Relocation for Joseph's Brothers and Father (Gen. 45:9-13)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-26-2008

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Relocation

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Genesis 45:9-13

 

            Message of the verses:  “9 “Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, "God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay.  10 “You shall live in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children and your flocks and your herds and all that you have.  11 "There I will also provide for you, for there are still five years of famine to come, and you and your household and all that you have would be impoverished."’

12 “Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth which is speaking to you.  13 "Now you must tell my father of all my splendor in Egypt, and all that you have seen; and you must hurry and bring my father down here.’”

 

            I would have to believe that it was very hard for these brothers to believe that this really was Joseph after all of the things that had happened to them on their and this was the best place to take care of their flocks and herds.  The brothers must also have thought that this was too good to be true.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think of salvation from the stand point that it too seems like it is too good to be true, yet Jesus like Joseph invites His family to come unto Him and promises to take care of everyone.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Paul wrote in the last part of his second letter to the Corinthians that it is good to rethink their salvation experience to make sure that they were really in the faith, and they I would suppose that it would also be a good idea that when this is done to praise the Lord for the invitation of salvation. 

 

Memory verses for the week:  Philippians 1:9-11

 

9. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,
10. so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;
11. having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes from Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Joseph Gives Reassurance to his Brothers (Gen. 45:5-8)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-25-2020

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Reassurance

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Genesis 45:5-8

 

            Message of the verses: “5 “Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.  6 “For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.  7 “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.  8 “Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”

 

            These verses are given to me from a man who was full of love and understanding to what God was doing, not only in his life, but the life of all of his family.   God’s sovereignty is surely seen in these verses and Joseph recognizes the workings of God in all that has happened.  I believe that at the beginning of all of this that Joseph did have some trouble with it all, but Joseph had a trust that God was in control of his life even in the bad times that he had gone through.  I must say that these verses are very remarkable in showing the forgiveness of Joseph to his brothers; the understanding of what God was doing, and also the sovereignty of God.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  This section is very rich for me as a believer who has been going through some difficult tests as of late, tests that are not as severe as the tests that Joseph went through, but difficult none the less.  By seeing how Joseph reacted to the test God sent his way gives me encouragement and also gives me directions on how to handle these tests from God.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I wish to continue to trust in the Lord as He sends me through these great tests, knowing He has a purpose for all that I go through.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Philippians 1:9-11

 

9. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,
10. so that you may prove the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;
11. having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Recognition (Gen. 45:1-4)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-24-2008

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Recognition

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Genesis 45:1-4

 

            Message of the verses:  1 Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried, "Have everyone go out from me." So there was no man with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.  2 He wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard of it.  3 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.  4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come closer to me." And they came closer. And he said, "I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.”

 

            Joseph must have thought that his brothers had learned their lesson and because they had confessed to him their sin of selling their brother into slavery he now reveals himself to them.  However before he does this he send everyone else out of the room so that he can be alone with them.  Joseph was a very compassionate man who was not afraid to cry when the circumstances were such that tears were necessary. 

 

            What was it that was going through the minds of his brothers when they heard this ruler of Egypt tell them that he was their brother Joseph?  They may have wondered how it was that this man knew all about their story and their sin, and they may have also wondered why this person had treated them so harshly if he surely was Joseph.  I am sure that they were fearful regardless whether or not this was their brother.  The statement in verse three seems to sum this section up for me where it records, “but his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.” 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The Bible says be sure you sin will find you out, and that is what happened in this story, yet Joseph was very gracious in all of this as we will seein the next edition of my Spiritual Diary.  His brothers were very frightened when facing Joseph because of what they had done to them and because Joseph seems to represent the Lord Jesus Christ here and fear was a good thing and yet a thing that was not needed.

 

            Whenever I sin there should be fear in my life but not the kind of fear that drives me up a wall, for I must realize that all of my sin, past, present, and future has been paid for at the cross of Christ, yet that surely does not give me a free pass to just sin.  I certainly need to remember what it cost both God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ to cancel my debt of sin and therefore not to be casual about, but thankful that my sin has been covered by the blood of Jesus Christ.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to trust the Lord with this new problem that has come up concerning my blood work and the high cholesterol.

