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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness Gal 5:22 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for collecting daily manna), make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Monday, August 14, 2017
Today's Passage : Today's Passage: Subject:Joseph Rises to Power [1] Bible Verse:Genesis 41:37-45 (ESV) "This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You 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.” And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” Then 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. And 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. Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath-paneah. And he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On. So Joseph went out over the land of Egypt. " Message:
This ancient story does not read like a history, but like a very condensed version of the high points of an ancient occurrence. One might imagine that the events did not occur in a neat, quick sequence. But then, the story was passed down for innumerable centuries, the story of how a Canaanite slave came to be the governor or prime minister of Egypt.
Even more noteworthy is that the Pharaoh speaks here of “God.” We cannot believe that this Pharaoh became monotheistic, for the society of Egypt even this early was interwoven with a complex and important polytheism, of which the pharaohs were a critical part. The pharaohs themselves were, to varying degrees at different periods, considered demigods
But Pharaoh, here, is tremendously impressed with Joseph and the powers that he has demonstrated from this one God of the Hebrews. And throughout history, polytheistic civilizations have been able to accomplish the logical impossibility of accepting God and even Christ, without giving up inconsistent beliefs in their many little gods.
Joseph takes an Egyptian name and marries an Egyptian woman. One might conclude that he became Egyptian over a period of time and grew to his full power more gradually, or simply that the story is completely accurate and Pharaoh declared this slave the domestic ruler of Egypt in a moment of passion; absolute rulers have done stranger things.
Nothing is given about Joseph’s religion, and we must assume that he stayed faithful to God and did not accept the worship of any of the many Egyptian deities. Judaism was archaic at this time and would not become the religion we know until the rise of Moses, many centuries later. But God does not abide idolatry or the worship of false gods at any point in the Bible; so we must assume that Joseph remained completely faithful to the God of his father Jacob, his grandfather Isaac, and his great-grandfather, Abraham.
Meditation : Prayer : Oh God, hold me in the palm of your hand. I pray that you will mold me into what you want me to be. May I joyfully fill the role you have given to me and feel your peace deep in my soul, today and always,. Amen |
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