Burunche’s Blog

Exodus 1:15 – 22 “Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, “When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them on the birthstools. If the child is a son, kill him; but if it is a daughter, let her live.” The midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live. So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?” The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife arrives.” So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.”

Twice in my professional career as a doctor, I have had to perform first trimester therapeutic abortions to save the life of a mother. Without a doubt, those were some of the most difficult procedures I ever was forced to do. I operated in tears! I prayed before, during, and after the procedure and begged the fetus to forgive me. Life truly does begin at conception and those who argue otherwise are wrong. These days with 4 – D ultrasound, we can readily see infants in the womb sucking their thumbs and responding to pain, to music, and all kinds of things. When Dr. Ben Carson was practicing pediatric neurosurgery, he performed many procedures on fetuses who went on to be delivered at full term and to lead productive lives.

Pharaoh’s plan was simple: eliminate all Hebrew male babies and leave the girls, who would then marry Egyptians. But God foiled Pharaoh’s plot; two God – fearing midwives refused to kill infants and God gave them families as a result. At a time when many babies might not have survived the newborn period, these ladies were blessed with children. God was honoring Shiphrah and Puah. In addition, God thought so much of these two ladies that He preserved their names in His Word. What an honor! And evidently, Pharaoh’s appeals to his own people didn’t get very far either because there is no mention of the Egyptians killing boy infants. Again, perhaps the isolation of the Hebrews in the Land of Goshen section of Egypt worked to protect the boy infants. Remember that to the Egyptians, the herding of any animals was considered low – class. The Egyptians probably thought, “Why not simply ignore those Hebrews? If Pharaoh is so worried about those boy babies, let him send his soldiers.” And perhaps the Egyptians were afraid of bringing curses on themselves for shedding innocent blood.

APPLICATION: This story contains many demonstrations of God’s mercy:

1. The midwives were God – fearing. These days there are many groups pushing abortion throughout the world. God – fearing nurses and doctors may find themselves in trouble for refusing to do abortions.

2. God gave the Hebrew midwives an answer that Pharaoh would accept, thus sparing them.

3. Because the midwives had saved all the babies, God gave them babies of their own.

4. God was protecting the Hebrew boy babies from being thrown into the Nile by the Egyptians. Think about all the men who left Egypt during the Exodus. Had Pharaoh’s plans succeeded, those men would not have existed.

Proverbs 22:8 says “He who sows injustice will reap disaster, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.” Galatians 6:7 says “Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.” Before the story is over, every family in Egypt will lose their first – born sons.

Times may have changed, but God has not changed. God’s Word remains forever. And the principle of sowing and reaping has not changed either. What goes around, comes around, and the measure we give out is the measure that we receive. God was merciful to the Hebrew midwives because they were faithful. Ultimately, God killed all the first-born sons, including the first – born son of the pharaoh then in power at the time of the first Passover.

We must examine our hearts! The shedding of innocent blood brings curses on a land! Ask God to show you where you are turning away from His Word to follow popular culture, and then repent.

PRAYER: Father God, thank you for your mercy and grace! Thank you for loving us so much that you refuse to leave us unchanged. Lord, cause your face to shine on us, illumine our dark hearts, and show us those places where we have turned away from you to follow popular culture. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Exodus 2:11 – 22 “One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people and observed their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. After looking this way and that and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand. The next day Moses went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your fellow Hebrew?” But the man replied, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “This thing I have done has surely become known.” When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he sought to kill Moses.

But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, where he sat down beside a well. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father’s flock. And when some shepherds came along and drove them away, Moses rose up to help them and watered their flock. When the daughters returned to their father Reuel (Jethro), he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?” “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds,” they replied. “He even drew water for us and watered the flock.” “So where is he?” their father asked. “Why did you leave the man behind? Invite him to have something to eat.” Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage. And she gave birth to a son whom he named Gershom, for he said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”

Moses had good intentions but lousy timing and acted out of righteous indignation. Consider Moses’ situation: Moses was a Hebrew but raised in the palace as an Egyptian. Had Moses truly been an Egyptian noble, it’s likely that he would have gotten by with a slap on the wrist for killing a brutal Egyptian overseer. After all, those assigned to oversee slaves were generally lower level socially. It’s even possible that had Moses been an Egyptian noble, Pharaoh might have commended him for eliminating a bully who was mistreating valuable slaves.

