Discussing gardening, flowers, vegetables, and fruits. Seeds and seed catalogs… it’s a passion for my family. For me, speaking about the Lord and Savior and salvation became a great passion, when I realized His passion for saving us, yet many seeds have yet to be planted. Seeds have to be planted fresh for the season.

You probably know this feeling as a gardener, that growing your own and then enjoying the harvest is the best feeling, best taste too. Even if I don’t get much out of my garden, I hope to get more than the rabbits and groundhog do. It’s not about the money either, more goes in the cost of preparing it than simply buying at the market. But what’s fresh and what becomes a fruit of your labor is so very sweet.

That’s how God gardens for us. His gentle planting, His firm cultivating. His immense LOVE.

He IS the Whole Good Seed Planter and Gardener. His Hands are Harvesting Hands too. And He weeps for the waste, the wasted lives, and those who hear but never bloom. He cares little about the time as He will be the most patient. He cares nothing about the money, as His crop are priceless and delicately made. We are His dust swirled and done in a whisper. Flowers fade but Faith Forevers us.

In my house, we may have a copy of an earthly Whole Seed Catalog, but in His House He catalogs ALL His Seeds and knows each of them. We are all His own, and we are planted to flourish FOR Him. He LOVES each of us to make us for HIMSELF to be WHOLE.

We are mini gardeners for our small families. We must speak of the Lord and His forgiveness and forever-ness, because if we don’t, who will? We are to be keeping Hope and tilling soils of His Souls who are in our sights. Our Children yes, and our Fathers and Mothers, Brothers and Sisters, our toil for Him always is our blessing, as we are to share in His Labor, His Bloom, His WHOLE.

Grow your own. He certainly does.
Amen

—

King David praised a song for us all in Psalm 103:

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.

Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

Amen

• 

Really I hit a funny scripture section – Exodus 17 – Moses ended up holding his arms up allowing his people to fight and win over the Amalekite army, because  when he lowered his arms, they started losing against the Amalekites. Really? God resorted to demonstrating His power to the grumbling and grumbling wandering people by a game of Moses Simon-says? Actually this game which is no game looks like “God says – Moses – says – Moses does” and what is more funny to the point of being comical (but it wasn’t) is that others had to come in and hold up Moses’s arms for him. Really? Is that like adjusting the antenna on the TV’s on the roof or stringing up metal wire and tinfoil to help get in a  distant radio signal? Kinda crazy huh? 

God was and is a God who demonstrates His love and His power. Not only God wanted His people to be blessed, He wanted His people to be taught respect and to know His rule. Really.

Can we be like Moses and listen and act? Can we be a supporter to the mission and do what it takes to help God’s message come thru to the people? Can we at least show that we respect God and listen to His commands? Do we realize that even though we are asked to do something specific, it is God who causes the victory?
God chose His chosen people and He also knew the people who would go against His chosen. Moses received God’s signal and sent it forth – Moses and the law were taught for thousands of years – and still today. Moses had to endure the grumbling of the people (imagine the grumbling that God still endures today). Moses  heard the 10 Commandments directly from God – and Moses knew that the people needed to uphold the law. We all do. People need help to uphold the law. We all do. Moses needed help to hold his arms up too – those men, Aaron and Hur, helped hold up God’s law and they were side by side that battle day to support the mission of Joshua. Could we keep our arms up? Could we be Moses and/or Moses’s helpers? I have seen people do many sweet and long-serving actions for people they love.

We have also seen so much that God has done for us. Would God raise His hands until the battle was won? Ahhhhhhh….  of course He did – He held up until He said “It is Finished.” 

Really.

Really Amen.

————

Exodus 17:8-16

The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.” Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”

I thought of a favorite game, Othello, where you capture rows and flip the tile colors black or white to indicate that they belong to you. Having a strategy helped, and so did maximizing your moves. My brother’s favorite game as a kid was Tiddlywinks, flipping colorful disks towards the center space for points, your aim had to be good. You had favorite flippers. I just remember that He was better than me for sure because he put time into studying it, like an engineer almost. 

So why is turning to faith more like Tiddlywinks and not Othello? Or neither?

First faith is not a game. Faith is a gain, yes. Faith is rooted in truth not randomness or skill. But Tiddlywinks requires action, calculated or simply direction. And we helping others in their faith journey requires action on our part. This may be as basic as not throwing someone off their game of life. And for sure we are encouragers, building them up.

“Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! ” Matthew 18:7

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Seriously, how is Tiddlywinks like being an mini-evangelist or simply a good friend? It’s thinking about how we move people and ourselves closer to God. Our directed actions. Perhaps living by example – prayers and praises show how faith helps us. Our stories mean something, maybe we talk of financial coverage, giving credit to God for pulling us thru tough times, or Him making us smart enough to spend wisely, or giving us some extra for enjoyment. For sure we must talk about His help to us thru this pandemic. We know others who are so comforted in their times of stress by His presence. Can we show others our faith?

How is God NOT like Tiddlywinks? He simply tips the board to His favor and with His Hand slides us all into His circle closest to Him, best yet He hand lifts each of us to Him. He of course brings Jesus to us, no matter where we are on the board or fallen off onto the floor or swept under the rug or jammed in the vacuum cleaner. We KNOW God is looking for us – tell the world and say Praise the Lord.

God and faith is no game, but our gain, and His gain. 
He IS an awesome God. 
Amen 

—
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. James 1:17-18
—–
Psalm 16

Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing. ”I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.” Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips. Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

—–

Discussing God’s faithfulness when they beheld the physical Ark of the Covenant – 1 Chronicles 16:7-36

That day David first appointed Asaph and his associates to give praise to the Lord in this manner: Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, you his servants, the descendants of Israel, his chosen ones, the children of Jacob. He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth. He remembers his covenant forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit. ”When they were but few in number, few indeed, and strangers in it, they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another. He allowed no one to oppress them;  for their sake he rebuked kings: “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.” Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling place. Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;  let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” Let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them! Let the trees of the forest sing, let them sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;  his love endures forever. Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations; that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.” Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.”

I appreciate the common themes in the old testament and the new testament. specifically Water, Bread, Perfect Provisions, Testing, Listening, a Covenant Promise and a grumbling people – Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus and the need for Jesus.

Old Testament travails of the Israelites involved a lot of grumbling, yet the Lord provided in just the exact provisions. If they didn’t need it, they weren’t supposed to save it, and they weren’t supposed to go out for stuff they didn’t need. They were supposed to listen and obey. God supplied drinkable water, food, and a day of rest. God did test the people, often they failed, but God prevailed in keeping them safe to get them to the promised land. God physically provided and physically had them save a small portion of manna with the Ten Commandment tablets as a reminder of what He had provided. Do we likewise have a physical remnant of Jesus in us, with us? Yes we do. We are the carriers of His Spirit maintaining us and providing our needs. We must not let that rot. We must consume our daily bread and make use of it and know that tomorrow God will provide again. We are the carriers of His fulfilled promise and His sustenance is not too much or too little.

In the desert, grumbling and refusal to follow directions/rules continued and this frustrated Moses. Not only does this show that the people themselves could not fulfill the promises that God wanted them to hold onto, they tested God when God was testing them. Therefore a New Covenant, that of Jesus sealed the deal to make the redemption of all who would listen as something that could only come from heaven. The grumblings we have today continue, but so do our Perfect Provisions if we only realize. Jesus IS the Daily Bread, the Water of Life, the Perfect Provision. The Lord may seem like He is testing us, but that’s on us because He already provided the best and only answer we need, Jesus. Our need for listening more than grumbling continues these days – and so does our need to obey and believe in the Promise that God keeps. (And so does the rotting of the excesses that we don’t need. They had maggots, we have maggots. All earthly treasures turn back to dust.)

The stories of old are not just stories but written down to understand that the Lord’s Way provides. Jesus did say that it was impossible for a rich man to enter heaven because he did not give his possessions away and trust the Lord’s provision. We too. The Israelites wandered, we have wonder. We must TRUST that our best way is following HIS WAY.

He provided the out (exodus) and now provides the in (the entering INTO the Kingdom thru Jesus).

Bread Water and Perfect Provision

Thank You God!

Amen

---

Exodus 15:22
Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”
Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.
There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.” Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.

Exodus 16:4-5 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”

14-34 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’”

The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed. Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.” However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.

Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’”

So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”

Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” So the people rested on the seventh day.

The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’”

So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.” As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved.

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Matthew 19:16- KJV
And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

Again and Again we read about the Lord as fire, light, clouds, presence, strength, and direction… (Think of all those kids not watching “The 10 Commandments” old-time movie – will they know the scene of the people being led thru the parted Red Sea?)

For all of us today – we may not see the sea, but we can look but for the Pillar of Cloud to direct and to cover – block our way if God does not intend us to go there. And we can look for the Pillar of Fire – to give light in the darkness and to give warmth. These were placed by God then and now, directed by His angels, for us to “Look His Way”…

Pharaoh was used by God to make a point for future generations. God used Moses to make a path for His people. God GAVE Jesus to be that Way for us all. We are to “Look His Way” – in seeing the people of the world as Jesus did, in LOVE. “Who is like you – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? “You stretch out your right hand, and the earth swallows your enemies. In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed.”

