Moses led sheep to the “mountain of God”;
There he saw a bush burning unconsumed;
He went closer to see, for it was odd;
From it, God called him a new task assume!
“I have come down my people to set free;
You are to tell them I AM is my name;
Ask Pharaoh to let them come worship me,
But only plagues will his refusal tame!”
“Who am I,” asked Moses, “that I can do this?”
“I will go with you,” responded the Lord;
“To the land of Canaan, which I promised;
Then they’ll follow you, of their own accord!”
Flowing with milk and honey was the land
God had foretold would be theirs to command!
Scripture Quoted (NIV) [Brackets added]
Exodus 3:2—“There [Mount Horeb] the angel of the Lord [God] appeared to him [Moses] in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.”
Exodus 3:5— " 'Do not come any closer,' said God, 'Take off your sandals, for the place where your are standing is holy ground.’ Then he said, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ At this, Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.”
Exodus 3:19-20—“ ‘But I [God] know that the king of Egypt [Pharaoh] will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that he will let you go.’ “
Commentary on Exodus 3 (NIV)
When God’s Master Plan provided for the now-massive family of Jacob to become the nation of Israel and leave Egypt for Canaan to possess it, Moses was the man He selected to lead them. As Moses was tending sheep in Midian, he saw a bush in flames but which was not consumed. It was “the angel of God”, a phrase used for God Himself in the Old Testament, come to call Moses to return to Egypt and lead Israel through the desert to the Promised Land. The presence of “flames” is a common phenomenon associated with God in the Bible, but most of the time the flames are not “hot” and do not burn like common flames on earth. In this case the bush blazing but not being consumed caught Moses’ attention, and he went to investigate, as God wished him to. Note that in these appearances to various men, God sometimes talked directly to them, but that He was in some form other than His actual being, for no one could see God’s face and live. It will not be like that in heaven after we die; we will see His face then.
Moses did not accept the call to the task immediately. He mentioned several objections, the first being, “Who am I” to do this? God responded to all his objections; in this case He said, “I will go with you.” Moses then asked, “What if the Hebrews ask me who you are?” God had always called Himself simply “God” in speaking with men; here He said, “I AM WHO I AM” , or just “I AM”. The Hebrew language doesn’t use vowels, and there is a problem in translation here. The original Hebrew was “JHVH”; this word translates to “Jehovah”, “Yahweh”, or even “Yeshua”. To Moses, God told him to tell the people that “I AM” is what He is to be called. I am sure a newcomer to the Bible gets confused with the many names used for “God”; it might be clearer if you just think “God” for any of them; after all, He is just one being.
God told Moses that He knew Pharaoh would not let the Israelites leave at first; so God would “stretch out His hand” with plagues and wonders and compel the king to let His people leave. He also told Moses they would not leave Egypt empty-handed—they would be loaded with gold and silver, coming out with most of the wealth of Egypt.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believed in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Moses Flees For His Life (MP 37)
A pampered life of pomp and patronage,
Moses could have had if he so desired,
But Hebrew roots over royal advantage
He chose to honor when his youth expired!
He became saddened at his people’s plight;
An Egyptian man he killed in anger,
For harshly beating a poor Israelite,
And he fled Egypt, his life in danger!
In Midian he found a foster home,
And passed the years of his younger manhood;
Till God, responding to His children’s groan,
Called him to free them from Egypt for good!
Israel’s years of slavery would soon end,
Despite Pharaoh’s intent to keep them penned!
Scripture Quoted (NIV) [Brackets added]
Exodus 2:11-12—“One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.”
Exodus 2:15—“When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to the land of Midian…”
Exodus 2:23-24—“During that long period [when Moses was away in Midian] the king of Egypt [Pharaoh] died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their plea for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.”
Commentary on Exodus 2:11-25 (NIV)
Moses was reared in the royal palace as the son of the daughter of Pharaoh and could have lived as an Egyptian prince all his life. However, he knew that he was a Hebrew, and considered himself to be one of them. The scripture above describes how he intervened with an Egyptian slave master who was beating an Israelite, killed the Egyptian, and hid his body in the sand, thinking the act was unobserved. The next day he was out again and saw two Hebrews fighting. He separated them, asking the stronger, “Why do you hit your brother?” The man snarled back, “Who made you judge and ruler over us? Are you going to kill me like you did the Egyptian yesterday?” By this, Moses knew his treasonable act was known and was alerted; he fled the country of Egypt.
Moses went to Midian, a desert country to the southeast of Egypt. There he met Jethro, a Midianite priest with seven daughters. Moses was kind to the girls, who were being harassed by other shepherds, and was invited to live with them. He did so, becoming a shepherd over Jethro’s flocks; eventually he married Zipporah, one of Jethro’s daughters, and had a son. Mount Horeb, also called Mount Sinai and the “mountain of God”, was in the area used for pastures by Moses. It was at this mountain that God called Moses to return to Egypt and, with divine help, force Pharaoh to free the Children of Israel. It was also the mount where God met with the freed Israelites and gave them the Law by which they were to live.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Moses could have had if he so desired,
But Hebrew roots over royal advantage
He chose to honor when his youth expired!
He became saddened at his people’s plight;
An Egyptian man he killed in anger,
For harshly beating a poor Israelite,
And he fled Egypt, his life in danger!
In Midian he found a foster home,
And passed the years of his younger manhood;
Till God, responding to His children’s groan,
Called him to free them from Egypt for good!
Israel’s years of slavery would soon end,
Despite Pharaoh’s intent to keep them penned!
Scripture Quoted (NIV) [Brackets added]
Exodus 2:11-12—“One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.”
Exodus 2:15—“When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to the land of Midian…”
Exodus 2:23-24—“During that long period [when Moses was away in Midian] the king of Egypt [Pharaoh] died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their plea for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.”
Commentary on Exodus 2:11-25 (NIV)
Moses was reared in the royal palace as the son of the daughter of Pharaoh and could have lived as an Egyptian prince all his life. However, he knew that he was a Hebrew, and considered himself to be one of them. The scripture above describes how he intervened with an Egyptian slave master who was beating an Israelite, killed the Egyptian, and hid his body in the sand, thinking the act was unobserved. The next day he was out again and saw two Hebrews fighting. He separated them, asking the stronger, “Why do you hit your brother?” The man snarled back, “Who made you judge and ruler over us? Are you going to kill me like you did the Egyptian yesterday?” By this, Moses knew his treasonable act was known and was alerted; he fled the country of Egypt.
Moses went to Midian, a desert country to the southeast of Egypt. There he met Jethro, a Midianite priest with seven daughters. Moses was kind to the girls, who were being harassed by other shepherds, and was invited to live with them. He did so, becoming a shepherd over Jethro’s flocks; eventually he married Zipporah, one of Jethro’s daughters, and had a son. Mount Horeb, also called Mount Sinai and the “mountain of God”, was in the area used for pastures by Moses. It was at this mountain that God called Moses to return to Egypt and, with divine help, force Pharaoh to free the Children of Israel. It was also the mount where God met with the freed Israelites and gave them the Law by which they were to live.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Moses, God's First Prophet (MP 36)
None but God could have brought this life about,
That Moses be reared in the Pharaoh’s home,
For male Hebrew babes were to be snuffed out,
Pharaoh said; his daughter made him her own!
Saved to be God’s first prophet, Moses was;
How many Hebrew boys thrown in the Nile?
The world knows not, nor cares, but God sure does;
With Him’s the soul of ev’ry murdered child!
O Israel! Sing praise to God of that day,
For your exodus from Egypt loomed near;
Moses would free you, and show you the way;
Your deliverer has God sent you here!
He tended this infant with special care,
For the fate of Israel Moses would bear!
Scripture Quoted: Exodus 1:22-2:1-6 (NIV) [Brackets added]
“Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people, ‘Every [Hebrew] boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.’ Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. ‘This is one of the Hebrew babies,’ she said.”
Commentary on Exodus 1:22-2:1-8 (NIV)
According to a poll taken among Jews worldwide, accorded to J. Vernon McGee, Moses is the forefather held in the highest esteem by most. His birth and rearing were miraculous, because Pharaoh (or Pharaohs) had enforced an edict for an unknown number of years that all Hebrew male infants were to be drowned in the Nile. He was hidden by his mother for three months; then she placed him in a basket floating in the Nile, watched by his sister. Pharaoh’s daughter found him and took him for her own. She even paid his mother to nurse him, although she probably didn’t know it was his mother. He became her son, and he lived in Pharaoh’s palace until grown as his adopted grandson. Many of the Hebrew boys were murdered, but God’s blessing on the Israelites caused some to live, and the number of Hebrews continued to multiply, despite the ruthless treatment by Egyptian rulers.
Moses was destined to be God’s Deliverer, His prophet called to confront Pharaoh and force him to let the Israelite nation leave Egypt and the long years of slavery. God used certain men and women as prophets (selected recipients of His words to Israel) over about 1500 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament, which is the Hebrew Bible, was written by these inspired (by the Holy Spirit, who is God in spirit form) men and women, and it contains many prophecies. Moses also fulfilled the dual role of ruler, or judge, and high priest in leading the Children of Israel from Egypt to Canaan, the Promised Land. Note that he was of the tribe of Levi, whose men were appointed as priests for the nation. Moses did not know that he was to do all this during his time spent in the palace; he did know he was a Hebrew.
"For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, buy have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
That Moses be reared in the Pharaoh’s home,
For male Hebrew babes were to be snuffed out,
Pharaoh said; his daughter made him her own!
Saved to be God’s first prophet, Moses was;
How many Hebrew boys thrown in the Nile?
The world knows not, nor cares, but God sure does;
With Him’s the soul of ev’ry murdered child!
O Israel! Sing praise to God of that day,
For your exodus from Egypt loomed near;
Moses would free you, and show you the way;
Your deliverer has God sent you here!
He tended this infant with special care,
For the fate of Israel Moses would bear!
Scripture Quoted: Exodus 1:22-2:1-6 (NIV) [Brackets added]
“Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people, ‘Every [Hebrew] boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.’ Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. ‘This is one of the Hebrew babies,’ she said.”
