Genesis 37:25
As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.
Joseph’s brothers sell him into slavery. God used the act of perfidy of Joseph’s brothers to ultimately be their salvation. Had it not been for the chain of events triggered in Joseph’s life, they would have starved to death. Joseph’s Egyptian name was Zaphenath-paneah, Savior of the age (Genesis 41:45).
God sent Jesus to be Judah’s Savior. Even the camels, spices, and myrrh of the Ishmaelite traders are reminiscent of the Magi.
Both salvation stories have inauspicious beginnings. Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of a cistern to be sold, and Jesus was born in a stable. Do we not have an awesome God?
Dear Heavenly Father,
Dare we despise the day of small beginnings? We thank You for inauspicious beginnings. We thank You that there is no tragedy You cannot redeem. We are grateful that Your thoughts are not our thoughts and Your ways are not our ways. We look to you in glad expectation. We look to You in joy.
We know that You have saved and that You will continue to save. We claim the salvation, the healing, and the love of Your Son Jesus. He is the balm of Gilead. May He so completely fill the hearts of the College of Bishops of the Church of England that His light will blaze forth across England.
Don’t pass them by, Lord. Show Yourself strong on behalf of the church. Take their small beginnings and bless them. Amen.
Isaiah 55:8, Zechariah 4:10
Lent & Beyond 
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