Light and Clouds direct our day – can we appreciate when our backs are up against the wall? When we are not seeing a way? Can we LOOK for God? and when we have people, family, children to lead, can let God direct how we move?

See God delivers what He promises He already has – we must just LOOK His Way.

Amen

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Exodus 13: 21-22
By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

14:13-31
Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”

Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

15: 1-21
Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:
“I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.

2 “The Lord is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
3 The Lord is a warrior;
the Lord is his name.
4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh’s officers
are drowned in the Red Sea.
5 The deep waters have covered them;
they sank to the depths like a stone.
6 Your right hand, Lord,
was majestic in power.
Your right hand, Lord,
shattered the enemy.

7 “In the greatness of your majesty
you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger;
it consumed them like stubble.
8 By the blast of your nostrils
the waters piled up.
The surging waters stood up like a wall;
the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy boasted,
‘I will pursue, I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;
I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
and my hand will destroy them.’
10 But you blew with your breath,
and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
in the mighty waters.
11 Who among the gods
is like you, Lord?
Who is like you—
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?

12 “You stretch out your right hand,
and the earth swallows your enemies.
13 In your unfailing love you will lead
the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
to your holy dwelling.
14 The nations will hear and tremble;
anguish will grip the people of Philistia.
15 The chiefs of Edom will be terrified,
the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,
the people of Canaan will melt away;
16 terror and dread will fall on them.
By the power of your arm
they will be as still as a stone—
until your people pass by, Lord,
until the people you bought pass by.
17 You will bring them in and plant them
on the mountain of your inheritance—
the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling,
the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.

18 “The Lord reigns for ever and ever.”

19 When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.
20 Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing. 21 Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.”

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+15%3A1-21&version=NIV

It’s easy to reap the benefits of a strawberry patch if they grow well – you set aside the garden location for that crop and only that crop – net it to protect from robber birds – water, harvest and enjoy. 

But what about the benefits of our worship and our witness? Can we set aside time to be fruitful? Yes you must set aside time, you must grow, you must protect your ever growing faith and nourish and display the fruit of the Spirit that God has given you. It feels good to see the blessings of dedication today, and it is LONGVIEW fruitfulness for Heaven God has set us aside for. Even if what we do sometimes seems for the birds, even the birds are God’s creation – He will put our labor to His use.

We must set aside time for God. We must set aside time for prayers. We must set aside time for reading the scriptures. We must set aside time away from earthly distractions AND set aside time for Heavenly Hungering. 

In the RAPTURE, a term for the raising of the faithful into heaven, other people will be left behind. GONE! As those who have declared faith in Jesus are taken up, including those under the age of a level of making decisions, the others may or may not know the reason. Think about the plaque of the first born dying in Exodus 11, except these people (including us who have avowed Jesus as Lord) will just be GONE. How will they understand? The others only have one way to still come to faith in what is called the Greatest Awakening (Revelation 7) and these people will suffer thru the great tribulation. These people will have to become martyrs in unblinking ways of following the Way of Jesus.

How will they know?  Our peddling of the Word is not for profit, or corrupting, as apostle Paul stated in his 2nd Corinthians letter 2:17. Sharing the faith is probably the only thing that we can set aside for the longest most valuable challenge for others to find salvation-securing HOPE. Whether the rapture is today or many days/years/centuries from now, think of those people, those who may be your own grown children and grandchildren. Our role is to witness and leave our witness behind. Figure out what we can do and share to allow them to become aware. We want ourselves and our offspring sealed with redemption – If Moses instructed the Israelites to redeem the firstborn “And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.” – then we are to encourage others to be redeemed for the Lord’s return. Jesus, the sacrificial lamb, has and will lead us out of this world with His mighty Way.

Myself, I have known some of the small crops of my labor, so what is the long term harvest that God picked for me to participate in? (I’m not talking simply about yummy strawberries – and certainly not about kale since a groundhog or rabbit ate all that out of my garden, boo)… Perhaps I would or should never know, on earth. I know that my writing and sharing is for Him – I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t be. I do benefit – I process – I pray – but for Him my writing is not just for today. I believe that He has a Way – and I believe that these writings are for someday not just for today. Specifically I have decided to write my way thru the bible. I am in Exodus and Revelation – fittingly at the same time. This will be a lifelong pursuit and passion of mine – but it is for His glory and His fruitful harvest – IN HIS TIME.

Jesus set aside everything – especially His Life for those whom would believe. Perhaps (YES) He needs us to set aside time for eternal others. NOT just here and now, we are to think about others we know AND think about those left behind whom we won’t know. Perhaps relatives, perhaps others, all needing feeding. Leave physical bibles around – leave stickers of scriptures – leave clues like none other. Leave the legacy of His life in you.

SHARE FOR THE SAKE OF THE FUTURE PEOPLE WHO WILL NEED TO BE UNSHAKABLE IN THEIR FAITH. It is not just about us – it never was. It is about ALL. 

We can LOOK to the Lord for our CLUE – How has He set aside you?

AMEN 

—-

The Great Multitude in White Robes (witnessing and writing by John)
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”

Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.‘ Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’

‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ ”

Revelation 7:9-17 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+7%3A9-17&version=NIV

We must witness of God’s goodness, our call can never be DONE.
Concluding doesn’t exist anyway, there are so many who need to hear of Jesus, multitudes under the sun.

Truly the winning of souls can not be undone.
Jesus said “It is finished”, the battle over sin and death WON.
But that does not mean our marching is DONE.

God painfully aches for all souls, every single one.
So for Him we MUST share our knowledge of His Son.

In Jesus IT IS FINISHED, now the SAVING has really begun.
We can share and we can pray for all to listen and for their souls won.

We can share the greatest gift under the sun.
God’s love and Jesus’s sacrifice brings GRACE to everyone.

The battle IS won, but our work is not quite done.

Amen

A HUGE reminder to not be “in the flesh” with situations which won’t last. Don’t get pulled in and trade wisdom for sin… 

I love this truth: I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy. Surely the righteous will praise your name, and the upright will live in your presence. Psalm 140

Any scene where the “be still” was and is MORE powerful than the “be bothered” or “be put off” means he has better things in how to use our time than us to get involved in sweating the small stuff that could pull us off my game. I’ve seen the Lord rally my trials so often. It is best for us to buckle down His armor a little tighter around our hearts. I remember that life can be like the weather, just wait and it will change. 

When we take the high road, that the Lord takes us on, it’s best we remain the graceful driver that He taught us to be on the Way. And when the roads are blocked, there’s almost always a side diversion that He needed us on. We don’t see it until we see it.

I love this part of Psalm 141, totally appropriate!!!! I call to you, Lord, come quickly to me; hear me when I call to you. May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.

Jesus said “Feed my sheep”. He didn’t say “argue with the other sheep”, that leads to less time for feeding… yup! 

TAKE THE HIGH ROAD!

We pray about many things, we sometimes forget to believe our prayers work.  God can move mountains and Jesus said we too can move mountains. 

Can prayers help me help my cat? Imagine that… My prep and reading Facebook posts and now 2 vets to navigate the issues, which are mild, are NOTHING compared to praying for help from the Lord. I could take a scientific approach to what triggers a clogged nose, or simply start praying and cleaning… I can do all of these things. And I am grateful for these resources into which I am blessed to use.

Surely, when I started praying to find my hidden cat last night (again), making sure she was ok after a steroid and antibiotic treatment, an angel poked her in the butt to wake her up and she walked under my arms, that quick… THAT QUICK!!! She stood sleepy but present. Good. Same thing happened 2 days prior when I was driving home early from work to take my daughter to the train, and a flood of text messages that they couldn’t find the cat (yes she’s the star of our house). I prayed as I calmly poked in all the crevices, knowing she was simply sleeping. She was and she came out.

The angel returned the favor to her and at 4:30 in the morning and she woke me from my peaceful slumber by administering the classic calculated wake up bite (I’m not lying, I’ve see my engineering-minded cat study the scene and turn her head to administer the bite JUST SO…) UP – yes cat – and she got her wish of the front door opened so she could watch the birds…  (UP – Yes Lord – I got up eventually and got to my devotion writing!)
I told you, the cat is where it’s at. 9 lives? 9000 angels more likely. What about our spiritual armies? Yes we have them too (ASK ELISA!).

You can pray for guidance, but you have to take it. You have to believe that God is already here watching and waiting for you to realize. You can look for a solution, but God’s already made it (ask Jehoshaphat). If you put God first, He will direct the rest of the day and put the rest into your day. If you put the most important things into your schedule first, He will rearrange the rest. If you accept the comfort, command and control of Jesus into your lifeboat for His guidance, not only are your storms calmed, but you get to your destination THAT QUICK (John 6).
Just now I administered the cat a syringe of antibiotics, wrapped and held her like a baby, a gentle firm mom-handling. Well,  if God gets to that point with us, giving us our medicine, it’s good to go with it rather than fight. I held the cat wrapped like a baby, but with a strong armed constricting grip like on a squirmy toddler. No matter when we are stronger, and can hold something like a cat, there are situations beyond our control. Remember God is INFINITELY INTENSELY STRONGER and holds us AND the world in HIS CONTROL. We should believe that and appreciate it. 
That quick,  believing He will take care of us, we arrive at the destination God wants us to be. And that destination IS realizing we are HIS CHILD. Let Him handle the rest.

