The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1963-09-06
God Knows WHY

God Knows Why
Lesson for September s, 1868
When we wonder why some
thing should happen we think
ought not to happen; when q
burden long borne becomes daily
harder to bear: when a good
man goes down in defeat or a
bad man prospers, in short
when it looks almost as if the
devil and not God were in
charge here; when we wonder
why, we are directly express
ing our faith in God. All Chris.
tians, and some also who have
never taken that name. do be.
lieve in a God who is both good
and almighty. If He were only
good but not almighty, or only
almighty and not good. we
would not wonder at all. It is
only those who believe in the
true God who wonder why.
The story Of Joseph in the Old
Testament hasn't a miracle In
it. Joseph never performed one
He never saw any one else dc
it. Yet the story Of Joseph gives
US some Of the most important
clues to the way God takes care
OF His own, and brings His pur.
poses to pass even with the help
of those who are reckless and
wicked. It helps us when we
wonder "Why?" to read again
this famous story and to think
about it.
Joseph's brothers were a bad
lot, there is no doubt about that.
You cannot blame Jacob for
playing favorites when he pick
ed out Joseph for special favors.
Joseph was the son of the only
wife Jacob ever loved: and be-
sides. he was not only better,
he was smarter than the rest Of
the family. Anybody who is
smarter than the people around
him doesn't help matters BY
Dragging. and Joseph did brag
Even in his dreams he was the
kingpin and he let everybody
know it. His brothers might have
been expected to resent this and
to pick on Joseph, maybe even
beat him. But they did worse
than that. they thought beating
was too good for him, and plot.
ted to murder him. Brothers
don't come any lower down thar
that.
These men without a consci-
ence did not murder their broth
er after all But that was not be.
cause they thought better Of it
II anything, what they did was
worse than killing: they sold him
for a slave. Instead Of a swift
death, their brother would have
a long lingering death-in-ife, the
miserable existence Of a slave
in those days when a slave <
life was worth but little. The
only reason they didn't kill Jos
eph was that they could make
a little money (about two dollars
EACH by selling him. The Lie
they told their father about it
or rather the lie they acted out
was all Of piece with the rest
OF it. There wasn't a shred OF
good in the intentions OF those
ruffianS. Furthermore. there
was no good in the Midianite
slave traders, and there was nc
good in the slave trade. When
Potiphar bought Joseph. he
didn't do so from motives Of
charity. It was purely a bust.
ness transaction. Years and
years after this. Joseph said tc
his aging brothers, speaking Of
these same events. you meant
evil against me-" (Gen. 5000
But God Meant 1t For Good
In the same sentence, hardly
stopping for breath, the boy 10.
seph now a middle-aged expert
enced man, went on to say
but God meant it for good" Al
the time of that wicked sale Of
Joseph to the wandering trad
ers, it would have been no won
der if Joseph had been won.
dering why )" Why didn't
God stop this terrible thing:
We can imagine that on the way
to Egypt (some days journey
at best bright 17-year-old like
Joseph might have plotted an es
cape; and if he had tried il
tmaybe he did, at that; yoU
would have surely been hoping
he could manage the break
away. But no, it was not to be
The whole future of the ma
ton of Israel depended on 10
seph's being Sold into Egypt
Indeed one may say that all his
tory depended on it. It he hac
broken away, and gone home
there would have been now
where to go when the big fam
Inc struck. The Lsraeites WoulC
never have found stored-up grair
in Egypt. they never would have
found protection there, there
would never have been an EXC
dus, a Moses, a David Never
a Mary and never the other 10
seph. Never babe in the man