7. Godly Examples of Submission
seven
God has given us the Bible to show us how we should live.1From beginning to end, it is full of stories of those who have gone before us. These records give us a very tangible look at submission, something that we can actually follow.
It would be like I invited you to my home for dinner. I’d give you directions to my place that explained where to turn and the landmarks you would see. But then something happens. The time comes for you to arrive, but you haven’t shown up. My wife has cooked a nice meal, and now the food is starting to get cold.
I’m wondering what’s happened, so I pick up my phone and call your cell. “Where are you?” I ask. Glad to hear my voice, you tell me you are lost and can’t find the right road. But as you describe your surroundings, I figure out exactly where you are. So I say, “Good. I got it. Wait right there. I’m coming.”
I get in my car, and before long, I find you. “Sorry for all the trouble,” I say. “Just keep your eyes on my 1962 yellow Volkswagen Bug and follow me back to my house.”
So now you don’t have to look at the map or the street signs. You just need to concentrate on the back of my little car. I lead and you follow, and within 10 minutes of making all the right turns, this way and that, we drive up to my house.
“Oh, that was easy,” you say.
Why was it easy? Because all you had to do was follow.
The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1, NIV). If you want to learn the ways of God, if you want to touch godliness, if you want to avoid sin and disaster, go to the Bible and read about the people God has given to us as examples. Follow their successes and avoid their failures.
There are many individuals in Scripture who truly demonstrated what it means to submit to authority in spite of suffering and loss. Let’s study the lives of just a few of these people.
Mighty Man of God
Paul, the Apostle2—from a distance, he may come across as a self-made man who doesn’t bend before anyone or anything. But that’s really far from the truth. Paul was a broken, humble man who learned to live a life of submission before both God and man. And this was the key to God committing Himself to Paul.
Before he was the Apostle, he was Saul of Tarsus—a Pharisee, and as for legalistic righteousness, he was faultless.3 He was of the highest caste in society with both financial backing and a great education. Self-righteous, he was convinced that he was doing the right thing by killing Christians and opposing this Christ everyone was talking about.
But then on the road to Damascus, he met Jesus Christ Himself. There he was struck down with a bright light, and he heard those words, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? . . . It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”4
Saul immediately asked, “Who are You, Lord?”5 By calling Him Lord, Saul was saying in the literal sense of the word that he now belonged to the One he was addressing.
“I am Jesus,”6 was the response he heard.
Saul was dumbfounded. “Lord, what do You want me to do?”7 he stammered. His question was the beginning of a life of absolute surrender.
God instructed Saul to go to the city of Damascus. There, He said, “you will be told what you must do.”8 Think about this for a second. All Saul knows to do is to go to Damascus. God didn’t tell him where to go in the city or how long he would have to wait or even how he was to know the next step.
Then when Saul gets up, he opens his eyes and can’t see a thing. He is absolutely blind. Now the mighty, intelligent, rich and famous “Saul of Tarsus” has to be led by the hand like a child. In order for him to submit to his new Lord, he has to humble himself and take this road of brokenness. For three days, he waits sightless and helpless. God was using these first steps in submission to train Saul in godliness.
Next the Lord made contact with Ananias, a disciple living in Damascus. He gave him Saul’s address and told him to make a house call. The Lord adds, “He is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake” (Acts 9:15-16).
The Lord could have done everything for Saul Himself. He could have opened his eyes, baptized him and filled him with the Holy Spirit. Instead, God chose to work through His delegated authority. It was Ananias who was divinely appointed to bring Saul healing and to guide him at this point in his journey. God was saying to Saul, “Submit yourself under My delegated authority.” Saul, who was such an intelligent, capable individual, had to put his life in the hands of Ananias, a simple unknown man mentioned only once in the Bible. Even so, Saul submitted to what was required of him, because he had met his ultimate Authority on the road to Damascus.
God stood by Ananias. When he laid his hands on Saul, the scales immediately fell off his eyes. Once blind and helpless, Saul now received back his eyesight. As he submitted to this simple disciple of Christ, he got what he so desperately needed—sight and insight.
