We Are Children of Promise1
Paul teaches us how to gain instruction from the ancient story of Ishmael and Isaac. Writing to those who wanted to introduce Jewish ceremonies into the Christian church, he says in,
Galatians 4:21-31
21Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?
Can you not see the real meaning of the law? Will you only learn one part of what it teaches and shut your ears to the rest?
22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27For it is written,
“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than those of the one who has a husband.”
28Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. (We were not made children of God by natural birth, but by the power of divine grace.) 29But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. (Pharisees and self-righteous people show great hostility toward those who depend on the grace of God in Christ Jesus. They call them arrogant. They angrily insult their beliefs and claim they lead to immoral behavior.) 30But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.”
The system of salvation by works must be thrown out if grace is to reign. You cannot mix the two systems. We can no longer trust in the power and energy of our self if we want to be saved through the promise. Human merit, the child of the flesh, will never agree with faith, the child of the promise.
31So brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.
Galatians 5:1-6
1For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Do not go back to hope in keeping the law and ceremonial observances. You are not born again under the law, but freed from it. Do not submit to the yoke of bondage.)
2Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. (If a person could be justified by the law they could not be saved by grace. Law and grace are complete opposites. Thanks be to God, we do not even dare to hope to be made righteous by keeping the law. Anyone who hopes to be saved by keeping even part of the law is no longer depending on God’s grace.) 5For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. (Our confidence is in the promise and grace of God, because we are true children of Isaac. We are born of the promise of God.) 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. (Our outward works are ignored. The inward work of the heart is all-important. The flesh, like Ishmael, is sent away, and the newborn nature stays with the father, and inherits the covenant promises. All believers understand this mystery. Can all of us in the household understand it?)
_______________
1 From Galatians 4:28
Year One, February 2
Not as I Will, But as You Will1
Genesis 22:1-19
1After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” (This would be at the same time, the patriarch’s greatest trial and grandest victory. It came after he had received the best blessing of his life. Great benefits include great trial.) 2He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. (His obedience was quick, without doubting, and complete. Think about Abraham getting up early and splitting the wood to be used for this sacrifice. Could we obey the Lord like this?)
4On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. (Abraham had three days to think about what he was about to do. This must have been a very difficult test for him. We can do something in a hurry that we might back away from if we thought about it calmly.) 5Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” (Perhaps he was afraid that the servants might interfere and stop him from keeping his command from the Lord.) 6And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
A moving question, but Abraham would not allow his feelings to rule over his faith.
8Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” (These were very important prophetic words and have been fulfilled by God.) So they went both of them together.
9When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on the top of the wood. 10Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” 12He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”;2 as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”
15And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” (After Abraham proved he would obey the Lord even if it cost him his son, the Lord renewed his promise to him. It is wonderful to see the promise of grace actually carried out in the offering up of Jesus, the Only Son of the Father. Oh for grace to be part of God’s family through his Son Christ Jesus.)
19So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba. And Abraham lived at Beersheba.
_______________
1 Matthew 26:39
2 KJV Jehovah-jireh
Out of the Anguish of His Soul He Shall See and Be Satisfied1
The sacrifice of Isaac reminds us of the Divine Father, who did not spare his own Son, but freely delivered him up for us all. Let us read Isaiah’s account of the sufferings of the Great Son of God.
Isaiah 53
1 Who has believed what he heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
No one believes the gospel, except those who are changed by the power of God.
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
The Eternal Father, out of love to mankind, sent his Son into this world where he would be dishonored and shamefully treated by men. This is love!
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
Four words are used to describe the pains of the Lord Jesus: “pierced,” “crushed,” “chastisement,” and “stripes.” How many, how wide-ranging, and how awful his pains were none of us can tell.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one to—his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
This is the heart of the gospel: Sin was placed on Jesus and is no longer on his people. Jehovah himself made the transfer. Therefore no one should dare to question the rightness of it.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
Jehovah took pleasure in the atoning sacrifice. His love was so great that he crushed the Son of his love to save rebellious sinners.
he has put him to grief;
Yes, Jehovah himself put his own Son to grief. This is the way God proves his love for us. In return, we should give our entire lives to him.
when his soul makes an offering for sin,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
Those who genuinely trust in the Lord Jesus may rest assured that their sins have ceased to exist, because Jesus has paid their debt in full! They may also rejoice because the non-stop praying of our King and Intercessor2 keeps us safe. Let us come near to the cross of Jesus and rest our souls underneath the shadow of the Crucified One. God has provided himself a Lamb for a burnt offering. The victim is put to death, the promise is fulfilled, and believers are safe. Because of this, let us adore the Eternal Father from now to the end of eternity.
_______________
1 Isaiah 53:11
2 intercessor - one who intervenes or gets involved for the benefit of others, especially by praying.
Year One, February 4
The Righteous Shall Live by His Faith1
Galatians 3:6-18
In this passage the apostle shows that Abraham’s righteousness was a result of his faith; that the promise God made to him was only guaranteed if he had faith; and that we, who are sinners and Gentiles, join in the covenant blessings only by faith.
6Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”
7Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.
Those who trust in works or boast about the rituals they keep are not the true sons of Abraham. Jews may be the natural children of Abraham, but so was Ishmael and he was not a son of promise. Abraham is the father of the faithful. The most important thing is not that Abraham is the father of a rebellious nation, but that he is the father of those who believe.
8And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
This is the only way all nations can share in the blessing. They do not receive it because they are natural children of Abraham, or because they keep the Jewish ceremonial laws, or because they do something to earn it.
10For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” (Let us learn this verse well. May it ring the death knell2 of all hope of being saved by doing good works. The only thing the law can do for sinners is to judge them, condemn them, and curse them. Let us run away from the useless hope that ignorant and proud men want us to believe in. Let us look to another way to be saved. In fact, it is the only way.) 11Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” (The only people who can stand innocent before God are people of faith. They are not righteous in God’s eyes because they work to keep the law, but because they believe. It is clear that the law has nothing to do with their righteousness.)
12But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” (The apostle is saying that we cannot be saved partly by faith and partly by works. The roads are clearly marked. If we hope to be saved by our good works, then we must keep the whole law. Our only hope is in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ that we receive by faith.) 13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”-- 14so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (The Father placed the curse on Jesus, so we could have the blessing. All blessings come to us through the gate of Substitution; even the best blessing, which is the Holy Spirit.)
15To give a human example, brothers; even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified.3 (Once made, a covenant cannot be legally changed by an afterthought or an unforeseen event. This is a great comfort for all believers!) 16Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. (Notice that the apostle believed in verbal inspiration,4 because he finds a meaning in so small a matter as the use of a singular word instead of a plural.) 17This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. (The law given on Mount Sinai and recorded in the book of Leviticus cannot replace the covenant of grace. Despite the law, the believer is secure in faith.) 18For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. (We hold the promise tightly by faith. We are included in the promise God made to Abraham, not because of what we do, but by the simple act of trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ.)
_______________
1 Habakkuk 2:4 & Hebrews 10:38
2 the ringing of a church bell to announce either the death or funeral of a person
3 ratified - agreed upon and signed by all involved
4 verbal inspiration - Every word in the Bible is inspired by God
Year One, February 5
You Must be Ready1
Genesis 23:1-19
1Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, And Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. (Death comes to the holiest and happiest families, but faith learns how to make him welcome.) 3And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites, 4“I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” (Dear as our loved ones may be in life, we cannot endure to look upon their dead bodies. Our fondness for them demands that we hide them in the dust. “Property among you for a burying place” is an informative statement. It is often the only property the godly own.