But Moses was not an Egyptian; he was a Hebrew caught between two cultures. Moses’ mother had kept him until he was a few years old, so it’s likely that she would have told him of his Hebrew heritage. Then Moses went to live with Pharaoh’s daughter and was educated with the princes. Poor Moses! How confusing! One Ghanaian pastor friend ministering in a tribal group traditionally opposed to his own described this situation perfectly. Our friend said that he was “hanging like a bat” between the two tribes, with each tribe suspecting he was sympathetic to the other!

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APPLICATION: How does this story illustrate the mercy of God?

1. Moses understood two cultures, both that of the Hebrews and that of the Egyptians. Moses would need all of that knowledge in the future.

2. God delivered Moses from this predicament by allowing Moses to escape to the land of Midian, where he became a sheep herder. Until then, Moses had been living in the royal palace in Egypt and had no idea of how to live outdoors or cope with situations in which water was scarce. On his own, Moses would never have chosen such a lifestyle.

3. God allowed Moses to become a sheep herder for another reason as well. Sheep are not easy to handle. Sheep are willful and make stupid choices. If the sheep herder fails to watch closely enough, the sheep will wander into all kinds of danger. There are wild animals that are always ready to attack the sheep. God used decades of herding sheep to prepare Moses to lead the Israelites, who, as it turned out, frequently had a lot in common with those sheep!

Many times when things get rough, we want to complain or blame God. We have no idea that God is mercifully working out His purposes in our lives and preparing us for something higher and greater.

PRAYER: Father God, thank you that you have far bigger plans for us than we have for ourselves. Thank you that you refuse to leave us sitting in one place but that you move us into new situations in which we are forced to learn in order to survive. Thank you that ultimately we will see your hand of mercy in all you are doing in our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Exodus 1: 14 “Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, but the Israelites were fruitful and increased abundantly; they multiplied and became exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them. Then a new king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt. “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become too numerous and too powerful for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase even more; and if a war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country. ”

So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and flourished; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. They worked the Israelites ruthlessly and made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar, and with all kinds of work in the fields. Every service they imposed was harsh.”

The terrible seven years’ famine has passed into history. Joseph and his brothers are dead, as is the pharaoh who honored Joseph. Thanks to Joseph securing the land of Goshen for his family and their livestock, the Israelites have remained separate from the Egyptians. Though only seventy people came to Egypt with Jacob, his descendants have multiplied so much that “the land was filled with them.”

A new king who never knew Joseph has come to power, and he’s worried about the Israelites as a large minority. What is troubling this new pharaoh is the thought that if war comes, the Israelites might side with the enemy – a perfectly reasonable fear. But this pharaoh is also worried that the Israelites might leave the country. Why should this be a concern? After all, if you are worried about a tribal group becoming numerous, wouldn’t you be relieved if they left the country? But here’s the thing; the Egyptians have been getting a lot of work out of the Israelites. Remember that the Israelites keep livestock, a profession that is anathema to the Egyptians. The Egyptians have been perfectly happy to leave the herding of cattle and sheep and goats to the Israelites. If the Israelites leave, someone else will have to handle livestock.

Pharaoh thinks the answer to the Israelite problem is to turn them into slaves and work them as hard as possible. This plan backfires because the harder the Israelites work, the more they multiply.

APPLICATION: We are beginning a study of how God has demonstrated His mercy in the story told in Exodus. Today’s scripture might have you scratching your head. Nothing in this passage seems to speak of God’s mercy, apart from the fact that the harder the Israelites work and the more they suffer, the more their population grows. But God has a perfect plan. By now, the Israelites have been in Egypt for centuries and have settled there. Conditions might not be perfect, but none of the current generation of Israelites has ever seen the Promised Land or knows anything about it. If God is going to get the Israelites to leave Egypt, it’s going to take something even stronger than dynamite to blast them out of their comfort zones!