Commentary on Exodus 1:22-2:1-8 (NIV)
According to a poll taken among Jews worldwide, accorded to J. Vernon McGee, Moses is the forefather held in the highest esteem by most. His birth and rearing were miraculous, because Pharaoh (or Pharaohs) had enforced an edict for an unknown number of years that all Hebrew male infants were to be drowned in the Nile. He was hidden by his mother for three months; then she placed him in a basket floating in the Nile, watched by his sister. Pharaoh’s daughter found him and took him for her own. She even paid his mother to nurse him, although she probably didn’t know it was his mother. He became her son, and he lived in Pharaoh’s palace until grown as his adopted grandson. Many of the Hebrew boys were murdered, but God’s blessing on the Israelites caused some to live, and the number of Hebrews continued to multiply, despite the ruthless treatment by Egyptian rulers.
Moses was destined to be God’s Deliverer, His prophet called to confront Pharaoh and force him to let the Israelite nation leave Egypt and the long years of slavery. God used certain men and women as prophets (selected recipients of His words to Israel) over about 1500 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament, which is the Hebrew Bible, was written by these inspired (by the Holy Spirit, who is God in spirit form) men and women, and it contains many prophecies. Moses also fulfilled the dual role of ruler, or judge, and high priest in leading the Children of Israel from Egypt to Canaan, the Promised Land. Note that he was of the tribe of Levi, whose men were appointed as priests for the nation. Moses did not know that he was to do all this during his time spent in the palace; he did know he was a Hebrew.
"For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, buy have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Monday, January 24, 2011
Nothing Surprises God (MP 35)
The first Plan God made was also the last;
He foreknew each of Man’s stumbles and falls;
God previewed them as if they had passed—
The cures fore-planned and ready for the stalls!
For Adam’s fall, redemption introduced;
To shrink too-long life-spans, the flood would fall;
For Babel’s o’er-reach, languages confused;
Israel’s enslavement, a prophet to call!
A prophet? From where, and just when, pray tell?
Selected in advance by God, of course;
By Him to Egypt had come Is-ra-el,
And by Him would they leave there, by His force!
God’s Master Plan won’t ever need patching,
No matter what sinful men are hatching!
Scripture Quotes (NIV) [Brackets added]
Isaiah 46:9b-11—“ ‘Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times what is still to come. I say, My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man [Abram] to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do.’ “
1 Peter 1:18-21—“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ [the Messiah, Jesus], a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope is in God.”
Commentary
At first glance, the Bible may seem like the story of God’s Plan for Man is a series of patches hurriedly made by Him to prop up mankind when it stumbles and falls, in order that a small remnant can limp into heaven bandaged and limping on crutches of grace. Nothing could be farther from the truth. God’s foreknowledge provided to Him the complete history of man before the universe was ever launched by Him with the Big Bang. His Plan included the cure for every foible and flaw of Man; God is no ambulance-chasing lawyer racing to accident after accident, and surprised to find Man fallen on his face again and again. He is not surprised at any sinful act—Adam’s disobedient eating of the forbidden fruit, Man’s sins and too-long life-spans that brought the flood, the arrogance of the tower-builders of Babel, or any of the disgraceful actions of today, like abortion, homosexual marriage, disintegration of two-sex families, or obsession with technology. He knew them all; in spite of that, He made Man anyway, with no change of purpose: Man, or at least those who believe in Him, will be His eternal dwelling-mate.
Isaiah the prophet quoted God Himself (above): “My purpose will stand…What I have planned, that will I do.” As one example, Peter told the Christians of Asia Minor (today’s Turkey) they “were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers ,,, with the precious blood of Christ (the Messiah Jesus, who was God in the flesh)”. Peter said this in the first century after the crucifixion of Jesus (quoted above); by “forefathers’ he meant Judaism and the Mosaic Law, which was “empty” in that it offered no redemption from the first sin of Adam. The Messiah, coming to earth as Jesus of Nazareth, offered the good news of redemption; that is, the condemnation, brought to every man and woman by Adam, could be nullified by belief in Jesus as being sent by God to the human race. Life after the crucifixion, in other words, was not “empty”; it offered to all people (including us today, for we are still in the “last times”) salvation as a free gift, but only if we “believe” in Jesus as the Messiah or “Christ” promised throughout the Old Testament. This redemption was not a “band-aid” God hurriedly added to His plan because Adam fouled up His Plan—it was included in the original Master Plan. So were all the other cures for all the falls Man will suffer.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
He foreknew each of Man’s stumbles and falls;
God previewed them as if they had passed—
The cures fore-planned and ready for the stalls!
For Adam’s fall, redemption introduced;
To shrink too-long life-spans, the flood would fall;
For Babel’s o’er-reach, languages confused;
Israel’s enslavement, a prophet to call!
A prophet? From where, and just when, pray tell?
Selected in advance by God, of course;
By Him to Egypt had come Is-ra-el,
And by Him would they leave there, by His force!
God’s Master Plan won’t ever need patching,
No matter what sinful men are hatching!
Scripture Quotes (NIV) [Brackets added]
Isaiah 46:9b-11—“ ‘Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times what is still to come. I say, My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man [Abram] to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do.’ “
1 Peter 1:18-21—“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ [the Messiah, Jesus], a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope is in God.”
Commentary
At first glance, the Bible may seem like the story of God’s Plan for Man is a series of patches hurriedly made by Him to prop up mankind when it stumbles and falls, in order that a small remnant can limp into heaven bandaged and limping on crutches of grace. Nothing could be farther from the truth. God’s foreknowledge provided to Him the complete history of man before the universe was ever launched by Him with the Big Bang. His Plan included the cure for every foible and flaw of Man; God is no ambulance-chasing lawyer racing to accident after accident, and surprised to find Man fallen on his face again and again. He is not surprised at any sinful act—Adam’s disobedient eating of the forbidden fruit, Man’s sins and too-long life-spans that brought the flood, the arrogance of the tower-builders of Babel, or any of the disgraceful actions of today, like abortion, homosexual marriage, disintegration of two-sex families, or obsession with technology. He knew them all; in spite of that, He made Man anyway, with no change of purpose: Man, or at least those who believe in Him, will be His eternal dwelling-mate.
Isaiah the prophet quoted God Himself (above): “My purpose will stand…What I have planned, that will I do.” As one example, Peter told the Christians of Asia Minor (today’s Turkey) they “were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers ,,, with the precious blood of Christ (the Messiah Jesus, who was God in the flesh)”. Peter said this in the first century after the crucifixion of Jesus (quoted above); by “forefathers’ he meant Judaism and the Mosaic Law, which was “empty” in that it offered no redemption from the first sin of Adam. The Messiah, coming to earth as Jesus of Nazareth, offered the good news of redemption; that is, the condemnation, brought to every man and woman by Adam, could be nullified by belief in Jesus as being sent by God to the human race. Life after the crucifixion, in other words, was not “empty”; it offered to all people (including us today, for we are still in the “last times”) salvation as a free gift, but only if we “believe” in Jesus as the Messiah or “Christ” promised throughout the Old Testament. This redemption was not a “band-aid” God hurriedly added to His plan because Adam fouled up His Plan—it was included in the original Master Plan. So were all the other cures for all the falls Man will suffer.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Israelites Enslaved (MP 34)
Troubles began as soon as Joseph died;
Israelites spread o’er choice Egyptian soil;
Their numbers grew fast and wealth multiplied;
God blessed the Hebrews’ industry and toil!
Pharaohs who knew not Joseph were alarmed,
And resolved to limit their spread and size;
“Kill the boys, but let not the girls be harmed,”
Their midwives were ordered, to slow the rise!
All Hebrews were enslaved to work for the kings;
With brick and mortar, pyramids were built,
Tombs and shrines, cities; other wondrous things,
Beaten and driven to the ruthless hilt!
But the more mistreated, the more they grew,
God being determined to see them through!
Scripture Quoted (NIV)
Exodus 1:11-14—“So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly.”
Exodus 1:23—“Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: ‘Every boy that is born, you must throw him in the Nile, but let every girl live.’ “
Commentary on Genesis 47 through Excdus 1 (NIV)
God spoke to Jacob at night while still in the Promised Land and assured him that it was in His Master Plan that Jacob and family move to Egypt. God promised to be with them in Egypt, make them a mighty nation, and bring them back to Canaan (See Genesis 46:3-4). The Israelites arrived in Egypt about 1880 B.C., settling in Goshen near the city they built while under slavery called Rameses. According to archeological evidence, Joseph lived in a large villa in the area near them in retirement; his tomb has been found absent skeletal remains, for his bones were carried back to Canaan by the Israelites. Egyptian history identifies a new regime called “Hykos” took over the rule of Egypt about 1690 B.C., which is likely the “Pharaoh who did not know about Joseph” (See Exodus 1:8), and when the enslavement of the Israelites began; this was 190 years after their arrival. They left Egypt for Canaan in the exodus after a total of 430 years in Egypt (See Exodus 12:40), which means their ruthless oppression lasted 240 years. It is horrible to think about.
While Joseph still lived and reigned, Jacob died in Egypt at the age of 147. Jacob blessed his 12 sons before he died, and Judah was told the “scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his knees” (See Genesis 49:10), which is a prophecy that Jesus (God) will come from the tribe of Judah about 1900 years later. After Jacob’s death a huge funeral procession made up of Egyptian officials and Jacob’s sons and family members carried his body back to Canaan to be buried in the field bought by Abram from a Hittite, where he and Sarai were already interred. They mourned for seven days, which made a great impression on the surrounding Canaanites.
The Hykos Pharaoh wished to stop the growth of Israelite fighting men, so he ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill the babies born if they were boys, but to let the girls live. The midwives obeyed God and did not kill the boys, and God blessed them by giving them children of their own, When called on the carpet by Pharaoh, the midwives told him the baby boys were born before they arrived, and he did not punish them. The Israelites kept growing in number and spreading, so the Pharaoh ordered all Egyptian people to throw the newborn boys in the Nile to drown. This was the policy for more than 200 years.
All this time Israelite men, women, and children worked at hard labor on two or three treasure storage cities, in the fields, and were ruthlessly killed, beaten and used. Nevertheless, God blessed them, and they kept on growing in number and spreading.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Israelites spread o’er choice Egyptian soil;
Their numbers grew fast and wealth multiplied;
God blessed the Hebrews’ industry and toil!