5The Hittites answered Abraham, 6“Hear us, my lord; you are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb to hinder you from burying your dead.” (But this would not be the way Abraham would want it. He would not wish to sleep in the same grave with those from whom he was separated in life. He would remain separated to God even to the end.)
7Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, the people of the land. (Courtesy is due even to the ungodly. A believer should be both gracious in heart and gentle in manners.) 8And he said to them, “If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar, 9that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns; it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as property for a burying place.”
10Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his city, 11“No, my lord hear me: I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the sight of the sons of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.” 12Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. (This is the second time Abraham bowing is mentioned. The truly noble are friendly and courteous. A believer is not a bear.) 13And he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, “But if you will, hear me: I give the price of the field. Accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there.”
14Ephron answered Abraham, 15“My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels (about 160 ounces) of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” 16Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants. (Abraham would not put himself in the debt of idolaters. True faith produces a spirit that is not dependent on others.)
17So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, was made over 18to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city. 19After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. (Abraham firmly believed that he would one day own all this land. He buried the bones of his beloved wife in the promised soil. In this way, he was actually taking possession of the land until the time when his ancestors would return to it.)
_______________
1 Matthew 24:44
Year One, February 6
Your Dead Shall Live1
Our last reading brought us to Abraham weeping for Sarah and burying her in the cave he bought from Ephron the Hittite. This may be a suitable time for a “meditation among the tombs.”2
Job 14:1-15
1 “Man who is born of a woman
is few of days and full of trouble.”
Our life is not short and sweet, but brief and bitter. The one thing certain in life is trouble. Sin is the cause.
2 “He comes out like a flower and withers;
he flees like a shadow and continues not.”
The flower is not always allowed to grow until it withers, but is cut while still in its glory. We, too, are often taken away in the midst of our days.
3 “And do you open your eyes on such a one
and bring me into judgment with you?”
Job wonders why the Lord would even think about so frail a creature as a mortal human.
4 “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
There is not one.”
The length of our troubles and the shortness of our lives are both the result of our sin nature. It is what we inherited from Adam. A pure future generation cannot come from our fallen father. A poisonous plant produces poisonous seed. A fallen man becomes the father of fallen children.
5 “Since his days are determined,
and the number of his months is with you,
and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass,
6 look away from him and leave him alone,
that he may enjoy, like a hired hand, his day.”
God has decided how long we have to live and given us work to do. We are immortal until God’s appointed time arrives.
7 “For there is hope for a tree,
if it be cut down, that it will sprout again,
and that its shoots will not cease.
8 Though its root grow old in the earth,
and its stump die in the soil,
9 yet at the scent of water it will bud
and put out branches like a young plant.
10 But a man dies and is laid low;
man breathes his last, and where is he?”
So far as this visible world is concerned, a person dies and is gone forever. There is no second budding and sprouting into another mortal life for them. The ancients chose the cypress tree as the symbol of death, because once it is cut down it will not grow again, but dies completely. As far as life on this earth is concerned, their choice was wise and instructive. So, we should live while we are alive.
11 “As waters fail from a lake
and a river wastes away and dries up,
12 so a man lies down and rises not again;
till the heavens are no more he will not awake
or be roused out of his sleep.”
Job had seen lakes evaporate and rushing riverbeds left dry. He compares them to a dead body decomposing. But as rain from heaven can refill the lakes and cause the once dry rivers to rush with unlimited strength, so will the Lord restore life to the dead. When the heavens are no more, but have passed away with a great noise,3 the graves will give up their dead,4 and people shall rise again.
13 “Oh that you would hide me in Sheol,
that you would conceal me until your wrath be past,
that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!”
Suffering Job begged for rest, he prayed for pity, he asked the Lord to remember him. But, as a matter of fact, the Lord never forgets his servants.
14 “If a man dies, shall he live again?
All the days of my service I would wait,
till my renewal should come.
15 You would call, and I would answer you;
you would long for the work of your hands.”
When the resurrection day comes, the saints will answer their Creator’s resurrection call and rise to eternal life. In order to share in this blessed event we must have personal faith in the risen Savior. Is this the case with everyone in our family? Is there an unsaved one among us? If so, since we may die today, may God move in us in such a way that we may seek salvation right now through faith in the Lord Jesus. He is always ready to save!
_______________
1 Isaiah 26:19
2 From James Hervey (1714-1758) Meaning, a suitable time to talk about death.
3 From 2 Peter 3:10, “The heavens will pass away with a roar.”
4 Revelation 21:13, “And the sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them.”
Year One, February 7
The LORD Will Guide You Continually1
Genesis 24:1-4; 10-31
1Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. (This is the heart of his life. The chapters before this include stories of pain and suffering, but, without a doubt, the Lord made these into blessings too.) 2And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, 3that I may make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, 4but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” (The godly family must be kept separate. It is not right for believers to be joined in marriage with the unbelievers.)
10Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor. 11And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water. 12And he said, “O LORD, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. 13Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’--let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.” (The mission that is carried on in the spirit of prayer will certainly end well. Everything about marriage should be especially prayed over.)
15Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder. (Here was the hand of Providence.2 We should also be able to see it in our own lives.) 16The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known. She went to the spring and filled her jar and came up. 17Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.” 18She said, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. 19When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels. 21The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the LORD had prospered his journey or not.
22When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel (about one-fifth of an ounce), and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels (about four ounces), 23and said, “Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25She added, “We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night.” 26The man bowed his head and worshiped the LORD 27and said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the LORD has led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsman.” (We should always remember to thank God for answering our prayers.) 28Then the young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things.
29Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out toward the man, to the spring. 30As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and heard the words of Rebekah his sister, “Thus the man spoke to me,” he went to the man. And behold he was standing by the camels at the spring. 31He said, “Come in, O blessed of the LORD. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels. (All difficulties vanished. Everything was as good as he could wish for. It may not always be this way with us, but if any plan of action can make it so, it is that which begins and ends with prayer.)
_______________
1 Isaiah 58:11
2 Providence - Usually, when used with a capital “P” it refers to God; when used with a lower case “p”, it refers to God’s will, his divine intervention, and his predetermination (predestination).
Year One, February 8
You Follow Me!1
Laban listened to the story of Abraham’s servant and saw the jewelry given to Rebekah, that were no doubt very favorable indicators to his greedy mind. He gave his consent for Rebekah to leave and marry Isaac.
Genesis 24:50-67
50Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing has come from the LORD; we cannot speak to you bad or good. 51Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the LORD has spoken.” (It is always right for young people to seek the approval of parents and mature persons in such an important decision.)
52When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the earth before the LORD. (He was too devoted to God to forget to thank him. Too many people only pray when they have a need. They forget to worship in thanksgiving.) 53And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments. (He was a wise servant. He knew what to use to persuade Laban.) 54And he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they arose in the morning, he said, “Send me away to my master.” (God’s servants should be like this servant. They should never be loiterers.2) 55Her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go.” 56But he said to them, “Do not delay me, since the LORD has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master.” (We should not be easily sidetracked from out duties. To loiter is to disobey. When God sends us we should be on our way.)
57They said, “Let us call the young woman and ask her.” 58And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will go.” (How happy would pastors be if all young people could be as easily led to the great Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus. He accepts all who are willing. He asks for the heart. Unfortunately, many refuse to accept his loving request.) 59So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men. 60And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,
“Our sister, may you become
thousands of ten thousands,
and may your offspring possess
the gate of those who hate them!”
