Kick Off Questions
1. Where did you see God at work today?
2. How do you need God today?
Psalms 22:25-31
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!
Genesis 41:28-40
28 “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, 30 but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. 31 The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. 32 The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.33 “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. 36 This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God? 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”
Matthew 14:15-24
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” 16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
Reflection
The idea of God as provider has always been an idea that I have struggled with as a Christian. I can look at the world and see so much need and hurt; I have to wonder where God is at in the midst of all this hurt.
One day while I was reflecting on scriptures like these, praying, and talking with some friends, an idea hit me. God wants to provide through His people.
If you look at the text in Matthew and in Genesis, God uses Joseph (and then his Only Son) to provide for those in need. The revelation that God gives Joseph ends up helping providing food for not only the nation of Egypt, but for many within the Ancient Near East. God even provides for his own as Joseph’s own family comes to Egypt to find food and safety in a time of famine.
In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus is teaching a group of people. His disciples see that the crowd is hungry, so they encourage Jesus to send them home so that they can find food. Jesus turns this idea on its head and says to the disciples, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
Looking to the Psalms verse, you see an amazing statement in verse 26: “The poor will eat and be satisfied.” We would expect the verse to say something like, the poor need food to be satisfied, but it does not. Why? Because in the Kingdom of God, even the poor are satisfied!
In Matthew, Jesus is demonstrating the fact that, in the Kingdom of God, he does not send anyone way without being satisfied. On top of that, there is even more food! The blessings of God never run out!
This brings us to Psalms 22:29: “All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him— those who cannot keep themselves alive.” Even those who are rich on earth cannot keep themselves alive. When they come face-to-face with God they are brought to their knees in worship.
As those who are probably richer than 2/3rds of the rest of the world, God wants to use us to care for those in need! When we provide for those in need, God’s Kingdom is made manifest in this world. Through us, God works as provider to care for those in need. So the next time you ask why God does not care for those in need, turn around and ask yourself, why you have not responded to God’s call to use you to care for those in need?
Family Questions
1. How does God provide in Genesis 47 for the nation of Egypt?
2. How does God provide in Matthew 14 for the crowd?
3. Look at Psalm 22, what causes the “poor” and the “rich” to “proclaim his righteous”?
4. How does God want to provide for those in need?
5. Why do you think God wants to work through his people?
6. What are ways that we as a family can be used by God to care for those in need?
7. Set up some concrete ways your family can care for those in need and add them to your schedule or lifestyle.
8. Pray for each other.
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