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Genesis 45:16-28 Telling Jacob

08 Oct

16 When the news reached Pharaoh’s palace that Joseph’s brothers had come, Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased. 17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan, 18 and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can enjoy the fat of the land.’

19 “You are also directed to tell them, ‘Do this: Take some carts from Egypt for your children and your wives, and get your father and come. 20 Never mind about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours.’”

21 So the sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them carts, as Pharaoh had commanded, and he also gave them provisions for their journey. 22 To each of them he gave new clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes. 23 And this is what he sent to his father: ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other provisions for his journey. 24 Then he sent his brothers away, and as they were leaving he said to them, “Don’t quarrel on the way!”

25 So they went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 26 They told him, “Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt.” Jacob was stunned; he did not believe them. 27 But when they told him everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 And Israel said, “I’m convinced! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

Dear God, it would seem from the telling of this story in verses 26-28 that the boys never came clean and told their father what they did. It looks like they just told him that Joseph survived the animal attack since their words, according to verse 26 were, “Joseph is still alive!” I also noticed that Joseph’s instruction to them when they left was, “Don’t quarrel on the way!” He could probably foresee the guilt they would each feel and how they might take it out on each other. He was ready for it to be over for all of them.

I think it is interesting, also, that Joseph continued to treat Benjamin differently. It almost intimates that he did not totally forgive his brothers. There was still some bitterness there. Sure, Benjamin was his only full brother, but they had really done something unthinkable to him. He could see your overall plan, but I think there was still a part of him that couldn’t forgive.

I have been there with someone. In fact, I have been there a few times. One time I didn’t get a job that I really wanted, but, not getting that job actually led to a better job because someone involved with that search recommended me for the job I have now. It was all good. But I suffered for a few months after that rejection (yes, only a few months), so when I ran into a couple of those board members who didn’t hire me at a gathering I must confess that I was talking to them and hoping they left the conversation regretting that they hadn’t hired me—even though I had a better job than the one they had to offer.

Father, I still hold on to bitterness, and I am sorry. Please forgive me. Heal me from the things that have hardened my heart. I am sure that Joseph would love to have been in a place where he gave as much to all of his brothers as he gave to Benjamin, but he just wasn’t there. Help me to look beyond what others may or may not do to me and simply show them your love. This will give me freedom and give you the glory in their eyes.

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2011 in Genesis

 

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Genesis 45:1-15 The Big Reveal

08 Oct

1 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.

3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.

4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. 9 Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. 10 You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. 11 I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’

12 “You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. 13 Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.”

14 Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him.

Dear God, I don’t know that I have ever read this story with the proper emotion because I have never read the entire story slowly and in context like I am now. I have always heard his proclamation in verse one as a shout of joy, but now that I read it more closely I see that he said it through weeping tears. You can almost see the emotion of all of the hurt he experienced through his first question of them: “Is my father still living?”

So Joseph was able to take the high ground and offer them grace, but that still didn’t mean he wasn’t hurt. The interesting thing is that, apparently, the hurt was part of your plan for Joseph. Whether it made him stronger, more humble, smarter, or whatever I don’t know, but the pain he experienced was every bit as much a part of this story as his maturation and growth.

Father, I have not experienced pain like this—yet. I have lost a child through miscarriage, and that was terrible, but it wasn’t over a prolonged period of time. But I see others around me who have experienced scarring pain. Usually it is through watching relatives slowly die. In fact, I was in the hospital yesterday visiting a man who is apparently dying. Frankly, it is probably the last time I will see him alive. The thing that struck me the most was that all of his family was around him. They had all been called because the end is near. No one told me that, but it wasn’t hard to figure out. This will add a new level of pain and suffering to all of their experiences, especially his wife. So I ask your protection over this family. Prepare them for your plan and give them your peace.

 

 

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2011 in Genesis

 

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Genesis 44 Judah’s Sacrificial Gesture

08 Oct

1 Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack. 2 Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his grain.” And he did as Joseph said.

3 As morning dawned, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. 4 They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? 5 Isn’t this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a wicked thing you have done.’”

6 When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. 7 But they said to him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything like that! 8 We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found inside the mouths of our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? 9 If any of your servants is found to have it, he will die; and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.”

10 “Very well, then,” he said, “let it be as you say. Whoever is found to have it will become my slave; the rest of you will be free from blame.”

11 Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. 12 Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. 13 At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city.

14 Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him. 15 Joseph said to them, “What is this you have done? Don’t you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?”

16 “What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.”