As the days progressed, Saul increased in both strength and influence. It was obvious that God’s hand was upon his life and that His blessing was upon Saul’s ministry.9
From Damascus he traveled to Jerusalem so he could spend time with Peter. He followed the former fisherman for two weeks, going wherever he went.10 He took the time to seek out and learn from those who were his elders in the proclamation of Christ.
Saul was an intelligent and gifted leader. He was a man of influence and importance even before he knew Christ. When he submitted to Jesus and His delegated authority, he by no means laid down his great skills and simply became a doormat, as some view submission. He was a pioneer and brilliant leader. He did not lose his abilities and charisma in this process; he simply let God now channel these resources His way instead of Saul’s own way.
As this new champion of the faith spoke boldly among the Jews in Jerusalem, some sought to kill him, so the apostles sent him back to Tarsus. There he remained for a number of years until Barnabas came to get him to minister as a team in Antioch.
After a year of church work, the Holy Spirit said to the local leaders during a prayer meeting to separate Saul for the work to which God had called him. They could have exclaimed, “What are You talking about, God? You already called him. He is already separated.”
Once again God chose to work through His authority in that setting. Even with a mighty individual like Saul, God still essentially said, “I cannot work except through the authority I have established.” So the church leaders laid hands on him and sent him out.
Now known as Paul the Apostle, he was preaching the Gospel not only in synagogues, but also among the Gentiles, planting churches everywhere he went. There came a time when he and his co-workers needed to know how God wanted them to handle the new Gentile converts. It was decided that Paul and Barnabas and a few other leaders should go to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders and seek their guidance.
All through the New Testament, we see Paul talking to God and having direct access to Him. Why didn’t the Lord just tell him what to do? After all, many of these people came to Christ under Paul’s teaching. Why didn’t the apostle just figure this out on his own? Instead, Paul and some of his colleagues take the time to travel back to Jerusalem and present the problem to the church leaders in authority.
James the brother of Jesus and the apostles and elders listen to what has happened regarding the many Gentile believers. Then James, the senior leader, speaks up and gives a ruling.
After James announces his decision, Paul never opens his mouth. He took this ruling as from God and went on establishing His work.
Paul faced opposition every place he went. This resistance came primarily from the Jewish religious community, but as we read through Acts, we see that quite often it was the government that provided his protection.11 For example, when he was in Corinth, the Jews accused him before the governor Gallio. Before Paul even had a chance to speak, Gallio told the Jews, “I don’t have time to listen to your own laws.”12 And he made them leave the court.
The same basic scenario is repeated throughout Acts. The Lord even used Paul’s imprisonment in Jerusalem as a protection from imminent death threats and as a means for him to speak to the courts and monarchs of the day. Whether these leaders in government realized it or not, their decisions were directed by God to accomplish His purposes. From the beginning when God spoke to Ananias, He foretold that Paul was to speak before kings. If Paul had rebelled against these governmental leaders, he would have forfeited a part of God’s plan for him.
When Paul was later on trial in Jerusalem, the high priest
Ananias told someone near Paul to strike him on the mouth. Paul immediately reacted with truthful criticism. Those who stood by said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?”13
Paul quickly replied, “I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ”14 The high priest must not have been wearing his official dress, and Paul did not recognize who he was. Obviously Paul was more concerned about his lack of respect toward the high priest than he was about being slapped in the face and humiliated in front of everyone.
Submission often includes difficulties, pain and suffering in the flesh, but it brings a life of peace and freedom. When Paul was waiting for two years for a verdict from Felix, he knew the Lord’s purpose was for him to go to Rome. As he submitted to the Lord and to His authorities, he could be at peace knowing that the Lord would bring it to pass.
After years of submitting himself to God and his authorities, Paul was able to say at the end of his life, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).
a Man after god's Own heart
One of the most significant examples we have of submission to authority is found in the life of King David.15 He actively pursued submitting to his delegated authority even in the midst of devastating personal crisis. This choice was a beautiful reflection of his heart of submission toward His Lord.
