection to the body of revealed truth. Stories flesh out that skeleton, incarnate that truth, demonstrate how the doctrine looks and moves and acts in the real world of flesh and blood.”
Joseph is the prince of providence. As we go through the biblical narrative of his life we will see that he had a keen sense and practical understanding of God’s providence.
Genesis 37
Genesis 37
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1 Jacob lived in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan.
2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors.
4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.
5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more.
6 He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed:
7 Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”
8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?”
11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.
What is the first issue or “problem” that we run into in the story of Joseph? Favortism
Who is showing favoritism to Joseph in these verses? Jacob (Coat) and God Himself (Dreams).
What do you think of how Joseph handled the favoritism? Did he act appropriately or foolishly? How can we tell? What does the text say?
Nothing in the text faults Joseph’s behavior- the dreams were not Joseph’s dreams of self-importance; they were God given dreams of REVELATION that simultaneously functioned as both a focal point for Joseph’s faith (imagine Joseph’s obedience based on such limited revelation!) and a test of his family’s submission to God’s choice and purposes.
God, in His providence, blesses, exalts and uses whom He will
God, in His providence, blesses, exalts and uses whom He will
What is unusual about God choosing Joseph and not choosing his other brothers? He is the youngest!
Has God done the same thing elsewhere in Scripture? Jacob / David
What is the common complaint when we run into situations like Joseph’s? “That’s not fair!”
Was God’s choice of Joseph fair? It really depends on our definition of fairness.
How would a child define “fairness”? absolute equality in all treatment, privileges, and amounts. Examples?
Therein lies the painful point—such a preoccupation with “fairness” is inherently “childish.” It is to be expected with children; it should be otherwise with adults. What does this say about our culture?
How do you reply to your kids? “life isn’t always fair.”
Is God always fair?
God does not give everyone exactly the same number of peas on their plate does he? But, God is always right and God is always good. Sometimes that means our lives might look “unfair” (it did for Joseph), but God is providentially superintending over every facet of our lives and often uses the unfairness of life to accomplish His purposes in and for us and those around us.
How much of what happened to Joseph was fair? But how much of what God allowed was He right to allow?
God, in His providence, allows and uses the anger and hatred of people to accomplish His purposes
God, in His providence, allows and uses the anger and hatred of people to accomplish His purposes
How did Joseph’s brothers react to the favoritism of Jacob and the Lord toward Joseph?
Genesis 37:4 (ESV)
4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.
Genesis 37:5 (ESV)
5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more.
Genesis 37:8 (ESV)
8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
Genesis 37:11 (ESV)
11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.
Why does the Holy Spirit repeat these ideas over and over again in this story? The hostility of Joseph’s brothers is central to the point of the story.
What point is God trying to make here?
10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise you; the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.
How does God use the wrath of man in the life of Joseph to bring about praise to Himself? How should that bring the believer comfort?
All the heated expressions of anger and sinister strategies of hatred are under the providential governance of God. And even more to the point- God uses those very same sentiments and the actions they generate to accomplish His will.
Whatever will serve His purposes and ultimately contribute to His praise is permitted and employed to His ends. What will not, He restrains.
Go back to November 2020. What happened? How did many “Christians” respond to the events of 2020? How does a deep understanding and trust in the governing providence of God change the way we respond to circumstances like November 2020?
Here is the lesson for us: when God allows “unfair” events to happen in our life how are we going to respond?
Here is a set of circumstances with the apparent stamp of God upon them (Joseph’s dreams)—just or not, agreeable or not, comfortable or not, “fair” or not. Now how are you going to respond? Anger? Hatred? Envy? Resentment?
What if Joseph’s brothers had responded righteously to the dreams and the favoritism? What would have happened if Joseph’s unjust suffering would not have taken place? What was God’s larger purpose in the story? To move Joseph, and through him the entire fetal nation of Israel, to Egypt, to be preserved from corrupting influences (the Canaanites), until God determined to bring them back out by means of a spectacular deliverance that would become foundational for all of God’s subsequent saving activity throughout all of history!
Was the response of Joseph’s brothers a judgment of God for Joseph? Was it an act of punishment? It was actually a divine blessing of providence! God, in His providence, allows and uses the anger and hatred of people to accomplish His purposes.
God’s providence incorporates the faithfulness and obedience of His children
God’s providence incorporates the faithfulness and obedience of His children
Why is this such an important truth to understand when talking about God’s providence?
Without this truth, that God uses our faithfulness and obedience to accomplish his providential purposes, what kind of attitude can we be tempted to adopt? Fatalism! What is that? What does it lead to?
Can anyone give me a chapter and verse in Genesis where Joseph is cited for doing something dishonorable or sinful? (He was not sinless, but he was faithful and obedient to God)
God allowed all the “bad stuff” to happen to Joseph in the course of Joseph’s faithful service and diligent obedience! An d God providentially used the hatred and sin of Joseph’s brothers to accomplish His will. But what if Joseph has responded with bitterness and resentment towards God? How many times does God use Joseph’s obedience to accomplish his providential purposes in the story?
“The providence of God is never intended to lull us into a lackadaisical attitude of fatalism, as if our actions don’t really matter because God rules and overrules however He wants anyway.”