The blessing of parents is a precious marriage gift.
61Then Rebekah and her young women arose and rode on the camels and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah and went his way.
62Now Isaac had returned from Beerlahai-roi and was dwelling in the Negeb. 63And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. (This good man chose a quiet and private place for one of the most heavenly of occupations. He is an example to every one of us. If we meditated more we would be far more gracious than we are.) And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold there were camels coming. 64And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel 65and said to the servant, “Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. 66And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. (Happy is that servant of God who can, without fear or shame, tell his Master in heaven all that he has done. What a sad account some will have to give; for, “Who has believed what they heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?”3) 67Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
_______________
1 John 21:22
2 loiterers - someone who stands or waits around idly or without apparent purpose.
3 Isaiah 53:1
Year One, February 9
Do Not Love the World1
The portion of Scripture we will now read gives us a review of our previous reading. It shows us what gave the patriarchs2 strength in their life of separation in this world.
Hebrews 11:8-19
8By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. (Faith is a better guide than mere reason, if it is faith in God. Our understanding is incomplete and may mislead us, but trust in the omniscient3 Lord gives us a guide who cannot make a mistake.) 9By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
His eye saw into the far off future. His hope looked to eternal things. Are we also looking beyond this world for true contentment? If not, a day will come when shame will cover our faces, because everything that we see and trust in will dry up like the mist of the morning.
Heaven has a solid foundation, earth has none. Job tells us concerning the Great Creator, “He…hangs the earth on nothing.”4
11By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. (Abraham was far too old to expect to have children borne through him. In that sense, his body was as good as dead. Yet the father of the faithful was not amazed at the promise of the Almighty God.
There is no exaggeration in comparing Abraham’s descendants to the stars of heaven and the sand by the seashore. That is because all believers are considered as children of Abraham. His spiritual children are as countless as the stars and his natural or earthly children are even more, like the sand by the seashore.)
13These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. (Even in this day, we are to live on this earth like strangers and foreigners, because we look for a city that cannot be seen. “Jerusalem the golden”5 is the desire of our hearts. We do not have a permanent home in this world. This is what it means to walk by faith.) 15If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.
Keeping in contact with the old country was easy and the temptation to stay in touch with their homeland was a strong one. But they were determined to continue in the pilgrim life6 and so must we. Opportunities to return to sin are very, very many, but we must continue to walk with God by the power of the Holy Spirit.
16But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
17By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. (Isaac was really like someone who had been raised from the dead, because Abraham had decided to obey God and assumed his only son would be sacrificed. In this way, Isaac became a picture of the resurrection to new life in Christ.
The faith of Abraham was tested in many fires and ours will be too. Will it stand the test? Are we resting on the faithfulness and omnipotence7 of God? Anything less strong than this will fall out from under us. The faith of God’s elect, which is the gift of God and the work of the Holy Spirit, will hold up, conquer and land us safely in the promised inheritance. Do we have this faith or not? May the Lord give us this most precious grace.)
_______________
1 1 John 2:15
2 patriarch - A man regarded as the father or ruler of a family. Bible patriarchs include Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jacob's twelve sons.
3 omniscient (adjective), omniscience (noun) - All knowing or knowing everything; all seeing or seeing everything. The capacity to know everything that there is to know
4 Job 26:7
5 probably a reference to a 12th century hymn by St. Bernard
6 living as strangers on this earth, knowing their real home is in heaven
7 omnipotent, omnipotence - all powerful, almighty, absolute and supreme power, having unlimited power.
Year One, February 10
The LORD Will Answer None of Man’s Words1
We will leave out some of the minor details of the history found in the book of Genesis and move on to the birth of Isaac’s twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Let us see how the New Testament explains the Old Testament. We will read:
Romans 9:1-13
In this chapter the apostle Paul illustrates the doctrine2 of election by the history of the families of Abraham and Isaac. He shows us that the Lord chose one child over the other without regard to anything they had done. These are very deep waters, but if our wish is to know only what God reveals and no more, then we can safely follow where Scripture leads. Election is not an appropriate subject for idle curiosity, but it is also not a subject to ignore. Whatever is taught in the Word of God is there for a reason and we should pay attention to it.
1I am speaking the truth in Christ--I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit-- 2that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
Paul did not write the way he did because he hated the nation that he belonged to. Far from it. He would have sacrificed everything for their good. He felt almost ready to be cast out of the kingdom himself, if by doing so he could have rescued the Jewish people. Intense, heartfelt love speaks in words that should not be weighed in the balances of cold logic. Instead, look on his words as the outburst of a loving heart and they are clear enough. Oh that all Christians had the same kind of love for perishing sinners.
4They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
Paul pauses to adore the Lord whom he loved. Let us bow our heads and also worship him.
6But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”
God made a distinction according to his own will. He has a right to hand out his favors the way he wants to. It is wrong for us to disapprove his actions or demand that he explain himself.
8This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return and Sarah shall have a son.” 10And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad--in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
God passed over Esau and gave Jacob the covenant blessing. This is a fact to be believed. It is not a subject for debate. Who are we that we should summon Jehovah to our own courtroom? God is righteous in all his ways. We find that Esau despised his birthright and sold it for a bowl of stew.3 His actions clearly justified his condemnation, as well as fulfilled the purpose of God.
It ought to humble us when we remember that we have no rights that we can demand from God. If God should allow us to continue in sin and perish, we have no right to complain; it is what we deserve. We should sincerely and humbly beg him to look on us in mercy and save us with his great salvation. “Whoever comes to me I will never cast out,”4 is the voice of Jesus. Whether we understand it or not, it is in complete agreement with the predestination taught in this chapter. The Lord has a chosen people and yet his gospel is to be preached to every creature. Believe, but do not disapprove. When we believe on the Lord Jesus, we are in the way to making our calling and election sure.5 Only by faith can we be confident that the Lord has called and chosen us.
_______________
1 Job 33:13
2 doctrine - the belief or teaching of a church or group.
3 Genesis 25:34
4 John 6:37
5 2 Peter 1:10
Year One, February 11
Hold Me Up, That I May Be Safe1
We have read about God’s purpose for Esau and Jacob. We will now read about their lives.
Genesis 25:27-34
27When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.
Children of the same parents may differ greatly in temperament, in behavior, and in character. The sovereign grace of God creates visible distinctions when it begins to operate. Every year makes the differences more apparent. Esau was wild and Jacob gentle. One was wandering, unsteady, and proud, and the other comfortable at home, thoughtful and calm.
28Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
This was bad on the part of both parents. Favoritism should be avoided. Nothing but discontent and bad feelings can come of it. Yet if Rebekah loved Jacob because of his quiet, holy temperament, she had good reason for it. That is more than can be said of Isaac’s love of the rough huntsman Esau, only because “he ate of his game.”
29Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. 30And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom {which sounds like the Hebrew word for “red”}.) 31Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” (This was unbrotherly and ungenerous of Jacob. The only good point about it is that he set a high value on the birthright, which showed his spiritual understanding. It is clear from this passage that Jacob’s salvation was due to the mercy of God. There was nothing in his natural character that could be seen as honorable. The good points in him were from the Lord. His tendency to bargain for a good deal was inherited from his mother’s family.) 32Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” 33Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Esau valued his birthright so little that a sorry bowl of stew was enough to buy it from him. Surely it was the most expensive dish of meat ever bought. Of course, we remember a little fruit that cost us much more. Many people who live for this world trade their souls for the pleasures of an hour. They cry, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”2 Many have thrown aside all hope of heaven for the hope of being rich, for the enjoyment of having pleasure, or just to have their own way. This is really trading pearls for pebbles, diamonds for fakes, and lasting happiness for short-lived amusement. May those who are still young take this sad act of Esau as a warning and eagerly choose that which will not be taken away from them.
The apostle takes the story of Esau and teaches us a valuable lesson in:
Hebrews 12:15-17
15See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; (We are to be on guard, so that any of us who profess to be children of God do not fall short of the grace of God and be like an arrow that does not quite reach the target. To not have grace in the heart is fatal.) that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; (Sin is a plant that has a bitter root. Its only fruit is sorrow and shame.) 16that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. (It is an unholy thing to compare the priceless blessing of God to a mere physical enjoyment. Our actions show that we are against God.) 17For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.
The deed was done, the blessing had been given to Jacob, and Isaac could not change it. If people sell their hope of heaven for the joys of earth, it will be too late to repent in the next world. Those who are filthy will still be filthy.3
_______________
1 Psalm 119:117
2 1 Corinthians 15:32
3 Revelation 21:10-11, “And he said to me, ‘Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.’”
Year One, February 12
The Righteous Person Hates Falsehood1
Genesis 27:1-6; 17-29
1When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” 2He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. 3Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, 4and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”
5Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, 6Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau.”
When Rebekah heard this she came up with a devious plan to get the blessing for her favorite son Jacob. She prepared two young goats in a delicious way, dressed Jacob in Esau’s clothes, put animal skins on his hands and neck so that he would seem to be hairy like his brother, and sent him in to deceive his father.
17And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
18So he went in to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” 19Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” 20But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the LORD your God granted me success.” (When we begin to sin we go from bad to worse. It was bad enough for Jacob to tell so many lies, but to bring in the Lord God of his father to give them the appearance of truth, was much worse.)
21Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands. So he blessed him. 24He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” (Jacob continued to lie to his father. This story shows us the truthfulness of God’s word, because it does not hide the faults of its most famous and respected saints. If the Old Testament were a cleverly told fable, it would never have placed the great father of the twelve tribes in such a bad light.) 25Then he said, “Bring it near to me, that I may eat of my son’s game and bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. (Isaac did not ask the Lord to guide him, so the mistake was his fault too. In this way he was punished for making Esau his favorite son. It was very improper for this patriarch to prefer his ungodly son “because he ate of his game.”2)
26Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” 27So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said,
“See, the smell of my son
is as the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed!
28 May God give you of the dew of heaven
and of the fatness of the earth
and plenty of grain and wine.
29 Let peoples serve you,
and nations bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”
The prophecy concerning Esau and Jacob was repeated and enlarged. To “the older shall serve the younger”3 was now added curses and blessings as well as nations bowing down to a son of Jacob. God’s purpose was accomplished, but this did not excuse Rebekah and Jacob, or protect them from the chastisements4 of God, that began almost immediately. We should never do evil so good may come.
_______________
1 Proverbs 13:5
2 Genesis 25:28
3 Genesis 25:23
4 chasten, chastening or chastisement - The act of discipline which may include scolding, criticizing or pain inflicted for the purpose of correction or moral improvement.
Year One, February 13
I Will Never LeaveYou1
After Esau found out that Jacob had tricked his father into giving him the blessing, he vowed to kill his brother. Therefore their mother Rebekah felt she needed to send her favorite son away. Little did she think, when she began this crooked path to deceive her husband into blessing Jacob, that she would actually lose her son in the process.
Genesis 28:10-22
10Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. (He was alone. Without a servant to attend him, or a donkey or camel to carry him, and with only his staff to lean on, the heir of the promises set out on his long journey of about five hundred miles.) 11And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. (He had a hard bed and a cold pillow, but he had a sweet sleep, and a sweeter dream. Often when the head lies hardest the heart is lightest, meaning our times of great trial are often times of heavenly visitation.) 12And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder2 set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! (Notice the “beholds” in the passage. They call for our special attention. The patriarch dreamed of Jesus, the sweetest of all dreams. He saw how heaven and earth are joined by the Messiah, and how open the relationship between God and man is because of the Mediator.3)
13And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (Having seen the Messiah as the ladder, he saw the glory of Jehovah the covenant God, and received the covenant blessing.4 Every syllable must have sounded like the sweetest music in his ears. Notice those choice words: “I will not leave you.” God will never leave the person he loves. And, “until I have done what I have promised you.” With men, saying and doing are two very different things, but not with God.)
16Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
He was full of awe, even to the point of trembling. He felt as if he had slept in the temple of Jehovah and, as a sinner, he was moved with amazement. He had not been afraid of wild beasts or heathen men, but now he is filled with holy confidence and equally filled with holy fear.
18So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. (We must honor God with our possessions. Some set up a stone of remembrance, but they do not pour oil on the top of it, because they offer nothing that is theirs to the Lord.) 19He called the name of that place Bethel, (the house of God) but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, 22and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”
There was a little of the bargaining spirit here, in asking for food to eat and clothes to put on, but still there was genuine faith. Jacob commits himself completely to the Lord and leaves his trust in anything or anyone else behind and then dedicates a tithe to the Lord. God treats each of us so well, that we should never be ungenerous to his cause. Can we not do something even now to honor the Lord with our possessions and with the first fruits5 of our labor?)
_______________
1 Hebrews 13:5
2 ladder or a flight of steps
3 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator [middleman, go-between] between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
4 covenant - A contract, promise, guarantee, pledge or agreement between two or more persons. The covenant God is the God who promises, and the covenant blessing is the blessing God has promised.
5 first fruits - the first agricultural produce of the harvest. In other words, from the top of our pay checks rather than from what is left over after paying bills.
Year One, February 14
The Lord is My Helper1
Jacob reached the house of Laban and there married his two wives, Leah and Rachel. After years of hard work for Laban, he wanted to return home to see his father again. Besides, he felt that Laban had treated him badly and that it was time to part ways so he could become his own boss. Therefore he snuck away with his family and his possessions, but he was hotly pursued by Laban, who evidently intended him no good. The night before Laban overtook Jacob the Lord visited him in a dream and warned him against harming Jacob or attempting to lure him back to Haran. This was a very gracious way of getting involved. Jacob had a very good reason to bless the Lord, because it kept Laban from doing any mischief. However, Laban still accused Jacob of stealing his idols. Jacob did not know that Rachel had hidden them and when Laban could not find them he scolded him for bringing such a groundless accusation against him.
Genesis 31:36-44
36Then Jacob became angry and berated Laban. Jacob said to Laban, “What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me? 37For you have felt through all my goods; what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsmen and your kinsmen, that they may decide between us two. 38These twenty years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks. 39What was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it myself. From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40There I was: by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. 41These twenty years I have been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. 42If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.”
Laban was a great boaster, but a miserable, mean-spirited person. He claimed credit for leaving Jacob unharmed, but Jacob saw through his lies and knew the only reason Laban did not harm him was because the Lord had appeared to him in a dream.
43Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day for these my daughters or for their children whom they have borne? 44Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I. And let it be a witness between you and me.” (Laban made the best of what, to him, was a bad situation; and so, by the good hand of the Lord, what might have been a terrible slaughter ended in a friendly agreement. The Lord can make the wrath of men to praise him and restrain it when he pleases.2 This event reminds us of one of David’s songs of gratitude.)