There’s also the fact that the Israelites have been enjoying a more leisurely way of life than they did as nomads, becoming physically soft. God knows the challenges that lie ahead; if these people are going to survive the desert, they’re going to have to get a whole lot stronger and tougher. Standing around watching herds and flocks in confined grazing areas does not build the kind of muscle the Israelites are going to need on their journey. So God moves Pharaoh to force the Israelites to work on two cities. They may also have worked on some of the pyramids that were being built around this time.

When I was growing up on the farm, we kept pigs out on open pastures with small houses for shelter. The fun began when we had to move a large group of pigs from one field to another. Using larger gates to create an enclosure and then using smaller hand – held gates, we would herd the pigs close to an open gate hole. But the pigs were arch – conservatives and they had NO interest in moving to a new pasture, no matter how nice it was! They wanted their familiar pasture, thank you, even if they had already consumed all the clover and timothy and alfalfa and had trampled the ground into a quagmire. We soon learned that the most effective way to get the pigs through that open gate hole was to keep moving the large gates so that the pen would become progressively smaller. Eventually, the pigs had no choice and would back through the gate hole VERY RELUCTANTLY. Sometimes we had to bang the pigs on their noses with the smaller gates so that they would turn around and see that there was a path to freedom, if they would only take it.

Most people are like those pigs. It takes a great deal to convince someone that it’s time for a change. All the time that the Israelites were suffering, God was watching and thinking, “There, Shmuel, there Isaac, ten years from now you are going to be really grateful that you have all those muscles.” Today, what is God trying to force you to do that you are resisting? Perhaps there’s an open gate and you just need to turn around and go through it!

PRAYER: Father God, thank you for your mercy! Thank you that you show “tough love” when necessary. Help us to cooperate with your mercy rather than fighting it, and to realize that trials are sent to perfect us and not to destroy us. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 50:22 – 26 “Now Joseph and his father’s household remained in Egypt, and Joseph lived to the age of 110. He saw Ephraim’s sons to the third generation, and indeed the sons of Machir son of Manasseh were brought up on Joseph’s knees. Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely visit you and bring you up from this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” And Joseph made the sons of Israel take an oath and said, “God will surely attend to you, and then you must carry my bones up from this place. So Joseph died at the age of 110. And they embalmed his body and placed it in a coffin in Egypt.”

This is really fascinating! By God’s providence, Joseph has become the second most important man in all of Egypt, hailed by the Egyptians as their savior. Were Joseph to allow his body to remain in Egypt, the Egyptians would have given him a wonderful funeral and a magnificent tomb befitting his status. But Joseph doesn’t want any part of an Egyptian burial; instead, Joseph forces his family to swear an oath that they will take his body with them when God sends them out of Egypt. What has moved Joseph to demand this and to force his family to swear such an oath?

The ancient Egyptians practiced polytheism – they had a whole array of different gods. A burial for an important Egyptian official would include an elaborate tomb with all kinds of grave goods so the person being buried would be provided for in eternity. But Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and now Joseph all worshiped the one true living God. For the Israelites, there was no need of elaborate tombs and grave goods. Joseph knew where he had come from, and he had no desire to remain in Egypt after his death. And when you go on to read the Exodus story of how God led the Israelites out of Egypt and then kept them during forty years of traveling in the desert, remember that all that time they were also carrying Joseph’s coffin with them.

For Joseph, Egypt was an interlude in his life, but he was still looking forward to something more, even at the time of his death. Joseph did not want his body to become a part of Egyptian soil. For Joseph, being buried in Egypt might have symbolized that his descendants would be stuck there forever. Just as Jacob had spoken prophetically as he was dying, so Joseph was now prophesying over the Israelites that Egypt would not be their permanent home but that God would send them back to the land He had promised to Abraham. For the next few centuries, every time the Israelites wondered if/when God would remove them from Egypt, they would look at Joseph’s coffin and remember what he had made them promise.

APPLICATION: God wiped out Joseph’s suffering and blessed Joseph because Joseph was willing to forgive his brothers. Sometimes we claim to have forgiven someone, but then we keep recounting stories of all the hurts that person has inflicted on us. Bury those hurts at the foot of the cross of Jesus and leave them alone!

