A Time of Testing: Confinement (Gen. 42:17)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-09-2008

 

My Worship Time                                                Focus:  A Time of Testing; Confinement

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                         Reference:  Genesis 42:17

 

            Message of the verse:  “17 So he put them all together in prison for three days.”

 

            As I read this account of how Joseph treated his brothers it makes me think that he must have had a plan for what he would do when his brothers came down to buy the grain that they needed to survive on.  I also believe that God was the One who gave this plan to Joseph, for it was God who had given Joseph two dreams so long ago that had not been fulfilled as of yet.

 

            Joseph puts his ten brothers in jail, or in confinement so that they could experience a little of what he had gone through, and this time in jail made them reflect on what they had done to Joseph and caused them to think that perhaps what they had done to Joseph had something to do with what was happening to them at this time.  I have to keep reminding myself of a couple of things as I go through this story and that is that God had a plan to send Messiah to the earth, and that plan involved the nation of Israel, and at this time there was only a family of about seventy people who would eventually become the nation of Israel.  The other thing that I think of is that these were real people, people who lived in similar ways that we do, people with sinful natures, but not really given a lot of special abilities on their own.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I would think that it was hard on Joseph to put his brothers in the confinement that he put them in, and I also think that it was God who lead him to do this difficult thing, but he had to make sure that their sin was dealt with before he would let them know who he really was.  There is another thing that speaks to me as I think about this and that is that God surely gave Joseph the grace to not take revenge out on his brothers, for that would have been easy to do, but God surely showed Joseph that all of the things he went through was for good even though it did not seem like it at the time. 

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to trust the Lord each and every day even though it is difficult at times to see what it is He is doing.

Harsh Word in this Time of Testing (Gen. 42:3-14)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-08-2008

 

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  A Time of Testing, Harsh Words

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Genesis 42:3-14

 

            Message of the verses:  3 Then ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt.  4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, "I am afraid that harm may befall him."  5 So the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming, for the famine was in the land of Canaan also. 6 Now Joseph was the ruler over the land; he was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.

7 When Joseph saw his brothers he recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and spoke to them harshly. And he said to them, "Where have you come from?" And they said, "From the land of Canaan, to buy food."  8 But Joseph had recognized his brothers, although they did not recognize him.  9 Joseph remembered the dreams which he had about them, and said to them, "You are spies; you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land."  10 Then they said to him, "No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food.  11 “We are all sons of one man; we are honest men, your servants are not spies."  12 Yet he said to them, "No, but you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land!"  13 But they said, "Your servants are twelve brothers in all, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no longer alive."  14 Joseph said to them, "It is as I said to you, you are spies.”

 

A few brief words on verses 3-6; Joseph’s brothers had no choice but to go down to Egypt or else they would starve.  I wanted to make note on the phrase, “down to Egypt,” and that is that the Bible, when it talks about Egypt seems to always say that it is down to Egypt.  I believe that there is a spiritual reason for this and it seems to be a place that indicates slavery and sin, especially for the nation of Israel.  When they came from Egypt they came up out of slavery, and when a person accepts the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior they are a new person and therefore are not slaves to sin any more.  All unbelievers are in slavery to sin.  It is also worth noting in these first few verses that Jacob would not allow Benjamin to go with the ten brothers for fear of loosing him as he did Joseph, and in verse six the writer explains that Joseph was now the ruler in Egypt and also the brothers had to fulfill Joseph’s dream by bowing down to Joseph, even though they did not know it was him at this time.

 

It was now time for Joseph’s brothers to be treated with harsh words.  I believe that Joseph was treating them in a harsh way so that they would repent of their sins that they had committed against both Joseph and their father, for he was not doing this to get even with them for I believe that he realized now that he was sent to Egypt to preserve this family so that they would become a nation that God wanted them to become.  When one looks at these chapters and stories in Genesis one can see how fragile things were, for God would bring Messiah through this family, and this family had done many things that could have caused it to become extinct, yet this would not happen for it was in God’s plan that they survive.

