Politics or Religion? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Exodus 1:10,

"Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country."

The Egyptians feared the growing Jewish nation within their borders and plotted how to deal with them. The approach was a political one, where they would watch for any entanglements of Israel with potential enemies of Egypt, oppress them in slavery and reduce their male population by killing off the male babies. 

The approach by the Egyptians was a political one. However, the Egyptians were driven to it by God who was bringing about the exodus of Israel from Egypt. God was afoot to establish his chosen nation to bring his Savior for mankind into the world. So, was this state of affairs political or religious in nature? 

I know- that is kind of a ridiculous question as it is obviously both what we would consider political as well as "religious". God was on the move and he was busy using politics to pursue his purposes.

As I think about issues in our day, it appears to me that God works in much the same way today. Just as he influenced the Egyptians to take action against Israel (see Psalm 105:23-25), he influences nations today in a variety of ways to accomplish his desires. It is my feeling that God is doing much more outside the church walls than within as he pursues his intentions. 

I think wise people look behind what transpires on the political stage (whether domestic or international) in an effort to "read" the signs of the times relative to God's agenda and his calendar.

On a distantly related note, when it comes to politics versus religion for me, there is no "versus". It is all one and the same at the kitchen table. A person's politics is nothing other than the public expression of one's own spiritual condition.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here:  http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

God Caused Egyptians to Hate His People - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Exodus 1:8-10,

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

After Jacob and his family went to join Joseph in Egypt they grew into a mighty people. We are told "the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them." Verse 7. God fulfilled his promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to make a great nation of them. He used Egypt as a "womb" to grow the fledgling family into this great nation.

Now that God had accomplished that, he began to arrange circumstances to bring about Israel's exodus from Egypt to fulfill another promise he had made to the patriarchs: to give them the land of Canaan. In order to set the stage for Israel's exodus from Egypt, he turned the hearts of the Egyptians against his own people, "Then Israel entered Egypt; Jacob resided as a foreigner in the land of Ham. The Lord made his people very fruitful; he made them too numerous for their foes, whose hearts he turned to hate his people, to conspire against his servants." Psalm 105:23-25.

Psalm 105 tells us that it was the Lord that caused the tremendous growth of Israel in Egypt, and, likewise, when that was accomplished, he turned the hearts of the Egyptians against his own people to bring about their exit from Egypt. God built a people for himself that would be entrusted with his word and through whom he would bring his Savior to mankind.

Every bit of what we read about Joseph's travails, Jacob's move to Egypt, and now the mistreatment of the Israelites by the Egyptians was all part of God accomplishing his purposes in a masterful way. It is just amazing to me to observe the wondrous works God does!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here:  http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Jacob's Sons - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 49:28,

"All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him."

The twelve tribes of Israel comprise the chosen nation of Israel. A very important part of the blessing for the chosen nation would be the distribution of the promised land. Jacob's blessings here allude to some of that, even if somewhat vaguely.

Jacob adopted (appropriated?) Joseph's two sons that were born to him prior to Jacob coming to Egypt. We read, "Now then, your [Joseph's] two sons born to you in Egypt before I [Jacob] came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers." Genesis 48:5-6.

However, in the gathering of Jacob's sons for their blessings from him and to hear his last words, there is no mention of Ephraim and Manasseh. Perhaps it is due to the blessings they received from Jacob earlier as we read in Genesis 48. Chapter 49 begins with Jacob calling for his sons to gather around him, "Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come."

All twelve of Jacob's sons are represented in this setting but not Ephraim and Manasseh. However, we do see Ephraim and Manasseh represented in the distribution of the promised land 400 years later following Israel's exodus from Egypt.

When the land was divided, twelve tribes were given land. Ten of Jacob's original sons were represented. Levi did not receive any land as they were chosen for the priesthood and were to live in various areas that belonged to the other tribes. Joseph, as a tribe, was represented by both Ephraim and Manasseh, resulting in twelve tribes being granted in the distribution of the promised land. In this way Jacob's adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh was fulfilled.