When we were raising pigs on our family farm, we had a huge metal trough into which we poured water in the summertime. Pigs can’t sweat, so unless they can wallow in water, they can’t stay cool enough. This metal trough was like an above – ground pool for our pigs, and they loved it. They would get in and wallow around at every opportunity.

While wallowing might keep pigs cool in the summertime, wallowing in our hurts is a worthless endeavor that will only make us more miserable! Search your heart. Have you really forgiven someone who has hurt you, or are you still wallowing in your hurt, enjoying your feelings of self – pity?

PRAYER: Father God, help us to leave our hurts at the foot of the cross and move on into the glorious future you have for us. Do not allow us to continue to pity ourselves. Thank you for loving us so much that you refuse to leave us in our messes. Change us into your likeness. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 50:15 – 21 “When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge? Then he will surely repay us for all the evil that we did to him.” So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Before he died, your father commanded, ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I beg you, please forgive the transgression and sin of your brothers, for they did you wrong.’ So now, Joseph, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept. His brothers also came to him, bowed down before him, and said, “We are your slaves!” But Joseph replied, “Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish a day like this—to preserve the lives of many people. Therefore do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones.” So Joseph reassured his brothers and spoke kindly to them.”

Joseph’s brothers have a right to be concerned! After all, Joseph spent thirteen years as a slave and in prison because of them. And now that Jacob is dead and buried, what is to prevent Joseph from taking revenge? So the brothers message Joseph, begging him to forgive them and telling him that they are willing to be his slaves. Joseph’s dream as a teenager has come true.

Joseph has a choice: continue to forgive, or take vengeance. But those years in prison have taught Joseph lessons he would not have learned in any other way. Joseph now sees the hand of God in his being brought to Egypt; after all, the slave traders could have sold him somewhere else. Looking back, Joseph now sees that God was with him every step of the way and that God was preparing him for his current role as administrator to Pharaoh. Why hold a grudge when things have worked out well?

When I was growing up on an Illinois farm, we had a large Newfoundland dog; unfortunately, the dog was fond of dragging dead carcasses of squirrels, baby pigs, etc., up to our house. That dog couldn’t understand why we weren’t delighted with her offerings and why we immediately burned the dead bodies! We found out that if we merely buried the bodies, the dog would dig them up and drag them out again. People who insist on carrying grudges are a lot like that dog. Someone hell – bent on carrying a grudge will do anything to dig it back up and drag it around. And just like those dead bodies, the longer the grudge is dragged around, the worse it smells!

Life as a prisoner and a slave in Egypt gave Joseph plenty of opportunity to see the results of court intrigues and the futility of bearing grudges. It’s likely that Joseph might also have seen tragic examples of people bent on wreaking vengeance on one another and spoiling many lives in the process. God had taught Joseph not to hold a grudge!

APPLICATION: Are you carrying a grudge? “But they really did me dirt! They really hurt me!” you say. There’s no doubt that if you live long enough, you are going to be hurt, many times by the very people whom you have tried to help. Just this morning I was reading a post from a fellow missionary in another part of Africa. This brother was being summoned to appear before local authorities because one of his workers who had mishandled money was attempting to cover up his wrong – doings by accusing our friend instead. The saddest part of the whole thing was that this worker was someone our brother had trusted implicitly, making the betrayal far more painful. The point this missionary was making with his post was the very lesson that Joseph had to learn: you must be prepared to forgive people repeatedly, even when they continue to betray you and cause problems for you with local leaders.

Dump that grudge at the foot of the cross and leave it alone! If you find yourself mentally rehearsing the details of the offense, ask Jesus to help you drop it. After all, God says in His Word that He has set our sins as far as the east is from the west.

PRAYER: Father God, help us to forgive others from our hearts and to drop all the grudges we have been carrying. Help us to bury those grudges in the depth of your love and to leave them there. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 49:29 – 33 “Then Jacob instructed them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site. There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and there I buried Leah. The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.” When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and he was gathered to his people.”

Throughout the long years of captivity, Joseph longed to see his father again, to be with his father, and to be able to close his father’s eyes once his father had died. And God promised Jacob as they were at Beersheba on the way to Egypt that Joseph would close his eyes. God fulfilled His promise to Jacob.