Amen!

—–

John 6:16-21

When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and IMMEDIATELY the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

—

2 Kings 6:15-17

When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.

“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.—2 Chronicles 20:14-21Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.

He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”

Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord.  Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:
“Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”

Have you ever wanted to say A LOT – but know it is not going to get you where you want to go? Sometimes instead of spinning our wheels, we need to get out and walk and leave the mud behind. We know (even if we sometimes can’t help ourselves) that we should hold our tongues and this often brings us peace – or at least less strife or this pushes the battle to another day to maintain your peace TODAY. Therefore can you (can I?) hold onto the thought that when we trust the Lord to keep us, we can “hold our peace”. We are to wear our Armor of God and get more ground by letting water go under the bridge.

If the Lord can part the Red Sea for all of Moses’ people to go thru (see the fabulous scriptures below), surely He can help us hold our own peace, hold back our crush of life, hold back our enemies or at least hold back our desire to grab retribution. Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord… Let us continue to walk in His peace.

In other words, let the Lord pick your battles, AND let the Lord pick up HIS weapons, not us. I have seen more powerful battles won by Him than by me. I have seen more resolution by me staying His course than by me trudging up to use every weapon (including my tongue) which eventually falls short.

If you drop your peace to pick up weapons, you are losing what peace was already yours to own. Hold onto your peace and let the Lord work the battle. Fight the right war – against evil – not against flesh and blood. For the flesh will wither away and the blood of forgiveness is the only blood you need.

Our battles may be short but HIS VICTORY lasts forever.

Amen !!!

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Paul to the Ephesians 6:5-18
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

The Armor of God
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+6%3A5-18&version=NIV

Exodus 14:8-31 Moses and the Israelites leaving Pharaoh’s grip.
And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.

And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.

And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.

But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses.

CH15
Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.

Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone.

Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.

Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters. Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2014&version=KJV
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+15%3A1-13&version=KJV

Lord, give us our daily peace.

On my evening walk, the air was cooling down from a summer day in the off-season, but the peace was perfectly timed and placed. The peace of walking with the Lord, thinking about His walk, guiding my walk, is a moment I treasure, even if I know that He often walked with pain at the known unraveling of people. He kept walking. At first I walked by some sounds of people complaining, and it surely hurt the Lord’s ears as it hurt mine. Then I walked filled with my thoughts of weird times, weird daily moments, weird things that mean nothing in the bigger picture of my life but could be considered wet paint of things I need to avoid. I walked under the streetlight and saw flowing robes of Jesus reflected in my dress and sweater. He is here. HE IS WITH US ALWAYS.  And He walks… 
The Lord shows us daily peace to pass the day, passover the day, pass on the day… Daily peace is for the day, it will be applied again tomorrow, but those troubles belong over there, and so will the peace for that day that will show up again.

Like the Passover lamb, nothing should be left to pass over till tomorrow. No meat, no sun, no sin, no regrets, no worries,  no FOOLING. Jesus absolves all in one pass, each day, every day. One pass. Pass no fear until tomorrow either. 

Exodus 12:10-11 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it.  This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.

I kept walking through the Lord’s peace until I had applied it completely to the day and my mind. I walked until I heard only the rustling trees, the distant chatter, the distant day faded away. I looked at the lighted moon and the stars appeared as if I had forgotten them all day. Just like the stars don’t disappear in the daytime, don’t think that Jesus’s Daily Peace disappears either.

Don’t let any of today’s worries remain, Jesus gave us His Daily Peace.

Amen

—-
Matthew 28:20 Jesus said: “… And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

John 14:25-29 Jesus said: These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.  And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.

Boldness in bravado is not always spirit-driven but BOLDNESS in FAITH is what can come from the Spirit pushing us past our fears into feverent functions of faith. It’s like jumping into the deep end without taking a step.  If the Spirit drives it, it’s going to be fine, still scary, but fine…

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.  For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” Paul to Timothy (2nd letter) 

Once again, God opened a door and pushed me thru it. Sure I enjoy doors for my choosing, but His choosing? Can be scary. Boldness is a balancing act of fueled faith – not a bursting like a firecracker but explosive energy driven into a mechanical steam train engine. Catch on fire and people will come watch you burn they say – so make use of the power. Firecrackers fizzle but Fire-power moves. 

I got to chat with my CEO yesterday in a video series interviewing employees who signed a pledge about acting upon diversity, equity, and inclusion in light of the racial and other unrest over the past year.  My nervousness was not with the CEO, but was with satisfying the recordings for broadcast. I knew that I had an opportunity to show caring, speak caring, be the encourager that I am, but what soundbites did they want?… It went fine, good, and fast. I could have said much more but perhaps my words succinct were better. I had to put my faith in the Lord that my faith would come out in my words. It was my LATER conversations where the door once again becomes swung open for God to push me thru. In talking about my scientific and other work writing, I can now naturally mention my spiritual blogs and use my new favorite statement: “I am WRITING MYSELF THRU THE  BIBLE”… YUP – there’s a classic pause for people show they are impressed, even if I am not trying to impress but process writing to EXPRESS. 

An interesting commentary I can make and do make about these faith conversations at work – is that FAITH is THAT POWERFUL that it’s still not officially talked about, unlike the other directives and important buzzwords of the day. I mentioned to my new friend that this written and unwritten rule shows us how POWERFUL faith discussions are.

Jesus came into the world as meek as a baby – and as BOLD as a baby – a baby filled with BOLDNESS in His meekness (His angel-overlookers must have been the best ever). In my awakening song, Come to the Cradle by Michael Card, a favorite lyric is “the trusting glance of a child” – Jesus is forever trusting when He looks to His Father wow – Jesus must have had SUCH trust to be a baby – SUCH knowledge – and yet we don’t know all what was going thru His mind. I bet Jesus was a trusting child – a trusting adolescent – a trusting adult. We must become the trusting child of God and be bold with His boldness. We must reduce our adult skepticism and trust like a child. We must know that we will be OK.
It’s a small effort on God’s part to maneuver the little things to Him which are HUGE to us. So when He is moving the mountain that is our fear, we step more and more easily into that trust. We can take baby steps and God will move the baby carriage for us. 

“Until God opens the door, praise Him in the hallway”… YUP…

Keep looking boldly. Keep BOLD faith.

Amen 
—

The Little Children and Jesus

People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”Luke 18:15-17https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+18%3A15-17&version=NIV

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He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And Jesus said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:2-4https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2018%3A2-4&version=NIV;KJV

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Paul to Corinthians For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+13%3A9-12&version=KJV;NIV

If nothing else (and there’s plenty else) reading the scriptures brings you the opportunity to understand the Lord’s heart. He wants to demonstrate His Love for us. He wants to demonstrate His suffering and dedication to the collective healing of not the world but of the people. He wants us to know when we sacrifice, He already made a sacrifice for us. He understands pain, He understands the importance of moving forward past the pain as well.

Jesus with God, have Lorded over all from the beginning and have Lorded by example. Their sufferings on the earth also are “strangely dim” compared to the glory of their Heaven and the ongoing and everything gathering by grace of their beloved flock.

One of the most difficult scriptures to fathom is the death of the firstborn children in the plagues of the Egyptians. God knew that if the previous messages didn’t get thru, this one would. He knew it also demonstrated to His followers then and today that listening to the Lord protects. Acting upon instructions demonstrates listening. Rejoicing after protection demonstrates teaching about His Love.

It’s not that Jesus avoided His pain and imposed it on others, He certainly absorbed pain and separation. It is that God knew there was no other way to convince Pharaoh, who was reticent to listen thru even seemingly the worst plagues before this. God even knew that there would never be such louder wailing in Egypt than this act would cause. But Pharoah was unwilling to follow what clearly had been spoken by the Lord as messages.

God early on decided that His own First Born, Jesus, was a sacrificial Lamb. No wailing could be bigger than His. And no healing could be better than His, to have renewed hope of eternity with all the re-gathered sheep in us, in us who listen and obey. That’s the ultimate “moving forward”. God moved forward with a plan and powered thru His pain. When we have pain, we also need to move forward, that’s not always on our timelines, certainly not on anyone else’s, just only on God’s. God has determined to be with His people and moved Himself to make His people move.

God leads, lives, loves by example and by rule. God is the ultimate power and pursuer. God wants us to understand His heart. God wants our hearts in love. He longs for all His children. Listen to Him today.

Amen

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Exodus 11

The Plague on the Firstborn
11: Now the Lord had said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely. Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.” (The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.)

So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.’ Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will leave.” Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.

The Lord had said to Moses, “Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you—so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt.” Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.

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Exodus 12:27-30
And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped. The Israelites did just what the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron.

At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.

There is a great truth, that people will know we are Christians by our love. How about this statement? They will know we are Christians by OUR HUNGER. 