 

 

Memory verses for the week:  Philippians 1:9-11

9.  
10. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real love and all discernment,
11. so that you may prove the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;
12. having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Confession: Brotherly Concern Displayed: Surety (Gen. 44:18-34)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/23/2008 6:23 AM

 

 

My Worship Time      Focus:  Confession:  brotherly concern displayed:  Surety

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference: Genesis 44:18-34

 

            Message of the verses:  “18 Then Judah approached him, and said, "Oh my lord, may your servant please speak a word in my lord’s ears, and do not be angry with your servant; for you are equal to Pharaoh.  19 “My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’  20 “We said to my lord, ‘We have an old father and a little child of his old age. Now his brother is dead, so he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.’  21 “Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me that I may set my eyes on him.’  22 “But we said to my lord, ‘The lad cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’  23 “You said to your servants, however, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’  24 “Thus it came about when we went up to your servant my father; we told him the words of my lord.  25 “Our father said, ‘Go back, buy us a little food.’  26 “But we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for 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 and the one went out from me, and I said, "Surely he is torn in pieces," and I have not seen him since. 29 ‘If you take this one also from me, and harm befalls him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.’ 30 "Now, therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad’s life, 31 when he sees that the lad is not with us, he will die. Thus your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sheol in sorrow. 32 “For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then let me bear the blame before my father forever.’  33 “Now, therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers.  34  "For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me—for fear that I see the evil that would overtake my father?’”

 

            The OT is full of stories which are glimpses of the Lord Jesus Christ and this is one of them told by a very old relative of Jesus.  Jesus spoke to two of His disciples in Luke twenty-four about some of these stories as they walked along the road to Emmaus.  Judah offered to become surety for his brother Benjamin so that he would not have to live as a slave for the rest of his life, likewise Jesus did the same thing on the cross, offering Himself as surety for all mankind so that those who accepted His work on the cross would not have to live as slaves to sin, and would someday be with Him for all eternity.  The Bible says in Hebrews 7:22, “so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.”  Judah was offering himself as a guarantee to his father that Benjamin would return to him and by doing so Joseph now realizes that Judah has changed and is sorrowful for his sin against Joseph and his father and is now willing to show himself to his brothers.  The task of bringing his brothers to confession and repentant is now complete as Joseph had desired in the first place was now complete.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I was listening to our lesson in “The Purpose Driven Life,” book last night Rick Warren, the author was telling the story of what it took for me to become a child of God, by reminding me of what it cost the Lord Jesus Christ as He took on my sin, how he was beaten and spit upon, had his hair pulled out and his beard pulled out, and having the nails driven into His hands and feet and then being separated from His Father while taking on all of my sin so that He could give me His righteousness that I would be able to become a child of God.  God accepted His Son’s sacrifice on my behalf and then it was said in the book that familiarity breeds complacency, and this is surely true in my case.  This story in Genesis again reminds me of the old, old story of Jesus and His love as He died on the cross to save a sinner such as me, and I am thankful for this and even though I do not understand it all, and because of that I sometimes just block the details out of my mind, I am so very thankful for Jesus becoming surety for me.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I want to think about Jesus dying on the cross for me as I go throughout my day.

 

Memory verses for today:  Philippians 1:9-11

 

9. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real love and all discernment,
10. so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;
11. having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Confession: Brotherly Concern Displayed: Submission (Gen. 44:14-17)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-22-2008

 

My Worship Time      Focus:  Confession: brotherly concern displayed:  Submission

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Genesis 44:14-17

 

            Message of the verses:  “14 When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there, and they fell to the ground before him.  15 Joseph said to them, "What is this deed that you have done? Do you not know that such a man as I can indeed practice divination?"  16 So Judah said, "What can we say to my lord? What can we speak? And how can we justify ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s slaves, both we and the one in whose possession the cup has been found."  17 But he said, "Far be it from me to do this. The man in whose possession the cup has been found, he shall be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.’”