Jacob's sons:
Reuben
Simeon
Levi
Judah
Zebulun
Issachar
Dan
Gad
Asher
Naphtali
Joseph
Benjamin

The tribes receiving portions in the promised land:
Reuben
Simeon
Judah
Zebulun
Issachar
Dan
Gad
Asher
Naphtali
Ephraim

Manasseh
Benjamin

It is interesting to me that as view the various maps of the distribution of the promised land, Joseph's two sons received more than any of the others (almost half of the total!).

Just some observations here.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here:  http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Parting Words and Rachel's Burial Place? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 49:1,

"Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come."

Prior to his death Jacob had his sons gather around him and gave each one a "preview" as to what he saw coming their way, "so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come." I find the chapter absolutely fascinating. Among other things, when Jacob spoke of Judah, Jesus Christ is prefigured as the one to whom the ruler's staff belongs and to whom the obedience of the nations will be.

Some of the preview is fairly specific, as an example, Asher. "Asher's food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king." And, although Zebulun will be landlocked when the promised land is divided among the tribes, we read, "Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon."

At the end of the chapter we find Jacob's parting words, asking his sons to make sure he is buried in the cave in the field of Machpelah. This is the cave that Abraham and his wife, Sarah, as well as Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried. Jacob points out that he had buried his wife, Leah, there as well. He does not mention his wife Rachel, the love of his life, as she was not buried there. 

Jacob buried Rachel in Bethlehem. It causes me to wonder why Jacob did not bury her in the family burial place when she died giving birth to Benjamin. It would seem fitting, since the burial place was an important issue, that Jacob would have taken whatever pains necessary to bury her there. But, he didn't.

I have read several explanations why, and I have to say none very satisfying. Having his flocks and herds with him as he was moving when she passed away, or that there was no good way to preserve the body at that time are not compelling explanations to me. Perhaps it is a mystery that has no good explanation?

Maybe you have a good explanation. I'd love to hear it!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here:  http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

The Great Blessing - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 48:3-4,

"Jacob said to Joseph, 'God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me and said to me, "I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you."'"

Jacob had renamed the city of Luz to Bethel, Genesis 28:19. God actually appeared to Jacob twice there, the first time recorded in Genesis 28:10-22 and the second in Genesis 35:1-15.

In the Genesis 28 passage, Jacob dreamed of a stairway to heaven where angels went up and down between heaven and earth. At that time the Lord told him there, "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Genesis 28:13-15.

In the Genesis 35 passage Jacob had later settled in Bethel (Luz) and after returning from a trip to northwest Mesopotamia, God appeared to him a second time there and said, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you." Genesis 35:11-12.

Just as his father, Isaac, and his grandfather, Abraham, God promised Jacob a mighty nation from his offspring and land. The land was Canaan and the mighty nation is described as an "increase [of] your numbers", "a community of peoples". Descendants "like the dust of the earth". 

God also told Jacob, "All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring." Today we have the Scriptures God gave to the offspring of Jacob who faithfully preserved them for us. We also see all peoples of the earth blessed through Jacob's offspring, because it was through this lineage the Son of God came to us and paid for our sins on that cross, making a way for us into God's family.

Talk about blessing!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here:  http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Don't Trifle With the Gift Giver - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 48:21,

"Then Israel said to Joseph, 'I am about to die, but God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers.'"

The second person personal pronouns in the above verse are plural, which is good to know because Jacob is prophesying the whole family, all Israel will return to Canaan, and not just Joseph. God told Abraham that Israel would go down to Egypt for over 400 years, Genesis 15:13, and Jacob here is telling Joseph, now that they are in Egypt, that the offspring of Israel would return back to Canaan following that 400 years.

This alone should silence all challenges to Zionism as Israel is the rightful heirs and owners of the land they occupy and then some. All the land of what was Canaan belongs to them since it was given them by God, and it can only be taken from them by God (which he as done on a temporary basis for his purposes at times.)

I am reminded of Paul's words, "As far as the gospel is concerned, they [the Israelites] are enemies for your [the Gentiles of the church] sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable." Romans 11:28-29.

God gave the land of Canaan to Israel as it was his to give. As the writer of Hebrews says, "... God, for whom and through whom everything exists..." Hebrews 2:10. Since his gifts are irrevocable, and since it was his to give, woe to the people that try take God's gift from anyone! How foolish to trifle with God!