We need to learn and we need to be hungry and understand and digest what we can. As we age as people and grow as Christians – we need to develop a more refined palate – less junk and more good…

I thought I would step in to visit one other church that I’ve been watching online… I appreciated so much my vaccinations (even if i was SORE after that second shot, feeling like the tinman and rusty in my movements, it only lasted one day). So with that thought of “freedom” I thought 3 churches is better than just one when you hunger like I do… Like a 3 course meal for a sunday breakfast, and it WAS convenient for their 8AM service finished before my regular church service (catching the 3rd online later). At 8AM these people certainly weren’t there by obligation, they were HUNGRY for the Word. And yes, I LOVED singing at a great volume, two songs I knew,  two I learned. I kept my mask on, I was distanced in the pew and I took in the risk assessment of life, this moment I felt safe enough.

What certainly was SPREADING was the GOSPEL, and much understanding of end times, the book of Revelation, in which this pastor has been a great help to me to explain the times. (even though I read Revelation, there is no one who can wrap their heads around all the intricacies, wow). This pastor feels we are just on the cusp of the beginning of the end. This pastor sees this pandemic as a practice. Because Jesus “is before all things, and in him all things hold together”. This pastor describes the “loose-ing of the forces” as the steps that will happen post rapture and there will be much strife to the earth. We want to be those non-earth people – be the Kingdom people – who are loving the Lord and taken up home well before the end of the earth. Once it’s JESUS JUDGEMENT TIME for all those who COULD HAVE listened and followed and didn’t, it is going to be sad but Jesus justice prevails…  He gave His tears and His life – now He will give His Judgement in due time and the stages of the Tribulation will commence… Revelation 14:16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

ANYWAY, whatever your take on the closeness to the end, we know that our work and worship should be strong. Yes, it’s important to pay attention to the signs, and therefore imperative to pay time into following the Lord. It’s living with awareness, keeping a hunger for His Ways, which will guide us… and no matter the issues of the world, a pre-known to be BROKEN world, we look to the Redeemer of the world, Jesus. We are to argue less about things that are desires of the flesh, money, status, fluff, and put Kingdom things first.

At 9:30 – my second church service these people were ALSO HUNGRY flipping thru their bibles and discovering new understanding to what seemed like normal scripture – but it was not! Flavoring our Hunger is the UNDERSTANDING of how scripture relates to us. This sermon was about WHAT we are to judge – and especially judging right and wrong within ourselves.

And I must draw a parallel to my scripture reading this morning, studying old times, watching/reading Moses warn Pharaoh, but Pharoah not budge, watching/reading Moses direct the Israelites, but the Israelites not believe him. This pandemic has been a current study case of studying people’s willingness to either wallow or work, follow blindly or forge knowingly, follow knowingly or grumble grievously… 

I see it matters less which side of any political or social situation we fall, it’s the knees we are to bow for the Savior of us all.

We will understand Him by our Hunger for His Ways. All things, all power, all people’s destinies are dependent upon the Lord. Our hearts are to be guarded and behind the armor of God driving us forward in service. Don’t get hung up on the hang ups. Snooze the sleeping giant of strife. If the Israelites didn’t understand God and His Power completely, we have no excuse. We know where we are supposed to go. God did get His people and Moses to their place. Us too. We will only get there by our love to be in and to share His love.

We have been promised a supper at His table – Revelation 19:9 – And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” 
Let Him know we are Christians by our HUNGER.Let’s stay HUNGRY!

Amen 

——
Exodus 6:2-9 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+6%3A2-9&version=NIV

God also said to Moses, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself fully known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.

—
Colossians 1: The Supremacy of the Son of God https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=colossians+1%3A15-20&version=NIV

15-20  The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.  For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

To nice to see Christmas the crab has rejoined us in society! He was molting again,  I thought the worse, but the clue to know if they are still alive is that they don’t stink from rotting… 

That’s us too – 2nd Corinthians 2:14-15 – to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.

I’m awake for this day after 2nd vaccination day with aches and pains, OUCH, they are REAL, but they are worth it – slept about 5 hours waking up like 5 times… I just had a cup of tea,  did a yoga stretching and the endorphins from stretching were great.  Thankfully my brain is intact, it’s just my muscles like I gardened all day, which I didn’t… like each stretch is good relief… I heard the crab and remembered that he takes LOTS of downtime to regenerate his body, and he does look better, as if he only did half a molt last time, finished it now. That blue giant claw looks much better. 
I heard him clanking in his aquarium. I brought him a carrot. He was drinking water so that’s a great sign, having thought he was a goner… Now he’s back!!! Yay!

Our short lives reminds me of scriptures that our time is but a blip of time. But our spirit renews. 

Isaiah 40: 6  “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

2 Corinthians 4:16. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 

2 Corinthians 5:17. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. 

Psalm 51:10-12 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

AMEN!!!

“A darkness that was felt” – WOW !!! The Lord sent a plague of darkness for 3 days to the Egyptians because of Pharaoh putting conditions upon the way he would let the Israelites slaves worship God. Belief with conditions is not something that should be held when bargaining with God.  Darkness was imposed because of the conditions that Pharaoh placed, was not just darkness from light but distance from hope. I can’t imagine what the Egyptians felt, and this was after flies and frogs and lice and livestock death. God thru Moses was teaching Pharaoh a lesson about His all encompassing power and God was setting the stage for the release of all the slaves from Pharaoh’s grip.

Setting the stage – also done in darkness for musicals and plays – except there are footlights and markers on the floor. So darkness is not really darkness and our eyes adjust to look for the small light cues. The Israilite slaves who did worship and listen to God (mostly) had light for those 3 days. SO do we!

When have you felt darkness – have you felt distance from God? Is it an imposed darkness from Him or from you? Darkness that is to be navigated in life IS a darkness that is felt. Or when you have felt darkness, have you looked for small glimmers of hope and shards of light? Perhaps that is why one of the best scriptures in the bible is: “Walk by Faith, NOT by Sight.”

A friend told me once on a camping trip they were placed in complete darkness and then only given a birthday candle – a small birthday candle. but the LIGHT from that one small flame was SO BRIGHT – unbelievably bright. That is what faith in God brings – HOPE – LIGHT – A WAY – that is what Jesus brings – the WAY.

Don’t disregard God and end up in darkness. Feel your way to faith, listen and look, and you will see the Light.

AMEN!

—–
The Plague of Darkness (Exodus 10:21-29)
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.”  So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.

Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship the Lord. Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind.”

But Moses said, “You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the Lord our God. Our livestock too must go with us; not a hoof is to be left behind. We have to use some of them in worshiping the Lord our God, and until we get there we will not know what we are to use to worship the Lord.”

But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go. Pharaoh said to Moses, “Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die.”

“Just as you say,” Moses replied. “I will never appear before you again.”

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+10%3A21-&version=NIV

Waking up with shoulder pain is not new to me, nor is waking up in the middle of the night.  Ibuprofen might help the shoulder, but what about the wandering mind? Prayer, study, being still. I woke up with the song lyrics “You go before I know that you’ve even gone to win my war…” so true, God goes ahead of us, even to the end. Jesus is the beginning and the end. I have a hard time understanding processing but that’s ok, He only wants our faith.  I have faith because He has carried me so far. (I went back to sleep, no worries)

Well I appreciate that He goes ahead of us and me, I need that, we MUST trust in the Lord. We must stay smart and remember it is not our battle with the powers that drag us down, it’s the Lord’s battle and He will carry us inside His armor. Pain brings us awareness, like my shoulder, and then we have to do something about it. Pain, fear, strife bring us awareness of God, and then we have to let Him do something about it. 

Instead of listening to those worries, I brought myself back to reading thru the bible,  I am in Exodus, where Pharaoh’s heart is getting harder and harder, by God’s power to allow him to go down that road, by Pharaoh not respecting God. Moses (and Aaron) have  to convince first the people then Pharaoh that God, THE GOD, THEIR GOD, is talking to them thru Moses (and Aaron). The israelite slaves just see it getting worse, and back and forth they all see it get tough before it gets better. And then the dividing of the punishments, before the dividing of the red sea. Initially, Pharaoh doesn’t believe and sees his magician folks do similar tricks to initial signs by Moses and Aaron.  But then his people see real and rough plagues, sent by God, believed by the magicians. All these take their toll on the Egyptians as the plagues get weirder and weirder. The outcome is eventually that Pharaoh lets the israelite slaves leave. But only after Pharaoh had to BOTH believe AND fear God.

Since the gnats were on people and animals everywhere, the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said. Exodus 8:18-19

How about dragons? Thinking separately about the Book of Revelation, it ALSO gets WEIRDER and WEIRDER.   I’m not sure how many more years, months, days we have before rapture and tribulation, so I recommend a bible study to step you thru the weirdness of those prophecies.  MOST IMPORTANTLY, I remind myself and us to put on the armor of God to approach life today. Tomorrow too. God knows each day… simply let us be faithful to God, let us take on the day and ONLY this day.

So in yesterday’s recorded message of a bible study of Revelation, I heard something key: “tell your unsaved friends and family to NOT get the mark of the beast, because you won’t be here to tell them not to…“

Hmmm… we won’t be here. Rapture takes the believers up like a surprise, and the people left will be left wondering. They heard but did not believe, like Pharaoh. Too many people are making that mistake today. In tribulation times, 7 years after the Rapture, “the mark” and “the number” will mean something for those left behind in the broken world. But what symbol is not yet fully known now because we are not there yet, it is out of context reading it. 

