by Ken Green<\/p>\n
J. W. McGarvey, the great Restoration preacher and scholar of the 19th century, published two sermons on providence. One was based on the Genesis account of Joseph. The other was based on the book of Esther. Both narratives are permeated with the amazing and mysterious providence of God.<\/p>\n
The dictionary defines providence as “exercising foresight; divine guidance or care; intervention.” Read the Book with that in mind!<\/p>\n
Why and how was Esther, a Jewish girl, chosen Miss Persia from a field of beauties from 127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia? Why and how was Mordecai’s ear in hearing distance of an assassination plot by two of the king’s officers? Why and how was King Ahasuerus sleepless on that particular night? Why did he call to hear that very book of the chronicles read? How was the page turned to that exact entry that described Mordecai’s intervention that saved the king’s life? Was all that coincidental or was it by design?<\/p>\n
When Joseph stood at the head of Egyptian affairs, and his brothers had acknowledged their wrongdoing, he said the Lord had sent him there. But consider the chain of events: Jacob wanted to know of his sons’ welfare. Why did he send Joseph? There were servants. Joseph’s approach reminded his brothers of his annoying dreams and being filled with rage, they threw him into a pit and planned to kill him after lunch.<\/p>\n
Some Ishmaelites passed by. Why there? Why then? Why heading to Egypt? Why did Potiphar purchase Joseph? Why was he imprisoned rather than executed for the charge made against him by Potiphar’s wife? Why were Pharaoh’s butler and baker imprisoned at that same time? Why did they dream? Why did Pharaoh dream?<\/p>\n
The skeptic will say all was happenstance. I say that every incident led to the result. Joseph said it was of God. God is as much the God of little things as the God of big things. Recall that Jesus said the very hairs of our heads are numbered. The providence of God is as much in the minutest details as in the completed whole. “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord<\/em>” (Proverbs 16: 33). God will have the final say.<\/p>\n Something else to observe: God’s providence is punctual. Read the story of the evangelist Philip. He left Samaria at the angel’s bidding and traveled “toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza<\/em>” (Acts 8:26). Meanwhile, the “man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority<\/em>” (had left Jerusalem) and “was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet<\/em>” (Acts 8: 27-28). Only God could have arranged the schedule. The rest is history.<\/p>\n The unbeliever will call it fate. Fate is blind. Providence has eyes. Providence is “all things working together for good for them who love God<\/em>” (Romans 8:28). We are not born under a lucky or an unlucky star. We can live and travel under “the bright and morning star<\/em>.”<\/p>\n Even the thoughts of men are under the sovereignty of God. It was the foreordained and announced purpose of God that Jesus should be born at the appointed time in Bethlehem of Judea. But Mary lived in Nazareth, in the north, and her time had nearly arrived.<\/p>\n Then Caesar took a whim to tax the world. He ordered that each should enroll in the city of his family descent. Mary was obliged to make the trip with her betrothed husband. When? Luke tells us when: “So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered<\/em>” (Luke 2: 6).<\/p>\n We want to see through providence. But it can’t be done. We want to see why that affliction came and how it can possibly bring good to us. We want to understand why we must endure that particular burden. But no, it just cannot be done.<\/p>\n But we can believe. We can endure in faith. We can honor God by trusting in Him.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Ken Green J. W. McGarvey, the great Restoration preacher and scholar of the 19th century, published two sermons on providence. One was based on the Genesis account of Joseph. The other was based on the book of Esther. Both narratives are permeated with the amazing and mysterious providence of God. The dictionary defines providence…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[187],"class_list":["post-37433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-providence"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":64020,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/esther-gods-providence\/","url_meta":{"origin":37433,"position":0},"title":"Esther: God\u2019s Providence","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 25, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Steve Hamilton","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29612,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-providence-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":37433,"position":1},"title":"The Providence of God (Thornhill)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 20, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Thomas Thornhill Anyone who studies the Bible carefully comes face to face with the providence of God. His hand is seen in events that unfold throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. If one really believes the Bible one will also believe in the providence of God. Yet, many\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9654,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-does-god-influence-us\/","url_meta":{"origin":37433,"position":2},"title":"How does God influence us?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 3, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: A while back I was looking through Scripture and discussing with a friend about the influence of the Holy Spirit, God, and Jesus. I don't remember where the Scriptures are at. I should make a list of subjects and put down Scriptures in the list when I find one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21801,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-provides\/","url_meta":{"origin":37433,"position":3},"title":"God Provides","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 12:22-31 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Imagine having an illness that left you unable to move on your own \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Suffering with this disease for 38 years! - John 5:5-7 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And then a stranger comes up and cures your disease - John 5:8-9 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0No longer weak, no longer dependent!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7107,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-holy-spirits-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":37433,"position":4},"title":"The Holy Spirit’s Work","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 5, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We have noted that the third person in the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, is often misunderstood. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0People have let the imaginations run wild in regard to who the Spirit is and especially in how He operates. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many of the incorrect beliefs are based on phrases found in the Bible, taken\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43537,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-providence-of-god-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":37433,"position":5},"title":"The Providence of God (Waters)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 18, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Mike Waters The Good Life","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37433\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}