As I consider that, I am reminded of another gift God has given that can't be taken, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." John 10:27-30.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here:  http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Two Outcomes - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 47:20-21,27,

"So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh's, and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other... Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number."

I see two starkly different outcomes here.

God brought a severe famine to Canaan and Egypt. He used the famine to move his chosen people (Jacob and his offspring) to Egypt. Until Jacob left Canaan for Egypt, he too suffered from the famine. Now, however, following the move we read, "They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number."

The Egyptians experienced the inverse. Through dreams God gave Pharaoh, and gave the interpretation of those dreams to Joseph, Joseph devised a plan to salvage Egypt during the famine. However, for the Egyptians, it came at a price.

Seven bountiful years, where Joseph stockpiled grain for Pharaoh were followed by seven years of a devastating famine. When the famine hit, Joseph sold the grain for Pharaoh until all the money in the whole region was used up, "Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh's palace." Verse 14. 

Following that, since everyone's money was gone, all the livestock was collected by Joseph for payment of grain, "So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock." Verse 17. 

Following that, the people paid for grain by selling all their property to Pharaoh and were reduced to servitude, "So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh's, and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other." Verses 20-21.

A stark contrast between the outcomes of God's chosen people versus the others during this catastrophic event brought by God.

I can't help but think of the two outcomes that await all following a much more catastrophic event God will bring. When the Lord comes to judge all people at the end of this age, some will go into eternal bliss while the others will find a horrific eternity that awaits them.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here:  http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

God's Creation of a Great Nation! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 46:1-4a,

"So Israel [Jacob] set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, 'Jacob! Jacob!' 'Here I am,' he replied. 'I am God, the God of your father,' he said. 'Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again.'"

Here is the culmination of the activities of Joseph that we read about in Genesis. God used Joseph in very unique ways to facilitate the moving of Jacob and his family down to Egypt to grow them into a "great nation".

This passage tells us Jacob stopped at Beersheba where God met him in a vision and announced himself as the "God of your father". His message to Jacob was to not be afraid. Beersheba was the same place where God (who announced himself to be the "God of your father") actually met with Jacob's father, Isaac with the same message, "Do not be afraid, for I am with you...", Genesis 26:23. To Isaac God said "I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham." - a promise God had given Abraham. To Jacob God said, "I will make you into a great nation there [Egypt].

When God promised Abraham to make a great nation of him, Genesis 15, he also told Abraham that his offspring would be going to Egypt, "Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions... In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." Genesis 15:13-16.

It is fascinating to me to see how the account of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is so tightly interwoven. Each of the patriarchs are visited by God with the same message, a message of the coming nation, the nation through which God would bring both the Scriptures and his Son, Jesus Christ, into the world.

This is the account of the great nation God created of Abraham (the man of faith) through which he brought his redemption into the world for those who are willing.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here:  http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Recognizing God Behind Our Adversaries - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 45:8,

"So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt."

Joseph had experienced a difficult life. He had been admonished by his father and resented by his brothers for dreams God had given him. He had been sold to slave traders heading to Egypt because of the resentment his brothers harbored. He had been enslaved in Egypt and then falsely accused of attempted rape by his master's wife. He had been imprisoned for years and forgotten about when he had done a kindness for Pharaoh's chief baker.

All this had been done by the hand of God for the purpose of moving Israel to Egypt. Now that God had positioned Joseph to effect that outcome, a reconciliation needed to take place between the brothers to make that move possible.

As we see the amazing turn of events transpire, Joseph reached out to his brothers to bring about that reconciliation. Where he could have been embittered toward the brothers that sold him into slavery, Joseph acknowledge to his brothers that it was not them who brought Joseph his difficulties, but God - even though they were the culprits who who did the deed.

I suspect there have been those God has used in my life like Joseph's brothers. Not that I have experienced anything nearly as difficult as Joseph, but I think we can all point to people who may have played the part of Joseph's brothers in our lives to bring about those things God wants to build in us, to fashion us into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

Like Joseph, we might want to recognize God's hand in such a situation and not hold it against those God may be using in our lives. They may be some of the most important people in our lives!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here:  http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

God Moves a Family - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 45:4-9,

"Then Joseph said to his brothers, 'Come close to me.' When they had done so, he said, 'I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.'"