17 But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace.”

18 Then Judah went up to him and said: “Pardon your servant, my lord, let me speak a word to my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, though you are equal to Pharaoh himself. 19 My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 20 And we answered, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’

21 “Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see him for myself.’ 22 And we said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father; if he leaves him, his father will die.’ 23 But you told your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’ 24 When we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said.

25 “Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy a little more food.’ 26 But we said, ‘We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother is with us will we go. We cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’

27 “Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. 28 One of them went away from me, and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since. 29 If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.’

30 “So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life, 31 sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow. 32 Your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!’

33 “Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. 34 How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come on my father.”

Dear God, let’s give Judah some credit here. You would think that Reuben would have been the one to come and make this offer because he was the oldest, and he was the one who seemed to have a conscience about what happened to Joseph. But in this case it is Judah who makes the sacrifice. He is the one who made the promise to his dad and convinced him to let the brothers come for more food, so he is the one taking responsibility now.

I wonder if I am that kind of a person. I hope I am. I hope I am the kind of person who would be willing to sacrifice for my brother. Of course, at the same time, I guess that in some ways Jesus is like Judah, but he actually did sacrifice himself for all of us.

I don’t think I could have gone through with this plan the way Joseph is going through with it. My heart would have broken much quicker, I think. Of course, I have not experienced the pain and rejection that Joseph experienced, so it is difficult for me to say. I understand why he did it, and I don’t blame him for doing it. It is a tough call.

Father, I guess, at the end of the day, what I want to be able to say is that I could be Judah in this situation. I could be the one willing to sacrifice myself for another. I don’t know that I am, but I want to be able to say that. Help me to be willing to do this, and do it for your own glory. If anyone sees me sacrificing, please let it bring glory to your name and draw them in closer to you because of it.

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2011 in Genesis

 

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Genesis 43:24-34 Joseph Shows Us His Pain

08 Oct

24 The steward took the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet and provided fodder for their donkeys. 25 They prepared their gifts for Joseph’s arrival at noon, because they had heard that they were to eat there.

26 When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground. 27 He asked them how they were, and then he said, “How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living?”

28 They replied, “Your servant our father is still alive and well.” And they bowed down, prostrating themselves before him.

29 As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son, he asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” 30 Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there.

31 After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, “Serve the food.”

32 They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, for that is detestable to Egyptians. 33 The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn to the youngest; and they looked at each other in astonishment. 34 When portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as anyone else’s. So they feasted and drank freely with him.

Dear God, a lot of times when I remember this story the only part I remember is that Joseph took the high road in two chapters and tells them that it is all okay because what they did was all part of your plan. But this chapter is careful to tell us how hard this was for Joseph. He doesn’t totally let them off of the hook for what they did to him. He scares them. He imprisons one of them. He threatens them. He deceives them with the silver. But it is almost like he is also giving them a chance to realize it is him, if only they will notice and recognize him. He seats them in the order in which they were born. He gives the innocent one among them five times the amount of food. He is begging them to notice. He can’t seem to help himself.

I appreciate what he will do in the next chapter. I wonder what he would have done with Benjamin if they had not passed his test and agreed to leave him there. I imagine as soon as they were gone he would have kept Benjamin as his brother (not a prisoner), sent for his father, and then imprisoned the other brothers. It can be so hard to be gracious in the face of abuse. It can be very hard to turn the other cheek.

Father, I do not feel abused, but I am facing a situation where I am having to fight for the rights of our organization. It can be hard to know where to draw the lines. Where do I push? Where do I show mercy? How do I live out your will for this situation in a way that will bring you glory and others into your deep presence? I don’t know the answers yet. Perhaps, like Joseph, I will be able to look back one day and see how you were working this for our good. But even if I can’t, I want you to know that I trust you deeply. I trust you with everything I have. Give me the peace that comes with that trust so that I can be the best representative of you that I can be.

 

 

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2011 in Genesis

 

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Genesis 43:15-23 Joseph Prepares His Test

08 Oct

15 So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver, and Benjamin also. They hurried down to Egypt and presented themselves to Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare a meal; they are to eat with me at noon.”

17 The man did as Joseph told him and took the men to Joseph’s house. 18 Now the men were frightened when they were taken to his house. They thought, “We were brought here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to attack us and overpower us and seize us as slaves and take our donkeys.”

19 So they went up to Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. 20 “We beg your pardon, our lord,” they said, “we came down here the first time to buy food. 21 But at the place where we stopped for the night we opened our sacks and each of us found his silver—the exact weight—in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back with us. 22 We have also brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don’t know who put our silver in our sacks.”