One of the hardest parts of serving at long distances from your family is the inability to be with parents when they are dying. To be able to tell your loved ones how much you care for them one last time is an incredible blessing, one that many people do not have. One veteran missionary of our acquaintance expressed it well when she said that as long as she was unable to attend her mother’s funeral, she never really had closure in that situation. One year after my father died while we were in Africa, we spent time in the U.S. Returning to my home area at Christmastime was wonderful, but it was bittersweet knowing that Dad was no longer there.

As a leader in Egypt, Joseph was able to give his father a royal funeral.

Genesis 50:1 – 14 “Then Joseph fell upon his father’s face, wept over him, and kissed him. And Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So they embalmed him, taking the forty days required to complete the embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days. When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please tell Pharaoh that my father made me swear an oath when he said, ‘I am about to die. You must bury me in the tomb that I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.’ Now let me go and bury my father, and then return.” Pharaoh replied, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.” Then Joseph went to bury his father, and all the servants of Pharaoh accompanied him—the elders of Pharaoh’s household and all the elders of the land of Egypt— along with all of Joseph’s household, and his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children and flocks and herds were left in Goshen.

Chariots and horsemen alike went up with him, and it was an exceedingly large procession. When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, which is across the Jordan, they lamented and wailed loudly, and Joseph mourned for his father seven days. When the Canaanites of the land saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a solemn ceremony of mourning by the Egyptians.” Thus the place across the Jordan is called Abel-mizraim. So Jacob’s sons did as he had charged them. They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave at Machpelah in the field near Mamre, which Abraham had purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site. After Joseph had buried his father, he returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone with him to bury his father.” The Egyptians honored Joseph; however, they also honored Jacob as well. And God arranged everything so that Jacob would have a fitting burial and a memorial.

APPLICATION: This story is one of divine rewards for both Jacob and for Joseph. When God chooses to bless someone, He can bless beyond our wildest dreams and imaginations. But remember that none of this would have come about had Joseph remained sulking in prison and had he not forgiven his brothers and even his father.

PRAYER: Father God, help us to forgive from the heart. Thank you that when we forgive others, it frees You to bless us. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 49:1 – 2 “Then Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather around so that I can tell you what will happen to you in the days to come: Come together and listen, O sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.”

Jacob is on his death bed. As tradition demands, Jacob is laying hands on his sons. While the sons are hoping for blessings, Jacob is speaking prophetically. By this point, Jacob’s family has been settled in Egypt for seventeen years, and things appear to be going well. Presumably, Jacob has forgiven his older sons for selling Joseph into slavery and there is peace in the family. But now God’s Holy Spirit is resting on Jacob and Jacob is predicting what will happen to his sons and their families. If you are a student of Bible history, you will realize that these predictions eventually came true.

What is surprising is the harshness of the assessments Jacob makes of some of his sons. Obviously, Jacob clearly understands the personalities of his various sons.

v. 3 – 7 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. Uncontrolled as the waters, you will no longer excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it.  Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence. May I never enter their council; may I never join their assembly. For they kill men in their anger, and hamstring oxen on a whim. Cursed be their anger, for it is strong, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will disperse them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.”

v. 8 – 12 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down to you. Judah is a young lion— my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his. He ties his donkey to the vine, his colt to the choicest branch. He washes his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.” This passage is not only pronouncing blessings on Judah and his descendants, but it is also one of the earliest prophecies of the Messiah, here referred to as “Shiloh.”

v. 13 – 21 “Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore and become a harbor for ships; his border shall extend to Sidon. Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds. He saw that his resting place was good and that his land was pleasant, so he bent his shoulder to the burden and submitted to labor as a servant. Dan shall provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. He will be a snake by the road, a viper in the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward. I await Your salvation, O LORD. Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will attack their heels. Asher’s food will be rich; he shall provide royal delicacies. Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.