We need faith and discernment now, but then the people will need discernment to realize… They will have to LISTEN AND BELIEVE. The key scriptures state that there will be a GREAT AWAKENING in those left. But not all. Therefore the only thing I suggest we worry about today, for tomorrow, is what the memory of today will be. Will others, especially non-believers, know how we are faithful and depend on faith today?

Oh, we have to remember to not get upset about the world in a way that detracts from our Way, but work for the Word. The world is going to keep going downhill, but the Word never changes, therefore we must prepare ourselves for spiritual battle every day. We must wake to work and see what God has already won and done, and we build upon that. 

We must know AND believe. Jesus, we put our trust in You.

Today is known to God. Jesus, Lord, please walk us thru today WITH YOU. 

Amen 

Have you ever struggled with not knowing if you are good enough? 
Well you are.

You are good enough for God’s plan, good enough for His mission for you. You are good enough for making good. God will see to that.  God will give you tools, words, signs, and comfort that He is in charge. If you wonder, just ask God – there is no more authoritative answer about you than from Him.

Do we doubt? Oh yeah. God will use that too. God chose and gave Moses signs to back up the claim that God was speaking to His people thru Moses (a staff that turned into a snake and back, a transformation of his hand to leprous and back, water from the Nile river to pour out like blood). The signs were not tricks and all involved living components of which God only could give life to. Moses spoke to God and God spoke of His power and direction. God told this to Moses for showing compassion for His people oppressed by Pharaoh in Egypt. God saw what had happened and knew what would happen.  God knows what will happen now too, in our lives. Despite all these, Moses said I’m not good enough to speak. Moses was chosen anyway and God made a way for His Way to be known, using his brother Aaron to help. 

Are we bold enough to speak up for ourselves (let alone speak up for what we have seen God do)???. Are we taking the time to pray and listen, as we ought to? How can we speak from His Word if we don’t listen first. And if we don’t speak, our silence speaks too. And how often does God show His power despite our timidness? All the time. God will NOT be stopped.

We are good enough, because God is with us. Who is good enough? God says He is – He is the “I AM”. God says Go! Go. God says Know! Know.

God will be the “I AM” with you today. Believe Him, not me. or believe me because of Him. GO and KNOW.
Amen 

—–
Reading in Exodus 4:https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%204&version=NIV;KJV

10 Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”13 But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”14 Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. 17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.”—-Previous scripture from exodus 3https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+3&version=NIV;KJV

And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’

This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation…….”

I appreciated yesterday that a person (a preacher none the less) stopped in his tracks to tell me and my friend something that they really appreciated reading just at that moment – that Billy Graham likened learning about faith from learning to play golf – that it was a game of waiting and humbleness… it was a tidbit that I agreed with (even if I don’t think of golf) – it was a tidbit to say – remember waiting is not without thinking.

and it is true –  with us faith is waiting… and God is waiting, counting on our faith too.

I get that – I got that – I will have to keep getting that…

The day ahead I knew was going to have waiting – at least it was sunday and I planned to be flexible. So, I timed my Mother’s day lunch just so – stopping at 3 places to bring the right hot food home to be timed when BOTH kids were ready to eat – and I was so hungry just thinking that I was hungry. AND GUESS WHAT? I WAITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but I worked HARD this time to not grumble. I waited…  that is like faith – wait it out – wait and see and not over react…
If I grumbled TOO HIGHLY then I would have upset my own perfect image of a nice lunch. If I grumbled to myself, I still grumbled. Of course I did feel blessed and remembered that I felt blessed. and I waited – but I did stress eat my salad, standing up, waiting and hid the rest into the fridge so it didn’t show my frustration of waiting. (trust me, it was worth eating as substitution this time – I thought this is the best substitute I could get as a human for processing when I would not JUST process by praying. and trust me praying is enough and faith is enough and God is enough. (but if you are going to stress eat anything, choose a salad to get your thru what you have to get thru and this salad was good and only $3 as a big side salad? wow!) I digress…

Why do we have to wait – why don’t we like to wait – why are we made to wait?UMMMM…. I think God knows A LOT about waiting. I think, actually I know, that God is neither sulking in a corner waiting nor storming up and destroying everything He created just to prove a point. God waits. 

God waits. Does God grow cold like my food? No.God waits. Does God give up on us? No. God waits. Does God ALREADY know His wait is worth it? YES.Is God Gracious? well, how could He not be. but does God want what He wants? You betcha!

When we sat down, we had a great meal, I didn’t have to cook, I didn’t have much to clean, I enjoyed sitting and I was forced to sit! I don’t usually sit – I was both blessed to sit and forced to sit in my own kitchen and that was weird because my kids carried on conversations and lingered. I was kinda ready to get up from the table but it was like they were ready to finally sit. weird. cool. blessed. it WAS worth the wait.

I prayed in thankfulness as I know many who can’t gather with their kids – and I prayed hopeful in recognition that I will always count my blessings and not grumble. I did remember that when we grumble, God gives us time to realize to be humble.

God is waiting for us at the table. He has set the table. He has the daily bread for us. Will we come? He is ready to hear about our day and soothe us. He is ready to strengthen us and comfort us because He understands our day. He also knows WHY we are eating – to strengthen for the next challenge. He knows that He is the best sustenance above all because HE gives LIFE. 

We have an opportunity to be with God and feel blessed. God wants us to feel love. In all, He makes us warm with love, and there is not any wait on that…I thought the other day about people who are angry with God and perhaps God wears a hot mitt until they cool down to realize He has always been holding them and taking care of them. As I sat at the table and turned to look out the window – the birds were grabbing bread I tossed in the compost pile. God gives them daily bread seeds and all. He does for us too. When we think about God, we should think about how He takes care of us. He does.

Thank You Lord for my day and my dinner and my hope and my help. Yesterday was Your day, let me make today the day I recognize YOUR WAY too.

Amen

—————-

God will be Gracios
Isaiah 30:18 Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you;
And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
Blessed are all those who wait for Him.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+30%3A18&version=NKJV

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms and our mothering women AND men. Even Jesus had the urge to gather us all like a hen gathers her chicks (Luke 13). 

If there’s one PEACE that I appreciate on Mother’s Day (and every day), it’s the quiet time of early morning when the kids are sleeping. The cat may protest, but I will sit in the quiet of a day. It is not the freshness OF the new day that is as important that the new day IS fresh. It’s as peaceful as possible in a place that is supposed to be filled with peace. HOME. 

It has been my pleasure to be a mom and work my butt off to re-obtain peace each morning, or at least appreciate the peace the Lord has brought me, even if the evenings are sometimes filled with fret and sleep is the default of collapse from the day.  Now, in the morning we have put all that to rest even if temporary. No, not all sleep is peace or all peace is sleeping because Peace is an ongoing pursue-able cause. But sleep is sleep and a gift of a reset. Sleeping mornings is simply a “whew” for a moment… an acknowledgement of safe thus far… a chance to thank the Lord for HIS faithfulness. 

The Lord has woken me up earlier to acknowledge that He is the one who has given me peace most assuredly.
Being a mom means following the Lord’s example in work, sacrifice, and teaching. Being a mom means relying on the Father for strength and direction and patience. Being a mom means that you will take the heat for doing the unpopular things, appearing uncaring because you ARE caring, and that’s just from your own crew. God understands that completely.  

At the END of the day, there is only one good reason for why and how He raises us as His children and how we raise ours… LOVE. 

At the BEGINNING of the day, there is only one good reason for savoring a moment of peace… LOVE.

Jesus said: “I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day…” – So, LET US ALSO PRESS ON, not in strife or pride, but in peace, in gathering the chicks who won’t gather easily, in being OK with being OK…

Thank You Lord for YOUR encouragement. You have brought us “safe thus far”…

Amen 

———–
Luke 13: 31-35

At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem! “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+13%3A31-&version=NIV

—

In as troubled as David the King found himself at times, he appreciated the Lord bringing him back to Him any time and all the time, especially when straying off the path.  

1 Chronicles 17:16-27

David’s Prayer
Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “Who am I, Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?  And as if this were not enough in your sight, my God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You, Lord God, have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men. “What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant, Lord. For the sake of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known all these great promises.

“There is no one like you, Lord, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for yourself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? You made your people Israel your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.

“And now, Lord, let the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house be established forever. Do as you promised, so that it will be established and that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty, the God over Israel, is Israel’s God!’ And the house of your servant David will be established before you. “You, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. So your servant has found courage to pray to you. You, Lord, are God! You have promised these good things to your servant. Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Lord, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever.”

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Chronicles+17%3A16-&version=NIV

I listened to a Bible study about our prayer life, and it was SO good that I listened to it twice, once on my commute to work and again on the commute home. I loved a discussion about how God is SURPRISED that we ourselves don’t intercede on His behalf. Yeah, we know but we wait for God to work. Meanwhile God told us, urged us and equipped us to act. The bible story in Exodus that I read this morning matches this, about Moses doing a small but important thing, he helped the daughters of a Midian to water their flocks. Simple but Moses was in the right place at the right time with the right skills. Moses, in chapter 3, will be charged then with a BIG mission of God with His saying: “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”  WOW! 