Pharaohs who knew not Joseph were alarmed,
And resolved to limit their spread and size;
“Kill the boys, but let not the girls be harmed,”
Their midwives were ordered, to slow the rise!
All Hebrews were enslaved to work for the kings;
With brick and mortar, pyramids were built,
Tombs and shrines, cities; other wondrous things,
Beaten and driven to the ruthless hilt!
But the more mistreated, the more they grew,
God being determined to see them through!
Scripture Quoted (NIV)
Exodus 1:11-14—“So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly.”
Exodus 1:23—“Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: ‘Every boy that is born, you must throw him in the Nile, but let every girl live.’ “
Commentary on Genesis 47 through Excdus 1 (NIV)
God spoke to Jacob at night while still in the Promised Land and assured him that it was in His Master Plan that Jacob and family move to Egypt. God promised to be with them in Egypt, make them a mighty nation, and bring them back to Canaan (See Genesis 46:3-4). The Israelites arrived in Egypt about 1880 B.C., settling in Goshen near the city they built while under slavery called Rameses. According to archeological evidence, Joseph lived in a large villa in the area near them in retirement; his tomb has been found absent skeletal remains, for his bones were carried back to Canaan by the Israelites. Egyptian history identifies a new regime called “Hykos” took over the rule of Egypt about 1690 B.C., which is likely the “Pharaoh who did not know about Joseph” (See Exodus 1:8), and when the enslavement of the Israelites began; this was 190 years after their arrival. They left Egypt for Canaan in the exodus after a total of 430 years in Egypt (See Exodus 12:40), which means their ruthless oppression lasted 240 years. It is horrible to think about.
While Joseph still lived and reigned, Jacob died in Egypt at the age of 147. Jacob blessed his 12 sons before he died, and Judah was told the “scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his knees” (See Genesis 49:10), which is a prophecy that Jesus (God) will come from the tribe of Judah about 1900 years later. After Jacob’s death a huge funeral procession made up of Egyptian officials and Jacob’s sons and family members carried his body back to Canaan to be buried in the field bought by Abram from a Hittite, where he and Sarai were already interred. They mourned for seven days, which made a great impression on the surrounding Canaanites.
The Hykos Pharaoh wished to stop the growth of Israelite fighting men, so he ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill the babies born if they were boys, but to let the girls live. The midwives obeyed God and did not kill the boys, and God blessed them by giving them children of their own, When called on the carpet by Pharaoh, the midwives told him the baby boys were born before they arrived, and he did not punish them. The Israelites kept growing in number and spreading, so the Pharaoh ordered all Egyptian people to throw the newborn boys in the Nile to drown. This was the policy for more than 200 years.
All this time Israelite men, women, and children worked at hard labor on two or three treasure storage cities, in the fields, and were ruthlessly killed, beaten and used. Nevertheless, God blessed them, and they kept on growing in number and spreading.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Jacob's Family Comes To Egypt (MP 33)
All went well with Joseph’s plan, and God’s, too;
The seven rich years reaped abundant grain,
And plenty was stored to feed Egypt through;
Their neighbors, as well, under Joseph’s reign!
Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy,
For Canaan suffered during the lean years;
Jacob rejoiced that Jacob was the guy
Running Egypt, and he wept happy tears!
At Joseph’s request, his family moved,
From Canaan to Egypt, and there they stayed;
At first they were welcomed, and well approved,
But they grew so much, Egypt got afraid!
They dwelled down there four hundred thirty years,
Until God’s great Deliverer appears!
Scripture Quoted: Genesis 45:8-11 (NIV) [Brackets added]
“ ‘So then, [Joseph speaking to his brothers that sold him down to Egypt] it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. Now hurry back to my father [Jacob] and say to him, This is what your son Joseph says; God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me. Don’t delay. You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will be destitute.’ “
Commentary
God’s Master Plan required that Jacob’s family be isolated in Egypt for 430 years before attaining nationhood as His special race of Israel; that was the reason He caused them to sell Joseph to the caravan going to Egypt in the first place. His plan called for the Canaanites to remain in the land of Canaan until their depravity in sin, which included the sacrifice of babies to idols, had risen to its fullest; also, He wanted Jacob’s family to multiply with pure blood lines from Abram into a large enough tribe that it could conquer all the tribes then living in Canaan. Therefore, when Joseph’s ten brothers came to Egypt to buy grain after the seven abundant years and two of the lean years, Joseph knew them immediately, but they did not recognize him. He put them through a tough ordeal, but in the end he welcomed them with forgiveness. He learned that his mother Rachel had born another child who was his full brother. Jacob had a total of 12 sons, each of whom fathered one of the twelve tribes of Israel; however, instead of Joseph’s one tribe, he had two sons by his Egyptian wife, Manasseh and Ephraim; they were each given a share of the land of Canaan.
When the full story of Joseph is known and considered, it becomes clear how important his role was in the development of the nation of Israel; also, his obedience to the will of God establishes him as one of the most righteous men who ever lived. Yes, as a youngster he was obnoxious to his brothers; however, it was that overbearing manner that motivated them to set God’s Plan into motion. His childhood dreams of his brothers bowing down to him came to fulfillment in the days when they were seeking food, and he was in control of the world’s biggest supply of food. They bowed until he made himself known to them and probably afterward, too. How extraordinary, that a young Hebrew slave could rise to such an exalted position in a foreign nation at exactly the proper time to save the ones that had sent him into slavery! But Pharaohs came, and Pharaohs went, and when Joseph’s benefactor went down, the new Pharaoh didn’t extend the same compassion to the Israelites; in fact, the time came that the Egyptians began to fear the growing number of Hebrews, and it resulted in the enslavement of the entire tribe. That, too, was a part of God’s Master Plan. Keep reading these blogs, and you will find how marvelous and astounding God’s Plan really was!
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
The seven rich years reaped abundant grain,
And plenty was stored to feed Egypt through;
Their neighbors, as well, under Joseph’s reign!
Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy,
For Canaan suffered during the lean years;
Jacob rejoiced that Jacob was the guy
Running Egypt, and he wept happy tears!
At Joseph’s request, his family moved,
From Canaan to Egypt, and there they stayed;
At first they were welcomed, and well approved,
But they grew so much, Egypt got afraid!
They dwelled down there four hundred thirty years,
Until God’s great Deliverer appears!
Scripture Quoted: Genesis 45:8-11 (NIV) [Brackets added]
“ ‘So then, [Joseph speaking to his brothers that sold him down to Egypt] it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. Now hurry back to my father [Jacob] and say to him, This is what your son Joseph says; God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me. Don’t delay. You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will be destitute.’ “
Commentary
God’s Master Plan required that Jacob’s family be isolated in Egypt for 430 years before attaining nationhood as His special race of Israel; that was the reason He caused them to sell Joseph to the caravan going to Egypt in the first place. His plan called for the Canaanites to remain in the land of Canaan until their depravity in sin, which included the sacrifice of babies to idols, had risen to its fullest; also, He wanted Jacob’s family to multiply with pure blood lines from Abram into a large enough tribe that it could conquer all the tribes then living in Canaan. Therefore, when Joseph’s ten brothers came to Egypt to buy grain after the seven abundant years and two of the lean years, Joseph knew them immediately, but they did not recognize him. He put them through a tough ordeal, but in the end he welcomed them with forgiveness. He learned that his mother Rachel had born another child who was his full brother. Jacob had a total of 12 sons, each of whom fathered one of the twelve tribes of Israel; however, instead of Joseph’s one tribe, he had two sons by his Egyptian wife, Manasseh and Ephraim; they were each given a share of the land of Canaan.
When the full story of Joseph is known and considered, it becomes clear how important his role was in the development of the nation of Israel; also, his obedience to the will of God establishes him as one of the most righteous men who ever lived. Yes, as a youngster he was obnoxious to his brothers; however, it was that overbearing manner that motivated them to set God’s Plan into motion. His childhood dreams of his brothers bowing down to him came to fulfillment in the days when they were seeking food, and he was in control of the world’s biggest supply of food. They bowed until he made himself known to them and probably afterward, too. How extraordinary, that a young Hebrew slave could rise to such an exalted position in a foreign nation at exactly the proper time to save the ones that had sent him into slavery! But Pharaohs came, and Pharaohs went, and when Joseph’s benefactor went down, the new Pharaoh didn’t extend the same compassion to the Israelites; in fact, the time came that the Egyptians began to fear the growing number of Hebrews, and it resulted in the enslavement of the entire tribe. That, too, was a part of God’s Master Plan. Keep reading these blogs, and you will find how marvelous and astounding God’s Plan really was!
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dreams (MP 32)
At last a summons from the palace came;
Pharaoh had had two dreams, meanings unknown;
Joseph’s cupbearer friend mentioned his name,
As a dream diviner who’s never wrong!
He breathed a prayer thanking God for his call,
Shaved and dressed, reported to the throne-room;
The dreams recounted; the court waited all,
To see if Joseph would fizzle or boom!
“Egypt will enjoy seven years of rich crops,
Followed by seven years of sowings that fail;
Store one-fifth the grain in years that are tops,
So you’ll have food in the years that are frail!
Joseph’s wise answer so impressed the king,
That he was put in charge of ev’rything!
Scripture Quoted: Genesis 41:41-43 (NIV)
“Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.’ Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and men shouted before him, ‘Make way!’ Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”
Commentary
After thirteen years of slavery and imprisonment, Joseph had finally reached the pinnacle that God’s Master Plan had set for him—the second highest position in Egypt. He had been despised by his ten older brothers in Canaan; they had captured him as a 17-year old boy and sold him into slavery. Circumstances had compelled him to serve Potiphar as a slave, but God’s help in working things out for his good caused a chain of events which eventually landed him next to Pharaoh in power in Egypt (Romans 8:28). The reason God helps some human beings is because they love him and He has a purpose for their lives. Only believers in Jesus Christ as Lord receive that Godly help today.