Psalm 124
1 If it had not been the LORD who was on our side--
let Israel now say--
2 if it had not been the LORD who was on our side
when people rose up against us,
3 then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;
4 then the flood would have swept us away,
the torrent would have gone over us;
5 then over us would have gone
the raging waters.
6 Bless be the LORD,
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth!
7 We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped!
8 Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
_______________
1 Hebrews 13:6
2 Psalm 76:10, “Surely the wrath of man shall praise you; the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.”
Year One, February 15
I Give Myself to Prayer1
No sooner had Jacob escaped from Laban than he was plunged into another trial. He had to face his brother Esau who he had cheated out of his father’s blessing. We will see how the Lord protected his servant once again.
Genesis 32:6-13; 21-31
6And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him.” 7Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps, 8thinking, “If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape.” (People of faith are also people of common sense. We are to use our brains as well as our prayers. Grace does not make people stupid.)
9And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’ 10I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. 11Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. 12But you said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’” (This is a master argument, “but you said.” It is a real prayer when we plead the promise and hold the Lord to his word.)
13So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took a present for his brother Esau.
21So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.
22The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24And Jacob was left alone. (Solitude is the good helper of devotion. Company distracts us, but when we are alone we can get right to the heart of our concerns in prayer.) And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. (Prayer must become a serious struggle, a wrestling, if we really want to be victorious with God.) 25When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. (He injured one ligament but he could just as easily have crushed Jacob’s whole body. If we prevail with the Lord in prayer, it is because he lends us strength and allows himself to be conquered.) 26Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” (This was bravely spoken. Those who ask like this win the day.)
27And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel (which means prince of God or one who prevails with God), for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” (One night spent in prayer gave Jacob a royal title. How few of us have ever tried to win the rank of prince in this way. Who can tell how much we might gain if we would wrestle for it. When Jacob overcame the angel he virtually disarmed Esau. He who has power with God will certainly prevail with people.) 29Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. (He did not gratify his curiosity, but he did better, he enriched him with a divine blessing.) 30So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel (or the face of God), saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” 31The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.
And who would not be content to limp if he might win what Israel won?
_______________
1 Psalm 109:4
Year One, February 16
In the World You Will Have Tribulation1
Joseph was Jacob’s best loved and most afflicted son. “The Lord disciplines the one he loves.”2 This chapter opens a long scene of suffering.
Genesis 37:2-14; 18-24; 28; 31-35
2Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. 4But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.
His good character led him to speak out against the wrong his brothers were doing. He would not join them in doing evil, or help them by keeping quiet about their evil deeds.
5Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. 6He said to them, “Hear this dream that I dreamed: 7Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
9Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” 11And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind. (Ungodly people are sure to dislike the person that God favors. The evil hate the righteous.)
12Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. 13And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 14So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
18They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. 19They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”--that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
28Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels (eight ounces) of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.
31Then [his brothers] took Joseph’s robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son’s robe or not.” 33And he identified it and said, “It is my son’s robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” 34Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.
This was a very painful event, but let us not forget that the Lord was at work in it to bring about a great blessing.
_______________
1 John 16:33
2 Hebrews 12:6
Year One, February 17
The LORD Will Keep You from All Evil He Will Keep Your Life1
Genesis 39:1-6; 16-23
1Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master.
Grace gave Joseph the ability to make the best of his situation, and to be pleasant, hard working, and useful. This was as it should be. A child of God, even as a slave, should honor his religion. God will bless him if he does.
3His master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.
This shows that Joseph did not fall into Egyptian idolatry. He declared his faith in Jehovah in a way that showed his master that Jehovah was with him.
4So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. (The fear of God leads to honesty and faithfulness. This is often the road to promotion even among mankind. Godliness brings blessings even in this life.) 5From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had, in house and field. 6So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate.
Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. (This became a trial to him. Personal beauty is a dangerous gift. We must not be proud of it, but be the more guarded in our conduct if we possess it.)
Joseph found a tempter in his master’s wife. She tried to lead him into great sin. He refused to listen to her disgraceful request and said, “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”2 The wicked woman tried again and again to lead him into sin. At last she grabbed him by his clothes and held him. He fled from her, but he had to leave his garment in her hand. Then her wicked heart turned to spite. She charged Joseph with being guilty of that impure action that he had so firmly refused.)
16Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, 17and she told him the same story (she had already told the men of Potiphar’s household), saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. 18But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.”
She convinced her husband by telling this story and showing the garment that, if it could have spoken, would have declared his innocence. A great deal of evidence may be brought against a perfectly innocent person. Therefore, let us be slow to condemn people of untarnished character.
19As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. 20And Joseph’s master took him and put him in the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison.
His feet were put in painful iron chains and weighed down his very soul.
21But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. (God is with his servants in a prison as much as in a palace. He does not desert us no matter how low we may be brought.) 22And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it.
When a good person is thrown down they are soon up again. Truth always floats to the surface while sin drowns.
23The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed.
May each young child of godly parents be kept by God’s grace and may the Lord always be with them. Keep God’s approval, and nothing is lost. Lose that, and all is gone.
_______________
1 Psalm 121:7
2 Genesis 39:9b
Year One, February 18
God is For Me1
Geneses 40:1; 3-23
1Some time after [Joseph was imprisoned], the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt… 3and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. 4The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody. (God controlled what went on in Pharaoh’s household with Joseph in mind. Even in prison, Joseph was favored by the Lord.)
5And one night they both dreamed--the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison--each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation.
Men are made to serve Joseph’s interest when they are awake and even when they are asleep.
6When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. 7So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” (In the same way, we should show friendly concern for others and their well being. What was right in a prison is even more proper in a family.) 8They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”(Joseph bravely honored the living God. Every believer should.)
9So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me, 10and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes. 11Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” 12Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days. 13In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer. 14Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. 15For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.”(How lovingly does Joseph hide his brothers’ fault. He does not speak about being sold but only of being “stolen.” He was stolen, because the Ishmaelites bought what the sellers had no right to sell. Let us use the gentlest words when we have a reason to talk about wrong actions of others.)
16When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head, 17and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.” 18And Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. 19In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head--from you!--and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat the flesh from you.”
20On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. 21He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. 22But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. (Whether for good or evil the word of the Lord will be fulfilled. It is our duty to hold the Word of God in the highest respect and not doubt it.) 23Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. (It would have been sad for Joseph if he had put his trust in humans. The butler forgot him, but his God did not. The Lord was reserving Joseph for a far greater deliverance. He was to come out of prison and straight to a throne and that was best achieved by his waiting a little longer. It is good for a person to have hope and then quietly wait for God to save them from their troubles.)
_______________
1 Psalm 56:9
1 Psalm 56:9
Year One, February 19
The Friendship of the LORD Is for Those Who Fear Him1
Two years rolled by and Joseph was still in prison. The right time had not yet come. If the fulfillment of God’s promise seems to be delayed, let us continue to wait for it.
Genesis 41:1; 8-16; 25-36
1aAfter two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed.
8So in the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh.
9Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “I remember my offenses today. 10When Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, 11we dreamed on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own interpretation. 12A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream. 13And as he interpreted to us, so it came about. I was restored to my office, and the baker was hanged.”
14Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh. (Joseph was not released because he promised anyone favors, if they would let him out. He was taken out of prison because the king needed him. Like his ancestor Abraham, he did not owe any man so much as a thread or a sandal strap.2 God can promote any of his people just as easily. The king of Egypt could not say, “I have made Joseph rich.” The Lord will lift up his servants in the best time and in the best way.)
15And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” 16Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.” (Then the king described his two dreams to Joseph. In the first, seven plump cows were eaten by seven ugly, thin cows. In the second, seven plump and good ears of grain were swallowed up by seven thin and blighted ears. They were immediately interpreted by divine guidance. Joseph humbly and clearly gave credit for all his knowledge to the true God. Pharaoh had complimented him, but he was not conceited. Therefore he refused to accept any honor for himself.)
25Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one. 27The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also seven years of famine. 28It is as I told Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do.
29“There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, 30but after them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land, 31and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of the famine that will follow, for it will be very severe 32And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about. 33Now therefore let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plentiful years. 35And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. 36That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.”
This was practical wisdom. We should ask God for the same. Knowledge is of little value unless it is used in a practical way. To be constantly worrying about the future is wrong, but to wisely prepare for it is such an obvious virtue that we wonder why anyone would question it.
_______________
1 Psalm 25:14
2 Genesis 14:22-23, “But Abram said to the king of Sodom, ‘I have lifted my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, “I have made Abram rich.”’”
Year One, February 20
All Things Work Together for Good1
We left Joseph standing before the king of Egypt. He had interpreted Pharaoh’s dream and given him wise advice.
Genesis 41: 37-43; 46-57
37This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. 38And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” (Joseph’s words about the Lord had a real impact on the idolatrous leader of Egypt. His words show great respect for this Hebrew man who had been in prison only hours before. We never need to be ashamed to declare our faith. Good will come when we honor the Lord with our words.) 39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. 40You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” 41And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” 42Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. 43And he made him ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, “Bow the knee!” Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt.
What a change from the prison to the chariot. In much the same way, the Lord Jesus was lifted up from the grave, so that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.”2 Similar honors will be shared by all persecuted saints either in this life or the next.
46Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt.
Prosperity did not spoil him. He went about his business and carried out the duties of his office with great diligence.
47During the seven plentiful years the earth produced abundantly, 48and he gathered up all the food of these seven years, which occurred in the land of Egypt, and put the food in the cities. He put in every city the food from the fields around it. 49And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured.
50Before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph. Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore them to him. 51Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.”
Our afflictions leave no sting behind. The Lord’s love rinses out our cup of sorrow so that no bitterness remains. Such forgetfulness is very sweet.
52The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.” (He credits his God for his happiness and blessings. To forget the past and be productive in the present is a precious blessing.)
53The seven years of plenty that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end, 54and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do.”
This can be seen as a picture of the gospel. Poor hungry sinners are now directed to go to Jesus and, “do whatever he tells you.”3 May every one of us be led by the Spirit of God to go to Jesus, who is the only one who can open the overflowing storehouses of grace.
56So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 57Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth. (Joseph was a type of Christ.4 He was the only savior who could save people from over all the earth from their hunger. Jesus is the only Savior who can save people from over the whole earth from their sin. Has everyone who reads this gone to the Redeemer for heavenly bread? If not; why not?)
_______________
1 Romans 8:28
2 Philippians 2:10
3 John 2:5
4 type - something or someone that represents something or someone else, usually in the future.
Year One, February 21
The LORD Tests the Righteous1
Genesis 42:1-4; 6-10; 13-24b
1When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” 2And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.” (It is wise to look for assistance instead of losing heart and giving in to hopelessness. If we need heavenly bread we must make an effort and go to Jesus for it.) 3So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. 4But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might happen to him.
6Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. (Here was the fulfillment of his dream. Twenty-two years had gone by during which Joseph was either a slave or in prison, but “the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness.”2) 7Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. “Where do you come from? he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” 8And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. 9And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. And he said to them. “You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” 10They said to him, “No my lord, your servants have come to buy food.
13And they said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more.” 14But Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you. You are spies. 15By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.” (Joseph swears by the life of Pharaoh, He did it to hide his true identity, thinking his brothers would certainly not suspect a spiritual child of Israel of using that kind of language. Joseph was not a stranger in a foreign land intentionally, but even in his case we find, “bad company ruins good morals.”3) 17And he put them all together in custody for three days. (He stirred up their fears to jar their memories of their sin against their brother. In the same way, the Lord stirs up the fears of sinners with whom he intends to make peace.)
18On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God:” (This assurance must have been both surprising and comforting to them. The person who fears God will not wrong others.) 19“if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households, 20and bring your youngest brother to me. So your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so. 21Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” (Their sin found them out,4 like ours will sooner or later. When we sow wild oats we ought to remember that we will have to reap them.5) 22And Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.” (Reuben was the only one who had the comfort of a clear conscience.)
23They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them. 24aThen he turned away from them and wept. (This is a touching scene. Joseph in his great wisdom felt obligated not to reveal himself yet, but his love was so great that he could not hold back his tears. When the Lord deals roughly with sinners to make them more deeply aware of sin, he loves them regardless of what they have done. Jesus has an eye of sympathy for those who are so sorry for their sins that they cry over them.)
_______________
1 Psalm 11:5
2 2 Peter 3:9
3 1 Corinthians 15:33
4 A reference to Numbers 32:23, “You have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.”
5 Wild oats are useless weeds. The expression refers to people (especially young men) who spend their time in useless activities and ultimately pay the price for wasting their lives.
Year One, February 22
Fear Not, For I Am With You1
Joseph’s brothers returned to their father with plenty of food, but before long it was running low and Jacob’s family was again in distress. Bread is soon gone, but the living bread of heaven lasts forever.2
Genesis 43:1-14
1Now the famine was severe in the land. 2And when they had eaten the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.” 3But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ 4If you will send our brother with us we will go down and buy you food. 5But if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.’”
Israel had clearly said, “My son shall not go down with you,”3 but it was necessary that he should. We had better not be too sure of ourselves or we may have to eat our words.
6Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly, as to tell the man that you had another brother?” (Poor Jacob. Out of fear for his darling son, he thinks his sons are unkind. We should not act unfairly to others because we favor someone else more than them, but that is what we tend to do.) 7They replied, “The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ What we told him was in answer to these questions. Could we in any way know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” 8And Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. 9I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. 10If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice.”
In volunteering to become surety4 for Benjamin, Judah became a delightful picture of our Lord Jesus, who is the surety or guarantee of the New Covenant. Jesus will absolutely fulfill his promises and say at the last, “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.”5
11Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry a present down to the man, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. (This was good judgment. Faith in God is not an excuse for not being practical. It was wise to win over those on whom they were so dependent.) 12Take double the money with you. Carry back with you the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight.”
Before they left Egypt, “Joseph gave orders to fill their sacks with grain, and to replace every man’s money in his sacks.”6 His brothers did not know how the money got there and were therefore under obligation to return it. This was the right and honest thing to do. We are not permitted to take advantage of the mistakes of others. Every honest person will do what they can to correct mistakes that cause someone a loss, even though the error was not theirs. Notice how Jacob thought ahead. He knew that the grain would rise in price, “Take double the money,” says he. Men of faith are not fools.
13“Take also your brother, and arise, go again to the man. 14May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”
Jacob’s faith now came to the front. He left what would happen in the hands of Almighty God. If the Lord willed to place this trial on him, he was fully committed to accepting it. When we willingly give up what God has given us, we are most likely to receive it back again. Abraham was allowed to keep Isaac because he was willing to part with him when God commanded it.