 

            It can be seen from this section and also from the section that proceeded this one, while the brothers were about to leave their father, that Judah advances as a leader of this group of brothers.  Judah has not distinguished himself very well in the former chapters of this book, for it was his idea to sell Joseph and then he had the affair with his son’s wife, but this was in the past and now it seems like he is being changed and later on while Jacob is on his death bed he too recognizes this too.

 

            Judah had no excuses or answers for what had happened as far as how the money and the cup were where they were. Judah then makes the statement that God has found out the iniquity of your servants and thus he then says that all of them will be Joseph’s slaves, but Joseph has another idea about this for he will now test the brothers by stating that only Benjamin need be his slave, thus seeing how these brothers will react to this.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I can take away from this section that people do change, as was the case of Judah, and so this helps me to realize that I can change and also people around me too can change.  The change that I am speaking about is changing for the good, being more conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I want to be willing to change old bad habits and stop them whenever the Holy Spirit prompts me to do so.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Philippians 1:9-11

 

9. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,
10. so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;
11. having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Confrontation: False Confidence Destroyed: Overwhelmed (Gen. 44:13)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-21-2008

 

My Worship Time      Focus:  Confrontation:  false confidence destroyed:  Overwhelmed

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Genesis 44:13

 

            Message of the verses:  “13.  Then they tore their clothes, and when each man loaded his donkey, they returned to the city.”

 

            It looks like the sins that the brothers committed have finally come home to them as demonstrated by their tearing their clothes, which was done only when someone had died or some other terrible thing that would befall them.

 

            The beginning of their journey was very good as stated in a previous SD, but now the trip has turned into disaster for them and they must have had many thought as they began to make their way back to face Joseph.  Could Benjamin have actually stolen this cup?  How did the money get back into their sacks?  Would this be enough to kill their father?  Did all of this happen because of what we did to Joseph those many years ago?  How about Judah who had told his father that he would be surety for Benjamin?  Judah was no doubt going over the things that he would say to this ruler when he would face him, for after reading what it was that Judah said to him it is clear that he had to be thinking about all of this, and he must have been praying about this too. 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There are many times in my life, too many, that I too have to face sins that I have committed against God and these sins too often do not lead me to the point of tearing my clothes, although this is not a practice done by believers in the 21^st century, but having the same grief and despair over any sin is something that I do lack.  My personality seems to be that I do not get emotional over things but believe that everything is going to be all right.  I believe that God used this personality type when He brought me to the point of confessing Christ as my Savior and Lord.  I would pray that God would give me the proper emotion whenever I sin which is genuine and not something that is worked up in a frenzy. 

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To begin to memorize some verses in Philippians so that I can begin to meditate on them.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Philippians 1:9-11 (NASB95) 

 

9. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,
10. so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;
11. having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.         

Confrontation: False Confidence Destroyed: Overconfident (Gen. 44:7-12)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-20-2008

 

My Worship Time   Focus: Confrontation: False Confidence Destroyed:  Overconfident

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Genesis 44:7-12

 

            Message of the verses:  “7 They said to him, "Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing.  8 “Behold, the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks we have brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house?  9 “With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord’s slaves."

10 So he said, "Now let it also be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, and the rest of you shall be innocent."  11 Then they hurried, each man lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack.  12 He searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.”

 

            I am not sure if the brothers remembered about the incident when their father Jacob told his father-in-law Laban a similar thing when Laban accused one of his family of steeling the family idols.  In this situation none of the brothers thought that there was any thing wrong, yet after the last time when they looked into their sack and found their money still there maybe they should not have been so quick to brag about their innocence, for after all they were guilty of selling Joseph and they had not repented for that yet.

 

            The steward changed what they proposed to him by saying that the one who’s sack the cup was in would be a slave for him in Egypt.  Joseph would latter agree with this statement.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Sometimes God uses things similar to what happened to these brothers to remind me of a sin that I had sinned earlier on in my life, and the need to confess and repent of it.  God can use all things in my life to bring about confession and repentance because He has a great love for me.  

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  If I sin and am convicted of it by the Holy Spirit I want to confess it right away in order to have continued fellowship with my Lord. 

Confrontation: False Confidence Destroyed; Overjoyed and Overtaken (Gen. 44:1-6)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR -1-19-2008

 

My Worship Time Focus: Confrontation: False confidence destroyed; overjoyed & overtaken.

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Genesis 44:1-6

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 Then he commanded his house steward, saying, "Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack.  2 “Put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his money for the grain." And he did as Joseph had told him.  3 As soon as it was light, the men were sent away, they with their donkeys.  4 They had just gone out of the city, and were not far off, when Joseph said to his house steward, "Up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?

5 ‘Is not this the one from which my lord drinks and which he indeed uses for divination? You have done wrong in doing this.’"  6 So he overtook them and spoke these words to them.”

 

            Dr. Wiersbe starts out this section of his commentary by quoting from a book by Dr. Richard M. Weaver and he writes that the point of Dr. Weaver’s book was:  “If you don’t live according to the truth, then you must suffer the consequences.”  Joseph’s brothers were not living according to the truth, for in fact they had never confessed their sin to their father and probably believed that for the past 22 years they had gotten away with their sin, but the Bible says that you sin will find you out.  According to the parts of the story that I have been going over these brothers of Joseph were beginning to think about what they had done to Joseph those long years ago a lot and by what they were saying when Joseph began his work to bring them to repentance.

 

            Overjoyed:  The brothers were probably singing a song as they left Egypt, for after all the money issue did not because a problem and Simeon was released and was with them, and Benjamin was along, so life was good.  “But their joy was only a mirage.  Authentic joy and peace can never be based on lies; they must be founded on truth.  To build on lies is to build on the sand and invite certain judgment.  Apart from righteousness, there can be no real peace, but only a fragile truce that eventually erupts into war.  ‘The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.’  (Isa. 32:17 NKJV).”

 

            Overtaken:  I first wish to quote another section from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary in order to explain Joseph and divination:  “A godly man of faith like Joseph wouldn’t use any form of divination, nor did he need to.  God could never approve then what He later prohibited in the law (Lev. 19:26; Num. 23:23; Deut. 18:10).  Divination was only a part of the plot.  By now, the men were sure that his master knew everything.”

 

            If they were singing a tune when leaving Egypt Joseph’s brothers were about to sing a different tune after be overcome by the steward of Joseph, and indeed they were surprised.  Joseph steward asked them the question that Joseph told him to ask and that is why have you repaid evil for good? 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  My confession for this section is that there have been a few times in my life when I have not had the courage to tell the truth about something, (and I am going back to my supervisor days at Ford), and surely had to confess my sin and tell the truth.  One time I seemed to be talked into something before I knew what happened about some kind of a snow day.  At any rate I know I have to build my life on the truth and that truth is Jesus Christ and His Word.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To build my life upon the Rock.

A Time of Transition: Benjamin's Protection (Gen. 43:24-34)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-18-2008

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  A time of transition:  Benjamin’s Protection

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                    Reference:  Genesis 43:24-34

 

            Message of the verses:  “24 Then the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys fodder.

25 So they prepared the present for Joseph’s coming at noon; for they had heard that they were to eat a meal there.  26 When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present which was in their hand and bowed to the ground before him.  27 Then he asked them about their welfare, and said, "Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?"  28 They said, "Your servant our father is well; he is still alive." They bowed down in homage.  29 As he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he said, "Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?" And he said, "May God be gracious to you, my son."  30 Joseph hurried out for he was deeply stirred over his brother, and he sought a place to weep; and he entered his chamber and wept there.  31 Then he washed his face and came out; and he controlled himself and said, "Serve the meal."  32 So they served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is loathsome to the Egyptians.  33 Now they were seated before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth, and the men looked at one another in astonishment.  34 He took portions to them from his own table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. So they feasted and drank freely with him.”

 

I suppose that this whole situation that these brothers found themselves in was like riding on a roller coaster, for it seems that one minute their hopes of survival looked dim and then they are invited to a dinner with the person who is second in command of the great country of Egypt.  They felt that the money that was returned in their sacks was the big issue and that they were to be punished for it, but this was not the case.  Joseph was doing these things to bring about confession and repentance, but this did not happen here, it seems that there was only false hope.

 

Dr. Wiersbe writes that he thinks that the brothers were happy that Joseph was getting along with Benjamin so well, but I believe that this was a test that Joseph was giving to his other brothers by giving five times the food to Benjamin to see if they would become jealous over this treatment.  If this were a test it seems that the brothers passed it for there is nothing written as to whether they became jealous.

 

Going back to the brothers not dealing with their sin issue, it seems that they did indeed have a false hope and therefore were not thinking about what they had done to Joseph so long ago very much at this time, but in the next chapter there sin will find them out. 

 

Joseph is indeed a person who demonstrated the grace of God in his life, for he had all kinds of reason to be bitter, to be big headed, to hand out punishment to his brothers who actually deserved it, but he was filled with the grace of God and was doing things to bring honor and glory to God, by realizing that God had promised to take care of this family and turn them into a great nation and He was using Joseph to help bring this about so Joseph did not hold these bad feelings towards his brothers, yet he wanted them to confess and repent in order to get back into fellowship with both God and himself, for he knew that would help bring about greatness to this family.

 

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think that the one thing that I have learned from this portion of Scripture and from Dr. Wiersbe’s book is that I have to make sure that I have confessed my sins and repented of them before I can have reconciliation with God, and even though sometimes life seems to be going good when I haven’t confessed my sins that does not mean that I have fellowship with the Lord only false hope.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Ask the Lord to search my heart for any sin in it and then confess and repent of it.

A Time of Transition: Release of Simeon (Gen. 43:23b)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-17-2008

 

My Worship Time                                     Focus:  A time of transition:  Simeon’s Release

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                       Reference:  Genesis 43:23b

 

            Message of the verse:  “Then he brought Simeon out to them.”

 

            There are a lot of things packed into this small statement.  I am sure that Simeon’s brothers were very thankful that he was okay and also I believe it was a sight for sore eyes for Simeon to see Benjamin.  I wonder what kind of treatment he was given while in prison, and I wonder if he was like the ringleader of his brothers that caused Joseph to be sold down into Egypt?  I also wonder if Simeon learned anything from being in confinement for the months that he was there.  I believe that Simeon was one of the brothers along with Levi who took revenge for the raping of their sister by killing a whole town of men.  Jacob seems to bring this up whenever he is on his death bed recorded in Genesis 49:5.  All of the brothers are all reunited again, the first time in a long time.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Simeon was going through a trial while he was put in confinement by Joseph, and it is not clear from these verses whether or not he had learned anything from being in confinement.  Joseph did learn from his thirteen years of trials and grew spiritually from those trials.  The things that God is testing me with now are difficult things and it has always been my prayer as I go through these things that I would become better and not bitter, that I would not just want to get through these tests, but would want to learn and grow from them so that I can be a stronger believer.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I pray that I will continue to grow in my faith and trust in my Lord and live a life that will bring honor and glory to Him.  I pray that the Lord will aid me in making my prayer life better.

A Time of Transition: The Problem With the Money (Gen. 43:16-23a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-16-2020

 

My Worship Time               Focus:  A Time of Transition:  The problem With the Money

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                               Reference:  Genesis 43:16-23a

 

            Message of the verses:  16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his house steward, "Bring the men into the house, and slay an animal and make ready; for the men are to dine with me at noon." 17 So the man did as Joseph said, and brought the men to Joseph’s house. 18 Now the men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph’s house; and they said, "It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time that we are being brought in, that he may seek occasion against us and fall upon us, and take us for slaves with our donkeys." 19 So they came near to Joseph’s house steward, and spoke to him at the entrance of the house, 20 and said, "Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food, 21 and it came about when we came to the lodging place, that we opened our sacks, and behold, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full. So we have brought it back in our hand. 22 “We have also brought down other money in our hand to buy food; we do not know who put our money in our sacks." 23 He said, "Be at ease, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money."

 

            Now Joseph was seventeen years old when he was taken into Egypt and Benjamin was a lot younger than he was, and so it would have been difficult to recognize him, but according to verse sixteen Joseph did recognize him.  It is good to remember that this was God’s plan being worked through Joseph, and both God and Joseph wanted these brothers to come to repentance over what they had done to Joseph so that when He moved them into the land of Egypt there would be peace and the family of Israel could become the nation of Israel.

 

            When the brothers realized that they were going to Joseph’s house for dinner they became frightened because of the money that was put back into their sacks after buying the grain the first time so they spoke to Joseph’s servant and he pretty much told them not to sweat it.  He actually told them that it was their God who was responsible for having the money put back, and so it was. 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  By reading this story of Joseph and his brothers, included is the part for today’s reading, it is coming more clear to me that it is God who brings about the things that happen in my life, things that sometime seem as coincidences to me.  This surely tells me that God is truly in control of my life and that I need to praise him and attempt to bring glory to Him in whatever I am doing.

 

Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to trust the Lord to lead me and to guide me and fill me with His Holy Spirit that I may bring honor and glory to Him.  

A Time ot Tension: Unbelief (Gen. 43:11-15)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-15-2008

 

My Worship Time                                                     Focus:  A Time of Tension:  Unbelief

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                    Reference:  Genesis 43:11-15

 

            Message of the verses:  “11 And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds:  12  And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight:  13  Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man:  14  And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved. 15 And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.”

 

Jacob had all of the covenant promises that his father Isaac had and his grandfather Abraham had, yet because of his grief over the seemingly loss of Joseph, Jacob seemed to loose the faith in God that he once had.  Jacob allowed circumstances to get in the way of his faith, he was not, and as James would latter write, “calling it all joy.”  Jacob had gone through some very trying times, but he was not responding in the way that a man of faith like him should have had.

 

Message of the verses:  The circumstances in my life today are not as bad as Jacob was going through, but they are some very difficult circumstance just the same.  The things that I can learn from this is not to try and handle these circumstance on my own, but to rely on the help of the Holy Spirit to get me through them so that they will be good for me and also bring glory to God.

Dr. Wiersbe writes, “There’s a difference between surrendering to God’s loving providence and bowing to blind fate, and Jacob’s statements show where he stood.”  The reason that I have copied this statement is so that I would not bow to blind fate, but trust the Lord and His loving providence. 

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to trust the Lord to show me what He wants me to learn through these circumstances, and not try to go through them without the power of His Holy Spirit.

           

A Time of Tension: Waiting (Gen. 43:1-10)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-14-2008

 

My Worship Time:                                                    Focus:  A Time of Tension:  Waiting

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Genesis 43:1-10

 

            Message of the verses:  1 Now the famine was severe in the land. 2  So it came about when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, "Go back, buy us a little food."  3 Judah spoke to him, however, saying, "The man solemnly warned us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’  4 “If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food.  5 “But if you do not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’"  6 Then Israel said, "Why did you treat me so badly by telling the man whether you still had another brother?" 7 But they said, "The man questioned particularly about us and our relatives, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ So we answered his questions. Could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?"  8 Judah said to his father Israel, "Send the lad with me and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones.  9 “I myself will be surety for him; you may hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame before you forever.  10 “For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice.’”

 

            One can see God working in this section, especially in the heart of Judah.  Judah was one of them that wanted to send Joseph to Egypt, and then he ran off from his father and other brothers, which may be the reason that he ran off.  After his adultery with Tamar and realizing that she was more righteous than he this too may have begun to change him to make the statements that he made here.  Unlike Reuben in the previous chapter, Judah did not tell his father that he could kill his children, but that he would be surety for his brother and that if anything happen to him he would bare the blame for the rest of his life.  Judah would later become the royal tribe of Israel and from his loins would come the Messiah.

 

            Jacob’s life seems to be pretty miserable because of the loss of Joseph and the threat of Benjamin being taken to Egypt.  He probably thought that he would never seen him again the way things were going for him, but God was working behind the scenes to complete His plan and Jacob would receive a very great blessing in a short while. 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Trust is what I need whenever I go through trials, and we have been gone through a few in the last few years, yet trust in the Lord to work out every thing in His timing for my good and for His glory, even though it is very hard at times is what God wants me to have. 

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I want to continue to trust the Lord through the tests and trials he has sent my way, even though at times it seems that God’s presence is far from me as I go through this test.  God tested Hezekiah and then left his presence while he went through the test, and I also remember from a Founder’s Day Message that Larry Crabb gave, that he told of his father, a very godly man, going through a trial where he too felt that God’s presence was not with him while he was being tested.        

A Time of Tension: Despair (Gen. 42:36-38)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-13-2008

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  A Time of Tension:  Despair

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                    Reference:  Genesis 42:36-38

 

            Message of the verses:  “36 Their father Jacob said to them, "You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and you would take Benjamin; all these things are against me."  37 Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, "You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my care, and I will return him to you."  38 But Jacob said, "My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If harm should befall him on the journey you are taking, then you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.’”

 

            Verse 36 Jacob seems to indicate that he thinks that the ten sons of his had something to do with what happened to Joseph.  Jacob knew that these ten sons had hated Joseph, but I am sure that it would have been hard for him to believe that they would have actually murdered him at that time, but perhaps after he thought about it for a while he may have suspected them in some kind of foul play.

 

            Jacob makes a statement in verse 36 that is the opposite of a NT verse in Romans 8:28, where Paul writes to the Roman church that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, and when the rest of the story is told this will happen in Jacobs life.

 

            Ruben makes a very unwise statement in verse thirty-seven when he offers his two sons’s to be put to death if Benjamin were not returned.  I think this statement could be said of that Ruben opened his mouth before he engaged his brain.

 

            In verse thirty-eight Jacob says that Benjamin would not go down to Egypt with them, but when the food runs out Jacob changes his mind, which was surely in the will of God for him.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I can learn a lot from these three verses, things that I too have done by not praying about something and making a fast unwise decision and afterwards had egg on my face.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To take time to pray before I make any big decisions.

A Time of Tension: Fear and Perplexity (Gen. 42:25-35)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-12-2008

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  A Time of Tension:  Fear and Perplexity

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                              Reference:  Genesis 42:25-35

 

            Message of the verses:  “25 Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain and to restore every man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. And thus it was done for them.  26 So they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed from there.  27 As one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money; and behold, it was in the mouth of his sack.  28 Then he said to his brothers, "My money has been returned, and behold, it is even in my sack." And their hearts sank, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, "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, saying, 30 “The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly with us, and took us for spies of the country.  31 “But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies.  32 ‘We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’  33 “The man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me and take grain for the famine of your households, and go.  34 ‘But bring your youngest brother to me that I may know that you are not spies, but honest men. I will give your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’"  35 Now it came about as they were emptying their sacks, that behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were dismayed.”

 

I seen in this section that Joseph gave orders to put the money that the brothers brought to buy gain back into the grain sacks before they had left for home.  Next one of the brothers opens his sack of grain to feed the donkeys and finds the money.  Now this is where the story gets quit confusion, for why did not the rest of the brothers open their sacks to see if their money was there?  According to Genesis 43:21 all the men opened their sacks at this time, “and it came about when we came to the lodging place, that we opened our sacks, and behold, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full. So we have brought it back in our hand.”  The puzzling part of this is that all of them acted surprised about this when they opened their sacks in front of Jacob.  I am not sure what the answer is to this or if it is so important to even know, but this is surely a mystery.  10/17/2020 10:11 AM   Perhaps the brothers all feed their donkeys out of the same sack of grain and that is not why the others opened their sacks.  However one would think that the other brothers would have wondered if the money was in their sacks also.  The only answer that I can come up with is that God did not cause the others to open their sacks, and if they all had done this perhaps they would have all returned to Egypt.

 

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  In Dr. Wiersbe’s book he wrote that this would have been a good time for this family to ask the Lord to search their hearts to find out the sin that was still their, but they did not, however God did work out his plan in spite of this not happening,

 

 As I go through this time of fasting I find that it is not as special as the first time I did this in 1999, and one of the reasons is that at that time my primary goal was for spiritual reasons as I wanted the Lord to give direction to my life after my recent retirement.  This fast seems to be a fast to loose the unwanted pounds as a first priority and the spiritual reasons as a second, which is NOT RIGHT.  I truly believe that the Lord wants me to be healed from the difficulties that I am going through, and the things that is foremost on  my mind as far as God speaking to me concerning this fast is my commitment to being a follower of Jesus Christ, for this should be first and foremost on my mind.  I am also trying to find out some information on confession as I think that my confessions have been shallow and do not seem to be done in a right manor.  I have asked the Lord to search my heart, but thus far I still feel that this fast has not done me any spiritual good at this point.  I have confessed to the Lord that my priorities for this fast have not been correct, and pray that they will get turned around.  I need help.

 

 

My Steps of Faith for today:  Trust the Lord to give me the answers that I seek and resolve this problem.  

A Time of Testing: Confession (Gen. 32:21-24)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-11-2008

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus: A time of testing, Confession

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                    Reference:  Genesis 42:21-24

 

            Message of the verses:  “21 Then they said to one another, "Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us."  22 Reuben answered them, saying, "Did I not tell you, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Now comes the reckoning for his blood."  23 They did not know, however, that Joseph understood, for there was an interpreter between them.  24 He turned away from them and wept. But when he returned to them and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.”

 

            As this story unfolds I find myself wondering about some of the things that happened, and this section is one of them.  The question that I have is was Joseph putting himself in the place of God, but more likely he was obeying the promptings that he was getting from God.  It was important that Joseph see that his brothers repent of their sins, for their own good, and also so that when the time came for all of them to move down to Egypt that there would not be sins that were not confessed to God and the family would thus be turned into the nation that God had desired for them.

 

            The process of confession had begun in the hearts of these men and this made Joseph weep when he heard them talking about it. 

 

            I would like at this time to quote something from Dr. Wiersbe’s book about these verses:  “Joseph was certainly kind to his brothers in spite of the severity of his speech and some of his actions, and what he did was for their good.  His motivation was love and his purpose was to bring them to repentance and reconciliation.  We need to remember this the next time we think God is treating us unjustly.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful to God for the timing of my reading and studying this story of Joseph.  God knows what it is that is going on in my heart better than I do and because of His great love, grace, and mercy, He gives me what I need at the perfect time.  This is unlike me who seems to always be in a hurry, never stopping to smell the roses and gleam all of the truth from a certain situation, but always looking for change because that seems to be a better thing than what I am leaving.  I would pray that God would use this time of fasting to correct these mistakes and that I would go through this process of real confession, repentance and reconciliation that just as my physical body is being cleansed from the toxins that have acuminated over time, my spiritual body would do this also.  I would pray that the Holy Spirit would fill me and teach me the things that I need to learn while on this fast, be it just a water fast or when I move on to a juice fast, may it all be done for the glory of God. 

            “23  Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24  And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I want to have my heart open to the Holy Spirit as He teaches me the things that He wants me to learn, and that I would be very willing to learn them.