Often we are in a place and position to help, to INTERCEDE. God DOES expect it, and probably God is surprised that we don’t trust Him enough to carry out the work, even if it gets tough. We should intercede.

Some acts seem like a no-brainer, some we wonder if we should step up to the plate, some acts are thrust upon us. Each time, it is our humble duty to serve.

So what about us today? Are we on a mission? EVERYDAY. It may be a mission of a smile, and encouraging word, or a wrong that needs to be righted. It may be as vast as sharing God’s love and as deeply personal as understanding within us that God’s intense love IS for us. Let us start here – that we are the ones God hears.

God is always saying that He loves us so much that He takes care of us. I am sure He is surprised that we don’t always believe it. We should believe it. He burns in our hearts and fuels our faith. We are to listen in the moment to the moment. Moses helped with his strength to chase away those preventing the woman from watering their livestock. God helped Moses deliver the Israelites slaves out of Egypt. Both are done from God’s burning desire to set things right, from compassion.

We are to intercede. And the real power is in God, for us to realize in prayer, for us to know Him as “I AM”.  God intercedes for us. He hears us. He WANTS to hear us and handle things with our help and realization. 
We act for His glory and we must believe in the follow thru. Trust God, He is trusting you for His follow thru.

Amen

——-

Exodus 2:15-25 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%202&version=NIV

….Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.  Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock. When the girls returned to Reuel their father, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?” They answered, “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.” – “And where is he?” Reuel asked his daughters. “Why did you leave him? Invite him to have something to eat.” Moses agreed to stay with the man, who gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. Zipporah gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.” During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.

——

Exodus 3 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%203&version=NIV

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’
“This is my name forever,    the name you shall call me    from generation to generation.
“Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’
“The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God.’ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go.
“And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.”

Wonder into Wonder…It is better to read the bible than wonder what says. And truly these stories teach and these stories comfort. God loves to comfort and connect with us. And we remember that HE REMEMBERS. We forget and we go from wonder to wrestle to wander. He would rather have our wonder.

I always wondered how to remember which story was before the others. We can fill in gaps in our memories by reading the truths of history. That brings us to realizing his realness. In my wonder about God, I have wrestled with remembering and I have wandered from the truth. In other words, I am certainly one of God’s people because so many do wonder, wrestle and wander. this leads me to walking.

For memory sake, it is helpful to be alphabetical of the main names we hear about: Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Joseph, eventually Moses….  Moses, floating in his basket, drawn out of the water, comes after Jacob who comes after Abraham.  We all know that they come after Noah – no one could survive the water except those carried thru it – like in the ark, like in Moses’s basket, like us in Jesus’s Living Water arms.

Jacob did not wrestle with tricking his father Issac, who was nearly sacrificed by Abraham, but Jacob certainly wrestled with God who blessed him by touching his hip for just enough injury to be memorable – and then Jacob was renamed Israel, meaning all his descendants (12 sons becoming 12 tribes) were a descendant of Israel. Joseph the youngest, and a great story in Genesis, brought them all to Egypt and they were fruitful and multiplied, fulfilling the promise God made to Abraham, in Genesis 17. 

It is from the journey of Joseph (the fancy coated youngest son of Jacob), sold into Egypt that creates the group of people who become Pharaoh’s slaves (cue Yul Brynner from the movie 10 Commandments). Jacob thru Joseph, by way of a good Pharaoh, brought all the Jacobites Israelites into Egypt. Joseph was the one who saved the Egyptians and Israelites by being smart with the resources and feeding the people. Moses, later would save those then oppressed people by walking them out – thru the parting of the Red Sea – and back towards the promised land. They wandered in the dessert by not wondering enough. They didn’t wrestle with God, they simply walked over and over and argued and argued. 

That is our memory device: many wonderings, many wrestlings, and many wanderings. Us too, we have all wandered to this day – we need to get back to the wonder. It is OK for us to wrestle with God, as long as we look for His blessing. We all need to walk with Him.

Knowing that my other writings brought me to Jesus who is worthy, and Jesus rescues me and all the wanderers in the world who wake up. It is my wonder, wrestle, wander, writing, wakefulness, walk and worth which bring me back to the wonder.

We give up our lives to follow Him – we are floated on the water too. Forever. Moses’s mom said: Let me give up my son so that he could live. She then was able to “borrow” him back to nurture him, raise him and give him over to Pharaoh’s daughter. God too – He was able to give His Son to save us all – He gave him up after 33 years so that we all could live – now that IS a WONDER…

Wonder, Wrestle Wander Write, Wake, Walk With Worth, Wonder

Lord, bring us back to Wonder.  

Amen

---

Exodus 1

These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; 3 Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; 4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. 5 The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt.

6 Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, 7 but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.

8 Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. 9 “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”

11 So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13 and worked them ruthlessly. 14 They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.

15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” 17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”

19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.” 20 So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. 22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”

The Birth of Moses
2 Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, 2 and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. 3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.

5 Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. 6 She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.

7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” 8 “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. 9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”

It’s not “may the fourth/force be with you” as much as we ought to say “may you be with the Lord’s plans.” Ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’  and

May the Wisdom Be With You.

When the alarm rang last night, I was already in my pjs, I then remembered the bible study I forgot,  I had to drop my random nonsense plans for the evening and open up my sensible chapter to read, about gaining WISDOM from the book of James. Excellent and the scripture is timeless and timely. I had 30 minutes to refocus on the Lord, thank God it is a zoom at home to the other coasts, those working mom folks are hungry with kids clamoring at 6pm, me on the other coast I’m tired at 9pm, I’m the cranky kid clamoring instead. Face it, I would have fallen asleep on the couch anyway. That’s why I don’t partake in this bible study zoom on the couch but in the kitchen on the hard uncomfy chairs. And yes, I did once fall asleep, got too comfy, and the host graciously turned my camera off, I woke up 20 minutes later, ugh, I had to laugh it off but God’s grace is no laughing matter, turn your joy to mumble to humble. Get wisdom at any cost. 

Grace, we get grace because others have the wisdom to extend it no matter how much they don’t understand us or if we upset them. We need to do the same for everyone. We are recipients of Grace more often than we ourselves extend it.

The bible study once again was perfect, James 4, we are a moment, He is eternal. “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. “How many times have I read that bible verse, sung it as a song, yet how fast I forget and build my life myself. Too much. We should not boast about our plans nor plan our lives without God. SO TRUE. We don’t know tomorrow, BUT HE DOES. He knows and He has already gone there – and gone ahead of us – He will flash the follow me signs if we look. And so the Lord also knows the level of Grace to apply for our future steps as well. That’s why sometimes when I pray direction, and try to listen, I get simple ‘yes’ and ‘no’ and ‘wait’ for His answers. Other than that He would have preferred I get wisdom from His Word. If I hear little, it’s perhaps that I have asked about something too far ahead. Step back to the moment. Prepare for the Kingdom future, not mine, not ours, but be careful to step to His path. Life or anything won’t proceed without God building it. God gives grace to us sliding down the embankment away from the path. He sends help, or puts big trees on the side to catch us. We rest and realize.

Let us repeat this mantra today: MAY THE WISDOM BE WITH YOU!

May we listen too.
AMEN 

—-
James 4:14-17 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE? YOU ARE A MIST that  appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

from Psalm 127 (from Solomon) Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat– for he grants sleep to those he loves…

Proverbs 4 (from Solomon)

Get Wisdom at Any Cost
4 Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction;
    pay attention and gain understanding.
2 I give you sound learning,
    so do not forsake my teaching.
3 For I too was a son to my father,
    still tender, and cherished by my mother.
4 Then he taught me, and he said to me,
    “Take hold of my words with all your heart;
    keep my commands, and you will live.
5 Get wisdom, get understanding;
    do not forget my words or turn away from them.
6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
    love her, and she will watch over you.
7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom.
    Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
8 Cherish her, and she will exalt you;
    embrace her, and she will honor you.
9 She will give you a garland to grace your head
    and present you with a glorious crown.”

10 Listen, my son, accept what I say,
    and the years of your life will be many.
11 I instruct you in the way of wisdom
    and lead you along straight paths.
12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered;
    when you run, you will not stumble.
13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;
    guard it well, for it is your life.
14 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked
    or walk in the way of evildoers.
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it;
    turn from it and go on your way.
16 For they cannot rest until they do evil;
    they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble.
17 They eat the bread of wickedness
    and drink the wine of violence.

18 The path of the righteous is like the morning sun,
    shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
    they do not know what makes them stumble.

20 My son, pay attention to what I say;
    turn your ear to my words.
21 Do not let them out of your sight,
    keep them within your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them
    and health to one’s whole body.
23 Above all else, guard your heart,
    for everything you do flows from it.
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity;
    keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead;
    fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the paths for your feet
    and be steadfast in all your ways.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;
    keep your foot from evil.

It is wonderful for me to be in a bible study on the book of Revelation at the same time that I am reading Genesis.

