"Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors, But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him."
So the story goes today:
The father has a favorite son. That son gets doted on a bit more than the others. That son tells the truth about his brothers, even when it's bad news.
Therefore:
Joseph's brothers hated him. They couldn't speak to him without wanting to hurt him.
This sounds to me like a normal family! Sibling rivalry. Then things get worse.
Joseph has a dream. In his dream he sees himself being put in authority of his whole family, including his brothers. Being the youngest brother meant that Joseph would never be in charge of his brothers, naturally speaking. His place was last.
But nonetheless, God gives him a dream that one day he will be ruling over his family. So Joseph, being the younger brother and always taking hateful words from his siblings, decides to tell them about this awesome dream he has.
Their response is typical and expected,
"they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words."
Hey guys, I know you hate me because Dad loves me more than you. I know you're jealous of my super fly coat. That's cool. Oh, by the way...I'm gonna be your ruler one day. One day you're gonna bow down before me.
It's not necessarily a stress free environment. I'm sure you parents can see the tension between brothers here.
So one day, their dad sends Joseph to check up on the brothers who are tending his sheep. After all, Joseph has told on them before when they weren't doing what they were supposed to do, so he knows Joseph will tell him the truth.
His brothers see him coming and say,
"Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams."
Not a big deal....just murdering their brother and blaming an animal. But notice that last line, "we will see what will become of his dreams."
This story has now become bigger. Now, probably without even knowing it, these evil brothers are trying to mess up God's redemptive history for mankind. Now their getting in God's path for their brother. (not really a safe place to be)
One of the brothers, Reuben, says at this point that they shouldn't kill him. He rescues Joseph from their hands and tells them to throw him in a pit instead of killing him. (he wanted to come back later and rescue Joseph from the pit)
Well, what ends up happening is the brothers decide to sell Joseph as a slave to a caravan passing by. Reuben comes back to get Joseph out of the pit and he's gone. The brothers come up with a plan to make it look like a wild beast kills Joseph and make their dad that he's dead. Joseph at this point is sold to the Egyptians.
To recap:
1. God tells Joseph that he will reign over his family.
2. Brothers decide to kill him but instead sell him into slavery.
3. Joseph is sold a second time as a slave to a high ranking family in Egypt.
Not really how Joseph probably thought this dream would come to fruition. One could easily believe that God had forgotten his promise or changed His mind completely.
How is your life right now? Have things taken a turn for the worse? Do your current circumstances seem like God's plan was either wrong for your or that someone that is against you is messing God's plan up?
Does life seem unfair?
Joseph is a great example of how the world's view of success and God's view of success are almost always diametrically opposed to one another.
To find out what happens, we'll have to wait until next week.
Grace,
Bryce
Monday, March 7, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Sunday March 6, 2011
1 Corinthians 3 & 4
For today’s reading, call it what you want, a “polite” reprimand, a dressing down or just putting the followers in their place. Paul, in these two chapters is out to address the division of the church. Paul continued to confront believers who were falling into a corrupt world. In looking at chap 3 and 4, the underlying issue was man’s dependence on worldly knowledge. From the previous chapter, this reliance prevented the revelation of God’s plan through the Holy Spirit; thus impeding spiritual growth.
Paul continued in chap. 3, to stress this issue of spiritual immaturity along with the use spiritual gifts and the genuine contribution towards building the Kingdom. Paul addressed these issues through the illustrations of a farming and construction. Paul first wanted to make clear that people have various gifts that God has given them to minister to others. However, it is only through God that people become believers (the planter/waterier illustration). Second, Paul pointed out that believers are to build on the foundation of Jesus Christ and are to be active in contributing to the life of the church. Paul urged that in the end, genuine service would be rewarded (builder illustration).
In chapter 4, Paul focused on the image of humility. In an attempt to dissuade the followers from worldly thinking, Paul used the image of the apostles being sacrificial servants. He contrasted their idea of being rich in life to his of being hungry, ridiculed patient and hard working. This I why Paul calls on them to imitate him, as opposed to worldly leaders. His desire was for them to move away from worldly behavior and be more like Christ. Similarly in (Matt 10:23-25), Jesus reminds the disciples that they are to be prepared for persecution. Since he was treated ill by the world they should expect the same; the servant is no better than the master.
What makes today’s reading so great is that many aspects can be drawn from it, to utilize in our own time. Some of the questions I asked my self, after reading these chapters were:
1) What level is my spiritual maturity at?