Then Jacob comes to Joseph and Benjamin. v.22 – 27 “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall. The archers attacked him with bitterness, and aimed in hostility. Yet he steadied his bow, and his strong arms were tempered by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, in the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, by the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you, with blessings of the heavens above, with blessings of the depths below, with blessings of the breasts and womb. The blessings of your father have surpassed the blessings of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the everlasting hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince of his brothers. Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”

APPLICATION: Some people have a mistaken idea that to forgive someone means that you must overlook their shortcomings, but this is far from true. If people had no shortcomings, there would be no need for forgiveness. Some people also feel that once you have forgiven someone, you must trust them; this also is wrong. You can acknowledge the hurt someone has caused and forgive it, but that does not obligate you to trust that person again when he or she has shown no evidence of a changed heart.

The old saying “Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice, shame on me!” still holds true. As Jacob was blessing his sons, he was also telling some of them why he wouldn’t trust them and why they would fail unless they had a change of behavior. Jesus ministered to all kinds of people; however, John 2:23-25 tells us, “While He (Jesus) was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the signs He was doing and believed in His name. But Jesus did not entrust Himself to them, for He knew all men. He did not need any testimony about man, for He knew what was in a man.”

PRAYER: Father God, help us to forgive those who have hurt us, but also help us to know when to trust and when to distance ourselves. Help us to know when it is time to be vulnerable, even if that means hurt or loss for us. But above all else, help us to forgive as you have forgiven us. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 47:1 – 12 “So Joseph went and told Pharaoh: “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.” And he chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh. “What is your occupation?” Pharaoh asked Joseph’s brothers. “Your servants are shepherds,” they replied, “both we and our fathers.” Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live in the land for a time, because there is no pasture for the flocks of your servants, since the famine in the land of Canaan has been severe. So now, please allow your servants to settle in the land of Goshen.” Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have come to you, the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land. They may dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know of any talented men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock.”

Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. “How many years have you lived?” Pharaoh asked. “My travels have lasted 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My years have been few and hard, and they have not matched the years of the travels of my fathers.” Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and departed from his presence.

So Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. Joseph also provided his father and brothers and all his father’s household with food for their families.”

The story of Jacob and his sons is a story about many people who just couldn’t stop making problems for themselves! Jacob spent years away from his family because he twisted and manipulated. During those years, Jacob suffered a great deal, all because of his own actions. Jacob’s sons were no better! Having sold a bratty younger brother into slavery, the rest of the sons spent years watching their father behave as though he had lost everything and as though they counted for nothing. And at night their consciences might have kept them awake, tormenting them as to the evil of their actions. All of this suffering took place due to a cycle of manipulations, unforgiveness, a desire for revenge, more evil, and more unforgiveness.

Joseph broke that cycle by forgiving his brothers. Those long nights in prison had given Joseph plenty of time to think about what a mouthy youngster he had been and how he had hurt his older brothers. In the stillness, God was speaking to Joseph’s heart, changing Joseph and making him into a man He, God, could use.

When we forgive, wonderful things can happen. Just as holding grudges can be contagious, so gratitude and forgiveness can also be contagious as well. And here we see a graphic demonstration of the results.

Jacob and all his family have made it safely to Egypt and Pharaoh has given them the best part of the grazing land for their livestock. Pharaoh also is offering to employ Joseph’s brothers to supervise his livestock as well. The family has been saved and now has the opportunity to grow and expand.

APPLICATION: Have there been times in your life when you knew that God was blessing you in an unusual way? Have there been other times when you have looked back to realize that God tried to bless you but that you blocked the blessings? So many times we think we know best; meanwhile, we are just making more messes for ourselves!

Many times we want to blame God for our problems when we are the source of the trouble in the first place. Ask God to show you if there are any attitudes that you have picked up from your family, your friends, or perhaps from associates at work that have warped your thinking, leaving you unwilling to forgive others or to be thankful for the blessings God has already given you.

PRAYER: Father God, help us to search our hearts. Open our eyes to see the many blessings you have already given us and the ways we have blocked other blessings. Show us if there is anyone whom we need to forgive or anyone from whom we need to seek forgiveness. In the mighty name of King Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 46:1 – 6 “So Israel set out with all that he had, and when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. And that night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” He said.

“Here I am,” replied Jacob.

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

Then Jacob departed from Beersheba, and the sons of Israel took their father Jacob in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him, along with their children and wives. They also took their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt….”

v.28 – 30 “Now Jacob had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When Jacob’s family arrived in the land of Goshen, Joseph prepared his chariot and went there to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, embraced him, and wept profusely. Then Israel said to Joseph, “Finally I can die, now that I have seen your face and know that you are still alive!”