Really – the bible is not as flat a timeline as it is a woven matrix of God’s people and God’s love. The connection of course is that Jesus IS the Word – the spoken and the comprehended – and all the bible from Genesis to Revelation is discussion, teaching, and living. All is about God loving us and making us for His pleasure. Reflecting upon these words in Genesis of Jacob (also renamed Israel), as he was about to pass from the earth, brings home the message that God wants us to know what will await us upon death:  “I am about to be gathered to my people.” Is that not what the book of Revelation also shows us? God gathering His people. We are promised His eternal home when we acknowledge Him on the throne. We are the sheep He wants to keep.

Jesus promises return – to take His disciples and us who call Him “Lord” to our healing place in Heaven.  He also promises help in our day to day living, with the gift of the Holy Spirit. The place now on earth is holding onto the stitch in His net that He made for us – our place is found in Him creating and weaving the net to hold us – and after appreciating the stitch, we hitch a ride with Jesus in salvation and find His “Promise” in Jesus. This is a theme and a truth mirrored as in Genesis as spoken by Joseph: “God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”  Old Covenant to New Covenant – the direction and the promise is “Gathering to His People”.

We all await Heavenly Home, with Jesus we are never alone. Are there trials in between Genesis and Revelation? Oh yeah. Is God up to the task to deliver us? He already did. Now we hold on to the One holding us: Jesus. The Alpha and Omega. From the beginning to the next new beginning.

Gathered and Loved.
Amen

—–

Genesis Chapter 49

The Death of Jacob
29 Then he gave them these instructions: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. 31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. 32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.”

33 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

Chapter 50

Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him. 2 Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, 3 taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

4 When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, “If I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, 5 ‘My father made me swear an oath and said, “I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’”

6 Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”
7 So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials accompanied him—the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt— 8 besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household. Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen. 9 Chariots and horsemen also went up with him. It was a very large company.

10 When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly; and there Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father. 11 When the Canaanites who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.” That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.

12 So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them: 13 They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. 14 After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.

Joseph Reassures His Brothers
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.

18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.

19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

The Death of Joseph
22 Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years 23 and saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.[c]

24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” 25 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”

26 So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Again and Again …because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel…

Again and again we biblically see service as valued over situation, and we see GRACE enter as the saving force. In Genesis, we see the younger being served by the elder, a turn of the tables in 3 generations: Jacob and Esau; Joseph and the 11 other brothers; and with Joseph’s two sons. We see the theme of service by force and servitude by choice.

Again and again we also can make the choice to follow our Shepherd, the Rock of Israel. He is our Savior whose Servitude IS by choice.

Jacob, was to be called Israel, with his descendants in the 12 tribes of his 12 sons forever to be called Israelites. Jacob was the younger son who went ahead of Esau. This was also through trickery to Issac the father. Esau, not blameless in his destiny, sold out to his younger brother and Jacob was too eager to take it.  Jacob wrestled with God, and so often God spoke to Jacob and Jacob spoke to God. Jacob was blessed many fold by God’s Grace and guidance. Both Jacob and Esau went on to have trials in life yet they re-connected in forgiveness and grace…

Joseph (with the fancy coat), the youngest son of Jacob, went on to lead the 11 other brothers, many years after they sold him, betrayed him, purposefully lost him. Fast forward many years, Joseph was the one with higher material blessings in Egypt but from his father too, not just in a fancy coat or an extra ridge of land, but with a father’s favorite love. Joseph also sought God’s heart and deepened in his understanding of God’s revealed plan for his service. All the brothers were eventually blessed in the world. Joseph however served like a servant in understanding his blessings and Joseph’s remarkable success was only because God allowed it and caused it… Jacob reminded Joseph that it was God Almighty who made him a prince above his brothers.

We too must remember, again and again, God is the One who causes our successes and prevents our failures. Jesus shepherds us into safety again and again – for His gain. 

We see late in the story that Joseph’s sons’ blessings were switched by their grandfather Jacob who knowingly switched his hands laid on their heads. Ephraim, the second born, was blessed ahead of Manasseh, the first. Both were blessed, Jacob clearly said he knew from the Lord that thru Abraham their line was guaranteed Godly offspring whom would continue into many nations.

Jacob, called Israel by God, said:  “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall.  With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,  because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above,  blessings of the deep springs below,  blessings of the breast and womb. Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.” Genesis 49:22-24

There are more stories and understandings in the writings of Genesis – including a new level I just understood from reading about Judah , who originally was awful to Joseph but then later swore to protect Benjamin, the new favorite of father Jacob. (I found some last minute insight into this at this website: https://www.citieschurch.com/sermons/why-is-jesus-the-lion-of-judah).

This pledge and change of heart from self-serving to serving others, protecting others, is a change of heart of Judah and now the bloodline that continues from Judah to Jesus is established in serving. So forgiveness from Joseph the younger to grace from God the creator, we know all are forgiven in the blood of the Savior.

So no matter who is older, it is always Jesus modelling servanthood – obedience by death on the cross to save the world – ALL His brothers and sisters.

Amen

—–

Genesis Chapter 48

Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him. 2 When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.3 Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me 4 and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’5 “Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. 6 Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. 7 As I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).8 When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, “Who are these?”9 “They are the sons God has given me here,” Joseph said to his father. Then Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may bless them.”10 Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.11 Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too.”12 Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees and bowed down with his face to the ground. 13 And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them close to him. 14 But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.15 Then he blessed Joseph and said, “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the Angel who has delivered me from all harm—may he bless these boys. May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly on the earth.”17 When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.” 20 He blessed them that day and said, “In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing: ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers. 22 And to you I give one more ridge of land than to your brothers, the ridge I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”

Chapter 49 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come. 2 “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel. 3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.4 Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it. 5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers—    their swords are weapons of violence.6 Let me not enter their council,    let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger    and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. 7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce,    and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob    and disperse them in Israel.

8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you. 9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? 10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. 11 He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.

13 “Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships;  his border will extend toward Sidon.14 “Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down among the sheep pens. 15 When he sees how good is his resting place  and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor.16 “Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.17 Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.18 “I look for your deliverance, Lord. 19 “Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels.20 “Asher’s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king.21 “Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.

22 “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. 23 With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. 24 But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, 25 because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above,  blessings of the deep springs below,  blessings of the breast and womb. 26 Your father’s blessings are greater  than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers. 27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.

---

… and yet another story back in Genesis 38 is of offspring switching positions is those of Judah by Tamar disguising herself to become pregnant. Her 2 sons started out of the womb and the first hand that came out had a ribbon tied on it but it went back in and the 2nd son was born first.

Trust me, even though I write a lot, I love this slowdown opportunity year to be “lazy”, my version of lazy which also could be considered busy in just doing the things I want to do… Does this sound familiar to you? Then again I know I am not lazy but focused on worldly things too often, but who isn’t?!!! Let us try to regroup for the next season in our lives – a busy lazy summer season.

I took a break away from my laziness to be very up and active for Easter – for that was a HUGE blessing in time – for I was really enjoying church services safely outside and safely in. It was good to wake up from our winter slumber. It was good to take a break from my laziness and remember that if Christ arose from being dead, I could at least arise from being lazy.

I will add to the term “lazy”, the term “feeling sorry for myself” – that is a disease in our world like no other pandemic. We often do succumb to feeling sorry for ourselves when we should remember that God has saved us. Do we really need to whine about worldly things? I also whine with the best of us. And we expect certain things to be “just so”, and we forget our blessings, and we get stuck, and we forget that we must put in a little elbow grease for the good of all…

The last part of laziness is forgetting to keep … … (this is where I stopped writing a month ago and I don’t know what I was going to say… oops… LOL…)…  Let me start again, now that it is May – let me start fresh.
The worst part of laziness is forgetting to keep REMEMBERING.  I forget yesterday so fast – that could be bad or good – so it is no wonder we forget to count our blessings and bless our counting.

There is not a great message here after these ramblings except this: WE FORGET but JESUS DOESN’T – and Jesus on the cross could have easily said: “Forgive them Father, for they don’t know that they are saved.”

Our names are not forgotten by the Lord, let us not forget that we are saved when we ask to be saved, when we know we need saving, when we reach to the one Savior – Jesus the Christ.

When we remember we are saved, we are to remember that we are to go out into the world blessed by God and share revelations and remembrances, resurrection and direction.

Let us not forget to REMEMBER.

Send us out, Lord, to do YOUR WORK for it pleases YOU!

AMEN!

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.“

——-

Luke 10:1-7, 16-24

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
….
16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

21 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. 22 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

23 Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

A thought came to mind in how our workplaces, mine too, are lately embracing awareness. It is good and an attempt to stop bias. All peoples are of value and all topics/cultures/lifestyles are of interest and speakable… oh, except religion, hushhhhh…  I appreciate that we are being careful to not discriminate, for I have seen how talk of religion makes fear resonate… so we tread NOT officially but PERSONALLY… BE THE WHISPER in the wind, not the shout of showy din.

All religions… all HUSH… Is that OK? Kinda tells you how powerful faith is.

Well, let us be thoughtful in exploring the ADVANTAGES OF THE HUSH:

. For it is not a war of words we wage but a witness with words in with which we engage.

. It is not throwing down the law, it’s living up to the call. 

. We don’t jam religion down people’s throats, we speak softly sweetly and surely because salvation is not for gloats. 

. There is no need to wage war when what is needed is to WITNESS more.