Now we will see why God’s Plan needed an ally in such a powerful post in Egypt. Remember that God had chosen Abraham and Sarah to give birth to a son at 100 and 90 years of age respectively. The son Isaac’s descendants would grow into a nation Chosen by God to give birth to the Messiah (which means Christ or King of the Kingdom of God), who would be Jesus of Nazareth and who would offer redemption from the condemnation of death for all men and women. Isaac then fathered Jacob, and Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, and that would be the name of the Chosen Nation. Joseph was one of 12 sons of Jacob, and he would be responsible for causing the Israelites to re-locate to Egypt, where for 430 years they could grow into a multitude of people. Israel would be the nation though which God would reveal Himself to the world as Savior and Redeemer and Father by adoption to all who accepted His Son Jesus as Christ the Lord. Joseph’s life was a key instrument in the making of Israel into its intended role in the Master Plan of God.
The famine that Joseph predicted would come after seven years of plenty, and it would affect Canaan, as well. After 10 or so years with Joseph’s storing of plenty of grain in Egypt, Jacob sent Joseph’s ten brothers to Egypt to buy grain for food to use in Canaan. After a series of complicated machinations, Joseph identified himself to his brothers, who had been bowing down to him as his youthful dreams had presaged; he forgave them and convinced Jacob and all his sons’ families to move to Egypt, where he gave them the very fertile land of Goshen. God’s plans for Israel will continue to develop in my next blogs.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Pharaoh had had two dreams, meanings unknown;
Joseph’s cupbearer friend mentioned his name,
As a dream diviner who’s never wrong!
He breathed a prayer thanking God for his call,
Shaved and dressed, reported to the throne-room;
The dreams recounted; the court waited all,
To see if Joseph would fizzle or boom!
“Egypt will enjoy seven years of rich crops,
Followed by seven years of sowings that fail;
Store one-fifth the grain in years that are tops,
So you’ll have food in the years that are frail!
Joseph’s wise answer so impressed the king,
That he was put in charge of ev’rything!
Scripture Quoted: Genesis 41:41-43 (NIV)
“Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.’ Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and men shouted before him, ‘Make way!’ Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”
Commentary
After thirteen years of slavery and imprisonment, Joseph had finally reached the pinnacle that God’s Master Plan had set for him—the second highest position in Egypt. He had been despised by his ten older brothers in Canaan; they had captured him as a 17-year old boy and sold him into slavery. Circumstances had compelled him to serve Potiphar as a slave, but God’s help in working things out for his good caused a chain of events which eventually landed him next to Pharaoh in power in Egypt (Romans 8:28). The reason God helps some human beings is because they love him and He has a purpose for their lives. Only believers in Jesus Christ as Lord receive that Godly help today.
Now we will see why God’s Plan needed an ally in such a powerful post in Egypt. Remember that God had chosen Abraham and Sarah to give birth to a son at 100 and 90 years of age respectively. The son Isaac’s descendants would grow into a nation Chosen by God to give birth to the Messiah (which means Christ or King of the Kingdom of God), who would be Jesus of Nazareth and who would offer redemption from the condemnation of death for all men and women. Isaac then fathered Jacob, and Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, and that would be the name of the Chosen Nation. Joseph was one of 12 sons of Jacob, and he would be responsible for causing the Israelites to re-locate to Egypt, where for 430 years they could grow into a multitude of people. Israel would be the nation though which God would reveal Himself to the world as Savior and Redeemer and Father by adoption to all who accepted His Son Jesus as Christ the Lord. Joseph’s life was a key instrument in the making of Israel into its intended role in the Master Plan of God.
The famine that Joseph predicted would come after seven years of plenty, and it would affect Canaan, as well. After 10 or so years with Joseph’s storing of plenty of grain in Egypt, Jacob sent Joseph’s ten brothers to Egypt to buy grain for food to use in Canaan. After a series of complicated machinations, Joseph identified himself to his brothers, who had been bowing down to him as his youthful dreams had presaged; he forgave them and convinced Jacob and all his sons’ families to move to Egypt, where he gave them the very fertile land of Goshen. God’s plans for Israel will continue to develop in my next blogs.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Sunday, January 16, 2011
God Worked For Joseph's Good (MP 31)
Joseph’s whole life might have wasted away,
Forgotten and hopeless in Pharaoh’s jail,
If God’s Plan had no role for him to play—
Some task in which he alone could prevail!
His detour to prison brought Joseph near
To the palace where his future task lay;
Pharaoh’s baker and cupbearer were here,
And one of them helped Joseph on his way!
The cupbearer’s dream Joseph did explain;
God showed it to him, and he passed it on:
The cupbearer was to bear cups again,
At Pharaoh’s table where he was well known!
He agreed to remember Joseph’s plight,
As he tasted the king’s cup day and night!
Scripture Quoted (NIV) [Brackets added]
Romans 8:28—“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.”
Genesis 40:12-14—“ ‘This is what it [the cupbearer’s dream] means,’ Joseph said to him. ‘The three branches are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to when you were his cupbearer. But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison.’ “
Commentary on: Romans 8:28 and Genesis 40 (NIV)
In the New Testament of the Bible, the apostle Paul gives the reason why all Joseph’s seemingly rotten circumstances turn out to be the very steps that lead him to higher and higher positions. According to Romans 8:28, God is at work controlling the things that happen to Joseph to make them work for good in his life. Notice that His help in this way is given freely to everyone, then and now, that meet two conditions: (1) the human man or woman loves God; and (2) he or she is called for a special purpose that God needs the person to do. Joseph met both requirements; he loved God, as shown by his adamant rejection of the sexual advances of Potiphar’s wife—it would have been a wicked thing to do in the sight of God; and God was using Joseph for His own important purpose—to bring the Israelites to Egypt for them to have a growing period of 430 years. God doesn’t work for good in the life of every person; He only does this for those who love Him, which today means they have accepted Jesus Christ, His Son, as Lord and Savior. All believers are given a purpose of God, but non-believers are aimless in God’s sight, and He lets them fend for themselves (In cases where God is working for long-range good according to His Master Plan, He uses non-believers frequently as instruments to bring His purpose to fruition.).
In Genesis Chapter 40, Joseph is sent to prison by the lies of Potiphar’s wife, and it looks as if nothing can be done to get him out, but because of God’s working for Joseph’s good, he has a chance to interpret a dream---correctly, the interpretation coming from God---for a person who works personally with Pharaoh, his cupbearer. His job was to taste every beverage meant for the king first; if he didn’t die of poison, he handed it to Pharaoh for him to drink. Being so close to the king so much of the time, he would have a chance to put in a good word for Joseph. I’m sure that God arranged for Joseph to be in jail; for the cupbearer to be there, too; for him to have the dream; for Pharaoh to reverse his cupbearer’s conviction; and all the rest of it. I want God to work for me for good, and I’m sure you do, too. Here’s how you can get Him working for you!
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him sill not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Forgotten and hopeless in Pharaoh’s jail,
If God’s Plan had no role for him to play—
Some task in which he alone could prevail!
His detour to prison brought Joseph near
To the palace where his future task lay;
Pharaoh’s baker and cupbearer were here,
And one of them helped Joseph on his way!
The cupbearer’s dream Joseph did explain;
God showed it to him, and he passed it on:
The cupbearer was to bear cups again,
At Pharaoh’s table where he was well known!
He agreed to remember Joseph’s plight,
As he tasted the king’s cup day and night!
Scripture Quoted (NIV) [Brackets added]
Romans 8:28—“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.”
Genesis 40:12-14—“ ‘This is what it [the cupbearer’s dream] means,’ Joseph said to him. ‘The three branches are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to when you were his cupbearer. But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison.’ “
Commentary on: Romans 8:28 and Genesis 40 (NIV)
In the New Testament of the Bible, the apostle Paul gives the reason why all Joseph’s seemingly rotten circumstances turn out to be the very steps that lead him to higher and higher positions. According to Romans 8:28, God is at work controlling the things that happen to Joseph to make them work for good in his life. Notice that His help in this way is given freely to everyone, then and now, that meet two conditions: (1) the human man or woman loves God; and (2) he or she is called for a special purpose that God needs the person to do. Joseph met both requirements; he loved God, as shown by his adamant rejection of the sexual advances of Potiphar’s wife—it would have been a wicked thing to do in the sight of God; and God was using Joseph for His own important purpose—to bring the Israelites to Egypt for them to have a growing period of 430 years. God doesn’t work for good in the life of every person; He only does this for those who love Him, which today means they have accepted Jesus Christ, His Son, as Lord and Savior. All believers are given a purpose of God, but non-believers are aimless in God’s sight, and He lets them fend for themselves (In cases where God is working for long-range good according to His Master Plan, He uses non-believers frequently as instruments to bring His purpose to fruition.).
In Genesis Chapter 40, Joseph is sent to prison by the lies of Potiphar’s wife, and it looks as if nothing can be done to get him out, but because of God’s working for Joseph’s good, he has a chance to interpret a dream---correctly, the interpretation coming from God---for a person who works personally with Pharaoh, his cupbearer. His job was to taste every beverage meant for the king first; if he didn’t die of poison, he handed it to Pharaoh for him to drink. Being so close to the king so much of the time, he would have a chance to put in a good word for Joseph. I’m sure that God arranged for Joseph to be in jail; for the cupbearer to be there, too; for him to have the dream; for Pharaoh to reverse his cupbearer’s conviction; and all the rest of it. I want God to work for me for good, and I’m sure you do, too. Here’s how you can get Him working for you!
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him sill not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Friday, January 14, 2011
Joseph Rejects Potiphar's Wife (MP 30)
Because God blessed Joseph in ev’rything,
Potiphar trusted him his house to run;
All went well as Joseph did success bring;
His master’s wealth increased and all well done!
Potiphar’s wife sought Joseph to seduce;
“Come, lie with me!” she begged, day after day;
Each time she approached him, he would refuse,
“My master trusts me; him I won’t betray!”
At last, she sent all the servants away,
Clutched his robe, and pulled him to her breast;
He shed his robe, refraining with her to lay,
And ran from the house, to end her behest!
She showed the robe to Potiphar and lied;
Joseph was put in jail for her wounded pride!
Scripture Quoted: Genesis 39:6b-10 (NIV)
“Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while the master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, ‘Come to bed with me!’ But he refused. ‘With me in charge,’ he told her, ‘my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?’ And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even to be with her.”
