Genesis 47:13-26
"The Land Becomes Pharaoh's"
Okay, this passage is interesting. It is a historical account of how Joseph strengthened the office of Pharaoh in Egypt. Over the course of the famine years, the Egyptians use all their money buying food, then all their livestock, and then, finally, their land (with themselves as slaves). Joseph collects this for Pharaoh and essentially gives Pharaoh ownership of the entire land as well as the tax profit therefrom.
What relevance, however, does this have? Well, considering tat in the last passage, Pharaoh gave Jacob & Sons the land of Goshen, we must be wondering who owned the land he so glibly gave. well, Pharaoh did. Pharaoh owned the land and could therefore give it as he pleased withough compensating the evicted.
Isn't it interesting how God pulls strings to protect and provide for His people?
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
9 Mar. 2012 - Genesis 47:1-12
Genesis 47:1-12
"Pharaoh Welcomes Jacob"
Joseph introduced his father and some of his brothers to his boss, Pharaoh. Upon finding out that they were all herders, Pharaoh gave them some of the best grazing land, i.e. Goshen, and even requested that they look after his own flocks (the Egyptians were none too fond of shepherds or shepherding). So, Jacob and his sons received from Pharaoh the best land in the entirety of Egypt.
Additionally, when Jacob was meeting Pharaoh, the first thing he did was to bless Pharaoh. This probably set an interesting tone to the rest of their meeting, but there's something we could learn here. Jacob did not know Pharaoh, yet he knew that he [Pharaoh] had blessed Joseph through this job and position he had given him. We can give thanks to others and probably should give thanks to others by blessing and asking God to bless them. It doesn't matter if we know the person or even if we hate them, we should be blessing others, and I would say not just those who bless you, your family, or your friends either, but everyone.
After all, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." - Matt 5:44
"Pharaoh Welcomes Jacob"
Joseph introduced his father and some of his brothers to his boss, Pharaoh. Upon finding out that they were all herders, Pharaoh gave them some of the best grazing land, i.e. Goshen, and even requested that they look after his own flocks (the Egyptians were none too fond of shepherds or shepherding). So, Jacob and his sons received from Pharaoh the best land in the entirety of Egypt.
Additionally, when Jacob was meeting Pharaoh, the first thing he did was to bless Pharaoh. This probably set an interesting tone to the rest of their meeting, but there's something we could learn here. Jacob did not know Pharaoh, yet he knew that he [Pharaoh] had blessed Joseph through this job and position he had given him. We can give thanks to others and probably should give thanks to others by blessing and asking God to bless them. It doesn't matter if we know the person or even if we hate them, we should be blessing others, and I would say not just those who bless you, your family, or your friends either, but everyone.
After all, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." - Matt 5:44
Thursday, March 8, 2012
8 Mar. 2012 - Psalm 23
Psalm 23
"Shepherd's Psalm"
The Lord is my shepherd
I shall not be in want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters
He leads me in the path of righteousness
For His name's sake
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil for Thou art with me.
Thy rod and staff, they comfort me.
Thou hast prepared a table for me
In the presence of my enemies
Thou anoint my head with oil
My cup overflows
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me
all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.
I just felt like spontaneously moving to a different passage for the day and this Psalm popped into my head. God, here, is both the protecting shepherd and the providing, blessing host. We see how much He loves His creation and how willing He is to bring us to follow Him. If everyone understood that, why are they not standing with us? So, we need to be spreading this message of the great shepherd, saviour, king.
"Shepherd's Psalm"
The Lord is my shepherd
I shall not be in want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters
He leads me in the path of righteousness
For His name's sake
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil for Thou art with me.
Thy rod and staff, they comfort me.
Thou hast prepared a table for me
In the presence of my enemies
Thou anoint my head with oil
My cup overflows
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me
all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.
I just felt like spontaneously moving to a different passage for the day and this Psalm popped into my head. God, here, is both the protecting shepherd and the providing, blessing host. We see how much He loves His creation and how willing He is to bring us to follow Him. If everyone understood that, why are they not standing with us? So, we need to be spreading this message of the great shepherd, saviour, king.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
7 Mar. 2012 - Genesis 46:28-34
Genesis 46:28-34
"Jacob Arrives in Egypt"
Firstly, sorry for the infrequent posts - I've had a lot of studying to do and not enough time to type out my devo notes.
Secondly, i'm not going to play catch up on the missed posts.
So, here we have Jacob and his sons all arriving in Egypt to live with Joseph. Now, there's a bit of a problem: where will they live? Joseph has a plan. He brings them into Goshen (the Nile Delta), which is some of the best land and tells them he is going to bring Pharaoh for them to meet. In the process, he also tells them, when Pharaoh asks about their occupations, to say they're shepherds and herdsmen (Egyptians found shepherds and herdsmen abhorrent). The plan is to repulse Pharaoh enough such that he will give them the land on which they're currently standing. If hat occurs, the soon-to-be Israelites would have just acquired, with Pharaoh's blessing, some of the best land in Egypt.
God wants the best for his people. We can see this in the reuniting of Joseph and Jacob as well as in the planning for the best land. God isn't going to settle for second best for His people. As Christians, Paul mentions in Romans that we have inherited the covenant of Abraham in our righteousness through faith in Christ (Romans 4). We, as Christians, are God's people, too. God wants to bless His people, so why don't we let Him?
"Jacob Arrives in Egypt"
Firstly, sorry for the infrequent posts - I've had a lot of studying to do and not enough time to type out my devo notes.
Secondly, i'm not going to play catch up on the missed posts.
So, here we have Jacob and his sons all arriving in Egypt to live with Joseph. Now, there's a bit of a problem: where will they live? Joseph has a plan. He brings them into Goshen (the Nile Delta), which is some of the best land and tells them he is going to bring Pharaoh for them to meet. In the process, he also tells them, when Pharaoh asks about their occupations, to say they're shepherds and herdsmen (Egyptians found shepherds and herdsmen abhorrent). The plan is to repulse Pharaoh enough such that he will give them the land on which they're currently standing. If hat occurs, the soon-to-be Israelites would have just acquired, with Pharaoh's blessing, some of the best land in Egypt.
God wants the best for his people. We can see this in the reuniting of Joseph and Jacob as well as in the planning for the best land. God isn't going to settle for second best for His people. As Christians, Paul mentions in Romans that we have inherited the covenant of Abraham in our righteousness through faith in Christ (Romans 4). We, as Christians, are God's people, too. God wants to bless His people, so why don't we let Him?
Monday, March 5, 2012
5 Mar. 2012 - Genesis 46:1-7
Genesis 46:1-7
"Jacob Leaves for Egypt"
God reassures Jacob that He has the best plans in mind and that He'll be watching over and preparing Israel. He is planning on blessing and multiplying in their lives and the lives of their descendants.
So, we have many of you sitting still and people not fully understanding. God was going to protect the fledgling nation of Ishmael; it was stopped, though. God had plans and he mentioned the plans to Jacob, giving him peace and encouraging him to follow along God's way.
"Jacob Leaves for Egypt"
God reassures Jacob that He has the best plans in mind and that He'll be watching over and preparing Israel. He is planning on blessing and multiplying in their lives and the lives of their descendants.
So, we have many of you sitting still and people not fully understanding. God was going to protect the fledgling nation of Ishmael; it was stopped, though. God had plans and he mentioned the plans to Jacob, giving him peace and encouraging him to follow along God's way.
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