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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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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, September 4, 2017
Today's Passage : Today's Passage: Subject:Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers Bible Verse:Genesis 45:1-8 (ESV) "Then 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. And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. Joseph of the Bible in Egypt So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For 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. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So 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. " Message:
Generally, when people think about the history of the Jews leading up to the coming of Christ, their minds go immediately to Moses. Genesis is seen as a collection of stories but rather jumbled together. And Moses is a great dramatic hero, leading his people out of slavery, which strikes a brilliant political chord with the past few centuries.
B
ut the narrative begins not with Moses, but with Abraham, and in considering the salvation of Israel, Joseph is as great a figure as Moses. But although the part of Joseph’s history dealing with forgiveness is known fairly well, and certainly the family drama makes for a good tale, the great message of the early Bible is usually overlooked. Joseph, who effectively sells his entire tribe into slavery, is as great a hero as Moses.
First off, of course, he literally saves their lives, and probably the civilization of Egypt as well. They were in real danger of starvation. God could have provided for them in Canaan, but this was not His plan. His plan was, first, to humble them and, second, to separate them from absorption into surrounding society for centuries, until their identity was so well-formed as a people that they would never be assimilated. For the Egyptians would consider the Jews nearly subhuman; as we saw earlier, they will not even sit at the dinner table with a Canaanite.
And so Joseph sends all the Egyptians away and tells his family that it was not they, but God, who had sent him to Egypt in chains. Obedience is one of the cardinal virtues in our relationship with God, and possibly the most difficult to come by. God will humble the Jews and then, once they are ready, demonstrate for the first of many times that their only path to freedom is by His power, and their obedience to Him.
Meditation : [Eternal love for God.] Prayer : God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and Spirit of God amidst us, direct our way unto you. Make us to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you; to the end we may establish our hearts unblameable in holiness before you, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints..Amen |
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