"'It's all right,' he said. 'Don't be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver.'" ~Genesis 43:23a, NIV
This verse comes from the tale of Joseph and his brothers. The brothers had gone to Egypt for food since there was a world-wide (at least the Ancient world...) famine and only Egypt had enough rations to make it through. Joseph played a trick on his brothers to see if they were sorry for sending him to Egypt, and he found them to be sorry. When they left, he instructed his household manager (the speaker in the above verse) to put the money back into their bags. When they came back, they were terrified, and informed the manager. The manager knew what Joseph had been up to, and told them what was true.
God gave them treasure. "Wait a minute, Joseph gave them treasure!" you might be thinking right now. And you'd basically be right. But consider this: God uses people to carry out His work. That's right. Joseph acted as God's hands and feet. In today's world, the Church assigns people to be such servants, people you should always be able to trust: pastors, deacons, elders, parents. Everyone should be serving as God's tools, but since we're human, we often make mistakes, and hurt others and misrepresent the God who sent us.
But God does not misrepresent Himself, and He speaks through these people to tell us not to be afraid. He uses Bible-people, He uses you and me. Remember that. He's still telling you today to not be afraid.
Win, right?
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