Forty days were fulfilled for him

Genesis 50: 1-6: “And Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept upon him, and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel. And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days. And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again. And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.”

By the time Jacob died, Joseph was fully integrated in Egyptian culture. He was also used to an aristocratic way of life so he made sure that all the correct burial procedures were followed after his father died. There was also the proper mourning period for an aristocrat and the nation participated as Joseph was the second most important man in the Land. This was a significant improvement for the man who had to leave home in a hurry because he was scared of his brother. It was also an improvement for the man who ran away from his father-in-law and was only saved by the direct intervention of the Lord. Never the less, this was the way his life ended and this was his legacy. We, who started our lives as sinners, have become children of God (Rom 8: 16, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:”) This is the best way to end your life for the alternative is to be cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev 20: 15, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”)

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

Bury me with my fathers

Genesis 49: 29-33: “And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth. And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.”

When the Lord first called Abram, later Abraham, He promised Abram that He would show him a place and that his family would become a great nation. Even though Jacob had gone down to Egypt, he knew that the blessing belonged in the Promised Land and he was determined to be buried there. They still didn’t own the Land, just the family grave site but that was the place to be. He was confident that God would keep His promise and that, one day, the family would live there and his memorial should be in that Land. Everyone who trusts in God and looks for His promises should understand that God is faithful and will keep His promises. We are just strangers on this earth and our treasure is in heaven (Matt 6: 19-21, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”) The Lord Jesus Christ said, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14: 1-3) Like Jacob we are looking forward to something that is much better than anything this world can offer.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

I have waited for thy salvation

Genesis 49: 13-28: “Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon. Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute. Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last. Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties. Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words. Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren. Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil. All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.”

Even though Jacob had very little to do with the naming of his sons, he knew every one of them by name and he knew something about each one of them. This reminds us that God knows each one of us by name even though we may think that He isn’t even interested in us personally (see Matt 10: 29, 30). The other issue is that Jacob wanted the blessing that belonged to his older brother Esau and lied and cheated so that he could win that blessing. The blessing was the Lord’s salvation. As Jacob came near to the time of his death, he knew that his sons would be the means that God used to provide the eternal and long term blessings that Jacob had longed for throughout most of his life. The Lord’s salvation is the same today as it was in those days, it is eternal and found in one of Jacob’s descendants, the Lord Jesus Christ.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

A lion's whelp

Genesis 49: 8-12: “Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.”

When Judah was born his mother finally felt thankful to the Lord. Her first three sons were born in strife and longing but; “And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.” (Gen 29: 35) Judah went through a time when he was bad and didn’t keep his word or remember his responsibilities but, later, he was rehabilitated and took responsibility for his youngest brother. Even though Jacob told Joseph that he was going to have the birthright, he promised Judah that the rest of his family would bow down to his descendants. Judah was called a lion, the lion is known as the king of the beasts and Judah was to be the kingly tribe. It is good for us to remember that praise is the fruit of thanksgiving and the beginning of spiritual prosperity. Much later the prophet Habakkuk would complain to the Lord because the Lord was using the evil Babylonians as His servants to punish Judah. However, as he prayed he came to realise that the Lord is in control and works for good so his words became: “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.” (Hab 3: 17-19) Praising God will sustain through every trial.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

Instruments of cruelty

Genesis 49: 5-7: “Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.”

Simeon and Levi were cruel and vicious men. The murdered a entire town in revenge for one man raping their sister. They had other options to deal with the situation but chose to offer a peace treaty to the town and then murdered them all in cold blood. After this their descendants suffered for both Simeon and Levi did not have distinct territory in Israel after the people took possession of the Land. Levi, the priestly tribe, had no land of their own but they had towns allocated to them among the territory of the other tribes (see Josh 13: 33, “But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not any inheritance: the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, as he said unto them.” Simeon’s tribe had their territory in the middle of Judah’s territory (Josh 19: 9, “Out of the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon: for the part of the children of Judah was too much for them: therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the inheritance of them.”) There is an important warning for all of us in this: we act in haste but we repent at leisure. It is so easy to do something quickly without thinking but, then, discover that there are lifelong consequences that we cannot avoid. It is better to spend some time thinking before we act than to spend years regretting after we have acted.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

Jacob called his sons

Genesis 49: 1-4: “And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father. Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.”

