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Post by Poet Maybe on Jan 13, 2023 16:50:35 GMT
Day 13 (Genesis 41-42)
Remember Joseph?? Yeah the guy that was abandoned in the dungeon. The cupbearer was supposed to put a good word in for him Well…. It only took him two years to remember that. And only then when he thought it would make brownie points with Pharaoh. Yet Got was still in control, still working. When the time was right to do the most good, God moved the cupbearer to say something to Pharaoh. Pharaoh had Joseph brought to him and said I hear you’re the dream guy, you can tell me about my dreams. Now get this, Joseph said, No I can’t. But God will. (Joseph, didn’t try to take the glory from God.) Maybe God took His time getting Joseph out for a reason. My God wanted to prepare Pharaoh’s heart to be receptive to what Joseph said. Notice after his dreams were interpreted Pharaoh recognized it was God. It seems to me that God’s hand was always upon Joseph. No matter what happened to Joseph God would use it to bless him. I wonder how many blessings we have missed because we didn’t trust God.
I always enjoyed how Joseph dealt with his brothers. Not that he was mean but that he was allowing them time to think and convict themselves. (as the brothers were saying “we are being punished for what we did to our brother.”) Their guilt, like ours, will drag on forever if it is not forgiven. It is only when we take it to cross and give it to Christ.
And the drama builds. Joseph told his brothers to bring their brother Benjamin back with them. Oh it took them sometime before they could get Jacob to allow this, after all he had already lost one son.
Stay tuned for more of this exciting adventure.
1/13/23
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Post by pastor on Jan 14, 2023 13:05:59 GMT
January 14, 2023
Genesis 43-45
It takes Jacob realizing his family will starve if he does nothing, to finally allow Benjamin to go with the others to Egypt. We learn later that the famine has been going on for two years now. How long does it take God to get through to you? I wonder myself how many times I have been in a bad situation far too long simply because I held on to my desires instead of trusting God.
Joseph want to test his brothers, to see if they will easily turn on Benjamin like they did Joseph so he sets a trap. But Judah true to his word to his father volunteers himself to take Benjimins place and bear the punishment of Benjamin’s “sin”. It is from the tribe of Judah that Christ will come who also will volunteer himself to bear the punishment of all sin.
Joseph praises God and tells them that all of this happened because it was God’s plan. God had sent him to Egypt but God used the evil of Joseph’s brothers to accomplish it. Once again as we have seen already God takes the evil of men and brings forth good.
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Post by Poet Maybe on Jan 14, 2023 15:56:18 GMT
Day 14 (Genesis 43-45)
Now after they had eaten all the grain they had received from their first trip Jacob told them to go and buy more. But Judah tells him he can’t unless brother Benny comes too. Jacob didn’t take kindly to hearing that. But Judah said he would be responsible for Benjamin. Now this famine had been dragging on for a while and Jacob knew if he did let Benjamin go all of his family would starve, including Benjamin. So he said he could go. (it looked like a trust issue to me.) Joseph tested the hearts of his brothers to see if they would throw Benjamin under the bus so to speak. It was only when Judah offered to stand in Benjamin’s place did Joseph reveal to them who he really was. And when Joseph made himself known the brothers were even more frightened. Cause they knew they deserved to be punished. But Joseph forgave them. That is a lot like our relationship with Christ. We are sometimes frightened to go to Him because we know we are sinners. And we know we deserve His wrath. BUT it is only when we come to Him that we are forgiven.
1/14/23
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Post by pastor on Jan 15, 2023 1:10:34 GMT
January 15, 2023 Genesis 46-47
And so God’s prophecy to Abraham is fulfilled. (Genesis 15:13) Abraham’s grandchildren and great grandchildren were no sojourners in a land that was not theirs. They will eventually be oppressed and be there for the next 400 years until God raises up another great man.
God comes to Jacob and again assures Jacob that God is with him, and this is all part of his plan. So there were all together 70 Jews that were in Goshen and when they left there were over a million. God’s promises fulfilled.
Isn’t it fascinating that Jacob blessed the Pharaoh and not the other way around. Pharaoh knew that God was with Jacob and Joseph and accepted that blessing.
Joseph was a smart business man as well, he first sells the grain back to the people, then trades them grain for their livestock and finally the people sell themselves to Pharaoh, so at the end of the famine Pharaoh owns all the land, and the people. The only ones not owned were the priest and the Jews.
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Post by Poet Maybe on Jan 15, 2023 21:04:01 GMT
Day 15 (Genesis 46-47)
In this scripture we see that God is fulfilling what He had said to Abraham. God told Jacob that through him God would build His nation. God took 70 Jews and turned them into a nation. (What God says He will do… He WILL do!) Joseph, sold grain for the money, then for livestock, then for land and servitude of the people. BUT… since the priest received an allotment of grain from Pharaoh, they didn’t have to do this. And also Joseph’s brothers and father were not charged. It seems as though God’s hand was over Jacob and his family just as He said He would do. God does what He says He will do!