23 “It’s all right,” he said. “Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

Dear God, the steward seems to have a fun role to play in this story. He gets to be the bearer of good tidings. He gets to affirm to them that you are with them. He basically gets to be your voice to them and let them know that you are in this. They are about to be brought to repentance, and they don’t yet know that, but in the meantime you are still taking the opportunity to encourage them through this steward.

Right now, I am in the position I hate where I have to figure out a way to parse out one of my kids’ bad behavior from their good behavior and deal with it appropriately. Frankly, this child has seemingly been doing a good job in most areas of their life, yet they are pushing some of the rules here. I get the feeling if I don’t nip it in the bud now and hold them accountable, then I will really be paying a price when they are older and I have much less control over them.

Father, I guess all of this relates because I want to figure out how to be a part of your presence to my childre and still be their father. I know that you want me to guide my children, but, frankly, they are hard to guide. Their temperaments are different from each other and can be tricky to navigate. So help me to navigate this in a way that shows them your love for them, my love for them, and my wife’s love for them. Help to mold them into adults who will ultimately be submitted to you. Mold me in your image as well so that you might receive glory through all of us.

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2011 in Genesis

 

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Genesis 43:1-14 Jacob’s Surrender

08 Oct

1 Now the famine was still severe in the land. 2 So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little more food.”

3 But Judah said to him, “The man warned us solemnly, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you will send our brother along with us, we will go down and buy food for you. 5 But if you will not send him, we will not go down, because the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’”

6 Israel asked, “Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had another brother?”

7 They replied, “The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. ‘Is your father still living?’ he asked us. ‘Do you have another brother?’ We simply answered his questions. How were we to know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?”

8 Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die. 9 I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. 10 As it is, if we had not delayed, we could have gone and returned twice.”

11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift—a little balm and a little honey, some spices and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 Take double the amount of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake. 13 Take your brother also and go back to the man at once. 14 And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”

Dear God, I think of this story as Jacob’s surrender. He was willing to let Simeon rot in jail before he would surrender what was most precious to him. Simeon should have been glad that the famine persisted because I get the feeling from this story that if the famine had broken then they would have never gone back for him. But the famine had broken Jacob. He surrendered to you, finally saying in verse 13, “As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.” In other words, “I give up. If I am going to suffer then I am going to suffer.” Little did he know what blessing you had for him on the other side of the suffering.

Meanwhile, back in Egypt, I wonder what Joseph was thinking. After all, shouldn’t they have been back by now? Would they come back? Would they die? He had been excited about being reunited with his family. Had the window closed? I am sure he was praying to you during this time. I am sure he was asking for your mercy.

Father, help me to surrender to you before I get to the point where all hope seems to be lost. Help me to surrender to you when there is still much hope that things will work out on their own. Help me to surrender to you when things are going perfectly. I don’t want to be a person who is driven to his knees only in bad times, but I want to be someone who is driven to his knees simply out of devotion and surrender to you. I know that I take you for granted. I know I take your blessings for granted. There is no doubt about that. I don’t know how to not take you for granted. But help me to experience you and surrender to you so that you might live through me and be glorified in me.

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2011 in Genesis

 

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Genesis 42:27-38 Protecting Benjamin

08 Oct

27 At the place where they stopped for the night one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack. 28 “My silver has been returned,” he said to his brothers. “Here it is in my sack.”

Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”

29 When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said, 30 “The man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to us and treated us as though we were spying on the land. 31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. 32 We were twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.’

33 “Then the man who is lord over the land said to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your starving households and go. 34 But bring your youngest brother to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade[a] in the land.’”

35 As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his pouch of silver! When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened. 36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!”

37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back.”

38 But Jacob said, “My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow.”

Dear God, I kind of like the idea that Jacob is willing to write off Simeon in favor of Benjamin. Seriously, though, I am trying to think of what I would do if I were Jacob. If I were him, even though I was very old, I probably would have gone myself along with one of the boys (leaving Reuben behind since he was the oldest) to get Simeon. Then I would go and ask to be exchanged for my son in prison, hoping for mercy. If I don’t get mercy then I am either in prison with my son or I die (which, at that age, I probably wouldn’t last long in prison anyway).