We read in Genesis how God manipulated events so that Joseph would be in a position to move his family from Canaan down to Egypt.

Through resentment generated among his brothers against him, Joseph was sold to slave traders that took him down to Egypt where he eventually found himself as second in all of Egypt. Various dreams and circumstances provided by God brought these events about and here Joseph makes it clear his brothers understand that God was behind all that happened to him.

Joseph told his brothers that it was to "save lives" that God had "sent" Joseph to Egypt. Some have misunderstood this to mean that God put Joseph in place to save all the people everywhere from a coming famine. That misses the point of the account entirely.

God caused the famine himself. He didn't need Joseph in place to undo what he was doing. Joseph told Pharaoh that God decided to cause the famine. The lives saved specifically because Joseph was in place (put there by God) were the lives of Jacob and the family. "But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance."

This is the account of how God moved Abraham's descendants down to the womb of Egypt where they would grow into a large and thriving nation. The next chapter of this fascinating story will be how God moves the people of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob out of Egypt and back into Canaan, the "promised land".

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here:  http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

What Can God Use? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 44:27-29,

"Your servant my father [Jacob] said to us [Jacob's sons], 'You know that my wife bore me two sons. One of them went away from me, and I said, "He has surely been torn to pieces." And I have not seen him since. If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.'"

Perhaps not so much in the context of the patriarchal society that Jacob and his family lived in, I wonder about the negative aspects of living in a family where two of twelve sons were elevated, loved, and thought more highly of than the others. It seems the other ten were treated as of less value or importance than Joseph and Benjamin.

The original family of God's chosen people just seems so dysfunctional to me. Certainly, with what we read of the oldest ten sons (Joseph and Benjamin were the youngest of the twelve sons of Jacob), there might have been cause for their father to not hold them in the highest regard, but might Jacob's attitude toward them have had some contributing factor with their shortcomings?

The two sons Jacob loved most were Joseph and Benjamin. Both were the only children of Rachel. The remaining sons were born to Jacob by Rachel's sister, Leah, and their two handmaidens (given Jacob when each appeared barren). Rachel was the woman Jacob loved, but was tricked into marrying her sister, Leah, first. I've always felt sorry for Leah as she was not as beautiful as her sister and was not treated the same by Jacob. She felt unloved.

Here is a family with four mothers, one treated better than the others, with twelve sons (and a daughter) who, likewise, were not all thought of and treated the same. Yet, it is this very family that God created his chosen nation from. An amazing nation that had all kinds of failures, yet was entrusted by God for important things. Paul enumerates some of these, "Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised!" Romans 9:4-5.

Since God can use what appears to me to be a dysfunctional family, might not he be able to use any of us, regardless of our background?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here:  http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

When Dreams Cause Their Own Fulfillment! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 44:16b,

"We are now my lord's slaves—we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup."

Joseph sprung an exquisitely laid trap on his brothers who had sold him into slavery! Judah speaks for himself and his brothers here, fulfilling exactly the dreams God gave Joseph as a younger boy.

"Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, 'Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.' His brothers said to him, 'Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?' And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. 'Listen,' he said, 'I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.' When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, 'What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?' His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind." Genesis 37:5-11.

Joseph's dreams (as well as his father's preferential treatment of him over his brothers) were the actual impetus that brought his brothers resentment of him and led them to sell him into slavery. It was the selling of Joseph into slavery and the resulting amazing events (authored by God) that propelled him to eventually becoming the second in command in Egypt. From that position his brothers found themselves subordinated to him. Their very words to Joseph when he was a boy of thirteen, "Will you actually rule us?" came precisely true!

The dreams themselves that God gave Joseph when he was a boy became a big part of the vehicle that led to their fulfillment.

You just can't make this stuff up!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here:  http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

God's Transcendent Ways - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 43:13-14,

"Take your brother also and go back to the man at once. And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved."