 

Another reason that I believe that Joseph was not trying to get even with them was because he had to leave because of his grief, for he began to weep.  In Joseph’s dream all eleven brothers had bowed down to him and Benjamin was not there in order to bow down to him, so it was necessary for him to do this to in order to fulfill the dream.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Joseph did not take any revenge out on his brothers, but was working with them in order that they would repent and confess their sins to God, and Joseph, and Jacob, for vengeance belongs to the Lord.  I want to be able to live this out in my life too.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust the Lord to see me through these first three hard days of my fast and to teach me what it is that He wants me to learn while I go through this fast, as to how long He wants me to fast and what I will learn.

A Time of Testing (Hunber) (Gen. 43:1-2)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-07-2008

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  A Time of Testing (Hunger)

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                       Reference:  Genesis 42:1-2

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, "Why are you staring at one another?"  2 He said, "Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us from that place, so that we may live and not die.’”

 

            I realize that the Bible does not tell all that went on in stories like this and sometimes it is hard to understand why things are said and what had gone on for statements like these in verses 1 & 2 to have been said, but perhaps Jacob did not trust these ten son’s of his because of what happened to Joseph thirty years earlier.  These ten sons probably knew that there was grain in Egypt, but for perhaps a verity of reasons did not want to travel down to Egypt, and one of those reasons was that they had sold Joseph to people who took him down to Egypt.  Jacob asks his sons why they did not go to Egypt, perhaps because he knew they knew that there was grain there and with this grain they would all starve.  Hunger was the first test for them, that would eventually lead to repentance and reconciliation.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think that there have been too many times in my life when I was not patience and wanted to get things done at a fast pace and therefore have missed out on the correct way of doing things.  In yesterdays Sunday school class I was convicted at the way that I confess my sins to the Lord, and although I have realized that I was not doing this in a correct manner I did not realize why or the correct way of doing it.  Sin causes big problems in my life whenever I sin and therefore I believe that I should be more repentant in the way I am dealing with it, after all I believe that it was sin, and the separation of Jesus from His Father while on the cross that caused Him to be so upset in the garden, and I am not even upset when I sin, but go strait to 1John 1:9.  Yesterday’s sermon also caused me to look at things different concerning me as a follower of Jesus, and now reading about shallow reconciliation has also convicted me.  Lusting seems to be a pet sin of mine and I truly need to seek God’s face while I am fasting to truly confess this sin and also to be reconciled to the Lord and have true fellowship with Him again.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  This fast that I want to enter into is perhaps much more important than I first realized, and it seems that God is showing me the importance of it and now I need the strength from Him to accomplish it in a way that will honor Him and help me to be reconciled to the Lord.

Forgiving and Forgetting the Past (Gen. 41:46-57)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-06-2008

 

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  Forgiving and forgetting the past.

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                              Reference:  Genesis 41:46-57

 

            Message of the verses:  “46 Now Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt.  47  During the seven years of plenty the land brought forth abundantly.  48  So he gathered all the food of these seven years which occurred in the land of Egypt and placed the food in the cities; he placed in every city the food from its own surrounding fields.  49  Thus Joseph stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure.  50  Now before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him.  51  Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, "For," he said, "God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household."  52  He named the second Ephraim, "For," he said, "God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction."  53  When the seven years of plenty which had been in the land of Egypt came to an end, 54  and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said, then there was famine in all the lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.  55  So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, you shall do." 56  When the famine was spread over all the face of the earth, then Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians; and the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.  57 The people of all the earth came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the earth.”

 

            Joseph now begins a new life in Egypt, for he had overcome what his brothers had done to him, and the things that had happened in Potiphar’s house, and the things that had happened to him while in prison.  It is wonderful how Joseph came through all of the testing’s that God had sent his way.  I can imagine that there were times when Joseph was very upset over the things that had happened to him, things that he did not deserve, yet during those thirteen long years Joseph’s character was being built, and he took the opportunity to draw closer to the Lord, for in the back of his mind he must have remembered the dreams that God had given him would someday come true.  Dr. Wiersbe says some good things here that I would like to put in this SD.  “It’s a wonderful thing when we can come through times of trial with the kind of attitude Joseph had, burying the past hurts and rejoicing in present blessings, being ‘forgetful’ and ‘fruitful’ at the same time.  What a tragedy when people remember the painful things others have done to them, and their lives carry bitterness that robs them of peace and joy.  Just as Joseph laid aside his prison clothes and made a new beginning, so we frequently need to ‘take off’ the old hurt and put on a new attitude of faith and love (Eph. 4:20-32; Col. 3:1-17).