You wonder if the boys are starting to feel like they should tell their father everything. Should they tell him their secret about Joseph? They are obviously already feeling guilty about it. Should they go that extra step and explain to their father what they think is going on? The answer they ultimately come to is “no”. I wonder if Jacob, in the back of his mind, is thinking that perhaps some of the dishonesty of his past is catching up with him. This is a family with a lot of deception in its past. There are a lot of things for them to look at and wonder if what they sent around isn’t coming back around on them.

Father, it is interesting, but even with the trials I am facing at work, I have never felt personally attacked by you. They have all seemed circumstantial. Things were done poorly. These are challenges I must face. I need your help and power to face them. But I haven’t ever thought that there is something I have been doing wrong that made you bring these difficulties upon me. I am either naïve or I have a clear conscience. In either event, help me to face my challenges with your strength and grace. Love others through me, and use me as an example so that others might be drawn closer to you.

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2011 in Genesis

 

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Genesis 42:18-22 Leaving One Behind

08 Oct

18 On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: 19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. 20 But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” This they proceeded to do. 21 They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come upon us.” 22 Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.”

Dear God, this will be short today since I am doing it on my phone. I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on the idea that the brothers knew that all of this had something to do with what they did to Joseph. They had carried around guilty consciences for several years, and it was the first thing that came to their mind when Joseph started messing with them.

I think all of us are the same way. It is funny to see an employee’s face whenever I ask to speak with them. They want to know “what’s wrong.”. What they don’t say outloud, but probably think inside is, “Uh oh. He found out about _______.”. I know they are thinking this because I do the same thing, and sometimes I actually audibly hear them say, “Uh oh. Did I do something wrong?”

Father, help me to live with a clean conscience, be appropriately humble, and confess my sin to you. Ultimately, be glorified in me.

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2011 in Genesis

 

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Genesis 42:6-17 Familiar Faces from the Past

08 Oct

6 Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. 7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked.

 “From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.”

8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. 9 Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”

10 “No, my lord,” they answered. “Your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.”

12 “No!” he said to them. “You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”

13 But they replied, “Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”

14 Joseph said to them, “It is just as I told you: You are spies! 15 And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 17 And he put them all in custody for three days.

Dear God, I like how it shows that Joseph did recognize them and remember the dreams. I don’t know how much of him messing with them was anger and how much was testing. We’ll see later that he overhears them talking and weeps behind their backs. I know there must have been a lot of hurt here with him. He had been through a trauma, but at the same time the trauma had not only put him in a position of power, but had also provided for his father, brothers, and their families.

I am scarred by events of the past. We all are. I still feel the affects of our miscarriage sixteen years later. I still feel the affects of the unemployment. I still feel that affects of trials as a parent. Some of those things I can see the blessings through and some are still just scars that I don’t understand. I suppose that part of those events was just drawing me closer to you.

Father, I know that you drew Joseph closer to you through all of his experiences, and I know you are continuing to draw me closer to you through mine. Right now, I am about to leave for a lovely three-day conference that will include fellowship with my dad, worship, and fellowship with others. So be with me as I go to Florida. Give me some rest, but also prepare me for the rest of the fall. Be glorified in me and teach me. And be with my wife and kids. Love and encourage them. Help them to all get along and be at peace with each other.

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2011 in Genesis

 

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Genesis 42:1-5 Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

08 Oct

1 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” 2 He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”

3 Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him. 5 So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also.

Dear God, that was a long way to go for food. I would imagine that part of the brothers’ thinking was that surely there had to be a more efficient way for them to find food. Going to Egypt seems like such a drastic thing to do.

It is funny how you use jobs, food, etc. to move us around. I think about my dad getting drafted and stationed in San Antonio at Ft. Sam Houston and that bringing our family from Kansas to Texas. I think of my grandfather being stationed at Ft. Riley, Kansas, and that being how my dad ended up growing up in Kansas instead of Pennsylvania. I couldn’t find a job anywhere in 2005 except for one in Tyler, which I ended up not taking, and then Fredericksburg, which brought us here. It is a drastic decision to pick up and move, and we need some huge factor to motivate us to do it. Especially when we have roots.

I sometimes feel really bad when we have a complicated case come to the clinic and our best advice to them is to move to a large city because that is the only place where they can receive help. It is so much easier said than done.

Father, you have a plan for all of us, and you use whatever means you have to do guide us. Sometimes it is something that you allow to happen, and sometimes it is something you cause to happen. I don’t know which it is in any given scenario, but you do and I want you to know that, regardless of any suffering that might come my way, I trust you, I have faith in you, and I love you.

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2011 in Genesis

 

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