These are the words Jacob spoke to his sons when he sent them back to Egypt to buy grain a second time. During a famine Jacob had sent them to buy grain earlier and it turns out the man they had to buy the grain from in Egypt (unknowingly) was their brother Joseph!

Joseph had been sold to slave traders by his brothers years earlier. They had taken him to Egypt and through a series of amazing events Joseph became second only to Pharaoh in all of Egypt. Joseph was in charge of selling grain during the famine so he was the man the brothers had to purchase the life-saving grain from.

Following the first purchase of grain, the famine continued to ravage the area. When the purchased grain ran out, Judah said to his father, "...we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die." Verse 8. God determined he wanted Jacob and his family to move to Egypt to grow and prosper there and so he used a series of events through this famine to bring it about.

Jacob resisted having his sons go back to Egypt to buy more life saving grain... even close to the point of starvation! The first trip the brothers had made to get grain resulted in Simeon being held in Egypt and Jacob did not want to lose any more sons. However, as the prospect of starvation loomed, Jacob finally relented.

Since God had caused the famine, it was God who backed Jacob into this corner in such a way that Jacob had the choice of either sending the sons for more grain or watching his family die from starvation. The account is fascinating and contains some twists and turns to it.

The thought strikes me that God could have just spoken to Jacob and told him to go to Egypt as when Jacob had the dream about the stairway to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it and God speaking to him then, Genesis 28:10-22. However, that is not how God chose to do it.

God could have gotten Jacob to move to Egypt efficiently and effectively by just telling him to go without the famine and its issues. However, God is not always in the business of taking people from point A to point B in a way we might consider to be most efficient. He often accomplishes many things at once and he has his own ways about bringing things about.

I may think some approach to making something happen is faster, efficient and effective. God, in his transcendence is busy doing things light-years beyond whatever it is I may think of. "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'" Isaiah 55:8-9.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here:  http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

God Always Gets It Done! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 43:1,

"Now the famine was still severe in the land. So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, 'Go back and buy us a little more food.'"

Of course the famine was "still severe in the land"! Jacob is not down in Egypt yet! I'm of a persuasion that the famine would last until after Jacob found himself in Egypt.

The Lord wanted to plant Jacob and his family in Egypt as a womb for the family to grow into a vibrant and thriving nation. Nothing would keep that from happening.

I make this observations for two reasons: God is afoot doing things and he always accomplishes exactly what he intends - perfectly.

"As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:10-11.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here:  http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

God Fulfills in His Perfect Timing - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 42:8-9,

"Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, 'You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.'"

Years earlier the Lord had given Joseph dreams about how his older brothers would someday be subordinated to him. Now that his brothers approached Joseph as the second only to Pharaoh in all of Egypt, his dreams came true! A lot had transpired in Joseph's life in the interim that must have caused him to question the dreams.

Yet, years later, when Canaan suffered from a famine, Jacob sent Joseph's brothers down to Egypt to buy grain. His brothers had no way of knowing Joseph (whom they sold to slave traders due to their resentment of him, due at least in part to the dreams Joseph had) had eventually prospered in Egypt by gaining Pharaoh's approval. He was the one they had to approach to buy grain to keep the family from starving.

The Lord gave Joseph a message that sat for years prior to its fulfillment. But true to his word, God brought it about.

It causes me to think of those things I may have encountered earlier in my life that God had provided me or encouraged me in that may yet to find their fulfillment in my life: a hope, an expectation, something that may have brought an anticipation, the prospect of something.

Rather than discounting something of that nature as being misplaced, might it be yet awaiting God's perfect timing, as what we see in Joseph's life?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here:  http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Our Lord: the Master Multitasker - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 42:1-2,

"When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, 'Why do you just keep looking at each other?' He continued, 'I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.'"

There was a severe famine that took place during the days of Jacob. We learn it was a famine that lasted seven years and afflicted all of Egypt, Canaan and other parts of the world. The famine was prophesied through two dreams God gave Pharaoh which were interpreted by Joseph (as God gave him the interpretation.) As Joseph interpreted the dreams for Pharaoh, he told him that God would cause the famine and that it was certain to happen, "The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon." Genesis 41:32.

