# 342 Grace Is A Fearful Thing

The Book of Genesis

Day 342

Ge 37:18 Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him.  19 Then they said to one another, "Look, this dreamer is coming!  20 "Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, 'Some wild beast has devoured him.' We shall see what will become of his dreams!"

The brothers see Joseph approaching and instead of being glad to see him, they grumble. “Oh look, here comes the big dreamer, let’s kill him and cast him into a pit, then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams of us bowing down to him!” These guys have a problem with Joseph’s most favored status! They had a problem with grace!

Let’s break out the Law/Grace, Pharisee/Jesus comparison again. These brothers represent God’s chosen people. They are the patriarchs of Israel. Jacob, (a type of our heavenly Father here) sends His favorite son (in whom He is well pleased) to his brothers. He is one of their own and what did his brothers do? They plotted to kill Him!

God, likewise sent His Son and what does the Bible say? “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.” (Jn 1:11)  and we know that they too plotted to kill Him. How can this be? How can people want to do this to their own flesh and blood? The answer is found in the typical reaction to grace.

Grace, represented by Joseph and Jesus  is a fearful thing! Grace is feared because just as Joseph’s dream portrayed, it requires complete surrender. Law doesn’t do that, because we can manipulate it with our own little versions, loopholes, and justifications. We twist it to our own liking and then we wrongly think we are holy on our own!  Notice how the brothers keep within the letter of the Law by not actually killing Joseph, all they did was throw him in a pit, they didn’t actually kill him!

Notice too, how the Pharisees kept within the letter of the Law by having the Romans give the execution order concerning Jesus, they weren’t the ones who actually pounded in the nails! 

This then was one of the main points of the message of Jesus. A point that He continually tried to drive home to His brothers. “You cannot pick and choose with the Law! It is all or nothing, and since it is impossible to do all, then the only hope is the surrender to the grace of Jesus.” It is the only way of escape, and to surrender all is a fearful thing! Surely there is something we must contribute to our salvation!

But there isn’t! And that’s what makes grace a fearful thing. It is a total letting go. What’s it going to be for you? Partial surrender and the tyranny of the Law, or total surrender and the freedom of grace?

Fear not my brothers and sisters! Let go, grace will catch you and never let you go!