Jacob wanted to instil a sense of the future and the Lord’s faithfulness into his sons. He knew that God had been with him all the days of his life and he wanted his family to have that same sense of security. The Lord promised Jacob certain things and the Lord kept all those promises. Reuben was born into a jealous home where the two sisters were competing for their husband’s love. His mother was unloved and thought that she would gain some respect when he was born, however this was not the case and the hope that came with his conception was soon lost in bitterness. When the Law was given, much later, it has special provisions for the child of an unloved wife (see Deut 21: 15-17, “If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated: Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn: But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.”) Reuben, however, didn’t look to the Lord for his security and tried to find security in another way. Reuben made choices, like his uncle Esau, and had to live with the fruit of those choices. He was a man with great potential but was ruled by his own selfish impulses and suffered for that.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

God shall be with you

Genesis 48: 21, 22: “And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.”

Jacob remembered the promises. He had laboured hard for much of the early years of his life to inherit the spiritual blessings that God had given to Abraham and his descendants and was not ready to give up his belief in the Lord. He knew that the Lord would return his descendants to the Promised land and he told Joseph that his (Israel’s) family would return to that place. There are many people who are happy to start by faith but don’t want to continue that way. They are like the Galatians who started by faith but wanted to finish by works. (see Gal 3: 1-5, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” In any sporting competition the only thing that goes into the record book is the position of the participants at the end. This issue is very important in life as well. It is not good starters that matter but people who persevere in their faith till the very end.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

His younger brother shall be greater

Genesis 28: 8-20: “And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons, and said, Who are these? And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them. Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed. And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. And 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 unto him. And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.”

The Lord chooses whom He will, He doesn’t rely on any rights of privileges that men or women demand for themselves. In this case, Manasseh was the older son and deserved all the privileges but Jacob chose to bless Ephraim, the younger son. Perhaps he remembered how he had taken both the birthright and blessing from his older brother Esau and how much that had cost both him and his mother. He had also just taken the privileges that belonged to Leah’s sons as firstborn and given them to Joseph, even taking Joseph’s sons as his own. This was honoured later in Israel’s national history with two tribes named after Joseph’s sons. This happened later in history when the Lord told Samuel to choose David, the youngest of Jesse’s sons. The Lord looked into David’s heart and knew that he was a man after His own heart (Acts 13: 22 “And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.”) All these things point forward to a day when everyone will be examined and rewarded by the way they have looked on another Man Who was despised and rejected by men, the Lord Jesus Christ. He said that all we have to do is believe in Him and the we can forget any privilege or right that may be offered by other people and have part of his everlasting blessing.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

Thy two sons are mine

Genesis 48: 1-7: "And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem. "

After missing his son for so many years and seeing his three oldest sons damage his family name in various ways, Jacob decided that he was going to try and forge a new family with Joseph’s children since he had managed to do so well and obtain such a high position in Egypt. Joseph’s two sons were called Manasseh (meaning “forget” see Gen 41: 51) and Ephraim (meaning “fruitful” see Gen 41: 52) so Jacob believed that he could leave behind the strife that came from his own family, forget those problems and be fruitful instead. Jacob told Joseph of the promise that the Lord had made to him all those years ago when he had no family of his own and was running away because he believed that his brother would kill him.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

Israel dwelt in the land

Genesis 47: 27- 31: “And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years. And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt: But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said. And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head.”