1/15/23
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Post by pastor on Jan 16, 2023 14:37:23 GMT
January 16, 2023
Genesis 48-50
Jacob now blesses the children. Is in not interesting that he blesses and puts the younger ahead of the older. Much like he took his brothers inheritance. The second thing is to pay attention to is the blessings. Notice how Ruben (who slept with his father’s concubine) receives the result of his sin. Simon and Levi who slaughtered all the men in the town when they had been circumcise. Notice he says they will be scattered. Isn’t it interesting that Levi became the priestly tribe and was literally scattered all among the Israelites. Judah who stood up and said he sacrifice himself for Benjamin when Joseph tricked them, will be the one from whom the scepter will never depart. The King who would come and offer himself for all men will come from the line of Judah. Joseph gets the greatest blessing, for he was faithful to God through it all.
It is fascinating when we see God working through the generation to accomplish His purpose and each generation we see the pieces falling into place.
Jacob makes Joseph vow that he would be buried with Abraham in the promised land, and Joseph does. So also Joseph makes them vow to burry him in the promise land. They died believing in the promise. How strong was their faith. How is ours.
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Post by Poet Maybe on Jan 16, 2023 15:33:09 GMT
Day 16 (Genesis 48-50)
We have come to the end of Genesis. What can I say? They say, hindsight is always 20/20. That’s because the event has already played out. God had promised Abraham that “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you.” and now we see it being formed. (When God promises; He delivers.) At first reading the blessing from Jacob seems strange, until we remember how each of his sons had acted before. (There is always a consequence for our sinful actions.) Judah received a good blessing for his action of offering himself in place of Benjamin. Judah would become a ruler until the true King did come. (This points to the coming of Christ.) It is in the last chapter that Joseph’s brothers ask for forgiveness for what they did to Joseph. (and this only out of fear that Joseph would hold a grudge.) But the real message for me is in Joseph’s reply. “But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
What you intended for harm, God intended for good. (God was in control.)
1/16/23
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Post by Poet Maybe on Jan 17, 2023 16:41:38 GMT
Day 17 (Exodus 1-3)
Exodus starts with the Israelites being held in slavery. After Joseph died it didn’t take long for the Egyptians to begin to oppress the Israelites. The new Pharaoh didn’t remember Joseph or honor him. And because of their great number the Egyptians began to fear the Israelites. So Pharaoh sent out an order for all the male children to be killed. (Kind of like what Herod did after Jesus’s birth) Then Moses was born to a Levite family. His mother kept him a secret for as long as she could. Then she made a basket and lined it with pitch and placed the boy in it. Then Pharaoh’s daughter found him and claimed him for her own. But she needed someone to nurse and raise him. So God had Moses' sister ask her if she wanted her to find a nurse for her. And guess what it just happened to be Moses’ mother. After Moses had grown up he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave. He buried him in the sand, BUT it seems even then the past always comes back to haunt you. He was found out; when Pharaoh heard of it he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled. He went to a place called Midian. This is where Moses met his wife and had a child. Now all this time the Israelites are still in slavery and being mistreated. God was listening though and He had a plan. Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. Moses sees the bush on fire, but the fire doesn’t consume the bush. Moses thinks this is more than a little strange. (I would too.) Anyway, this is when God tells Moses to go back to Egypt and confront Pharaoh. Moses was too eager to do that, after all there was still the matter of the killing. There is a lot more to the story that you can read for yourselves. But when God calls you if you are wise you will obey.
1/17/23
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Post by pastor on Jan 18, 2023 1:19:28 GMT
January 17, 2023 Exodus 1-3
The new Pharaoh comes to power a number of years after Joseph is dead, (we don’t know how many) and is afraid of the Israelites who have multiplied into a great number. His solution is to enslave them. The keep making life harder and harder for them but they kept on growing in number.
What do you do when you are asked to do something against God’s word. How many of us go along with it? How about if your life depended upon you going against God’s word? For the Hebrew midwives it could have easily cost them their lives, but God protected them and blessed them. When will we learn that to obey God is the only way to live. We have example after example in the Bible and even in modern day life yet when faced with the choice how many of us chose to obey our bosses, our friends, or even our family over God.
Now Moses is born. His mother does everything she can to protect him, and finally puts him in God’s hands and floats him down the river. The very people that Pharaoh is enslaving becomes a part of the royal family. God is preparing Pharaohs downfall right under his nose.
Moses takes justice into his own plans and does not allow for God’s timing. What it cost him was 40 years of his life. What has living for yourself cost you?
God calls to Moses out of the burning bush and gives to us His name. I AM. The greatest name there could be for whatever one could look for, need or desire – God is the answer.
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Post by pastor on Jan 18, 2023 15:06:23 GMT
January 18 Exodus 4-6
Here begins Moses with the excuses, I can’t talk, What if they don’t believe, and on and on. What are your excuses for not following God the way he wants. For every excuse God has an answer.