Israel received Benjamin again because, after some struggling, he at last accepted it as the Lord’s will. When we are at the end of having our own way, we are not far away from the end of our trials.
_______________
1 Isaiah 41:10
2 John 6:51, Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.”
3 Genesis 42:38
4 surety - a person who assumes the responsibility or obligation of someone else
5 John 18:9
6 Genesis 42:25
Year One, February 23
His Banner Over Me Was Love1
This story of Joseph is so deeply interesting, that we must stay with it. The Holy Spirit gives us many details. We may be sure that he intends for us to learn from them.
Genesis 43:15, 16; 18-23; 26-34
15So the men took this present, and they took double the money with them, and Benjamin. They arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
16When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make ready, for the men are to dine with me at noon.”
Joseph’s love for his brothers caused him to look for an opportunity to talk to them privately.
18And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph’s house, and they said, “It is because of the money, which was replaced in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may assault us and fall upon us to make us servants and seize our donkeys.” (Joseph’s love intended happiness, but their fear turned it into dread. Be on your guard against doubting and not trusting the Lord Jesus or even his goodness may make us afraid.) 19So they went up to the steward of Joseph’s house and spoke with him at the door of the house, 20and said, “Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food. 21And when we came to the lodging place we opened our sacks, and there was each man’s money in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight. So we have brought it again with us, 22and we have brought other money down with us to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.”
They were afraid, but they wisely decided to tell the truth and hope for peace. Complete honesty and open confession is also the way to peace with God.
23He replied, “Peace to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you. I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. (The prisoner was returned and they were encouraged that all was well. The Lord Jesus returned from death and believers are encouraged because all is well.)
26When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present that they had with them and bowed down to him to the ground. 27And he inquired about their welfare and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” 28They said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves. (By calling their father “your servant,” and bowing down for themselves and him, they fulfilled Joseph’s second dream. The sun and the moon and the eleven stars were bowing down to him.) 29And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me? God be gracious to you, my son!” 30Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and wept there. (Love desires to express itself, but there is a time for everything. Jesus always loves his spiritual siblings, but sometimes he wisely conceals himself for their good.)
31Then he washed his face and came out. And controlling himself he said, “Serve the food.” 32They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. 33And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth. And the men looked at one another in amazement. 34Portions were taken to them from Joseph’s table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry with him.
How they must have wondered while they feasted to see the order that he placed them in and the favor shown to Benjamin. How plainly everything said, “I am Joseph,” but they still did not recognize him. Even when people see all the loving acts of Jesus, no one ever recognizes him until he reveals himself by his Spirit.
_______________
1 Song of Solomon 2:4
Year One, February 24
You Have Taken Up My Cause, O Lord1
Joseph ordered a silver cup to be secretly placed in Benjamin’s sack. When his brothers had set out on their journey he sent his steward after them. His steward accused them of stealing the cup and used this as an excuse to bring them back. This is the way Joseph put his brothers to the test and brought them to the point when they would discover who he really was. Our reading begins with the scene when the brothers had been brought back to Joseph.
Genesis 44:14-34
14When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there. They fell before him to the ground. 15Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?” (He said this because he was still acting the part of an Egyptian. It was still not quite time to reveal his true identity.) 16And Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found.” (Though they were innocent of the present charge, Judah confesses that this present difficult situation was the well deserved reward of other sins.) 17But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant. But as for you, go up in peace to your father.” (To this Judah, who had guaranteed Benjamin’s safe return, could not agree. He pleaded in a marvelously touching manner. Notice how fluent and persuasive Judah was. The Lord Jesus is our Judah and his pleadings are mighty.)
18Then Judah went up to him and said, “O my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not your anger burn against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself. 19My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father, or a brother?’ 20And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him.’ 21Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.’ 22We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’ 23Then you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not see my face again.’
24“When we went back to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 25And when our father said, ‘Go again, buy us a little food.’ 26we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother goes with us, then we will go down. For we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ 27Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. 28One left me, and I said, “Surely he has been torn to pieces,” and I have never seen him since. 29If you take this one also from me, and harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs in evil to Sheol.’
30“Now therefore, as soon as I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy’s life, 31as soon as he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. 32For your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life.’ 33Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers. 34For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father.”
Much of the power of Judah’s pleading was because it was the truth. It is a simple, straightforward telling of facts. But its master weapon is found in the proposed substitution of himself for Benjamin. He is ready to suffer for his brother. Do we not remember how Judah’s great antitype2 not only offered to be our substitute but actually was so? This is the most powerful part of his intercession.3
_______________
1 Lamentations 3:58
2 antitype - In the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, events or persons are seen as a type or symbol that is fulfilled, usually in the New Testament. The fulfillment of the type is called the antitype. In this case, Judah pleading for his brother is a type of Christ and Christ pleading for us is the antitype.
3 intercession - a prayer or intervention for the benefit of others.
Year One, February 25
The Son of God Loves Me1
After Judah’s thrilling speech there was a quiet pause. Emotion filled their hearts, but everyone was speechless.
Genesis 45:1-15
1Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.
It was not proper for strangers to witness that tender scene. When Jesus reveals himself to his chosen, it is “not to the world.”2
2And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. (Until this point, Joseph had held back his true feelings, but now they gushed out uncontrollably.) 3And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” (How amazed they must have been to see before them the brother they had sold as a slave, knowing they were now in his complete control. What a discovery the soul makes when it becomes aware that Jesus whom it crucified is Lord and God.) But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.
4So Joseph said to his Brothers, “Come near to me, Please.” And they came near. (Tenderness attracts fellowship and looks for ways to make fear go away. The words before us are such as Jesus used to his troubled companions. Let us not be slow to come near to our tender Lord.) And he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Joseph has so completely pardoned them, that he does not speak of forgiving them himself, but urges them to forgive themselves. He works hard to convince them not to be overcome with the fear that he would now get even with them. He did not want their natural fear to overpower and push away godly sorrow.
9“Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry. 10You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. (Being near to Joseph would bring the most joy to Jacob. Living close to Jesus brings the most joy to believers.) 11There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.’ (The person who forgives is generous toward those he pardons. Those who Jesus cleanses from sin will have all their needs provided.)
12“And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. 13You must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” 14Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. (The love of Jesus for his followers and his followers’ love for him are mutual. What one feels the other feels.) 15And he kissed all of his brothers and wept upon them. After that his brothers talked with him. (These kisses were expressions of love. They were very much like the actions of the Holy Spirit in those who believe. They reassure of us of Jesus’ love to us and his holy fellowship with us. The spouse in Solomon’s song says, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth,”3 Amen. May the Lord do so to each one of us.)
_______________
1 Galatians 2:20
2 John 14:22
3 Song of Solomon 1:2
Year One, February 26
The LORD Will Provide1
Joseph’s meeting with his family could not be kept quiet for long. The happy news got out and the king himself soon heard about it.
Genesis 45:16-28
16When the report was heard in Pharaoh’s house, “Joseph’s brothers have come.” it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. (They were glad because such a great helper of their nation was made happy.) 17And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan, 18and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’ 19And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 20Have no concern for your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”
Pharaoh kindly and with lordly generosity, spared Joseph any second thoughts about inviting his family to live in the land. They were to come into the country as the king’s own guests. Observe how he instructs them to leave all their “goods” because they would be better off even if they did not bring their tents or their furniture with them. Certainly, when we come to Jesus, and receive his treasures of grace, all earthly things become just stuff we really do not need.