Eph. 4:20-32, (NLT), “20 But that isn’t what you were taught when you learned about Christ.  21 Since you have heard all about him and have learned the truth that is in Jesus, 22 throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception.  23 Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes.  24 You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness—righteous, holy, and true.  25  So put away all falsehood and "tell your neighbor the truth" because we belong to each other.  26  And "don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you." Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry,

27  for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil.  28  If you are a thief, stop stealing. Begin using your hands for honest work, and then give generously to others in need.

29  Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.  30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he is the one who has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

31  Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior.  32  Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”  Col. 3:1-17, (NLT), “1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power.  2  Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth.  3  For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.  4 And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. 5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires. Don’t be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry.  6  God’s terrible anger will come upon those who do such things.  7  You used to do them when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.  9  Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds.  10  In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within you.  11  In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. 12 Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  13  You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.  14  And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15  And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful.  16  Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.  17  And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father.”

 

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have been looking at Joseph’s life and comparing some of the things that have happened to him with some of the things that have happened to me, mostly the investment issue.  It will be five years since the Lord has allowed our investment to be gone from us, and I hope that in those five years that the Lord has taught me things that I would not have learned any other way.  I do feel more content and money does not mean as much to me that is having a lot of it, all though I still struggle with this from time to time.  I do believe that I can say that God has meant this for my good, just as Joseph will say latter on in this book of Genesis.  I do not want to become bitter, but better through this trial, and I still trust that the Lord may someday work that this investment will be returned to me, in His time, but if not then just as now His grace will be sufficient for me.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to trust that the Lord will give me the grace each day to see me through and to bring honor and glory to Him.

God now leads Pharoah to choose Joseph (Gen. 41:37-40)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-05-2008

 

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  God leads Pharaoh to choose Joseph

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                   Reference:  Genesis 41:37-40

 

            Message of the verses:  “37 Now the proposal seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants.  38 Then Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find a man like this, in whom is a divine spirit?"  39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are. 40 “You shall be over my house, and according to your command all my people shall do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than you.’”

 

            God continues to lead Joseph in this wonderful chapter, for it was God’s plan that Joseph would come to power in Egypt so that He could then move the rest of Joseph’s family down to Egypt and then begin the process of making them a great nation.

 

            When Moses wrote Genesis he used the clothes that Joseph wore to highlight the position that he was in at the time.  First there was the coat of many colors, and then Joseph leaves his coat with Potiphar’s wife when he fled from her, and now he receives new clothes when he goes to see Pharaoh and then Pharaoh gives him new clothes to go along with his new position and a gold chain and ring also.

 

            Dr. Wiersbe points out that there are some who believe that because Joseph married a Gentile woman that this pictures Christ and his bride, the Church, also a Gentile bride.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I continue to read and study this wonderful story, I see God’s providential hand in all of it and I believe that He has His providential hand in my life too.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust the Lord to lead and to guide me each and every day of my life.    

IT Was God who led Pharaoh to call Joseph (Gen. 41:14-36)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-04-2008

 

My Worship Time                                                   Focus:  God led Pharaoh to call Joesph

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                    Reference:  Genesis 41:14-36

 

            Message of the verses:  “4  Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came to Pharaoh.  15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have had a dream, but no one can interpret it; and I have heard it said about you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it."  16 Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer."