God tells Moses that he will harden Pharaoh’s heart and God will deal with him. How often I wonder that the problems we run into are part of God’s plan for Him to deal with them His way. So often we think we are going to solve it and God puts us in a place where only He can. Instead of being amazed that God worked, we often are upset that God did not let us solve the problem our way.
A strange verse in the section of Moses heading to Egypt. God comes against Moses because he had not circumcised his own boys, he had not set them apart for God. It seems strange to us but then I think if Moses when back to the Jews to lead them and yet he had not ever obey the covenant of God, how seriously do you think the Jews would have taken him.
Moses obeys God and goes to Pharaoh and Pharaoh makes the Jews lives worst. God is not only hardening Pharaoh’s heart but also testing Moses and the peoples as well.
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Post by Poet Maybe on Jan 18, 2023 18:22:09 GMT
Day 18 (Exodus 4-6)
Moses was given signs to prove the Lord had spoken to him and wanted him to go to Egypt. And yet Moses pleaded for the Lord to send someone else. God reminded Moses that He was God and had given men mouths to speak with. God was the one who gave man sight or made him blind. In other words God was telling Moses I can and will give you the words to say. Moses still questioned God so God said that Aaron would speak for Moses. Moses was running out of excuses, so to Egypt they would go.
I’m cutting this short… I need to prepare for class tonight.
1/18/23
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Post by pastor on Jan 19, 2023 13:12:05 GMT
January 19, 2023
Exodus 7-9 Psalm 19
How hard do you have to beat a man down? God kills the fist in the Nile turning it to blood, covers the land with frogs, gnats, flies, and Pharaoh does not budge. God kills the livestock, covers them with boils, destroys their land with hail, and yet Pharaoh hardens his heart. Seems almost impossible until I think of people I know who have had God work in their life in a mighty way only to deny it. How true Jeremiah’s words are “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “ Jeremiah 17:10
Psalm 19 is one of my favorite. How precious in the Word of the Lord. Take time today and slowly read that Psalm and ask yourself: how does God’s word bring joy to my heart, how has my soul been revived when I read it, and so on. It will help you have a whole new appreciation for God’s word.
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Post by Poet Maybe on Jan 19, 2023 17:26:58 GMT
Day 19 (Exodus 7-9)
Pharaoh is a prime example of when stubborn become stupid. I mean just think about it, God sent Moses and Aaron to warn Pharaoh everytime. And when in his stubbornness Pharaoh would not listen God did as He had said. I could see maybe once or twice since the sorcerers, and the magicians copied them. But even then it was not the same. I know Pharaoh probably didn’t want to lose the free labor he had, but I think I would have cut my losses and let them go. BUT I’m not Pharaoh, nor am I God. This was their battle and we all know who wins in a battle between God and man. God every time! I wonder what the Egyptian people were thinking about all this? If it were me I’d be thinking that Pharaoh was a raving mad man. But sometimes we get stubborn with God. We want our way, and we want it now. We want to be in control, we think we know better than God. How many times has God had to thump us on the head to get our attention?
1/19/23
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Post by Poet Maybe on Jan 19, 2023 17:27:18 GMT
My Rock and Redeemer
Sweeter than honey is you word; I hear it and my soul is stirred. It melted my heart, hard and cold. It is more precious than pure gold.
Your laws refreshing to my soul; Your statutes make me whole. Steadfast and firm your decrees; Stronger than the mighty trees.
The precepts are just and right, Your commands, my guiding light. Comfort and blessing do I find, A treasure to me, your word divine.
I am nothing but a lowly sinner; But you are my Rock and redeemer.
Carl A. Gooch ~ 19 January 2023
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Post by pastor on Jan 20, 2023 17:20:03 GMT
Exodus 10-12
We see the final plagues of God, which resulted in the complete destruction of Egypt. What was the greatest power in the world at that time was reduced to rubble and it would be generations before it would rise to power again. What we don’t’ often understand is that each of the plagues also was not directed against Pharaoh but each one was directed at one of Egypt’s “gods”. Every major God of Egypt was proven to be nothing as the true God showed His power.
The Ten Plagues and the God’s they proved to be false: Plague Egyptian God it proved false 1. Nile into blood Hapi god of the Nile 2. Frogs Heqt wife of Knum and a symbol or resurrection 3. Gnats Geb – god of the earth 4. Flies Atchit who manifested as a fly 5. Livestock Ptah who manifested as a bull 6. Boils Imhoten god of medicine 7. Hail Nut the sky goddess 8. Locust Nepri a fertility God 9. Darkness Amun-Re the sun God 10. Death of Firstborn All the Gods of Egypt that were to protect them.
Notice it was the blood of the lamb that was slain that protected them from the destroyer. This lamb had to be perfect without any blemish or spot. Of course this lamb was a symbol of the lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. As that lambs blood protected them from the destroyer, and freed them from slavery to Egypt, so Christ Blood covers our sins to protect us from God’s judgment and frees us from slavery to sin, Satan, and death.
Pay attention to the Passover and remember this reading the next time we celebrate the Passover service.
A final note. Wasn’t Psalm 20 a fitting meditation after today’s reading?
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