David’s story begins with Saul, Israel’s first king. Saul started out as a good ruler and battled strong for Israel. Early on he called for war on the Philistines. But the opposition had a better turnout than Saul expected, and his men began deserting.
King Saul got impatient waiting for Samuel the priest to show up to perform the required sacrifice. So he did what he should have never done and performed the sacrifice himself. Just as he finished, Samuel arrived on the scene.
He reported to Saul, “The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command” (1 Samuel 13:14, NIV). That leader in the wings was David. The Lord knew this young man’s heart and picked him out from all those in Israel.
Samuel was grieved that Saul had dishonored the Lord, and the man of God kept stewing about it. But the Lord told him, “Forget about Saul. I have chosen someone else. Go and anoint David to be king.”16 So Samuel went to Bethlehem and poured his sacred oil on the youngest of Jesse’s eight sons. From that day forward, the power of the Lord’s Spirit was upon this young man.
At the same time, the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and he was demonized. The king’s attendants realized what happened to Saul and suggested that someone come and soothe his spirit by playing the harp. In what was more than a coincidence, David was recommended. And Saul approved this action! So now, here was David in direct service to his king, and Saul really liked him. This new man also became one of the king’s armor-bearers. David not only faithfully played the harp for Saul, but he also sought to serve him in any way he could.
Goliath the Philistine began boasting before the Israelites, and David boasted of the Lord and killed this giant with a stone. The rest of the Philistines ran from the Israelites. That day of victory there was happiness and elation, singing and dancing all throughout Israel. Though praise went to Saul, even more was directed David’s way. Saul heard about David’s popularity. But instead of raising his hands and honoring God for such a helper, Saul became terribly upset. He was filled with jealousy to the point that he decided to kill David.
The next day, as David was playing the harp for his king as he normally did, instead of being comforted, Saul became angry. He flung his spear across the room at David—not just once, but twice. Each time David dodged the attack.
If I were David, I probably would have quit right then and there. Instead, he remains in Saul’s service. Yes, God had rejected Saul and already anointed David as the nation’s next king, but Saul was still the one on the throne. How could David just walk in? He couldn’t. Even in this difficult situation, for David to oppose Saul would be to reject God Himself.
The more David submitted, the more pliable he became in the Lord’s hands. His choices of submission were not easy by any means. They required suffering and faithfully serving someone who was no longer thinking normally. But David stayed the course.
Saul then decided, “I won’t kill him. I’ll let the Philistines do it.”17 But there David’s life was preserved by God. Again David submitted to Saul as he would to God. He did everything with all of his heart, and the Lord gave him great success. The Philistines continued to go after the Israelites, but David met them with a string of victories. The result was that all of Israel and Judah loved him all the more.
Saul realized that if David’s successes continued, this young fellow would soon have his job. He was afraid of this and became even more determined to kill David. Once again, the king’s helper had to duck Saul’s flying spear. And this time, David removed himself from Saul, but not in rebellion.
He first went to Samuel. David told him everything that was going on. I have no doubt that he also sought his wisdom and counsel. Who knows, maybe it was during this time with Samuel that David gained the wisdom and strength to respond to Saul as he did in the following days.
When Saul heard where he was, David fled. He was still on the run when his brothers joined him. Even in the midst of fleeing for his life, David considered his parents. Now that his brothers were with him, there was no one to watch over them. So he went to the King of Moab and asked if he would let his father and mother live with him until things got worked out.
While in Moab the prophet Gad told him, “Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah.”18 He respected this prophet and left Moab.
Saul chased David all over the place trying to kill him. He had 3,000 well-trained and strong soldiers. It was like assigning 3,000 troops to kill a stray dog! Yet day after day, the Lord protected David from his master.
Imagine running for your very life for a whole day. It’s a scary thought. Now think about having to do this for years. And consider that it’s not from some troublemaker in society, but from your own leader, whom you have served with all your heart. Even when David had every reason to be rebellious against and disrespectful of Saul, he chose not to do so, but rather to forgive and to show respect.