Israel and his family were dying in the famine but the Lord was in control of the situation. Rather than losing everything the Lord looked after them and they grew and multiplied instead. The Lord doesn’t always make His followers rich or famous but we can all grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This is something that will last for eternity and not just for the present time. Riches on earth can be easily lost but spiritual blessings in heavenly places can never be lost (see Eph 1: 3). For people who were heading for all the torments of hell we are in the best possible place if we have all these spiritual blessings. Pharaoh guaranteed Israel’s place but another Pharaoh came along and the family were forced into slavery but if God guarantees the eternal spiritual blessings that we have there will never be another king who will replace Him for He will never die and no one has the power to defeat Him.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

Ye shall give the fifth part

Genesis 47: 13-26: “And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine. And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth. And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail. And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year. When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands: Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate. And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh’s. And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof. Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands. Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land. And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones. And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants. And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh’s.”

Even though Joseph seemed to be working for Pharaoh, he was still doing the Lord’s work and preserving Israel through this experience. There is no doubt that Pharaoh was happy because he ended up owning all the land, except that belonging to the priests. As he believed that he was a God then that didn’t matter too much because they were working for him anyway. Up till that time kings would collect taxes when they felt they needed money but after this Pharaoh was assured of a regular income because all the people had to give him twenty percent of their annual income. However, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” (Prov 21:1) Even though Pharaoh thought he was in control he was just doing the Lord’s will and ensuring the survival of the Messianic line. There are many gods on the earth but there is only one Go of the whole earth. (Is 54: 5, “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.”)

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

Jacob blessed Pharaoh

Genesis 47: 7-12: “And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou? And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father’s household, with bread, according to their families.”

Jacob though that he had a long life without much joy. He called his life a pilgrimage and said that his hundred and thirty years had been few and evil. However, our lives are good or bad as a result of our attitude rather than the things that happen to us. When Jeremiah looked forward, inspired by God, to a future day he said that the Lord’s people in that future day would be satisfied. (“And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD.” Jer 31: 14) Jeremiah was talking about a day when the Lord’s people would understand that He loved them with an everlasting love and had bound them to Himself with the cords of lovingkindness (Jer 31: 3 “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”) The major issue in our lives is what we think about rather than where we are or what is happening to us. However, even in the middle of his pity party, Jacob still blessed Pharaoh because he had inherited God’s blessings and the only thing to do when we have God’s blessings is to pass them on to others. After that Pharaoh officially allocated him some land.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

Then Joseph came to Pharaoh

Genesis 47: 1-6: “Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen. And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers. They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen. And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.”

This is the final episode in the reunification of the family. Abraham’s descendants were few and far between for quite some time but when they began to multiply there was a lot of jealousy and the family was divided. This can often happen in churches and other Christian works. There are problems between different people and the work suffers because the family of God in a local area is divided. However, we can all come together again, by God’s grace. In this case, when the family was united they all came with Joseph and went to Pharaoh. When there is a problem in the church we should remember that people on both sides of the divide are hurt and if we wait for the one who hurt us to apologise we will die before anything happens. In Joseph’s case, God brought the family together but Joseph had to forgive his brothers and they had to acknowledge they had done wrong. However, they all worked as a united group and chose five representatives to speak for them and went to Pharaoh. Remember, this was a small divided group but they believed in the true God of heaven, the God of all the earth ( Is 54: 5 “... The God of the whole earth shall he be called.”) He moved everyone in the earth so that this family could be united and they were united under the authority of the most powerful man on the earth at that time. Pharaoh gave them good land so that they wouldn’t lose their wealth during the severe drought but this was really God at work as well.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://twitter.com/#!/jamesmcnaught 

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

Joseph made ready his chariot

Genesis 46: 28-33: “And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive. And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father’s house, I will go up, and shew Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father’s house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me; And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have. And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation? That ye shall say, Thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.”

