Genesis 50:4-8 (ESV)
And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, ‘My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die: in my tomb that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.” Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return.’” And Pharaoh answered, “Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear.” So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen.
God put Jospeh in such a unique spot. He was a 17 year old boy when arrived in Egypt. He became a household slave who eventually was falsely accused and convicted of a rape charge. In prison he rose to a high level of responsibility, but was still in prison. Now, decades later the entire Egyptian royalty returns with him back to Canaan to bury his father, where it all started. God turned the hearts of great Egyptian leadership toward Joseph’s favor. Our favor among men is in the hands of a powerful God.
Later in the books of history we will see God turn the heart of a king toward Easter. We will see God turn the heart of a farmer toward Ruth. We will see God turn the heart of a king toward Nehemiah. We will see God turn the hearts of a nation toward the message of Jonah.
God turns hearts. If we have favor with men, it is God who turns their hearts toward us. It is not us who creates these moments.
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