. Speak quietly but speak sure, for under the HUSH, people may LISTEN MORE.

. BE THE WHISPER in the wind, not the shout of showy din.

. Trade less personal celebration for a demonstration of our dedication.

. Live in witness, the Word is the MOST powerful even and especially when gently heard.

Live the Word in the workplace, EMBRACE GRACE. 

Amen 

Nothing better in the story of Joseph (who had the special coat, in Genesis), or IN OUR LIVES, than the truth of: GOD BEING WITH US! It may involve dreaming for Joseph to understand a revelation interpretation of the Lord’s plans, but for us, it is not about dreams but reality and IT IS AN AWAKENING…

And wow, if there’s a BIG takeaway from this Joseph story that struck me this morning, after days of reading, it is that the Joseph story is in a microcosm about God sending Jesus to save – and that microcosm includes Joseph (as the favorite son of Jacob) taken away to foreign lands by his brother’s sins against him. Regardless, Joseph was able to recognize (after years of hardship) that God Himself had a job for him to do, meaning to save the people, make life and death decisions, and both teach his brothers a lesson but show HUGE GRACE in forgiveness and family restoration by forgiveness… (SOUND FAMILIAR?) Joseph even gave back the silver with the food – gave them what they needed and more than what they deserved (sound familiar?)

I got that lightbulb moment after a long set of scriptures that became a fast read… I first thought it was going to take FOREVER to get thru the old testament, but these fast reading parts are very engaging. The stories reflecting life lessons and mini capsules of God’s power and plan, when read thru the eyes of learning about God’s Grace, are captivating and eye-opening. 

Joseph had compassion looking back upon his brothers and father, Jesus does too – however Jesus has compassion looking forward in the knowledge of the plan from the beginning. Joseph had to come to the point of success and Jesus is still suffering for God’s ultimate success. Jesus will ALSO rejoice in the rejoining of His (Our) family, He is trying to catch all our brothers and sisters in saving grace.

Joseph’s brothers had to recognize their sin, yet how can anyone atone for something they can not undo, ONLY thru forgiveness of the son and the father… the brothers could live without retribution from the son and father, even if they didn’t deserve the forgiveness. We too can live by Jesus and God’s love showing us mercy, forgiveness for forever togetherness… WHOLENESS… (and for showing witnesses too)…

Joseph’s brothers were instructed how to answer everyone about what their occupation, we too … Jesus instructs us how to live and shepherd… how to answer people too.

Joseph provided for his brothers and father and Jesus provides for us. We too must listen and look forward in preparation, prepare and be a resource for those who run into trouble, be fruitful and share, knowing that what was provided for us was and is to be a resource for others. Be a good steward as well to set aside what others will need. Think like Jesus then act.

Joseph figured out how to feed the people and gave them seeds to grow and prosper. Jesus does the same for us. He gives us seeds for the Kingdom… Joseph was taken to foreign lands, Jesus came down to earth – not by force but by finding a Way to us.

I’m sure it’s not a scholar who gets interpretations like this from the bible,  it is a follower… it’s following the story of God and Jesus weaved thru the history of His story… it’s recognizing life in details, not a dream, but a realness in love… it’s setting aside trouble to listen and obey, keep going and lead on… a leader must follow. 

One BIG contrast between Joseph and Jesus, is whereas Joseph traded food in a famine for the people’s money then land, creating essentially slaves, we are already slaves – actually we are loved servants – to God Our Father and bought by Jesus’s blood thru His obedience. We live to God’s pleasure – which is fellowship with us. Jesus is different to Joseph in that Jesus does not require monetary trades for sustaining us, Jesus frees us from the weight of sin with GRACE to share God’s MERCY, and shares it freely. Jesus is similar to Joseph’s request of the people of the land in that the ultimate price for life is surrendering all. The people in Joseph’s day did not know about the many year famine. We should know to store our treasures in Heaven not earth and know the future will be rough for non-believers and believers (and many will fall away forgetting their blessings when real trouble comes).

Let us know now our blessing in Jesus. Jesus holds the remaining keys to our life – if we only let Him unlock it for us. He knows what we need – HIM. 

Jesus knows the What. Jesus knows the Why. Jesus knows the Way.

Follow Jesus, He IS the Way.

Follow the Story and the Story is HIS-STORY

Amen

Please read just this small passage and understand the lightbulb moment of understanding the microcosm of Joseph and Jesus, specifically Joseph not laying blame, quizzing his brothers but not assigning blame. Joseph forgiving the brothers and Jesus forgiving those who “know not what they do”, and forgiving those who should know better when they repent. Here’s a snippet, the scriptures tell a long story, but a fast read (included below)… 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! 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. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. Ch45:3-8

PS, I first called this “Dream on” for Joseph was great with dream interpretation,  but a better title is Follow the Story,  because Joseph had to follow to lead… his story is our story… follow Jesus and be God’s… 

Amen Amen. 

—-

The middle part of the REST of the story …. there are chapters before and after this… Genesis Ch39,  starting a bit into the story… 

But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Ch40

The Cupbearer and the Baker

40 Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them.

After they had been in custody for some time, 5 each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.

6 When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?”

8 “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.”

Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”

9 So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, 10 and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup and put the cup in his hand.”

12 “This is what it means,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days. 13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. 14 But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. 15 I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”

16 When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread. 17 In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

18 “This is what it means,” Joseph said. “The three baskets are three days. 19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and impale your body on a pole. And the birds will eat away your flesh.”

20 Now the third day was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: 21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand— 22 but he impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.

23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

Ch41

Pharaoh’s Dreams

When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, 2 when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. 3 After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. 4 And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. 5 He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. 6 After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—thin and scorched by the east wind. 7 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream. 8 In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. 10 Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. 11 Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. 12 Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. 13 And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled.”

14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.

15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”

16 “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”

17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, 18 when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. 19 After them, seven other cows came up—scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. 20 The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. 21 But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up. 22 “In my dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. 23 After them, seven other heads sprouted—withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. 24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.”

25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. 27 The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine.

28 “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, 30 but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. 31 The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. 32 The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.

33 “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. 36 This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”

37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God[a]?”

39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”

Joseph in Charge of Egypt

41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command,[b] and people shouted before him, “Make way[c]!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

44 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt.” 45 Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On,[d] to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt.

46 Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout Egypt. 47 During the seven years of abundance the land produced plentifully. 48 Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities. In each city he put the food grown in the fields surrounding it. 49 Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure.

50 Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. 51 Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh[e] and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” 52 The second son he named Ephraim[f] and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”

53 The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, 54 and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. 55 When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.”

56 When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt. 57 And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.

Ch42

Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt

42 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.

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.

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 on 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.” 23 They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter.

24 He turned away from them and began to weep, but then came back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.

25 Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to put each man’s silver back in his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. After this was done for them, 26 they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left.

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.”

Ch43

The Second Journey to Egypt

43 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.”

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.

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.

 Ch44

A Silver Cup in a Sack

44 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.”

Ch 35

Joseph Makes Himself Known

45 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.

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.”

Ch46

Jacob Goes to Egypt

46 So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

2 And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

3 “I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. 4 I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.”

5 Then Jacob left Beersheba, and Israel’s sons took their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to transport him. 6 So Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt, taking with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan. 7 Jacob brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons and his daughters and granddaughters—all his offspring.

8 These are the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob and his descendants) who went to Egypt: Reuben the firstborn of Jacob.

9 The sons of Reuben: Hanok, Pallu, Hezron and Karmi.

10 The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.

11 The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

12 The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez and Zerah (but Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan).

The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul.

13 The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub and Shimron.

14 The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon and Jahleel.

15 These were the sons Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, besides his daughter Dinah. These sons and daughters of his were thirty-three in all.

16 The sons of Gad: Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Areli.

17 The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah.

Their sister was Serah.

The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malkiel.

18 These were the children born to Jacob by Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah—sixteen in all.

19 The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 

20 In Egypt, Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.

21 The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.

22 These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob—fourteen in all.

23 The son of Dan: Hushim.

24 The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem.

25 These were the sons born to Jacob by Bilhah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Rachel—seven in all.

26 All those who went to Egypt with Jacob—those who were his direct descendants, not counting his sons’ wives—numbered sixty-six persons. 27 With the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family, which went to Egypt, were seventy in all.

28 Now Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When they arrived in the region of Goshen, 29 Joseph had his chariot made ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time.

30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for myself that you are still alive.”

31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and speak to Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were living in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32 The men are shepherds; they tend livestock, and they have brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.’ 33 When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 you should answer, ‘Your servants have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen, for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.”

47 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.” 2 He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.

3 Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?”

“Your servants are shepherds,” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.” 4 They also said to him, “We have come to live here for a while, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants’ flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.”

5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, 6 and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock.”

7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh, 8 Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”

9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.” 10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.

11 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed. 12 Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children.

Joseph and the Famine

13 There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. 14 Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace. 15 When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is all gone.”

16 “Then bring your livestock,” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.

18 When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we perish before your eyes—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.”

20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, 21 and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.

23 Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground. 24 But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.”

25 “You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”

26 So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s.

27 Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.

28 Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven. 29 When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.”

“I will do as you say,” he said.

31 “Swear to me,” he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.