God’s providence should accomplish the exact opposite in our lives! It is revealed to maintain a glow of energizing trust that, despite all appearance to the contrary, God is governing for His glory and my good—a trust that inspires me to stay faithful, obedient, loyal and devoted to Him, and confident in Him.
“Providence is a bed for some men’s idleness; for us, it should be a couch for our refreshment.” —Spurgeon
God’s providence incorporates the faithfulness and obedience of His children.
God’s providence often encompasses human aid
God’s providence often encompasses human aid
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12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem.
13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.”
14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?”
16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.”
17 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
Does this seem like an odd addition to the story?
Why does the Holy Spirit include this in the narrative? Why didn’t the Holy Spirit just save some space and tell us eventually Joseph found his brothers? Does the Holy Spirit waste words?
Is this account incidental to the story or is it pivotal?
Think about it- Joseph just happens to run into a unnamed man while wandering in the fields. This man just happens to know exactly where Joseph’s brothers, and just happens to tell Joseph at the exact time so that Joseph arrives just as the caravan is passing by, and so on. All of the events that transpire afterwards hinge on Joseph’s “chance” meeting with this man.
The happenstance of how I joined Madrigal choir- voice lessons, principal of my high school a graduate of MBU, almost last minute deciding to tryout for the choir, meeting Sharon on the first day, now married. I can’t imagine my life without those “happenstances.”
What emotions should the idea that events in our lives are sometimes dependent upon “happenstance” and sometimes come within a hair’s breath of not happening? Panic? Exactly the opposite!
Is there happenstance in this account? Chance? Luck? What does we see in this account of Joseph’s life? God’s providence! Think about all that God arranged to happen in this account!
This man’ access to the knowledge of Joseph’s brothers
Joseph to come into contact with him at the exact right moment
Joseph arriving at the precise moment to find his brothers
Just in time for Ruben to be there to save his life
Just in time for a caravan headed in the exact direction that God needed it to go
God, in His providence, restrains evil plans and intentions that do not serve His purposes
God, in His providence, restrains evil plans and intentions that do not serve His purposes
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18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him.
19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer.
20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”
21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.”
22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father.
What was the culmination of all the jealousy and hatred that Joseph’s brothers had stored up in their hearts? Murder!
Were the circumstances favorable for Joseph’s brothers to pull off the perfect crime? Out in the wilderness, away from home, hid the body in a pit, blame it on wild animals.
But what did God do? How?
10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise you; the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.
God’s restraint of the evil intentions of Joseph’s brothers was an incredible kindness to them! What happens to the brothers in about 10-15 years if God allows them to kill Joseph? They die of starvation! God is merciful and kind even when we have evil intentions!
God, in His providence, may allow the failure of good intentions
God, in His providence, may allow the failure of good intentions
22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father.
What was Reuben’s plan? Was it a good plan? Did Reuben have good intentions? What would have happened to Joseph is Reuben had carried out his plan? Starvation! Corruption by the Canaanites! God’s chosen people, Israel, destroyed. God’s covenant to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, failed!
God, in His providence, may allow us to be betrayed and cruelly sinned against
God, in His providence, may allow us to be betrayed and cruelly sinned against
This is a difficult one. Can we accept the plain affirmation of Scripture—and actually apply it to our own personal experiences and circumstances?
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23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore.
24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt.
26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?
27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him.
28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.
29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes
30 and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?”
31 Then they took Joseph’s robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.
32 And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son’s robe or not.”
33 And he identified it and said, “It is my son’s robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.”
34 Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days.
35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.
36 Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.
We could call this part of the story God’s “providential relocation” of Joseph. Did Joseph get a first class seat to Egypt? Yet, did God use the betrayal and cruel sins of Joseph’s brothers to accomplish his will?
Does that mean God initiated their evil deed? Imposible
Does that make God responsible for their sin? Unthinkable
Does that mean God temporarily lost control of the situation and will now have to take steps to try to amend the damage? Out of the question
What is the lesson here? No matter how unjustly you may be treated, there is someone in charge—setting boundaries, guiding, governing, permitting…and restraining, for His wise and benevolent purposes and, yes, for your good.
1 Peter 2:21–23 (ESV)
21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.
22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
One last thing to note about Gen. 37- if you go back and read the story there is a shocking omission from the text. There is one very important person who is left out of the narrative- this person in not mentioned even one time in the story. Do you know who it is? God!
God is directly mentioned in every chapter in Genesis up to this point (except 34 and 36 which is entirely genealogy).
Is God’s absence from the story an accident? Why is God never mentioned in a story where a godly young man’s life falls to pieces?
It is a reflection of our perception of reality.
When you are going through a difficult trial or test does it sometimes seem like God is silent or worse absent from your hardships?
What does the story of Joseph help us to understand about this perception of reality? God is there! Like the undeniable effects of an invisible wind, you can see God’s presence and activity implicitly throughout the unmistakably providential events of Genesis 37.
When “bad” things come crashing down in your life, it does not mean that God has forsaken you. You are then, as much as ever, the object of God’s attentive, if silent, presence.