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Joseph

The hidden hand of God

Open to a sovereign God?

JOSEPH
The Hidden Hand of God
By Liam Goligher
Christian Focus. 236 pages. £6.99
ISBN 978-1-84550-368-0

Perhaps I should begin with a confession. I had completely overlooked how brilliant a storyteller Moses was, until I read this book. Taking great care to retell Joseph’s story as originally set out by the divine author, this book is a gripping read. But, of course, it is so much more than that.

It is very encouraging to read from this real-life drama, how God achieved his purpose by using members of a highly dysfunctional family. The reminder that God was at work, not only in Joseph, but also in changing his seemingly heartless brothers, is an encouragement not to give up on notoriously difficult people. ‘There is no greater comfort for us as believers than knowing that God is governing our lives, and that God has a bigger plan than we can see’ (p.162). ‘What Moses most wants us to learn from Joseph’s story [is that] God’s hand directs through all the confusion of human guilt and human weakness and human wickedness’ (p.163). So Open Theism is out (pp.35,76), and God’s sovereign power and foreknowledge are in.

While seemingly leaving no stone unturned in the narrative, our writer does not ignore where this story appears in the flow of redemptive history. Nor does he miss so many details that anticipate the far greater ‘Saviour of the world’ who was to arise from a different tribe.

This book is easily accessible to someone with little or no biblical knowledge, and is also stimulating to others who have travelled this way many times before.

Malcolm Jones