21The sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. 22To each and all of them he gave a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five changes of clothes. (Compare Joseph’s goodness with his brothers’ former cruelty. “They sent him naked to strangers, he sends them in new and rich clothing. They took a small sum of money for him, he give them large treasures. They sent his torn coat to his father, he sends a variety of costly garments. They sold him to be carried away by camels, he sends them home in chariots.”2 Far greater still is the comparison between our selfish behavior toward the Lord Jesus and his generous giving of grace to us.)
23To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey. 24Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way.” (Joseph knew his brothers well. He was afraid they might begin accusing each other, or might even become jealous of Benjamin, as they had once been of him.)
25So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. 26And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. (A sad heart is far more ready to believe a sad falsehood than a joyful truth. When his sons wickedly showed him Joseph’s coat he said, “Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces,” but when they told him a true story, he did not believe them. It is a pity when discouragement makes our judgment lose its balance.) 27But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”
First the words and then the wagons helped Jacob to believe, even as the words of Jesus and the gifts of Jesus help us to believe in him. The admired patriarch3 was more glad to hear that his son was “alive,’ than to hear he was “ruler over all the land of Egypt.” This was enough for Jacob. He was determined to see his beloved one. Where there is true love there will be a desire for togetherness. Those who love the Son of God will not be willing to live without heavenly fellowship. Oh, may all gathered here in family worship, see Jesus by faith before they die, when they die, and then for ever.
_______________
1 Genesis 22:14
2 Quote appears to be from Church of England Bishop Joseph Hall (1574-1656).
3 patriarch - A man regarded as the father or ruler of a family. Bible patriarchs include Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jacob's twelve sons.
Year One, February 27
We Shall See Him As He Is1
Genesis 46:1, 2-3; 26; 29-34
1aSo Israel took his journey with all that he had.
2And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” 3Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation.”
26All the persons belonging to Jacob who came into Egypt, who were his own descendants, not including Jacob’s sons’ wives, were sixty-six persons in all.
29Then Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He presented himself to him and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. 30Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.” (God had granted Israel his final desire and he is now content to lie down and sleep the sleep of death. Bishop Hall says, “And if the meeting of earthly friends is so unspeakably comfortable, how happy will we be in the light of the glorious face of God our Father! of that of our blessed Redeemer, who we sold to death for our sins, and who now, after his noble triumph, has all power given him in heaven and earth.”2)
31Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32And the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ 33When Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,’ in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.” (To speak the honest truth is always the best policy and to continue in honest employment is the best situation. Joseph might have encouraged them to ask to be made high ranking officials, but he knew that they would succeed better as shepherds. “Do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not.”3)
Genesis 47:2-10; 12
2And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. 3Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were.” 4They said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” 5Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them settle in the land of Goshen, and if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”
7Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” 9And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.”
Jacob told Pharaoh he was simply traveling through this life and perhaps hinted at the hope that kept him going. He gave Pharaoh a gloomier picture of the pilgrim life than Abraham or Isaac would have done. However, because this man of many trials still reached the promised rest, every afflicted believer will also reach heaven.
10And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. (The respectful age of Jacob gave him liberty to bless even the king of the land. An old man’s blessing is precious. Let us behave toward the elderly in such a way that they will pray blessings on us.)
12And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their dependents. (In the same way, our older brother Jesus, who is Lord over the whole earth for the good of his church, takes care to provide for all his Father’s household. Be pleased, oh Jesus, to let this family share in your great love.)
_______________
1 1 John 3:2
2 Church of England Bishop Joseph Hall (1574-1656). The scripture he quotes is from Jeremiah 45:5.
3 Jeremiah 45:5
Year One, February 28
Oh Give Thanks To the LORD1
The Psalmist celebrates the Lord’s care of the chosen family of Jacob in the delightful verses of:
Psalm 105:1-23
1 Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
Thankfulness to God should sweeten our spirit and worshiping him should be our delight. Making his goodness known should be our full time job.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
Our singing and talking should to be dedicated to the Lord’s honor. Unfortunately, much that comes from our mouths is dishonoring to him.
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
We are very likely to glory in something. Those who glory only in the Lord are wise.
4 Seek the LORD and his strength;
seek his presence continually!
Even after we have found the Lord and know his love, we should continue to move forward and seek him more and more.
5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
6 O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones!
Those who receive special favors from God should consider themselves under special obligation to glorify him by making his goodness and power known everywhere.
7 He is the LORD our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He remembers his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
To God be the glory, because he has never stopped being faithful to the covenant2 of grace. It is certain in all things. Not one word of his promise has ever fallen to the ground. His promises stand strong forever, as firm as the throne of the I Am.
9 the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.”
12 When they were few in number,
of little account, and sojourners in it,
13 wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them;
he rebuked kings on their account,
15 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
do my prophets no harm!”
The surrounding kings and rulers could have crushed the chosen family of Israel when they were so few in number that they could all live in one tent, but the Preserver of people mysteriously guarded them. In the same way, God always looks after the little flock of his people. The saints are sacred and set apart to God. They cannot be touched without those who harm them suffering the consequences.
16 When he summoned a famine on the land
and broke all supply of bread,
Before the famine came, arrangements had been made for the housing of Jacob and his family. Before our trials come upon us, the way out of them has been prepared. There was a Joseph before there was a famine.
17 he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 His feet were hurt with fetters;
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19 until what he had said came to pass,
the word of the LORD tested him.
God’s word caused Joseph’s trial and the same word ended it. God is just as involved in our daily trials as he was in the creation of the world. One word from God can bring us down, but, bless his name, another can raise us up.
20 The king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free;
21 he made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions,
22 to bind his princes at his pleasure
and to teach his elders wisdom.
23 Then Israel came to Egypt;
Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
Even favored Israel must go into Egypt where trouble awaited his household. But it was necessary for the preservation of the race of Israel and therefore a matter for praise. Let us also bless God when we go down to Egypt, because the hand of the Lord is in it.
_______________
1 Psalm 105:1
2 covenant - A contract, promise, guarantee, pledge or agreement between two or more persons.
Year One, February 29
God Will Be With You1
Genesis 48:1-5; 8-21
1After this, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. 3And Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the Land of Canaan and blessed me, 4and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.’” (Jacob did not want Joseph to set his heart on Egypt, but rather to keep a believing eye toward the Promised Land of Canaan. That is why he speaks to him about it. We must always guard against loving the world in an attempt to keep things going smoothly for us.) 5And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. (Jacob calls them his sons rather than grandsons. From this point on Ephraim and Manasseh are included among the tribes of Israel.)
8When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?” 9Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.” 10Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 11And Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.” (God is much better to us than what we fear might happen. Yes, he is far better than what we even hope might happen.)
12Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. 14And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn). 15And he blessed Joseph and said,
“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
16 the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys;
and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
17When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” 19But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.”
The order of nature is not the order of grace. Jacob knew this well. In his case it was written, “the older shall serve the younger.”2 What the Lord intends is what will be.
20So he blessed them that day, saying,
“By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying,
‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’”
Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers.
Whoever dies, the Lord remains with his people. Let us not lose hope, even if the best of our friends or the most capable of our pastors are taken from us.
_______________
1 Genesis 48:21
2 Genesis 25:23
No comments:
Post a Comment