One day during this chase, David and his men were hiding out in the back of a large cave. Would you believe Saul happens into that same cave to go to the bathroom? David’s men whisper, “Look, David, God said He would deliver your enemy into your hand to do to him as you wish. Now’s your chance. Kill him.”19
David quietly sneaked up to Saul and cut off a corner of his robe. Why didn’t he take his tormentor’s life? He had God’s word to support his case. All the circumstances lined up. Everything looked correct. The only thing for David to do—by logic and his feelings of self-preservation, the thought of fulfilling God’s will for His people, and following the unanimous advice of his men—was to go ahead and strike Saul dead. But David knew something deeper, more holy. He looked at the situation from God’s perspective of submission to authority.
He must have said to himself, Though this man is backslidden and demonized, Saul is still God’s anointed. I must not raise my hand against him. So David chose to go against his human reasoning and honored his authority. What a mystery of godliness.
David went back to his men and told them there was no way he would do anything against the king and that no one was to harm him. He even felt guilty for cutting Saul’s royal robe. Even in private, you never hear David speaking against Saul or allowing others to criticize him. He backs him up even after all he has gone through.
Saul walks out of the cave and back to his grisly business. Then David calls after him, “My lord the king!”20 When Saul turned to look back, there was David with his face to the ground, bowing to him, humbling himself before his king.
What an amazing example of a man who understood the godliness of not reviling authority. Instead of making this an opportunity to criticize, David took it as another time to honor him.
Here are his amazing words to Saul (my paraphrase):
“Don’t listen to anyone who is telling you that I want to harm you. Today I was in the cave with you and others urged me to take this as an opportunity from God to kill you. But I cannot stretch out my hand against my lord, the Lord’s anointed. Look, my father, I have part of your robe in my hand. I cut it off, but I did not hurt you. Please see that there is no evil or rebellion in my heart toward you. I have not sinned against you, yet you want to kill me. Let the Lord judge. But my hand will not be against you. I am confused about this whole thing. You are the king of Israel, yet you are pursuing me… But what am I but a dead dog? A flea?”21
Saul responded, “Is that your voice, David my son?”22 Then Saul started weeping openly and said, “You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. . . . When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed?”23 Then Saul returned home, but David and his men stole away to a safe place. David respected Saul and did not take advantage of this opportune moment, and Saul, at least temporarily, changed his attitude and returned home.
As time passes, Saul again takes up the pursuit of David. Instead of cutting off a piece of his robe, this time David takes his spear and water jug. The Lord puts Saul and his army into a deep sleep, while David creeps in quietly under the cover of night.
As David and his friend stand over the sleeping Saul, David says, “I am not going to harm him. The Lord can kill him or a day will come that he will die whether by old age or battle. But I am not going to do it” (1 Samuel 26:10-11, paraphrased).
David trusted God implicitly for his future.24 He believed that if he honored his authority, in the end the Lord would somehow accomplish His purpose. He was being prepared to be in a place of authority by truly honoring those God had placed over him.
In time the Israelites faced another struggle with the Philistines. The battle was fierce, and Saul’s three sons were killed. The king was severely wounded and actively pursued. At this point he chose to take his own life.
A man from Saul’s camp searched for David. He told him that the Israelites had lost the battle and that Saul and Jonathan were both dead. David asked him how he knew this was so. The messenger explained that Saul was leaning on his spear, half dead, and had called him over to finish the job. “So I stood over him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord” (2 Samuel 1:10).
When David heard the news of Saul’s death, he was not happy or relieved. Rather, he broke down weeping for Saul and Jonathan. In this scene of mourning, something strange happened. David asked the young man who gave him the news, “Where are you from?”25
He answered, “I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.”26
Then David asked him, “Why were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” (2 Samuel 1:14, NIV).