Commentary on Genesis 39:1-20 (NIV)
Joseph was bought by Potiphar in Egypt; he was the captain of the guard for Pharaoh the king. Joseph was put to work in Potiphar’s house and quickly gained his master’s notice, as everything he did turned out well because of the blessings of God upon him. After a time, Potiphar put his whole trust in him and made Joseph ruler over everything he owned, his house and work in the field.
Until Joseph, all the men thus far in the Bible have had great flaws and committed sins, though God continued blessing those instrumental in His Master Plan for the world. Joseph was a key necessity to God in building His Chosen Nation of Israel, and God blessed him on that account; however, Joseph is also the first who has a strong moral character and is alertly aware of sin; that is, of committing acts offensive to God. In the sordid attempt of Potiphar’s wife to seduce him, we see that he not only refused her request to lie with her, but he also told her that to do so was wicked and a sin to God. This is the way a Christian believer of today is supposed to conduct himself or herself in a new kind of life—to identify acts offensive to God and show the will power to decline such actions. Most Bible characters before Joseph committed sins without seeming to care what God might have them do.
When asking Joseph to have sex with her did not work, she dismissed all the servants from the house. When Joseph came, she caught his robe as if to pull him into bed with her. He did not yield to her aggressive attack; instead, he threw off his robe and ran from the house. She called the servants back and told them the lie that Joseph had been the offender, trying to rape her; she showed them his robe, which, she said, he left in a hurry when she screamed. She told Potiphar the same thing, and he believed her. The Bible does not say whether he gave Joseph a chance to refute her story; if he did, he did not believe him. Joseph was put into the Pharaoh’s prison, I suppose, with no trial and no date of release.
Keep in mind that these events in the life of Joseph are all happening by the instigation of God. God is not the author of every event that takes place in this world of His, but He does cause outcomes that serve to complete His Plan for the world. Joseph seems to reach a new low point in his life frequently, but God is at work, and He won’t quit until Joseph is in a position to bring the Israelites all down to Egypt.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Potiphar trusted him his house to run;
All went well as Joseph did success bring;
His master’s wealth increased and all well done!
Potiphar’s wife sought Joseph to seduce;
“Come, lie with me!” she begged, day after day;
Each time she approached him, he would refuse,
“My master trusts me; him I won’t betray!”
At last, she sent all the servants away,
Clutched his robe, and pulled him to her breast;
He shed his robe, refraining with her to lay,
And ran from the house, to end her behest!
She showed the robe to Potiphar and lied;
Joseph was put in jail for her wounded pride!
Scripture Quoted: Genesis 39:6b-10 (NIV)
“Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while the master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, ‘Come to bed with me!’ But he refused. ‘With me in charge,’ he told her, ‘my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?’ And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even to be with her.”
Commentary on Genesis 39:1-20 (NIV)
Joseph was bought by Potiphar in Egypt; he was the captain of the guard for Pharaoh the king. Joseph was put to work in Potiphar’s house and quickly gained his master’s notice, as everything he did turned out well because of the blessings of God upon him. After a time, Potiphar put his whole trust in him and made Joseph ruler over everything he owned, his house and work in the field.
Until Joseph, all the men thus far in the Bible have had great flaws and committed sins, though God continued blessing those instrumental in His Master Plan for the world. Joseph was a key necessity to God in building His Chosen Nation of Israel, and God blessed him on that account; however, Joseph is also the first who has a strong moral character and is alertly aware of sin; that is, of committing acts offensive to God. In the sordid attempt of Potiphar’s wife to seduce him, we see that he not only refused her request to lie with her, but he also told her that to do so was wicked and a sin to God. This is the way a Christian believer of today is supposed to conduct himself or herself in a new kind of life—to identify acts offensive to God and show the will power to decline such actions. Most Bible characters before Joseph committed sins without seeming to care what God might have them do.
When asking Joseph to have sex with her did not work, she dismissed all the servants from the house. When Joseph came, she caught his robe as if to pull him into bed with her. He did not yield to her aggressive attack; instead, he threw off his robe and ran from the house. She called the servants back and told them the lie that Joseph had been the offender, trying to rape her; she showed them his robe, which, she said, he left in a hurry when she screamed. She told Potiphar the same thing, and he believed her. The Bible does not say whether he gave Joseph a chance to refute her story; if he did, he did not believe him. Joseph was put into the Pharaoh’s prison, I suppose, with no trial and no date of release.
Keep in mind that these events in the life of Joseph are all happening by the instigation of God. God is not the author of every event that takes place in this world of His, but He does cause outcomes that serve to complete His Plan for the world. Joseph seems to reach a new low point in his life frequently, but God is at work, and He won’t quit until Joseph is in a position to bring the Israelites all down to Egypt.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Joseph Sold Into Egypt (MP 29)
Jacob’s son Joseph was the next in line
To affect the nation that was God’s own;
He was Rachel’s first, to Jacob most fine—
It was as if he were Jacob’s son alone!
Jealousy of Joseph built up so great,
His brothers plotted to get rid of him;
They got their chance to gratify their hate,
When Jacob sent him out to check on them!
Let’s kill him, most said, but Rueben said no;
A passing caravan took him away,
Down to Egypt as a slave, he did go;
\Killed by a beast, to Jacob, all did say!
This ended Joseph, all the brothers thought;
Little did they know, what the Lord would wrought!
Scripture Quoted: Genesis 37:23-27 (NIV)
"When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the richly ornamentethed robe he was wearing—and they took him and threw him into the cistern. Now cistern was empty; there was no water in it. As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, ‘What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up the blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.’ His brothers agreed.”
Commentary on: Genesis 37 (NIV)
The confrontation between Esau and Jacob after 20 years was loving and brotherly. Jacob moved on to Hebron in Canaan and made his home where Isaac, his father, had lived. His family situation remained hectic. Joseph, the eleventh son of Jacob but the firstborn of Rachel, was Jacob’s favorite son, and it was very obvious to all. The ten older brothers became so jealous of Joseph that they hated him. Jacob gave Joseph a richly ornamented robe of which he was so proud he flaunted it to the brothers’ faces. He did nothing to help his situation with them; he made it worse by describing two dreams of his that symbolized the brothers bowing before him. Even Jacob and Rachel were represented by the sun and the moon in his dreams, and they bowed to Joseph in them also. Of course, if you read ahead, you will realize that these very things did occur later, because God would bless Joseph and elevate him to the exalted position of the prime minister of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. There would come famine to Canaan, and Jacob and his family would depend upon food from Egypt, of which Joseph would be in control. Nevertheless, the family was not aware of the future, and Joseph’s high and mighty airs made him most despised.
Jacob gave to Joseph a richly-decorated robe, one that put the drab common ones of his brothers to shame, and he wore it before them every chance he got. It became a symbol of hatred to them, so when Jacob sent the 17-year-old on a long trip to find his ten brothers and the family’s large flocks of sheep, unfortunately for him, he wore the gaudy robe. They saw him coming long before he got to them, and they resolved to kill him. When he arrived, they stripped the hated robe off and threw him into an empty cistern while they ate and discussed what to do with him. Their oldest, Rueben, would not allow them to kill Joseph; as he was the one responsible, he wanted to save the life of Joseph, for he would face the wrath of Jacob. However, he was a long distance off when an Arab caravan passed the place where the brothers held Joseph prisoner and Judah suggested that it would be better to sell him as a slave to the Ishmaelite caravan than to be guilty of his blood. They sold him, and Joseph was taken down to Egypt and sold to a man named Potiphar, who was the chief of Pharaoh’s guard. Then the brothers killed a goat and put its blood on the rich robe; they told Jacob a wild beast had killed Joseph. Jacob mourned for days and days; no one could comfort him. The older brothers thought they had rid themselves of Joseph; they could not know that God had planned every move they made. He wanted Joseph in Egypt, where God blessed him and he rose to be second in power to Pharaoh. Some years later, he would be the salvation of Jacob and his family, who would move down to Egypt for 430 years, growing into a nation of millions of people.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
To affect the nation that was God’s own;
He was Rachel’s first, to Jacob most fine—
It was as if he were Jacob’s son alone!
Jealousy of Joseph built up so great,
His brothers plotted to get rid of him;
They got their chance to gratify their hate,
When Jacob sent him out to check on them!
Let’s kill him, most said, but Rueben said no;
A passing caravan took him away,
Down to Egypt as a slave, he did go;
\Killed by a beast, to Jacob, all did say!
This ended Joseph, all the brothers thought;
Little did they know, what the Lord would wrought!
Scripture Quoted: Genesis 37:23-27 (NIV)
"When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the richly ornamentethed robe he was wearing—and they took him and threw him into the cistern. Now cistern was empty; there was no water in it. As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, ‘What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up the blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.’ His brothers agreed.”
Commentary on: Genesis 37 (NIV)
The confrontation between Esau and Jacob after 20 years was loving and brotherly. Jacob moved on to Hebron in Canaan and made his home where Isaac, his father, had lived. His family situation remained hectic. Joseph, the eleventh son of Jacob but the firstborn of Rachel, was Jacob’s favorite son, and it was very obvious to all. The ten older brothers became so jealous of Joseph that they hated him. Jacob gave Joseph a richly ornamented robe of which he was so proud he flaunted it to the brothers’ faces. He did nothing to help his situation with them; he made it worse by describing two dreams of his that symbolized the brothers bowing before him. Even Jacob and Rachel were represented by the sun and the moon in his dreams, and they bowed to Joseph in them also. Of course, if you read ahead, you will realize that these very things did occur later, because God would bless Joseph and elevate him to the exalted position of the prime minister of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. There would come famine to Canaan, and Jacob and his family would depend upon food from Egypt, of which Joseph would be in control. Nevertheless, the family was not aware of the future, and Joseph’s high and mighty airs made him most despised.
