GENESIS 40 – EXODUS 2

I have to cut this one short, as hubby isn’t happy I’m on the computer. 

Joseph was let out of prison to interpret Pharaoh’s dream, which turned out to be 7 great years of harvest, followed by 7 years of famine.  Pharaoh gave high regard to Joseph, and made him governor of Egypt.  Joseph was in charge of storing all the excess grain up for the famine years. 

Jacob heard about the grain in Egypt, and sent his sons to get some for the family.  Benjamin, Joseph’s true brother from his mom, stayed at home.  The brothers bowed to Joseph, and did not recognize their brother that they had sold into slavery.  Joseph recognized them, and questioned them, saying they were spies.  He requested they bring back the other brother, but Jacob would not allow it.  When they ran out of food again, Judah promised his father that they could go get food only if Benjamin was with them, and that would also release Simeon from prison.  He told him that Benjamin would return home to his father, or he would take the blame.  After some turbulent times, Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, and sent them to bring back his father and the rest of the family to live in Goshen, where he could easily provide for them.  Jacob lived in egypt for 17 years before he died.  When Jacob knew his time was short, he asked Joseph to bury him in his family burial place, and not in Egypt.  Jacob hadn’t seen God’s promise yet, but he had faith that it would come, and that God would lead the people back to Canaan.  Joseph took his sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to see his father.  Jacob blessed the boys, whom he considered like his own, and he put Ephraim before Manasseh.  Manasseh was the firstborn, but Jacob said that the younger brother would be greater than Manasseh.  It strikes me now that I’ve seen that before.  Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob instead of Esau, Joseph instead of reuben, and Ephraim instead of Manasseh.  And think of little David.  His brothers were in an army that was scared of Goliath, but God chose David to defeat him.  God has a plan, and it’s not always going to make sense to us.  We just need to listen and follow. 

Soon after, Jacob dies.  Joseph wept, and threw himself over Jacob and kissed him.  Jacob was embalmed, which took 40 days, and then the Egyptians mourned him for 70 days.  On the way to the burial site, Joseph observed another 7 day time of mourning.  I guess what has me in awe here is the difference in the times today.  My hubby’s grandpa passed away in June, and there was a viewing one evening, and the funeral service the next day.  I’ve been to my share of these things, and they’re NEVER easy.  The close family greeting everyone, standing by the casket of their loved one, rehashing over and over about the last days.  The more of them that I’ve been to, the more people I’ve heard say ” I don’t want you to do that, just have a quick funeral and be done with it.”  The end of the funeral does not signal the end of the mourning, but as hard as it may be, I took some comfort in seeing Grandpa in his earthy body two more times.  He was at peace because he’s no longer suffering.  Sorry… I’m rambling and forgot the point I was trying to make…  I guess just that Joseph had around 4 months of mourning, and that was a deep time.  We often think because we’re Christians that we shouldn’t be sad or cry when we lose another Christian, because we know where they’re going. But the bible tells us it’s OK to cry and mourn, and be sad.  Don’t try to rush it. 

In Exodus, the new king felt there were too many Israelites, so he oppressed them with forced labor.  When they continued to multiply, he told the midwives to kill all the baby boys, but to let the girls live.  The midwives couldn’t do this, and God blessed them.  Moses was born in that period, and when he was 3 months old,  his mother was unable to hide him anymore.  She placed him in a basket beside the Nile, where Pharaoh’s daughter found him.  Moses sister was watching, and asked if she would like her to find a Hebrew woman to nurse him, and then she took Moses to his mother.  When he grew older, his mother took him to Pharaoh’s daughter, who raised him as her son.  When Moses was grown, he saw Hebrew being beaten by an egyptian, and Moses killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.  He then fled to Midian where he lived with a priest and married his daughter. 

So much for making that short!  God’s protection and promises are faithful, we must remember that.  I’ll see you tomorrow when we discuss Exodus 3-15. 

I have created a separate page with the 90 day reading schedule.  Just click on the link at the top right which says “read the bible in 90 days”, and it will take you there.  That saves you from having to scroll down to find it.  Hope that helps. 

GENESIS 14-26  

Brief outline:  Abram rescues Lot from the four kings after he was taken captive in Sodom.  The kings of Sodom and Salem blessed Abram, but Abram wouln’t accept anything belonging to them so he wouldn’t break the oath he’d made with God.  The Lord made a covenant with Abram that he would have an heir, from his own body, and his descendents would inherit the land.  He would be the father of many nations.   Ishmael was born from the maidservant Hagar. 

In chapter 17  Abram becomes Abraham-father of many nations.  Sarai becomes Sarah-mother of many nations. 

Chapter 18 tells of three visitors to Abraham.  The Lord tells him that next year, Sarah will bear him a son.  God tells Abraham about the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah.  Abraham pleads with God, “will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?”After study, I read that one of the men was most likely a manifestation of God in human form, and the other two were angels appearing as men.  Abraham may not have immediately recognized that from his reaction to them.

In chapter 19,  the two men, now called angels escorted Lot and his family out of Sodom before it is destroyed.  Lot’s wife looks back at Sodom after being told not to, and turns into a pillar of salt.  Lot’s daughters deceived him, and bore children from him.  I didn’t catch the warning not to look back, and questioned why the “pillar of salt.”  They were told in verse 17 to “Flee and don’t look back…or you will be swept away.”  Do you think Lot’s daughters were immoral because they were exposed to immorality in Sodom? 