Joseph has forgiven his brothers. Joseph’s brothers have made their peace with one another and with Benjamin and Joseph and their father. Now the way is open for the entire family to be blessed and to be preserved.

When Jacob/Israel and his family stop at Beersheba overnight, God speaks to him in a vision. The last recorded time God spoke to Jacob was many years ago at the Jabbok Ford when he was on his way back to Canaan from Haran. At that point, Jacob wasn’t sure that his brother Esau would not wipe out Jacob’s entire family and seize everything he owned. And it was at that time that God gave Jacob the name “Israel,” meaning “He who struggles with God.” The following day, Jacob reconciled with Esau, healing a twenty year old dispute.

Now God is reassuring Jacob that He is caring for Jacob’s entire family and will make them into a great nation. Jacob is reaping the results of his reconciliation with Esau. Jacob’s sons and their families are reaping the results of their reconciliation with Joseph. The Land of Goshen in Egypt was evidently excellent grazing land, perfect for Joseph’s brothers who were shepherds and herdsmen. The Egyptians considered caring for livestock to be an occupation for slaves. By gaining permission for his family to settle in Goshen, Joseph was making it possible for the family to live separately from the Egyptians. God was using Joseph in this fashion so that the Israelites would not intermarry with the Egyptians.

God is also giving Joseph the desires of his heart. All these years, Joseph has yearned to see his father Jacob. Now Jacob spends his last days with Joseph, Joseph’s sons receive a special blessing from their grandfather, and Joseph gets to be with Jacob when he dies.

APPLICATION: As you have forgiven others, how has God blessed you? Sometimes we take God’s blessings for granted, forgetting that there are no guarantees and that God is not obligated to bless us. Stop now and ask God to show you how He has blessed you and is blessing you.

PRAYER: Father God, thank you for loving us so much that you forgive our sins when we confess them and trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior. Lord, help us to never forget all the ways in which you have blessed us. Let us be truly mindful of those blessings and thankful. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 45:16 – 24 “When the news reached Pharaoh’s house that Joseph’s brothers had come, Pharaoh and his servants were pleased. Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do as follows: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan. Then bring your father and your families and return to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat from the fat of the land.’ You are also directed to tell them: ‘Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your young children and your wives, and bring your father and come back. But pay no regard to your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

So the sons of Israel did as they were told. Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had instructed, and he also gave them provisions for their journey. He gave new garments to each of them, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes. And he sent to his father the following: ten donkeys loaded with the best of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and provisions for his father’s journey. Then Joseph sent his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way!”

By this time, Pharaoh realizes that God has used Joseph to save Egypt. Nothing is too good for Joseph’s family, and Pharaoh and his servants are pleased. This statement is highly significant because Joseph was not an Egyptian and could easily have been a target of court intrigue. But evidently Joseph has handled himself wisely. Pharaoh orders royal arrangements for moving Joseph’s family to Egypt. The one jarring note is Joseph’s warning to his brothers that they not quarrel on the way. Joseph may have forgiven his brothers, but he knows that they may not have forgiven one another!

v. 25 – 28 “So the brothers went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. “Joseph is still alive,” they said, “and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” But Jacob was stunned, for he did not believe them. However, when they relayed all that Joseph had told them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob was revived. “Enough!” declared Israel. “My son Joseph is still alive! I will go to see him before I die.”

God is blessing Joseph and his entire family. Joseph gets to see his aged father. Jacob will be reunited with Joseph. The family will be saved and will prosper in Egypt for many years. Sometimes there really are happy endings.

APPLICATION: Forgiveness frees us up for the good things God wants to do for us. In Jeremiah 29:11 – 13 God says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

We can only seek God and find him when we are no longer holding grudges against someone else. As long as we are refusing to forgive someone else, we are the biggest hindrance to God blessing us. Joseph’s willingness to forgive his family opened the way for magnificent blessings.

PRAYER: Father God, please show us anyone whom we need to forgive and anyone from whom we need to seek forgiveness. Thank you for your great and mighty promises! Thank you that you are faithful and true and that you honor your Word. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.