17  So Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, "In my dream, behold, I was standing on the bank of the Nile; 18  and behold, seven cows, fat and sleek came up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the marsh grass. 19  "Lo, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, such as I had never seen for ugliness in all the land of Egypt; 20  and the lean and ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows.  21 “Yet when they had devoured them, it could not be detected that they had devoured them, for they were just as ugly as before. Then I awoke. 22  "I saw also in my dream, and behold, seven ears, full and good, came up on a single stalk; 23  and lo, seven ears, withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them; 24  and the thin ears swallowed the seven good ears. Then I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me."

25 Now Joseph said to Pharaoh, "Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same; God has told to Pharaoh what He is about to do.  26 “The seven good cows are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one and the same.  27  "The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven thin ears scorched by the east wind will be seven years of famine.  28 “It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh: God has shown to Pharaoh what He is about to do.  29 "Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt; 30 and after them seven years of famine will come, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will ravage the land.  31 “So the abundance will be unknown in the land because of that subsequent famine; for it will be very severe. 32 “Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that the matter is determined by God, and God will quickly bring it about.

33 "Now let Pharaoh look for a man discerning and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.  34  "Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers in charge of the land, and let him exact a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance. 35  "Then let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and store up the grain for food in the cities under Pharaoh’s authority, and let them guard it. 36 “Let the food become as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which will occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land will not perish during the famine.’”

 

Now after the cupbearer told Pharaoh about Joseph God prompted him to call Joseph, for Pharaoh seemed to be frightened about his dream, and with good reason.  When Pharaoh spoke to Joseph about the dream and said that he was told that he could interpret dreams Joseph quickly said just as he had told the cupbearer and the chief baker before, that it was God who interpreted dreams and He would do it through Joseph.  Joseph gave the glory to the Lord.  Joseph then tells Pharaoh that God would give him a favorable answer to his dream.

 

Pharaoh now tells Joseph the dreams and Joseph interrupts the dreams for Pharaoh very quickly after hearing them.  Joseph continues to give the glory to God, by saying that God has told Pharaoh through his dreams exactly what He was about to do.

 

Joseph now takes this a step further, and I believe that God lead Joseph to do so, and that is Joseph suggests to Pharaoh to find someone to be put in charge of all the grain that would come in the first seven years, the years of abundance, and that he should collect 20% of this grain so that there would be enough in the seven years of famine.  It is interesting that 20% of this grain would not only be enough for Egypt, but also that people from other nations would be able to buy from them too.

 

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Just as Joseph did not forget to give glory to God for the things He was doing, neither should I forget to give glory to God for the things He is doing in my life, even though my life at this time is not the way I would have planned it to be.  God has a plan for my life and I need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit as He leads me and guides me each day.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to trust the Lord to lead me and guide me each day, and not forget to praise Him each day for all that he is doing in my life.     

The Cupbearer Remembers Joseph (Gen. 41:9-13)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 01-03-2008

 

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  The cupbearer remembers Joseph

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                               Reference:  Genesis 41:9-13

 

            Message of the verses:  “9 Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, "I would make mention today of my own offenses.  10 “Pharaoh was furious with his servants, and he put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, both me and the chief baker.  11 “We had a dream on the same night, he and I; each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream.  12 “Now a Hebrew youth was with us there, a servant of the captain of the bodyguard, and we related them to him, and he interpreted our dreams for us. To each one he interpreted according to his own dream.  13 “And just as he interpreted for us, so it happened; he restored me in my office, but he hanged him.’”

 

            God’s timings are always perfect, and in this case it was time for Joseph to be lifted to the throne.  I am wondering if Joseph remembers his dreams that he had when he was seventeen years old at this time or if he wasn’t reminded of them latter.  At any rate God was moving in Joseph’s life in what seems to be a good way, for the times of troubles are now over, the times of God’s preparation for Joseph to be elevated to the throne are complete.  God’s timings are always perfect.  It has been said that God created time, but man made watches.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I don’t know if it is the correct thing to do, however I have been relating Joseph’s circumstances to what has been going on in my life over these past, almost, five years.  What I can see out of this lesson today is that God’s timings are always perfect, and I am still learning things that He is teaching me, and two of the most important lessons are patience and contentment.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I want to continue to learn the things that God wants to teach me through this trial that I am going through, and to continue to be patience and learn more about being content.