As we see the famine take place and the events leading up to it, we see God doing a number of things. The first is that the famine was the vehicle God used to move Jacob and his family from Canaan to Egypt. This was an important move for the family, to facilitate the growth of the family into the great nation God promised Abraham.

We also see the famine became the context in which God would bring about a remorse from Joseph's brothers for having sold him to slave traders, "They [Joseph's brothers] said to one another, 'Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that's why this distress has come on us.' Reuben replied, 'Didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn't listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.'" Genesis 42:21-22.

Additionally, the famine was also the cause of some events that brought some much needed clarity to Jacob who had played favorites with his sons, "Their [Joseph's brothers] father Jacob said to them, 'You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!'" Genesis 42:36. Jacob cried this out as he struggled in frustration to learn an appreciation for all his sons. (I might be reading a little bit into this, but it is clear the context of the famine had its impact on Jacob regarding his sons).

Only God knows all he was accomplishing through the famine he brought during the days of Jacob. Clearly multiple objectives were achieved by God through his actions in bringing this famine. Objectives that took place in various ways and at various levels. Some larger in scope and smaller in others.

It is hard to tell what all God accomplishes in the stroke a brush. When he makes a move it might affect one of us (and directly to us as seen/felt from our own personal perspective), and yet possibly a number of us all at one time in varying and different ways for different purposes.

In any event, I am reminded that when God moves, all kinds of objectives may be accomplished in one of his actions.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here:  http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Events linked in a Chain - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 41:39-40,

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

This was the outcome of Joseph interpreting Pharaoh's dreams. Pharaoh had two dreams one night and when his magicians and wise men could not interpret them he sent for Joseph. Pharaoh's chief cupbearer remembered an earlier incident when Joseph interpreted dreams the cupbearer and chief baker had when they were all in prison together. It is not difficult to see that the purpose of Joseph interpreting the dreams of the cupbearer and baker was God busy at work to bring about Pharaoh's selection of Joseph to manage Egypt's economy in preparation of and during a famine that hit a number of nations.

In following the account of Joseph in Genesis, we see a number of events that are linked and strung together by God in order to bring about a singular purpose: to bring the family of Jacob into Egypt. Egypt, acting as a womb for Israel to develop into a thriving and massive nation, also provided for the context that resulted in Israel's exodus which provides us a picture of God's redemption of mankind through Jesus Christ, our "Passover".

It begins all the way back to Genesis 37 where we read that Jacob loved Joseph more than his other sons (he was born in his old age). He made Joseph a special coat that represented this and caused animosity directed toward Joseph by his brothers. This was further exacerbated by dreams God gave Joseph that indicated he would rule over his brothers. As Joseph shared these dreams, the resentment became so great that his brothers sold him to slave traders that took Joseph down to Egypt.

Once in Egypt Joseph was bought by an official of Pharaoh, whose wife falsely accused him of attempted rape. This resulted in Joseph being imprisoned where he met the cupbearer and baker of Pharaoh. These two had dreams that Joseph provided the interpretation for and eventually resulted in Joseph interpreting Pharaoh's two dreams and his appointment as the second only to Pharaoh in all the land of Egypt.

Further things take place following this that eventuate into Jacob moving to Egypt where Joseph was instrumental in providing food for relief from the great famine that also affected Jacob and his family.

My point is that none of these things that God orchestrated were events unto themselves alone. It is fascinating to see how one event leads into the next with the purpose of that event leading to still another event. All purposeful and achieved by God as he "rolled out" this fascinating series of events to bring his covenanted people to where he wanted them.

Just fascinating, isn't it? It causes me to wonder about events today. What might be a string of events in the world today, or even in any one of our lives that God is busy accomplishing? And, further, might it be short sighted to assume any one event we might observe really stands alone? Might it not be a part of a chain of events that brings about something much bigger, as it did with Joseph and the events he was caught up in?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here:  http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Credit Where Credit is Due! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 41:15-16,

"Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.' 'I cannot do it,' Joseph replied to Pharaoh, 'but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.'"

Displayed in this passage is a wonderful quality in Joseph's life. In spite of a perceived arrogance his brothers misread in him in his earlier years, Joseph was a humble man who both recognized his own limitations as well as crediting God for whatever in his life anyone might mistake for being something innate to himself. Yes, Joseph could provide the interpretation of dreams, but only because God provided those to him.

Have you ever experienced someone in a fellowship that appeared to take credit for those things that really required God's involvement? Not so winsome. On the other hand, I suspect many of us have had the wonderful opportunity to be around those who have expressed a genuine humility and a desire to insure God was credited for those he really should be recognized for.

As we see how the Lord can take us lost and fallen sinners and build in our lives those qualities that reflect our wonderful Savior, his love, his compassion, his kindness, we want to make sure that he is acknowledged for those things. The Lord is due that recognition. And, that recognition in itself becomes a part of what ultimately draws many people to him.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here:  http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

God's Purposes Seen in a Rear View Mirror - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 40:8b,

"Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams."

Two of Pharaoh's officials had been imprisoned where Joseph was imprisoned (who was falsely accused of attempting to rape the wife of the captain of Pharaoh's guard). These two officials were the chief cupbearer and the baker. After they had been there "for some time" in prison they each had a dream of their own on the same night. They must have sensed there was something important about the dreams and felt dejected the following morning as they had no idea what the dreams might have meant.

Both dreams included threes (which turned out to reference three days) and concerned their respective occupations. The cupbearer had a dream of a vine with three branches and the baker had a dream of three baskets of bread. Joseph noticed they were dejected the following morning and asked why they were so sad. They told him about the dreams to which he responded, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams."

God had given the dreams to the cupbearer and baker and gave the interpretation of the dreams to Joseph. This became a part of a set of events that eventuated into Joseph being recognized by Pharaoh in such a way that Joseph became second only to Pharaoh in all of Egypt. God's purpose in it was to facilitate the moving of Jacob's family into Egypt as an environment where the family could prosper into a vibrant nation that Egypt would eventually feel threatened by in the days of Moses several centuries later.

I can't help but notice how dark and gloomy the turns in Joseph's life had become at times when God was working these things out. At some point, however, God's purposes were accomplished and things came together just has he intended. Not only that, but Joseph certainly enjoyed success in life few will ever attain.

All things always come together when God is pursuing his purposes. For us, it may not feel like it at times, but it just may be that God is afoot pursuing an outcome he desires and we just might be caught up in it. In Joseph's case, it was only after the fact that he could have seen the things he experienced from that perspective. 

It just might be that way for as well.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here:  http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

In the Midst of God's Purposes - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 39:23,

"The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did."

This is an interesting observation and one that is crucial to the story of Joseph. In the first few verses of this chapter we learn that because "The Lord was with Joseph" (verse 2), Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, placed him in charge of his whole household. Everything Joseph did prospered because the Lord gave him success. Now, at the end of the chapter we read the same thing. Joseph was thrown into prison (framed by Potiphar's wife for something he didn't do) and the prison warden saw the very same thing in Joseph. Everything he did brought success. So, just as with Potiphar, the warden put Joseph in charge of the prison, its inmates and the administration of it, verse 22.

While Joseph was a godly man, as seen in his concern for not sinning against God, verse 9, this prospering of Joseph and all he did, as well as  other things seen in following chapters, such as the ability to "read dreams", etc., had a purpose. God was going to move Israel, in its infancy as the family of Jacob, from Canaan down to Egypt. God used Joseph in special ways to bring that about. All of the unusual things in Joseph's life that God caused had as its purpose to make that move.

Following God's promise to make a nation of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, he moved the family down to Egypt to provide a protective environment for Israel to grow from its infancy into a mighty nation. That protective environment of Egypt would eventually turn against Israel (by God's doing) several hundred years later when it was time for Israel to return to the land God promised. "Then Israel entered Egypt; Jacob resided as a foreigner in the land of Ham. The Lord made his people very fruitful; he made them too numerous for their foes, whose hearts he turned to hate his people, to conspire against his servants." Psalm 105:23-25.

As a man of God, Joseph was used by God in very special ways. The key to being used by God in special ways (certainly in Joseph's case) was being able and available to be used by God for God's own purposes (and not Joseph's!)

A wonderful message here for all of us!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know. A blog with all my posts can be found here:  http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/