Jesse Tree Devotional for December 7th

December 7

God's Gracious Good

Today's reading: Genesis 37:31-33 and Genesis 50:15-20
And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no. And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.

And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

The coat was woven into a tapestry of flaming colors, brilliant hues, rich tones. A gift from a father to a precious child, Joseph slipped the coat of many colors on and slowly turned round, captivated at the way the colors shimmered in the sunlight.

And now we too are like swirling, mesmerized Joseph. You have taken the sins of our lives, and all that we have meant to harm and destroy, and You have dyed it in the blood of Your Son. You have woven our lives, tattered and torn, into something good and draped, us, Your cherished children, in a breathtakingly beautiful cloak.

For You have clothed us in the beauty of Christ.

Lord, because You come, I can be transformed into good, attired in the richly woven robe of righteousness. Oh, Lord, Your beauty takes our breath away!