Jacob gave to Joseph a richly-decorated robe, one that put the drab common ones of his brothers to shame, and he wore it before them every chance he got. It became a symbol of hatred to them, so when Jacob sent the 17-year-old on a long trip to find his ten brothers and the family’s large flocks of sheep, unfortunately for him, he wore the gaudy robe. They saw him coming long before he got to them, and they resolved to kill him. When he arrived, they stripped the hated robe off and threw him into an empty cistern while they ate and discussed what to do with him. Their oldest, Rueben, would not allow them to kill Joseph; as he was the one responsible, he wanted to save the life of Joseph, for he would face the wrath of Jacob. However, he was a long distance off when an Arab caravan passed the place where the brothers held Joseph prisoner and Judah suggested that it would be better to sell him as a slave to the Ishmaelite caravan than to be guilty of his blood. They sold him, and Joseph was taken down to Egypt and sold to a man named Potiphar, who was the chief of Pharaoh’s guard. Then the brothers killed a goat and put its blood on the rich robe; they told Jacob a wild beast had killed Joseph. Jacob mourned for days and days; no one could comfort him. The older brothers thought they had rid themselves of Joseph; they could not know that God had planned every move they made. He wanted Joseph in Egypt, where God blessed him and he rose to be second in power to Pharaoh. Some years later, he would be the salvation of Jacob and his family, who would move down to Egypt for 430 years, growing into a nation of millions of people.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Monday, January 10, 2011
Jacob Wrestles With God (MP 28)
The touch that crippled Jacob was divine,
Though the whole night’s struggle was flesh to flesh;
Did pre-incarnate Christ seek to define
God’s ne’er-quit quest for men’s lives born afresh?
Jacob thought it was God who tasked him so,
His valiant fight impressed the One he fought;
When dawn came, he was forced to let Him go;
Jacob became Israel*, a name dear-bought!
For the rest of his life, his thigh was lame,
But he did not mind; for he always thought
God had honored him by changing his name,
And that God was the One with Whom he fought!
Since that place was where the holy One trod,
He named it Peniel**—face to face with God!
*Israel = “God struggles with”
**Peniel = “face of God”
Scripture Quoted: Genesis 32:22-28 (NIV)
“That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, ‘Let me go, for it is daybreak.’ But Jacob replied, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ The man asked him, ‘What is your name?’ ‘Jacob,’ he answered. Then the man said, ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and men and overcome.’ “
Commentary: Jacob At Peniel
The Bible does not say who “the man” that wrestled with Jacob that night was or why he did it. This night was of great importance to Jacob, for he was about to meet his brother Esau on the morrow, his older twin brother. He had not seen him for 20 years, having run away to escape being killed by him for stealing his valuable birthright. Jacob had just learned that Esau had 400 men with him and is certain to have worried about the upcoming confrontation. Obviously he thought his assailant was God from the Bible text in the complete passage. It seems to have been the pre-incarnate Christ. If so, what could have been His intent? His all night unyielding indicates that it might have been to reveal to all men how persevering God is in His arduous dealings with men and for mankind’s redemption and the success of His Master Plan—that He will never give up.
It is obvious that God used only the strength available to a human being, for if He had used his divine power, there would have been no contest. He was forced to use supernatural power to make Jacob turn Him loose when time came for Him to go, and it crippled him for life. I believe it was God, and He wrestled with Jacob as He did to build up his self-esteem and confidence for his meeting with Esau. After all, if Jacob had been a weakling, “turned tail and run”, how could he then become the revered father of Israel, the apple of God’s eye, whose task was to lead the whole world in accepting the coming Messiah and have his condemnation to hell nullified? An energetic, confident Jacob survived the struggle, becoming Israel whose descendants were proud to have him for sire. He limped all his life, and Israelites would never eat meat from the muscle tendon hooked to the thigh of any animal, honoring Jacob’s eternal handicap imposed at the touch of God.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Though the whole night’s struggle was flesh to flesh;
Did pre-incarnate Christ seek to define
God’s ne’er-quit quest for men’s lives born afresh?
Jacob thought it was God who tasked him so,
His valiant fight impressed the One he fought;
When dawn came, he was forced to let Him go;
Jacob became Israel*, a name dear-bought!
For the rest of his life, his thigh was lame,
But he did not mind; for he always thought
God had honored him by changing his name,
And that God was the One with Whom he fought!
Since that place was where the holy One trod,
He named it Peniel**—face to face with God!
*Israel = “God struggles with”
**Peniel = “face of God”
Scripture Quoted: Genesis 32:22-28 (NIV)
“That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, ‘Let me go, for it is daybreak.’ But Jacob replied, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ The man asked him, ‘What is your name?’ ‘Jacob,’ he answered. Then the man said, ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and men and overcome.’ “
Commentary: Jacob At Peniel
The Bible does not say who “the man” that wrestled with Jacob that night was or why he did it. This night was of great importance to Jacob, for he was about to meet his brother Esau on the morrow, his older twin brother. He had not seen him for 20 years, having run away to escape being killed by him for stealing his valuable birthright. Jacob had just learned that Esau had 400 men with him and is certain to have worried about the upcoming confrontation. Obviously he thought his assailant was God from the Bible text in the complete passage. It seems to have been the pre-incarnate Christ. If so, what could have been His intent? His all night unyielding indicates that it might have been to reveal to all men how persevering God is in His arduous dealings with men and for mankind’s redemption and the success of His Master Plan—that He will never give up.
It is obvious that God used only the strength available to a human being, for if He had used his divine power, there would have been no contest. He was forced to use supernatural power to make Jacob turn Him loose when time came for Him to go, and it crippled him for life. I believe it was God, and He wrestled with Jacob as He did to build up his self-esteem and confidence for his meeting with Esau. After all, if Jacob had been a weakling, “turned tail and run”, how could he then become the revered father of Israel, the apple of God’s eye, whose task was to lead the whole world in accepting the coming Messiah and have his condemnation to hell nullified? An energetic, confident Jacob survived the struggle, becoming Israel whose descendants were proud to have him for sire. He limped all his life, and Israelites would never eat meat from the muscle tendon hooked to the thigh of any animal, honoring Jacob’s eternal handicap imposed at the touch of God.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Saturday, January 8, 2011
The Deceiver Deceived (MP 27)
Jacob loved Rachel at very first sight,
And offered to work seven years for her;
Laban agreed, to Jacob’s great delight;
He desired her so, that short the years were!
The wedding took place, and they went to bed;
When Jacob awoke, Leah lay at his side!
“Where is Rachel?! Why is Leah here instead?”
Laban answered, “Our oldest must first bride!”
Jacob kept Leah, and added Rachel, too,
But had to work a second seven years;
One wife he wanted, but ended with two—
The trickster tricked, though Laban paid in tears!
Rachel stole Laban’s gods, and Jacob sheep;
The price paid for Leah’s swap was very steep!
Scripture Quoted: Genesis 29:25-28 (NIV)
“When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, ‘What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?’ Laban replied, ‘It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. Finish this daughter’s bridal week, then we will give you the younger one, also, in return for another seven years of work.’ And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.”
Commentary on Genesis 29-31: Jacob’s 20-Year Stay With Laban
In his uncle Laban Jacob met one as great a deceiver as he was himself. He stayed with Laban in Mesopotamia 20 years, and during that time he accumulated two wives, many children, a great number of sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, and many servants. Laban’s wealth grew also, but the two men were constantly cheating on each other. God blessed Jacob, as He had promised at Bethel; Laban prospered from the overflow. When they parted on terms that were considerably strained but amicable, Jacob was a rich man.
The bridal customs of the people of the area made it relatively easy for Laban to trick Jacob into marrying his older daughter Leah instead of Rachel, whom Jacob truly loved. Their agreement at the beginning was that Jacob would serve Laban free for seven years as dowry, and receive Rachel’s hand in marriage. However, Laban substituted Leah without Jacob’s knowledge; the wedding took place as usual, with the bride heavily veiled; the bride and groom retired to their special nuptial tent after dark. The marriage was consummated, and it was the next morning when Jacob learned he had not slept with Rachel but Leah instead. They agreed, however, that he could have Rachel, too, after Leah’s bridal week was over;, provided he worked another seven years for her. The "bridal week" was seven years long.
As you might have expected, marital difficulties plagued poor Jacob from the first, but he didn’t seem to mind. Jealousy arose first between the two wives, because he continued to love Rachel and not Leah; so God blessed Leah, and she had four sons while Rachel was barren. Rachel begged Jacob to sleep with her maid, Bilhah, and the maid bore Jacob two sons. In return Leah offered her maid, Zilpah, to Jacob, and Zilpah bore him two more sons. After that, Leah bore him two more sons and a daughter; then Rachel bore one son. When Jacob left Laban, he had 11 sons and at least one daughter, two wives, and two concubines. Just because this account is in the Bible does not mean that anyone acted as God wanted him or her to act. Remember, not one man or woman that ever lived was righteous; everyone of us has committed sin.
Immediately after his weddings, Jacob made a new deal with Laban. He offered to work for no wages if he could start his own herd from the sick and weakly lambs and the spotted ones that were born. Laban agreed, but secretly he removed all his spotted rams to other pastures. Jacob countered by making frameworks of spotted limbs and placing them at the water troughs, so that when the female sheep were in heat they would see spots while conceiving lambs. God blessed Jacob’s share so greatly that Laban had to move his herds three days’ walk away from Jacob’s. Things got so heated between them that Jacob packed up and left secretly. It was three days before Laban knew Jacob had gone. Not only did it seem that Jacob had left with some of Laban’s livestock, but, unknown to Jacob, Rachel had stolen Laban’s household gods. Therefore, Laban was irate; he gathered a large body of men and pursued Jacob. When they met, Laban was allowed to inspect the livestock and search all the tents, and he couldn’t find anything that had been stolen. His daughter Rachel remained sitting on her camel-seat, saying she was having her period and could “not rise"; the household gods were in the seat under her. At any rate, they parted amicably, and Jacob continued his journey back to Canaan and his meeting with his brother Esau.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
And offered to work seven years for her;
Laban agreed, to Jacob’s great delight;
He desired her so, that short the years were!
The wedding took place, and they went to bed;
When Jacob awoke, Leah lay at his side!
“Where is Rachel?! Why is Leah here instead?”
Laban answered, “Our oldest must first bride!”
Jacob kept Leah, and added Rachel, too,
But had to work a second seven years;
One wife he wanted, but ended with two—
The trickster tricked, though Laban paid in tears!
Rachel stole Laban’s gods, and Jacob sheep;
The price paid for Leah’s swap was very steep!