After Jacob down to Egypt he had to complete all the formalities before he could settle down to enjoy his last days with Joseph. Even though Joseph was the senior executive man in the government of Egypt it was still essential that he see Pharaoh and so that every courtesy was complete. Joseph, however, went to see his father rather than expecting hid father to come and meet him. Jacob was in Goshen, which was the area to the east of the Nile delta. They had just come down from Canaan and were waiting at the entrance to Egypt. He told his father that they had to see Pharaoh and what to tell him. History reminds us that a group of people called the Hsykos had come from the Canaan area and invaded Egypt prior to this. These people were known to have been shepherds as well so they didn’t like shepherds in Egypt. Joseph wanted Jacob to tell Pharaoh this so that Pharaoh would offer them open land to keep their sheep and cattle rather that putting them in a more densely settled area where they would not be able to keep all their stock. It is interesting to note that they still had their stock after all their time in slavery because they were able to take them away from Egypt when they finally fled that country (compare Ex 3: 18, “And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God”, for example.)

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

Threescore and ten

Genesis 46: 6-27: “And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him: His sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt. And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn. And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi. And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman. And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zerah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul. And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron. And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel. These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padanaram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three. And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli. And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel. These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls. The sons of Rachel Jacob’s wife; Joseph, and Benjamin. And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him. And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard. These are the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen. And the sons of Dan; Hushim. And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem. These are the sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were seven. All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six; And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.”

It is good to compare this list with the list that is given in Numbers 1: 20-46. In this case there were 70 men listed but in the other case there were 603550 men listed. When God confirmed His promise to Abraham in Gen 15, He told Abraham that that his descendants would be greater than the stars that Abraham could see in the sky. The fact that the number of people had increased by 8,500 times gives us an idea of the way God works. We pray and hope but always deals with us abundantly (See Eph 3: 20 “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”). Of course there are times when we pray and God says “No!” as we see in 2 Cor 12: 7-10). In that case Paul prayed three times but God said, “No!” However, we can imagine Paul thinking that if the thorn in my flesh is taken away then everything will be okay but God taught him that everything was okay anyway. Even the thorn in his flesh was given to him to help him understand that God is sufficient in everysituation.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

Israel took his journey

Genesis 4: 1-5: “And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. And Jacob rose up from Beersheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.”

When Jacob first left his father’s house after he had stolen his brother’s blessing he saw a vision of a ladder reaching up to heaven. He vowed that if God brought him back to his father’s house then the Lord would be his God (Gen 28: 20, 21). When he came back to Bethel he built an altar to the Lord and God appeared to him again, blessed him and changed his name to Israel (Gen 35: 7-10). Since that time Jacob experienced the devastation of having a missing son whom he thought was dead. Now that Jacob was moving down to Egypt he paused at Beersheba, which was really the border of the Promised Land on the way down to Egypt, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac again. There was some symbolism in this action; he was showing that he intended to come back to the Promised Land again and that the Lord was still his God. God honoured this action by appearing to Jacob in a vision again and promising him that he would see Joseph before he died. The Lord also promised Jacob that he He would make Jacob’s descendants into a great nation and they would come back from Egypt to the Promised Land. This was a reaffirmation of the promise the Lord made to Abraham as recorded in Gen 15. Even though Joseph’s brothers had acted with malice, the Lord was at work behind the scenes and all His promises were being worked through so that everything that He promised would come to pass (compare this with Josh 21: 45 “There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.”) Sometimes we find it hard to understand what God is doing but He is always faithful.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1

Joseph is yet alive

Genesis 45: 21-28: “And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way. To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way. So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way. And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father, And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not. And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived: And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.”

After many years Jacob was going to come to his son. Joseph showed his brothers that he had forgiven them by offering them precious gifts. He also sent gifts to his father and extra food because he may be short of food. This is like the Lord Jesus Christ; He supplies us with everything that we need and even more (see Rom 8: 32 “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”). Joseph also knew his brothers and the fact that they had come from a dysfunctional family. He told them not to argue while they were travelling and then told them to go. When the brothers reached their home their father could hardly believe his eyes. He nearly fainted when he heard that Joseph was alive. Anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ has everlasting life, the Lord Jesus Christ confirmed this when He spoke to Martha after he brother Lazarus died (John 11: 25 “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:”). As soon as Jacob saw everything that Joseph had sent he realised that his sons were telling him the truth and he would be able to see Joseph again before he died.

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

http://www.booksthataregood.com/Reference_Books.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesmcnaught1