The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Exodus 1:1-12, “Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; they came each one with his household:

2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;

3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;

4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.

5 And all the persons who came from the loins of Jacob were seventy in number, but Joseph was already in Egypt.

6 And Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation.

7 But the sons of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly and multiplied, and became exceedingly mighty, so that the land was filled with them.”

8 Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.

9 And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier than we.

10 “Come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply; and in the event of war, they also join themselves to those who hate us, and fight against us, and depart from the land.”

11 So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor. And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pithom and Raamses.

12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out, so that they were in dread of the sons of Israel.”

It’s tough when someone who is available to help you suddenly disappears. Joseph was the ideal person to have helped his countrymen. His relatives also died, leaving the Israelites, who had just arrived in Egypt, to fend for themselves. I’ve had an experience or two like that. (They sure left me to figure things out for myself.)

What’s worse, a new king, who did not know Joseph or the Israelites, feared the possibility of a hostile takeover; so he appointed taskmasters who put them under hard labor, lest they join forces with those who did not like the king. Talk about a difficult situation!

But the LORD was more than a watchman over the situation! He arranged things so that the more labor the taskmasters heaped upon Joseph’s people, the more births they had within their families. Now, the king and his taskmasters were the ones in the difficult situation.

All of this should encourage us 1) not to worry about difficult situations that appear to have no “backdoor”; and 2) not to forget that the LORD was observing everything; and as soon as His people started to be treated harshly, He increased their numbers, giving the king and his ilk something to really be concerned about!

It’s just possible that you are facing difficulty with a new boss. His assignment is far beyond what you had been hired to do. What do you do? Trust the LORD! Do some serious praying! (Of course, all praying should be serious!)

Leave the situation squarely in the LORD’s hands. I know; that’s a tough assignment. Yet, there’s none better. Trust Him and see!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom