Faith (Genesis 50:24-25)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 02-25-2008

 

My Worship Time                                                                                          Focus:  Faith

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                  Reference:  Genesis 50:24-25

 

            Message of the verses:  “24 Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob."  25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, "God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here.’”

 

            “By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones (Heb. 11:22 NKJV).”

 

            Dr. Wiersbe has this to say when describing faith:  “Faith isn’t a shallow emotion that we work up by ourselves, or an optimistic ‘hope-so’ attitude of Faith in faith.’  True faith is grounded on the infallible Word of God, and because God said it, we believe it and act upon it.”

 

            The question is where did Joseph’s faith come from, or how did Joseph’s faith grow stronger given the circumstances he was living under and the things he went through early on in his life?  I believe that since Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son that Jacob took a lot of time with him to teach him all of the things that Abraham had taught his father Isaac.  Joseph’s dreams that God had given to him, and the fact that they all came true was another thing that increased Joseph’s faith, so that when he was about to die he instructed the sons of Jacob to bury him in the land of Canaan, which they did and they buried him in the land given to one of his sons.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  In the description that Dr. Wiersbe gave on faith, where he states that faith is based upon the Word of God is the key to me, however there have been times when I have not based my faith on the Word of God, and maybe even against the Word of God and I have paid dearly for these mistakes.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I want to always base my faith on the Word of God.

 

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.

           

Family (Gen. 50:22-23)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 02-24-2008

 

My Worship Time                                                                                       Focus:  Family

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                  Reference:  Genesis 50:22-23

 

            Message of the verses:  “22 Now Joseph stayed in Egypt, he and his father’s household, and Joseph lived one hundred and ten years.  23 Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim’s sons; also the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were born on Joseph’s knees.”

 

            These are part of the concluding verses in Genesis and they tell of Joseph’s grand children and great grandchildren.  They also tell of how old Joseph was when he died and that all of his family stayed in Egypt, which was because of God using Joseph to bring them down there for His purposes.

 

            Because of what Joseph did and how he lived his life in such faith in God there is still a Jewish nation today, a nation that gave mankind the Word of God and the Son of God so everyone owes Joseph for his obedience to what God’s plan was for his life.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I look at the life of Joseph and how he obeyed God it makes me want to live a better life, a life that is more committed to God and for what His plan is for my life.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to trust the Lord throughout all of the seemingly bad and difficult things that are happening in my life at this time, and to continue to have the desire to learn contentment through all of these circumstances.

 

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.           

Assurance (Gen. 50:18-21)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 02-23-2008

 

My Worship Time                                                                                   Focus:  Assurance

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                    Reference:  Genesis 50:18-21

 

            Message of the verses:  “18 Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, "Behold, we are your servants."  19 But Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place?  20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.  21 “So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.”

 

            These verses remind me again of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done, as this is another picture of Christ seen through Joseph.

 

            Joseph’s brothers had lived in fear that Joseph was going to bring revenge on them because of their actions many years earlier, and were trusting in their father to keep Joseph from getting even with them.  Now that Jacob was gone they came to Joseph’s house to speak to him about this and offer themselves as his servants in order to make reconciliation for their sins against Joseph.  (I am sure that Joseph called them to his house for they would not have gone their on their own because of their fear). 

 

            The problem with the brothers and also some believers today, is that they could not accept the fact that forgiveness was free and they did not have to do anything to repay for this forgiveness.  Jospeh realized that the sin of his brothers was wrong, and he mentioned it, but that God had worked it out for good and therefore Joseph put his trust in the Lord and did not hold this sin against his brothers.  Peter said something similar concerning the death of Jesus Christ, “23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:  24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.”  (Acts 2:23-24).  Peter is not saying here that there was no sin involved, but that God used the greatest sin ever committed by mankind to give the greatest blessing ever to mankind.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today: The picture of the prodigal son is seen in the verses above for he tried to come back to his father and offer himself as a servant, yet his father would not have anything to do with that because he offered him free forgiveness because the father saw that his son realized that he was a sinner in need of salvation.

 

            There are times when I repeat the same sin again and again that I too have a hard time believing that I am forgiven and can do nothing to deserve God’s forgiveness, but the Bible shows me that I am truly forgiven.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Believe in the forgiveness that God has provided me through Jesus Christ my Lord.

 

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.

           

Appeal (Gen. 50:16-17)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 02-22-2008

 

My Worship Time                                                                                         Focus:  Appeal

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                    Reference:  Genesis 50:16-17

 

            Message of the verses:  “16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, "Your father charged before he died, saying, 17 ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph, "Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong."’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.”

 

            It is doubtful that the story that Joseph’s brothers were giving Jospeh was true, as Jacob would have had seventeen years to speak to Joseph about this, but probably the truth is that they were frightened and since the death of their father they thought that Joseph would try and get even with them over what they had done to him.  Joseph wept over this and this is the seventh time his weeping is recorded here, so I am sure that this was very hurtful to him.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I wonder how many times I have caused the Lord to be upset over unbelief in my life, for after all Jesus paid it all and all to Him I owe. 

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  This is my step of faith for today, believing God.

 

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.

Wondering and Alarmed (Gen. 50:15)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 02-21-2008

 

My Worship Time                                                            Focus:  Wondering and Alarmed

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                         Reference: Genesis 50:15

 

            Message of the verse:  “15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!’”

           

            The question is when was this statement given?  The answer is it could have been when all of the family was heading to Canaan or when they returned from burying their father.  Another question is why this statement was given in the first place?  The answer to this question is that the brothers still did not believe their brother Joseph and all that he has done for them.  They must have thought that it was only a plot to get them all to Egypt so when their father did die that Joseph would then get even with them.

 

            What Joseph did for his brother and their family was grace, he was doing something for them that they did not deserve because of the sin that they had committed against him, yet Joseph saw the true picture as to why he was sent to Egypt, and that was to preserve life, which is what he was doing, not only his families’ lives were saved but the people in Egypt too, for if it were not for Joseph they would not have prepared for the famine and would have died too.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The writer of the letter of Hebrews speaks about unbelief in Hebrews 12:1, (I realize that I have used this verse in an earlier SD, but it is relevant to this SD too and this time I will include verse two too).  “1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  These verses do not mention that unbelief is the sin spoken of in verse one, yet for two reasons I believe that this it what the author was writing about:  The author just spent a whole chapter talking about the great faith of some of the OT heroes and the first thing he writes about after that is a sin that so easily entangles us and it seems to me that unbelief is the sin that entangles all believers.  The other reason I believe that he is writing about unbelief is because Pastor Jacobs said so and I have great respect for his knowledge of the Scriptures.

 

            The point here is that the brothers of Joseph were suffering from the sin of unbelief, unbelief not only in their brother Joseph but also in God and this can cause a great deal of problems in a persons life.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Not to doubt the love of God that was demonstrated for me through Jesus Christ on the cross, for after all Paul wrote that this act of great love was done for me whenever I was an enemy of God, how much more will He do for me now that I am His child.

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.

Respect (Gen. 50:7-14)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 02-20-2008

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Respect

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                            Reference:  Genesis 50:7-14

 

            Message of the verses:  “7  So Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household and all the elders of the land of Egypt,  8 and all the household of Joseph and his brothers and his father’s household; they left only their little ones and their flocks and their herds in the land of Goshen.  9 There also went up with him both chariots and horsemen; and it was a very great company.  10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they lamented there with a very great and sorrowful lamentation; and he observed seven days mourning for his father.  11 Now when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, "This is a grievous mourning for the Egyptians." Therefore it was named Abel-mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.  12 Thus his sons did for him as he had charged them; 13  for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field for a burial site from Ephron the Hittite.  14 After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.”

 

            I am not too sure how it was that all of these things that were done for Jacob’s preparation for burial and for his burial started, but I believe that a lot of it had to be the culture of Egypt minus the paganism.  At any rate the whole process took a very long time to do and it met a trip to the land of Canaan for a great many people.  Jacob is a very important person in the history of the nation of Israel, for the name Israel was given to Jacob by God Himself after they battled all night, so I am not saying that none of this was not deserved by Jacob, but only that it seemed like it was not the normal thing to be done when burying someone from the nation of Israel. 

 

            You can see the great love that Joseph had for his father Jacob throughout this whole story and it is no wonder that many scholars believe that this is a picture of the relationship between the Lord Jesus Christ and His Heavenly Father.

 

            Most all of the children of Israel went up to Canaan for Jacobs’s services and even some of the Egyptians went along too.  The first stop was at a threshing floor named Atad, where the entire group mourned for seven days and this brought quite a reaction from the Canaanites after seeing this.  After this Jacobs twelve sons to the body of Jacob to the cave which was bought by Abraham to bury his wife in, and this is where they buried Jacob.

           

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There are two verses that speak to me as I read this section of Scripture, and one of them is in verse twelve where obedience is seen from all of Jacob’s sons as they did what they had promised there father they would do concerning his burial.  Verse fourteen speaks of another kind of obedience when all that came to Canaan for Jacob’s funeral returned to Egypt, especially Joseph, for this is where God wanted His people so that He could make a nation out of them during the next four hundred years. 

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Samuel told Soul that obedience was better than sacrifice and that is what my step of faith is for today, to obey the Lord.

 

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.

Thoughtful Preparation (Gen. 50:2-6)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 02-19-2008

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Preparation

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Genesis 50:2-6

 

            Message of the verses:  “2 Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel.  3 Now forty days were required for it, for such is the period required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.  4 When the days of mourning for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, "If now I have found favor in your sight, please speak to Pharaoh, saying, 5 ‘My father made me swear, saying, "Behold, I am about to die; in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me." Now therefore, please 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.’”

 

            The process of burying Jacob took a very long time, something that the Jews latter on would not do, for as seen in Acts chapter five it was done on the same day of a person’s death.

 

            Jacob had made plans for his own burial, as he did not want to be buried in the land of Egypt probably because it was a country that worshiped idols and also he probably wanted to be buried next to his wife Leah.

 

            It is interesting that the physicians did the embalming of Israel and not the official embalmers, for again they probably used pagan things when embalming someone.

 

            Joseph did not go up to Pharaoh and make his request, but sent one of Pharaoh’s households, and this was probably done because Joseph had been around his father who was dead, and he did not tell Pharaoh that Jacob did not want to be buried in Egypt, but just that he wanted to be buried in where his wife and other realities were buried.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Jacob had planned well considering his wishes for his burial and told these plans to Joseph first and put him in charge, and then told the rest of his family so that there was no problems that his wishes would be carried out.  This is good practical advice for anyone.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I still need to have a heart to heart talk with my Lord.  I trust the Lord to continue to led me and guide me concerning the possibility of getting this job, and also to continue to teach me contentment through the trials and testings He is giving me to go through.

 

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

 

9. For this I pray, that your love may still abound 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.

Grief (Gen. 50:1; 10-11)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 02-18-2008

 

My Worship Time                                                                                          Focus:  Grief

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                               Reference:  Genesis 50:1,10-11

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 Then Joseph fell on his father’s face, and wept over him and kissed him.

            “10  When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they lamented there with a very great and sorrowful lamentation; and he observed seven days mourning for his father.  11  Now when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, "This is a grievous mourning for the Egyptians." Therefore it was named Abel-mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.”

 

            This is the sixth time the Scripture records Joseph weeping.  In the culture that Joseph came from weeping was more acceptable than what it is in the culture that I find myself living in.  Jesus cried on different occasions and so this make it okay to do so as far as I am concerned.  God gave tears to mankind and therefore I think that He expects us to use them in times like the one described in today’s text.  The Bible is a book of balance and when it comes to mourning the loss of a loved one tears should be shed, but after the time of morning they will end.  If a person does not weep over the death of a loved one then he is only fooling himself and will later on have difficulties in life, the same is true for the one who weeps too long, for he too will have difficulties in his life.

 

            These three verses describe the death and the burial of Jacob the beloved father of the twelve who would begin to make up the nation of Israel.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  This theme is similar to the one that was studied in yesterday’s sermon and also in the small group study from yesterday.  That theme is expressing one’s feeling to the Lord when something happens to someone that is painful to them.  I expressed that I have trouble doing this whenever I pray to the Lord and I think that He really wants me to do this, but I must remember that, as with all things, to keep it in balance just as the text is teaching from today’s lesson.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to hear my hurts as I express them to Him.

 

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.

The Death of Jacob (Gen. 49:28-33)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 02-17-2008

 

My Worship Time                                                              Focus:  All of the sons together

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                    Reference:  Genesis 49:28-33

 

            Message of the verse:  “28 All these are the tribes of Israel, the twelve tribes. And this is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each one with his own special farewell blessing.  29  Then he instructed them: "I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,  30  the cave in the field of Machpelah facing Mamre in the land of Canaan, the field Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite for a burial plot.  31  Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried there; Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried there; I also buried Leah there.  32 The field and the cave were bought from the Hittites."  33  Jacob finished instructing his sons, pulled his feet into bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.”

 

            As Jacob comes to the end of his life he had blessed Joseph’s sons and adopted them into his family as sons, and then he gave a blessing to each of his sons, something that they would remember and treasure in their hearts and pass down to future generations too.  Jacob had lived for 137 years and was an old man full of years, but those years had been difficult years as he was a hard worker and he had brought some difficult situations upon himself making those years difficult, yet those years were good years too, but now it was time for him to be gathered to his people and his last request was to be buried in the cave that his grandfather Abraham had purchased when his wife had died and was buried there too along with Isaac and Rebecca, and also Leah was buried there too.  Now Jacob would be buried there also.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I look at the end of Jacob’s life and how he died I see that he was very confident as to where he was going to go, and that was with his people in heaven, although heaven was not mentioned it was inferred in the context of the text.  Jacob died worshiping the Lord doing His will and this is a great way to go onto the next life.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to have the faith that the Lord will answer my prayer of faith and that is that the investment with Andrew Lech will be returned to me and that God will continue to teach me contentment through these tests and trials.

 

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.

Benjamin (Gen. 49:27)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/16/2008 9:02 AM

 

 

My Worship Time                                                                                     Focus:  Benjamin

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                         Reference:  Genesis 49:27

 

            Message of the verse:  “27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; all morning he gorges on his kill, at evening divides up what’s left over.”

 

            It does seem odd that Jacob only gives this one line of blessing to “the son of my right hand,” Benjamin, and the words that he says are a bit difficult to understand.  There were some famous people to come from Benjamin’s descendents including Saul, the first king of Israel and Saul who became the apostle Paul, and both of them were like ravenous wolves in their lives.  There is an ironic story about one of Benjamin’s descendents in the book of Judges and it is about Ehud.  Ehud was left handed and he killed Eglon and then become on of Israel’s judges.  So the son of Jacob’s right hand has a left-handed relative who becomes a leader in Israel. 

 

            Moses spoke a little different about the tribe of Benjamin when he said that he was “the beloved of the Lord.”  Benjamin was the only tribe that stuck with the tribe of Judah and thus was a part of the Southern Kingdom thus remaining faithful to the Davidic line.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I realize that your background has a great deal to do with your behavior, yet just as Paul was changed when the Lord Jesus Christ came into his life so I too have changed since He invaded my life a little more than thirty-four years ago.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to trust the Lord to teach me contentment as I go through the tests and trials He is sending my through so that I will continue to develop the character similar to Jesus Christ.

 

My 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.

The Sons of Rachel, Joseph (Gen. 49:22-26)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/15/2008 11:09 AM

 

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  The Sons of Rachel, Joseph

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                  Reference:  Genesis 49:22-26

 

            Message of the verses:  “22 "Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a spring; Its branches run over a wall.  23 “The archers bitterly attacked him, And shot at him and harassed him; 24 But his bow remained firm, And his arms were agile, From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), 25 From the God of your father who helps you, And by the Almighty who blesses you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb. 26  "The blessings of your father Have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; May they be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.”

 

            These are one of those times when I am especially glade that I have Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary, for this has been a difficult passage for me to understand and I am very thankful for his insights.

 

            Jacob had already blessed the sons of Joseph first and now he blesses Joseph and goes beyond Joseph to his two sons as well.  He called Joseph a fruitful plant or tree with leaves and branches that run over a wall.  This word fruitful points to Joseph’s son Ephraim, for he would become a major tribe in the nation of Israel, and would become the largest tribe with many very famous and fruitful coming from this tribe. 

 

            Jacob uses the word archers to describe some of the very difficult things that happened to Joseph, not only from his brothers, but also from those in Egypt when he first arrived there.  Sometimes shooting arrows, as described in the Bible means telling lies and speaking hateful things about a person.

 

            Jacob also used three more special names of the Lord in this section about Joseph:  the Might (One) of Jacob, the Shepherd, and the Stone (Rock).  These are very important names of God and as I think of the Shepherd I cannot help but think of the Lord Jesus Christ in the tenth chapter of John.

 

            Jacob ends this section on Joseph by speaking of the blessings that God had given to his family, including the blessings of Abraham, and Isaac, and the blessings that God had given to a very hard working Jacob who had twelve sons as this would form the foundation of the nation of Israel.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There are two things that I take out of this section on Joseph’s blessing given by his father Jacob, and they are the hard work that Jacob did all of his life, and also the difficult situations that Joseph went through before God elevated him to the second in command in Egypt.  I too have always been a hard worker and now after doing all of that hard work to prepare for my retirement from Ford some very difficult things have happened to me, things that I believe have come through the hand of God for a test to cause me to learn contentment and be more and more conformed like the Lord Jesus Christ. 

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to trust in the Lord to teach me contentment and to see me through the tests and trials that are happening in my life at this time. 

 

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.

The Son's of Zilpah, Gad and Asher (Gen. 49:19-20)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 02-14-2008

 

My Worship Time                                               Focus:  The Son’s of Zilpah, Gad, Asher

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                   Reference:  Genesis 49:19-20

 

            Message of the verses:  “19  "As for Gad, raiders shall raid him, But he will raid at their heels.  20 “As for Asher, his food shall be rich, And he will yield royal dainties.”

 

            Zilpah was the handmade of Leah and she gave Zilpah to Jacob in order to have more children; however Leah did have three more children later on.  I believe that Leah did this just because Rachel had given her handmade to Jacob to bear children for her and Leah became jealous.

 

            Gad’s name could mean “good fortune” or “troop,” and Jacob made a play on words when giving this blessing to Gad.  “Troop (Gad), a troop will troop upon him, but he will troop on their heels.”  This could be the literal translation of verse nineteen.

 

            Moses wrote of Gad, “20  Of Gad he said, "Blessed is the one who enlarges Gad; He lies down as a lion, And tears the arm, also the crown of the head.”  (Deu. 33:20)

 

            Gad settled on the East side of the Jordan river.

 

            Asher’s name means “happy,” and his tribe settled on the Northwest part of the land of Israel right next to the Great Sea, however they were not able to drive out the inhabitants of their territory so they settled down to be an agricultural people taking advantage of the rich and fertile land that God had given them.  As Jacob told his son Asher his food would be rich, fit for a king.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  All of the blessings that Jacob gives to his children are actually prophecies that were given to them because God’s Spirit was speaking through Jacob.  This shows me that God already knows and for that matter plans the things that will take place in my life and for that I am grateful. 

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to trust the Lord to teach me contentment and whatever else He wants to teach me as I go through these trials and tests so that I will be more and more conformed to the image of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  

 

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.   

Son's of Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali (Gen. 49:16-18, 21)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FIR 02-13-2008

 

My Worship Time                                                Focus:  Sons of Bilhah:  Dan & Naphtali

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                              Reference:  Genesis 49:16-18, 21

 

            Message of the verses:  “16 “Dan will govern his people like any other tribe in Israel.  17 He will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so the rider is thrown off.  18 I trust in you for salvation, O LORD!”

 

21    "Naphtali is a deer let loose, producing magnificent fawns.”

 

There are some interesting facts concerning Dan:  His genealogy was left out of 1Chronicles 2-10 where the other brothers are; his genealogy is also left out of the list in Revelations 7:1-8 where the list of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists are listed; however when Ezekiel gives the list of the sons of Israel who will get a portion of land in the Kingdom Age in Eze. 48:1-2 Dan’s name is mentioned. I suppose that there are a number of reasons that his name was left out of these places, and one of them is that after the kingdom was split that an idol was set up in the territory of Dan.

 

Dan means “to judge” found in Genesis 30:6.  Jacob identifies him as a snake, which means he is crafty.  His territory was by the sea in the Philistine territory; however they were too strong for him to conquer so he conquered the defenseless people of Laish.

 

“The exclamation, ‘I have waited for your salvation, O Lord!’  (v-18 NKJV) suggests that Jacob was in communion with the Lord while he was speaking to his sons.  Was he asking God for special strength to finish what he had to say?  Or was he announcing that the Lord would soon call him into eternity?  The word translated ‘salvation’ is yeshua, which gives us the name Joshua, ‘Jehovah is salvation.’  The Greek form is ‘Jesus.’”

 

There is no explanation as to why Jacob spoke to Zilpah’s sons Gad and Asher before going to Naphtali, but that is what he did.  “21 “Naphtali is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words.”  (NKJV)  Jacob describes Naphtali as a dear in verse 20 and there is a difference in the last phrase when the NKJV and the NAS95 are used as one says that he will make beautiful fawns and the other beautiful words.  Naphtali’s territory was in the northern part of Israel and had the Sea of Galilee in it’s territory.  They were also close to Zebulun as Isaiah describes in 9:1-2, “1 But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.  2 The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.”  Jesus would minister in this area while on the earth quite a bit as Isaiah describes.  This area was called “Galilee of the Gentiles.”

 

There were a few differences between Dan and Naphtali but there are no judgments against Naphtali like there were against his brother Dan.

 

Spiritual meaning for my life today:   From reading about these two brothers I would rather be like Naphtali than Dan, and if I had to choose where to live it would be in the hill country near a lake where Naphtali’s descendants lived.  His descendants were more of the common people of Israel, not really special but a steady common people who did not get into a lot of trouble.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to trust the Lord to teach me contentment through these days of testing and trials He is leading me through.

 

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

 

9. And this I pray, that you 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.

 

Zebulun, Issachar (Gen. 49:13-15)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 02-12-2008

 

My Worship Time                                                                       Focus:  Zebulun, Issachar

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                    Reference:  Genesis 49:13-15

 

            Message of the verses:  13 "Zebulun will settle on the shores of the sea and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.  14 “Issachar is a strong beast of burden, resting among the sheepfolds.  15 When he sees how good the countryside is, how pleasant the land, he will bend his shoulder to the task and submit to forced labor.”

 

            Jacob speaks of Zebulun being close to the sea, but they were not on the coast of the Mediterranean coast but were not to far from it.  There were great trading routes that went through their land.  They were a tough people as Deborah and Barak praised them for rallying to the cause of and fighting Sisera.

 

            Issachar’s people were very hard working people who were mostly farmers and although they did not have any great hero’s coming from their tribe they were not like the first three sons that Jacob and Leah had that missed blessing because of their sins.  These first  three sons of Leah remind me that purity and self control are essential to godly character, and the people of Zebulun and Issachar are the kind of people needed to make a nation strong, hard working and brave.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  If I had a choice of the kind of person I would want to be it would be like the people of Issachar, for they were very hard working and the sort of people that are not great heroes, but they were not the trouble makers either.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to trust the Lord to teach me contentment through the trials and tests He is leading me 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 love 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.

 

Judah (Gen. 49:8-12)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 02-11-2008

 

My Worship Time                                                                                          Focus:  Judah

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Genesis 49:8-12

 

            Message of the verses:  “8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will defeat your enemies. All your relatives will bow before you.  9 Judah is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness—who will dare to rouse him?  10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will obey.  11 He ties his foal to a grapevine, the colt of his donkey to a choice vine. He washes his clothes in wine because his harvest is so plentiful.  12 His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.”

 

            The story of Judah, which Jacob tells is a lot different than the previous brothers as Judah’s sins are not mentioned of which there were many.  I have to believe that it was the Spirit of the Lord speaking through Jacob as he blesses all of his sons just before he dies. 

 

            Judah is compared to a lion, a lioness, and a lion who has just finished eating its prey.  Judah was the royal tribe of which the King of Kings would come from and so the description of the king of beasts was a good one.  In the book of Revelations John describes Jesus as both a lion and also a lamb.  All of the kings of Judah came from the line of David to which God had given him a covenant that this would happen.

 

            I would suppose that one of the reasons that the sins of Judah were not mentioned was because that Judah had confessed them to the Lord and therefore the Spirit of the Lord while giving the words to Jacob as he spoke them knew that these sins were forgiven.  Judah had changed his ways and was becoming a real leader among his brothers.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  What I see in the life of Judah, that is his growth as he grew older, is something that I want to be part of my life as I grow older.  This too was talked about in our Sunday school class yesterday.  The verse that we were talking about was 1 John 5:14, “14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”  The word confidence was the key work that caused our conversation, and as a believer grows older in their walk with the Lord they gain more and more confidence in the Lord and this is similar to Judah’s life and hopefully with mine.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Have the confidence in the Lord that He will answer my prayers that I pray to Him this day.  I have confidence that the Lord will continue to teach me more and more to be content in my life as I go through the trials that I am going through with my wife, as we go through them together.

 

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.