Then David called one of his young men and commanded, “Go . . . execute him!”27
Later David learned that the men of Jabesh Gilead had retrieved Saul’s body and buried it. He sent messengers to say, “The Lord bless you for showing this kindness to Saul your master by burying him. May the Lord now show you kindness and faithfulness, and I too will show you the same favor because you have done this” (2 Samuel 2:5-6, NIV).
Even in Saul’s death, David had great respect for this authority God placed over him.
David never tried to bring to pass what God had promised him. “In the course of time, David inquired of the Lord. ‘Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?’ he asked…‘Go up… To Hebron,’ the Lord answered.”28
So David went to Hebron with all his men and their families, and they settled there. Then the men of Judah gathered in Hebron and anointed him king over the house of Judah.
Seven years later, all Israel came together to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler’ ” (2 Samuel 5:1-2, NIV).
It was then that all the elders of Israel anointed David king as the Lord had promised years earlier through Samuel. David was 30 years old when this happened,29 and he became more and more powerful because the Lord Almighty was with him.30
David was faithful to honor and respect his authority through all those years of rejection, misunderstandings, betrayal and loneliness, with the king and his soldiers running after him. Still the Lord brought him through all this suffering to a place of godliness and blessing. His fame spread through every land, and God made all the nations fear him.31
Nathan the prophet came to David to give him a wonderful word from the Lord: “I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on the earth. . . . Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:8-9, 16, NIV).
Submission is the way God accomplishes His eternal purposes. In the measure that David submitted, in that same measure he experienced God’s restoration and life of blessing. In Acts 13:22, the Lord says of David, “I have found David the son ofJesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.” David obeyed God and his delegated authorities through incredible turmoil. It is no wonder his throne is established forever. Down through the ages, even as God promised, David is still known as one of the greatest men who ever lived on this earth, and his kingdom endures forever.
God's Faithful Servant
Joseph was another man of many trials, but as he submitted in each situation, he learned obedience. And this strange path eventually led him to the position of prime minister of Egypt.
Joseph’s story32 begins with his father, Jacob. He loved Joseph most of his sons. Joseph’s 10 older brothers were aware of this, and they hated Joseph for it. They gave him a hard time whenever they could and had almost nothing kind to say to him or about him. Yet he learned to submit to their ill treatment.
Initially Joseph was not all that wise in his dealings with his brothers. Early on, he had dreams about them someday bowing down before him. Instead of keeping this to himself, he told his father and his siblings, which made his brothers dislike him even more. His father chided him, “Don’t you have any sense in your head? What are you talking about? Your brothers and your parents, we are all going to bow down before you?”33 Yet Joseph had an obedient spirit. One day his father said, “Your brothers are off feeding the flocks. Why don’t you go and find out how they’re doing?”34 Joseph replied, “Here I am,”35 and off he went. He obeyed his father without question. If I were Joseph, having experienced the kind of mean-spiritedness he had received from his brothers, I would have been careful not to put myself in such a dangerous position. But his father said it, so he just obeyed and went.
Spying him coming from a long way off, his brothers devised an evil plan. “Here comes that dreamer!”36 they mocked. “Let’s kill him and . . . then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”37 When Joseph arrived, they grabbed him, tore off his coat and threw him into a nearby pit. The Lord protected him, however. Instead of being murdered, he was sold as a slave. Yet Joseph didn’t fight or curse them. Filled with emotion, he pleaded and begged, “Have mercy, please. Let me stay!”38 Can you imagine this young “favorite of his father” now being marched off to the strange land of Egypt with its different language and strange culture? I have no doubt that Joseph shed bitter tears on his journey. Though he knew his brothers didn’t like him, I don’t believe he ever expected they would actually do something like this. After all, they were his older brothers, his very blood.
Yet he submits to what happens. I suppose Joseph may have said, “God, I don’t know what to do. I obeyed my father, my authority, and now I’m caught in this dreadful situation.” The most loved son now became a slave to Potiphar. God was using these events to train Joseph in godliness. He learned to submit at home in the midst of bitterness and hate, and he would now have to learn submission as a slave.