Chapter 20- Abraham lies to Abimelech, saying that Sarah is his sister, having little faith that God would protect them in the new land.  Abraham again has a faith failure, but God intervenes with Abimelech in a dream. 

Chapter 21brings the birth of Isaac, and Hagar and Ishmael are sent away.  God told Abraham that He would make Ishmael into a nation also. 

Abraham is tested again in chapter 22.  God asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac, and he was going to do it.  He is again told that his descendants will possess all nations and be blessed.  I found a few good things in this.  Abraham tells his servants to wait, and he and Isaac will be back.  He was already showing his faith, that God would not allow him to sacrifice his own son.  He then tells Isaac that “God will provide the lamb” when Isaac asked where the offering was.   Also, it says that Isaac was a boy, and he carried the wood for the offering.  He had to be an adolescent by then, or young adult.  Isaac let his father bind him and lay him on the altar, and probably watched as his father drew out a knife, before and angel stopped Abraham.  Why would Isaac not resist or fight Abraham?  He surely could have overtaken him.  But he didn’t.  He was obeying his father, just like Jesus did.

Sarah dies in chapter 23, at age 127.  Abraham pays Ephron for property to bury her in a cave.  That is the only piece of land in Canaan that Abraham ever owned. 

Chapter 24, Rebekah is chosen for Isaac and they marry. 

Chapter 25, Abraham dies at age 175, and is buried with Sarah.  Ishmaels family lived near the border of Egypt after he died, and they lived in hostility toward all their borthers.  Isaac and Rebekah have twins- Esau and Jacob.  God told Rebekah that two nations will be born from her, and that they will be separated, the older serving the younger.  When they were born, Esau was red and hairy, and Jacob was holding onto Esau’s heel.  Isaac loved Esau who was a hunter, and Rebekah loved Jacob, who liked to stay among the tents.  Jacob eventually  gets Esau to sell him his birthright. 

Chapter 26, There’s a famine, and Isaac goes to Abimelech, and deceives him that Rebekah is his sister.  Isaac planted crops and was blessed greatly.  Abimelech sends them away, then later comes to him to make a treaty that they wouldn’t harm the other.   The chapter ends with Esau marrying two wives, and says he was a source of grief. 

Sound like a heavy load or a lofty task?  Well… let me challenge you to get on board and let God move in your life.  I first heard about this last month, and tried to get signed up with a group of people on the web, but the group was full.  I’ve been researching it and found some great information for you.  For some basic info, please visit The Bible in 90 days.   You’ll find testimonials and FAQs there.  Here I’ll reiterate the mission and some key info to get you started, but first I want to explain why I’m doing this.  First, it’s been a long, long time since I’ve read the entire bible.  When I did read it through, it wasn’t read as a single book, but as a few chapters Old Testament, and a few chapters of the New Testament.  So why for me now?  Because God commands it, and I want to grow in His Word.  Deuteronomy 17:18 – 20 tells the story of a king who needs “the Book”.  “It shall be With him”…always. ”  “he shall Read therein all the days of his life.”  I say why not?  I don’t want satan to have any strongholds on me, so I plan on putting on my armor. 

The plan is to read it through from beginning to end, and gain a perspective of God’s plan for salvation through the generations.  The mission is “To read ATTENTIVELY every word of the Bible in 90 days.” 

Why 90 days instead of a year?  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had that as my goal, and gotten bogged down in Leviticus, never to return again.  It’s a short term commitment, where lots can be learned.  People have found that reading large chunks over a short period of time helps you make connections and see themes you might not otherwise see.  This is in no way an in depth Bible study, and that should come later.  In this 90 days, you’ll get the meaning of the Bible, and of God’s plan and purpose. 

It is recommended that you not use your regular study Bible, and not to mark your reading Bible up a lot.  You may just want to have a pencil ready to mark a verse, and later go to your study Bible to highlight it.  There will also be times that God will speak to you as you read, so do keep a notepad handy. 

The specific plan calls for a specific Bible that is already in daily sections for you and averages to 12 pages per day.  I don’t have that,  but I found in my research that it averages 13 to 16 chapters daily, and has two days built in as free days.  The reading time is between 45 to 60 minutes per day.  I also have a guide of daily readings that I will post later today, the first one being Genesis 1-13.  As I said earlier, this is a serious commitment, for EVERY DAY reading.  Things are going to come up between now and the end of March to disrupt your plans, but you have to be ready for that and willing to do whatever it takes to stay on schedule. 

I want us to be accountable for this.  I need someone to ask me about my reading, and if you sign on to do this with me, be sure to know I will be asking you about yours!  I want to post along the way about God moments and what we learn, so keep me updated along the journey as to how He’s reaching out to you. 

In the words of Philip Green, let me encourage you.  ”  Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.  Any child of God endeavoring to acquire more faith must spend time in the words of the living God.  For we are commanded to give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.  (1 Timothy 4:13) 

Let’s start today and finish up on April 1st.  I can’t wait to start this journey!  I have so much to say about this, but I know how lengthy this is already.  I’ll post the schedule later on this morning, after I sleep a bit!