Scripture Quoted: Genesis 29:25-28 (NIV)
“When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, ‘What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?’ Laban replied, ‘It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. Finish this daughter’s bridal week, then we will give you the younger one, also, in return for another seven years of work.’ And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.”
Commentary on Genesis 29-31: Jacob’s 20-Year Stay With Laban
In his uncle Laban Jacob met one as great a deceiver as he was himself. He stayed with Laban in Mesopotamia 20 years, and during that time he accumulated two wives, many children, a great number of sheep, goats, camels, donkeys, and many servants. Laban’s wealth grew also, but the two men were constantly cheating on each other. God blessed Jacob, as He had promised at Bethel; Laban prospered from the overflow. When they parted on terms that were considerably strained but amicable, Jacob was a rich man.
The bridal customs of the people of the area made it relatively easy for Laban to trick Jacob into marrying his older daughter Leah instead of Rachel, whom Jacob truly loved. Their agreement at the beginning was that Jacob would serve Laban free for seven years as dowry, and receive Rachel’s hand in marriage. However, Laban substituted Leah without Jacob’s knowledge; the wedding took place as usual, with the bride heavily veiled; the bride and groom retired to their special nuptial tent after dark. The marriage was consummated, and it was the next morning when Jacob learned he had not slept with Rachel but Leah instead. They agreed, however, that he could have Rachel, too, after Leah’s bridal week was over;, provided he worked another seven years for her. The "bridal week" was seven years long.
As you might have expected, marital difficulties plagued poor Jacob from the first, but he didn’t seem to mind. Jealousy arose first between the two wives, because he continued to love Rachel and not Leah; so God blessed Leah, and she had four sons while Rachel was barren. Rachel begged Jacob to sleep with her maid, Bilhah, and the maid bore Jacob two sons. In return Leah offered her maid, Zilpah, to Jacob, and Zilpah bore him two more sons. After that, Leah bore him two more sons and a daughter; then Rachel bore one son. When Jacob left Laban, he had 11 sons and at least one daughter, two wives, and two concubines. Just because this account is in the Bible does not mean that anyone acted as God wanted him or her to act. Remember, not one man or woman that ever lived was righteous; everyone of us has committed sin.
Immediately after his weddings, Jacob made a new deal with Laban. He offered to work for no wages if he could start his own herd from the sick and weakly lambs and the spotted ones that were born. Laban agreed, but secretly he removed all his spotted rams to other pastures. Jacob countered by making frameworks of spotted limbs and placing them at the water troughs, so that when the female sheep were in heat they would see spots while conceiving lambs. God blessed Jacob’s share so greatly that Laban had to move his herds three days’ walk away from Jacob’s. Things got so heated between them that Jacob packed up and left secretly. It was three days before Laban knew Jacob had gone. Not only did it seem that Jacob had left with some of Laban’s livestock, but, unknown to Jacob, Rachel had stolen Laban’s household gods. Therefore, Laban was irate; he gathered a large body of men and pursued Jacob. When they met, Laban was allowed to inspect the livestock and search all the tents, and he couldn’t find anything that had been stolen. His daughter Rachel remained sitting on her camel-seat, saying she was having her period and could “not rise"; the household gods were in the seat under her. At any rate, they parted amicably, and Jacob continued his journey back to Canaan and his meeting with his brother Esau.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Thursday, January 6, 2011
God's Covenant With Jacob (MP 26)
God stood at the top of a wide stairway,
With angels going up and down both ways;
“This must be the gate to heaven’s fairway,”
Thought Jacob, in his dream’s glorious haze!
It was a vision; in it God renewed
The promises to Abraham He had made:
With many offspring he would be imbued,
And they would own the land in which he laid!
Jacob named the place Bethel, House of God;
He vowed to give God a tenth, and obey
All the days of life he had left to trod;
With a lighter heart, he went on his way!
Jacob trusted God in what lay ahead,
Relying on Him to do what He’d said!
Scripture Quoted: Genesis 28:11-15 (NIV) [Brackets added]
"There above it [the stairway] stood the Lord, and he said: ‘I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land in which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you.’ “
Commentary on Genesis 28 (NIV)
Instead of speaking directly to him as He had done to men before, God appeared to Jacob in a dream. As His Plan for the world unfolded, God chose speaking to men in dreams or through prophets. Occasionally He did speak directly, as at Jesus’ baptism, and He inspired about forty men and women to write the Bible under His inspiration. In this vision at Bethel, He renewed the pledge to Jacob that He had made to Abraham and Isaac previously. God is carrying out His pre-made Plan of carefully crafting a nation chosen to give birth to Jesus, the man He intends to return to earth as, bringing redemption to the race. Keep in your mind that all men were condemned to death and Hell as a result of Adam’s disobedience, for as the first man created, he represented all men. No other man could live a sinless life and represent the race of men except God Himself. So that is His plan; He is going to volunteer Himself to represent men and take all their sins upon Himself by dying on the cross for mankind. He wants to prepare a nation to be evangelists to the world. Through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that nation is going to come; its name will be Israel. Please understamd that God is not preparing Israel for their salvation or to escape the condemnation that came to all men through Adam; Israel's task is to prepare themselves to receive and trust in Jesus first when He comes, then to spread the gospel across the whole world.
Jacob will eventually father twelve sons; from each a tribe of people will be born. Notice the care with which first Isaac, then Jacob, chooses wives from their own kin. God wants to make sure that no members of His Chosen nation are born of Canaanite mothers. Isaac blessed Jacob again in Genesis 28 before he left home, and he told him to marry his own first cousin, a daughter of Rebeka’s brother Laban. Laban is in Mesopotamia, where Abraham was born, and he is a grandson of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. Jacob is going there to live for an indefinite time from fear of being killed by his older brother whose birthright Jacob stole. We must observe that none of these men and women was perfect; every one of them sinned. It is the same today and always has been. God’s Plan for the world expected that the men and women who dwelled with Him eternally would be holy; God hates sin. He foreknew that not one would actually be sinless; therefore a great part of His Plan details how He provided salvation from death for those members of the race who believed in Him; that is, Jesus Christ.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
With angels going up and down both ways;
“This must be the gate to heaven’s fairway,”
Thought Jacob, in his dream’s glorious haze!
It was a vision; in it God renewed
The promises to Abraham He had made:
With many offspring he would be imbued,
And they would own the land in which he laid!
Jacob named the place Bethel, House of God;
He vowed to give God a tenth, and obey
All the days of life he had left to trod;
With a lighter heart, he went on his way!
Jacob trusted God in what lay ahead,
Relying on Him to do what He’d said!
Scripture Quoted: Genesis 28:11-15 (NIV) [Brackets added]
"There above it [the stairway] stood the Lord, and he said: ‘I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land in which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you.’ “
Commentary on Genesis 28 (NIV)
Instead of speaking directly to him as He had done to men before, God appeared to Jacob in a dream. As His Plan for the world unfolded, God chose speaking to men in dreams or through prophets. Occasionally He did speak directly, as at Jesus’ baptism, and He inspired about forty men and women to write the Bible under His inspiration. In this vision at Bethel, He renewed the pledge to Jacob that He had made to Abraham and Isaac previously. God is carrying out His pre-made Plan of carefully crafting a nation chosen to give birth to Jesus, the man He intends to return to earth as, bringing redemption to the race. Keep in your mind that all men were condemned to death and Hell as a result of Adam’s disobedience, for as the first man created, he represented all men. No other man could live a sinless life and represent the race of men except God Himself. So that is His plan; He is going to volunteer Himself to represent men and take all their sins upon Himself by dying on the cross for mankind. He wants to prepare a nation to be evangelists to the world. Through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that nation is going to come; its name will be Israel. Please understamd that God is not preparing Israel for their salvation or to escape the condemnation that came to all men through Adam; Israel's task is to prepare themselves to receive and trust in Jesus first when He comes, then to spread the gospel across the whole world.
Jacob will eventually father twelve sons; from each a tribe of people will be born. Notice the care with which first Isaac, then Jacob, chooses wives from their own kin. God wants to make sure that no members of His Chosen nation are born of Canaanite mothers. Isaac blessed Jacob again in Genesis 28 before he left home, and he told him to marry his own first cousin, a daughter of Rebeka’s brother Laban. Laban is in Mesopotamia, where Abraham was born, and he is a grandson of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. Jacob is going there to live for an indefinite time from fear of being killed by his older brother whose birthright Jacob stole. We must observe that none of these men and women was perfect; every one of them sinned. It is the same today and always has been. God’s Plan for the world expected that the men and women who dwelled with Him eternally would be holy; God hates sin. He foreknew that not one would actually be sinless; therefore a great part of His Plan details how He provided salvation from death for those members of the race who believed in Him; that is, Jesus Christ.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Jacob, The Deceiver (MP 25)
The twins in her womb jostled each other,
And Rebekah asked God the reason why;
“Of two nations you will be the mother;
They will live separate until they die!”
Esau was the firstborn of Isaac’s two;
Jacob came forth clutching the older’s heel;
Esau sold his birthright for lentil stew
To Jacob, who Isaac’s blessing did steal!
Then Rebekah helped Jacob to escape
Esau’s wrath, who swore his brother to kill;
To Laban* he went, his future to shape,
A wife to find, and a fortune to build!
Jacob and Laban deserved each other—
Each one thought he had bested his brother!
*Laban = Rebekah’s brother in Mesopotamia
Scripture Quoted: Genesis 25:23 (NIV) [Brackets added]
“The Lord said to her [Rebekah], ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.’ “
Commentary
Abraham sent his chief servant to his brother Nahor’s house in Mesopotamia to find and bring back a wife for Isaac, the son God had chosen. The servant brought Rebekah, the granddaughter of Nahor, and she and Isaac were married. She became pregnant with twins, and they jostled each other constantly in her womb. So she asked God why, and His answer is quoted above. Esau was born first, but Jacob came out holding Esau’s heel. Jacob was a trickster; his name means “deceiver”. God changed his name later to “Israel”, which became the name of the nation descended from him. It was the custom for the older son to inherit the most from the father in those days, so Esau was the expected heir to Isaac, including the covenant God had made with Abraham. But Jacob took advantage of Esau when he was ravenous with hunger and persuaded him to trade his birthright for a bowl of stew. Then Rebeka, who favored Jacob over Esau, helped Jacob deceive his blind father Isaac, and he received the blessing that was intended for Esau. Therefore, Jacob became the recipient of God’s covenant and the privilege of founding the nation that produced Jesus as the Savior of the world.
However, Esau did not intend to forgive Jacob for tricking him out of his expected blessing. He decided to wait until Isaac died of old age, after which he resolved to kill Jacob. Rebekah learned his intention, so she sent Jacob from Canaan to Mesopotamia, to live with her brother Laban. Jacob was instructed to find him a wife from among their kin before returning to Canaan. Notice that both Abraham and Isaac took great pains to insure their sons married girls from within their own family, so that the future nation of Israel would have a bloodstream without the taint of mixed blood with Canaanites.
The nation of Israel began with deep hostility between its own forefathers and those that founded Arab nations—Ishmael and Esau both were deprived of their so-called “rightful” inheritances; adding Abraham’s other sons by Keturah (his second wife) and the descendants of Lot by his own daughters (a sordid chapter after their escape from Sodom), these were all founders of Arab tribes. It was to create a 4,000-year feud between the Jews descended from Jacob and the Arabs descended from the “left-outs”. That’s why the desire of the rest of the world to create a lasting peace treaty in the Middle East today is impossible—a waste of time. Peace will not come between Jews and Arabs until Jesus Christ returns to earth.
You may well ask, How is it possible for God to have planned all these details in advance? In answer, remember the question God asked Abraham, “Is anything impossible for God?”
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.”) (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
And Rebekah asked God the reason why;
“Of two nations you will be the mother;
They will live separate until they die!”
Esau was the firstborn of Isaac’s two;
Jacob came forth clutching the older’s heel;
Esau sold his birthright for lentil stew
To Jacob, who Isaac’s blessing did steal!
Then Rebekah helped Jacob to escape
Esau’s wrath, who swore his brother to kill;
To Laban* he went, his future to shape,
A wife to find, and a fortune to build!
Jacob and Laban deserved each other—
Each one thought he had bested his brother!
*Laban = Rebekah’s brother in Mesopotamia
Scripture Quoted: Genesis 25:23 (NIV) [Brackets added]
“The Lord said to her [Rebekah], ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.’ “
Commentary
Abraham sent his chief servant to his brother Nahor’s house in Mesopotamia to find and bring back a wife for Isaac, the son God had chosen. The servant brought Rebekah, the granddaughter of Nahor, and she and Isaac were married. She became pregnant with twins, and they jostled each other constantly in her womb. So she asked God why, and His answer is quoted above. Esau was born first, but Jacob came out holding Esau’s heel. Jacob was a trickster; his name means “deceiver”. God changed his name later to “Israel”, which became the name of the nation descended from him. It was the custom for the older son to inherit the most from the father in those days, so Esau was the expected heir to Isaac, including the covenant God had made with Abraham. But Jacob took advantage of Esau when he was ravenous with hunger and persuaded him to trade his birthright for a bowl of stew. Then Rebeka, who favored Jacob over Esau, helped Jacob deceive his blind father Isaac, and he received the blessing that was intended for Esau. Therefore, Jacob became the recipient of God’s covenant and the privilege of founding the nation that produced Jesus as the Savior of the world.
However, Esau did not intend to forgive Jacob for tricking him out of his expected blessing. He decided to wait until Isaac died of old age, after which he resolved to kill Jacob. Rebekah learned his intention, so she sent Jacob from Canaan to Mesopotamia, to live with her brother Laban. Jacob was instructed to find him a wife from among their kin before returning to Canaan. Notice that both Abraham and Isaac took great pains to insure their sons married girls from within their own family, so that the future nation of Israel would have a bloodstream without the taint of mixed blood with Canaanites.
The nation of Israel began with deep hostility between its own forefathers and those that founded Arab nations—Ishmael and Esau both were deprived of their so-called “rightful” inheritances; adding Abraham’s other sons by Keturah (his second wife) and the descendants of Lot by his own daughters (a sordid chapter after their escape from Sodom), these were all founders of Arab tribes. It was to create a 4,000-year feud between the Jews descended from Jacob and the Arabs descended from the “left-outs”. That’s why the desire of the rest of the world to create a lasting peace treaty in the Middle East today is impossible—a waste of time. Peace will not come between Jews and Arabs until Jesus Christ returns to earth.
You may well ask, How is it possible for God to have planned all these details in advance? In answer, remember the question God asked Abraham, “Is anything impossible for God?”
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.”) (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Why God Chose Israel (MP 24)
So God selected Abraham to sire
A Chosen People, who’d redeem Man’s race,
Lost by Adam’s sin to eternal fire,
That whosoever wills, could be saved by grace!
Through Isaac, a tribe of priests to all men
Would bloom, obedient to God’s commands;
Showing the world how to live without sin;
Spreading Messiah’s* words throughout all lands!
They’d build a temple, in which God would dwell;
People from ev’ry tribe and tongue will come
To worship; His glory does all compel
Ev’ry knee to bend; ev’ry tongue fall dumb!
O! God’s Israel! The apple of His eye!
His holy nation! His treasure for aye**!
*Messiah’s = Jesus Christ’s
**aye = always
Scripture Quoted: Exodus 19:1-8 (NIV)
“In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on the very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain. Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, ‘This is what you are to tell the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak unto the Israelites.’ So Moses went back and summoned all the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak. The people all responded together, ‘We will do everything the Lord has said.’ So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.”
Commentary on: What Israel’s Role Is Meant To Be
In this blog I have scrolled forward in God’s Master Plan about 500 years after Abraham. He lived about 2000 B. C.; his was an important role in God’s Plan—he was to sire a special nation through whom God could return to earth in the form of a man, Jesus of Nazareth. In His foreknowledge, God had known that Adam, the first Man created, and as the head of the whole race, would disobey Him and condemn all his descendants to physical and spiritual death. In so doing, Adam would have doomed God’s Plan to create a world of beings in His image with whom God would dwell eternally. God loved the human race so much that His Plan included a way of redeeming whoever chose to live obediently in faith to Him. Therefore, He volunteered Himself to be born a man; He would live a sinless life using only the resources available to any man, thus qualifying Himself as a second Adam, and then let Himself be crucified as a sacrificial lamb, taking upon Himself the sins of all men. While here on earth, He would teach a “gospel” (“good news”) that any man or woman who chose to believe in and trust Him as Lord would be saved from death.
In about 1500 B.C. Abraham’s descendants, who had kept careful genealogical records and married within their own kin, numbered more than two million, but were not yet a nation of their own, nor did they live in Canaan. Isaac, the miracle son of Abraham, had married Rebecca, a granddaughter of Abraham’s brother Nahor; he had two sons, Jacob and Esau, of whom Jacob was chosen, and he also married kin, Leah and Rachel, who were sisters. He had 12 sons, and they continued multiplying until the tribe reached the two million size. God had brought them out of Egypt where they were in slavery; at Mount Sinai, God made a covenant with them. They would be given the already-promised land of Canaan; obey Him fully; and be a holy nation, a kingdom of priests. The name of this Chosen Nation was Israel, the same Israel that exists in today’s Middle East. God, the Redeemer, would be born of a virgin, so that He (Jesus) would be born without the original sin imputed by Adam. We will see how “faithful” Israel was in fulfilling their promises.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
A Chosen People, who’d redeem Man’s race,
Lost by Adam’s sin to eternal fire,
That whosoever wills, could be saved by grace!
Through Isaac, a tribe of priests to all men
Would bloom, obedient to God’s commands;
Showing the world how to live without sin;
Spreading Messiah’s* words throughout all lands!
They’d build a temple, in which God would dwell;
People from ev’ry tribe and tongue will come
To worship; His glory does all compel
Ev’ry knee to bend; ev’ry tongue fall dumb!
O! God’s Israel! The apple of His eye!
His holy nation! His treasure for aye**!
*Messiah’s = Jesus Christ’s
**aye = always
Scripture Quoted: Exodus 19:1-8 (NIV)
“In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on the very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain. Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, ‘This is what you are to tell the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak unto the Israelites.’ So Moses went back and summoned all the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak. The people all responded together, ‘We will do everything the Lord has said.’ So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.”
Commentary on: What Israel’s Role Is Meant To Be
In this blog I have scrolled forward in God’s Master Plan about 500 years after Abraham. He lived about 2000 B. C.; his was an important role in God’s Plan—he was to sire a special nation through whom God could return to earth in the form of a man, Jesus of Nazareth. In His foreknowledge, God had known that Adam, the first Man created, and as the head of the whole race, would disobey Him and condemn all his descendants to physical and spiritual death. In so doing, Adam would have doomed God’s Plan to create a world of beings in His image with whom God would dwell eternally. God loved the human race so much that His Plan included a way of redeeming whoever chose to live obediently in faith to Him. Therefore, He volunteered Himself to be born a man; He would live a sinless life using only the resources available to any man, thus qualifying Himself as a second Adam, and then let Himself be crucified as a sacrificial lamb, taking upon Himself the sins of all men. While here on earth, He would teach a “gospel” (“good news”) that any man or woman who chose to believe in and trust Him as Lord would be saved from death.
In about 1500 B.C. Abraham’s descendants, who had kept careful genealogical records and married within their own kin, numbered more than two million, but were not yet a nation of their own, nor did they live in Canaan. Isaac, the miracle son of Abraham, had married Rebecca, a granddaughter of Abraham’s brother Nahor; he had two sons, Jacob and Esau, of whom Jacob was chosen, and he also married kin, Leah and Rachel, who were sisters. He had 12 sons, and they continued multiplying until the tribe reached the two million size. God had brought them out of Egypt where they were in slavery; at Mount Sinai, God made a covenant with them. They would be given the already-promised land of Canaan; obey Him fully; and be a holy nation, a kingdom of priests. The name of this Chosen Nation was Israel, the same Israel that exists in today’s Middle East. God, the Redeemer, would be born of a virgin, so that He (Jesus) would be born without the original sin imputed by Adam. We will see how “faithful” Israel was in fulfilling their promises.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