We don’t read anywhere that Joseph told Potiphar and his wife, “This is the whole story of how I got sold into slavery.” If he was bitter and unforgiving toward his last delegated authority (his older brothers), most likely he would have eventually carried that over toward Potiphar. But from the biblical account, we have every reason to believe that Joseph served Potiphar out of a sincere heart.
Though everything had gone against him, instead of complaining, Joseph forgave and now served his new authority with all of his heart. This attitude not only gave him hope, but his new authority Potiphar was pleased with him.
The Lord was certainly with Joseph too. The young man worked hard, served diligently and started to become quite successful. Potiphar saw it, and soon Joseph became the head man of the house. Everything was put under his authority. Potiphar trusted Joseph so much that he didn’t even have to check on what Joseph did. He just left everything for Joseph to take care of, to the extent that Potiphar hardly even knew what he had, except for the food he ate each day.
But again the vibrant, healthy, mature, handsome Joseph ends up in trouble. Usually it’s the man who lusts after the woman, but not in Joseph’s case. Potiphar’s wife goes after him. Joseph tells her, “Look, my master . . . has committed all that he has to my hand . . . [except for] you. . . . How then can I do this great wickedness?” (Genesis 39:8-9). Obviously to yield to the temptation was wrong, but even beyond the moral sense, Joseph knew that doing such a thing would violate his master’s trust.
Day after day he was enticed by this attractive lady of the house, until finally he literally ran from her. Instead of Joseph being rewarded for his commitment, Potiphar accused him of the very thing from which he had fled.
Potiphar, who was a powerful official, had Joseph thrown into prison. For his choice of submission, Joseph suffered misunderstandings, inconveniences, pain and humiliation.
Through all this, however, we never read a word of accusation against his brothers or Potiphar and his wife. All we ever hear Joseph say is, “I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon” (Genesis 40:15). Apparently, he didn’t spell out vivid descriptions of his heartache and pain.
In the midst of the injustice, suffering and waiting, God was still with him. I’m sure the Lord suffered with him and, in that sense, was saying, “I understand, Joseph.” Joseph’s response to God could have been, “If you understand, why are You allowing me to go through all this pain and agony?” But Joseph trusted God and waited to see what He had planned.
Even while Joseph was in prison, the Lord was able to convey His mercy and favor toward him. The warden soon committed all the prisoners into Joseph’s care, and everything in the jail was by his doing. Once again he prospered, and he was learning to submit not only as a slave, but also as a prisoner. Joseph needed this time to grow into filling the high position he would eventually hold.
Thirteen long years go by39—years of faithfully submitting in a hot Egyptian prison—but in the end Joseph is brought to the place of blessing. God places a dream in the mind of the sleeping Pharaoh. Who is asked to interpret it? You guessed it! So Joseph tells the ruler what’s to come and how to prepare for it in the years of plenty. The Pharaoh himself realizes he needs someone who will watch over his land during this process and exclaims, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God? . . . You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you. . . . See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt” (Genesis 41:38, 40-41).
Joseph is promoted to prime minister of the most powerful nation at the time. Now he faithfully serves Pharaoh. And the ruler trusts his prime minister and tells his people, “Go to Joseph, and do whatever he tells you.”40 Even though Joseph had authorities in the past who wronged him, he continued to serve faithfully those God put over him.
More years go by. Joseph’s brothers, faced with worldwide famine, journey to Egypt to buy food. They come before Joseph and bow down before him, but with no clue as who he really is. Joseph looked different now. He was older and more mature, and he wore Egyptian clothing. On top of that, he was in authority.
As Joseph recognized his brothers, his emotions welled up. He couldn’t handle them, and he ran back to a room and wept. What was he weeping about? Was it past bitterness, anger and frustration? Was it because of their cruelty and the lost years? No. He was weeping out of love and emotion. “My brothers, my blood. Oh, they are here!” He was eager for information. He asked all kinds of pointed questions and wanted to know how his father was. “What’s happening? Tell me!”41
In the end Joseph told his brothers, “Please don’t think I am going to do anything wrong to you. You sold me into slavery, but God sent me here ahead of you, knowing that this time of famine would come and that I would need to be here to help my family— to help you. So it really wasn’t you who sent me here; it was God. See what He has done” (Genesis 45:5-8, paraphrased).
Joseph gives them provision to go back to their homeland and bring their father and all his household down to Egypt. Then he provides for his father and for all of his brothers during this time of famine.
Once Jacob dies, Joseph’s brothers are afraid he might now pay them back. But he tells them, “Am I in the place of God? . . . You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good. . . . Do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones” (Genesis 50:19-21). Joseph’s submission to God and his delegated authority brought him rest from worry and bitterness. Even though Joseph’s authorities, his older brothers, had once wronged him, in his mind it was God who ultimately orchestrated what happened, and through it He had spared the promised people of Israel, accomplishing His purpose.
Before Jacob died, he had said of Joseph, “The archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him. But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob” (Genesis 49:23-24). As Joseph submitted instead of reacting or fighting, God continually strengthened him and provided what ultimately was best both for him and his whole family.
Three-Dimensional Submission
What outstanding pictures these are of submission to authority. Here were men who feared God and practiced submission even when it seemed everything went against them. It was not because they were inferior or unable to make their own plans. They chose to submit because they knew that ultimately they were bending their knees before the throne of God. They did all that they did for Him.
They all worked hard so their authorities never had to watch over them, because their real master was God. Even when their authorities made wrong choices or were outright sinful, they submitted as best they could. They laid aside their agendas, their fears and their own well-being and chose to submit.
In similar fashion, as long as we try to save our own lives, we will lose them. But if we give them away, let them be, submit and surrender, then we will truly find them. 42 Those who testify to a genuine deeper encounter with God all experience this brokenness and humility that result from submission.
You see, submission always starts with the choice that it is no longer what we wish or what we want. We only desire His will. This means we have chosen to walk the road of brokenness— the catalyst that breaks up the fallow ground of our souls. It is by bending our necks that we submit to the yoke of authority. When we do this, our eyes of understanding are opened to see clearly the ways of God.
God dwells in two places. One is heaven, and the other is the heart of someone who has a broken and contrite spirit.43 The Bible reports that in these three men’s lives, God was with them and that they increased and were successful.44It is not by chance that God chooses to align Himself with someone. It is with the humble, with the broken, that God resides in power.
Through submission they truly experienced God’s blessing, but it was not without intense suffering. The two go hand in hand. God used all of the events in their lives to mature them for greater usefulness and the fulfillment of His plans for them.
Joseph was willing to submit even when he ended up in prison for years. He suffered without murmuring against God. He didn’t say a mean word against the older brothers who mistreated him. He never spoke against Potiphar and his wife. And God used those experiences to train him. Although Joseph suffered in prison for 13 years, he was the prime minister of Egypt for 43 years.
Look at David—anointed king as a young man yet years go by and he’s still not on the throne. If he had then been asked, “David, where is your throne? Where is your crown?” he likely would have replied, “I am under training.”
God always has our best in mind, to bless us and make us a blessing. And His anointing on the lives of these men was a direct result of their submission. It was through this that God was able to accomplish His eternal purposes.
This principle of submission to authority is not an earthly one. It is an eternal principle, sacred and holy. To the extent anyone embraces it, they will see God come to their side. He will make sure they will be not the tail, but the head.
As it reports in 1 Corinthians 10:11, the stories of these lives were written down for our example. May God help us follow their example.
Dear Lord, please help us hear from You. Thank You for the testimonies of Paul and David and Joseph, that we may follow in their footsteps. Help us to walk in humility and sincerity before You and the authorities You have given us. Our desire is to please You. Thank You for Your mercy toward us when we are slow to learn. Don’t allow us to give up on this journey toward submission. We trust You, Lord, that You will complete us. We pray this in the name of Jesus, the greatest of all examples. Amen.