2) Am I using the gifts God gave me, to bring others to Jesus?
3) What actions and attitudes do I display that show Christ is my foundation?
4) Can people see my humble heart?
5) Can people see my imitation of Christ in my daily walk?
For today’s reading, call it what you want, a “polite” reprimand, a dressing down or just putting the followers in their place. Paul, in these two chapters is out to address the division of the church. Paul continued to confront believers who were falling into a corrupt world. In looking at chap 3 and 4, the underlying issue was man’s dependence on worldly knowledge. From the previous chapter, this reliance prevented the revelation of God’s plan through the Holy Spirit; thus impeding spiritual growth.
Paul continued in chap. 3, to stress this issue of spiritual immaturity along with the use spiritual gifts and the genuine contribution towards building the Kingdom. Paul addressed these issues through the illustrations of a farming and construction. Paul first wanted to make clear that people have various gifts that God has given them to minister to others. However, it is only through God that people become believers (the planter/waterier illustration). Second, Paul pointed out that believers are to build on the foundation of Jesus Christ and are to be active in contributing to the life of the church. Paul urged that in the end, genuine service would be rewarded (builder illustration).
In chapter 4, Paul focused on the image of humility. In an attempt to dissuade the followers from worldly thinking, Paul used the image of the apostles being sacrificial servants. He contrasted their idea of being rich in life to his of being hungry, ridiculed patient and hard working. This I why Paul calls on them to imitate him, as opposed to worldly leaders. His desire was for them to move away from worldly behavior and be more like Christ. Similarly in (Matt 10:23-25), Jesus reminds the disciples that they are to be prepared for persecution. Since he was treated ill by the world they should expect the same; the servant is no better than the master.
What makes today’s reading so great is that many aspects can be drawn from it, to utilize in our own time. Some of the questions I asked my self, after reading these chapters were:
1) What level is my spiritual maturity at?
2) Am I using the gifts God gave me, to bring others to Jesus?
3) What actions and attitudes do I display that show Christ is my foundation?
4) Can people see my humble heart?
5) Can people see my imitation of Christ in my daily walk?
Friday, March 4, 2011
Saturday, March 5
First I would like to apologize for not blogging last Saturday. I want to take a second to look over those passages from last week...Matthew 20-22.
In chapter 20 we see a great picture of how we should live as followers of Christ. We must become last. Twice we see people questionig how things should be done. First in the vineyard as the workers are paid and then the mother of the Sons of Zebedee asking about who is the greatest. We are shown that we must become the least. We truly must place others above ourselves in order to follow the direction of our Lord.
In chapter 21, one particular part stood out to me. We see more than once that Jesus is praised, the people saying, "Hosanna in the highest." They laid out branches for him and led Him into the city. I wonder how often we give Jesus the praise that He truly deserves from us.
In chapter 22, we see that Gos has invited all to the feast. That is such a wonderful tought to remember. God doesn't offer his kingdom just to royalty but to all. We just have to accept the invitation.
For this week we looked at Matthew 23-25. In this passage we find one of my favorite Scripture passages: Matthew 25:31-46. Here we see a command of how we must live. We must love others!
This week there was a great focus on the end times and I think that I could write a whole huge blog on the end times. They are indeed important but I think that we must truly spend more time focusing on our need to be loving! There is a serious lack of love in our world and we as Christ's followers must step up to the plate and love others!
In chapter 20 we see a great picture of how we should live as followers of Christ. We must become last. Twice we see people questionig how things should be done. First in the vineyard as the workers are paid and then the mother of the Sons of Zebedee asking about who is the greatest. We are shown that we must become the least. We truly must place others above ourselves in order to follow the direction of our Lord.
In chapter 21, one particular part stood out to me. We see more than once that Jesus is praised, the people saying, "Hosanna in the highest." They laid out branches for him and led Him into the city. I wonder how often we give Jesus the praise that He truly deserves from us.
In chapter 22, we see that Gos has invited all to the feast. That is such a wonderful tought to remember. God doesn't offer his kingdom just to royalty but to all. We just have to accept the invitation.
For this week we looked at Matthew 23-25. In this passage we find one of my favorite Scripture passages: Matthew 25:31-46. Here we see a command of how we must live. We must love others!
This week there was a great focus on the end times and I think that I could write a whole huge blog on the end times. They are indeed important but I think that we must truly spend more time focusing on our need to be loving! There is a serious lack of love in our world and we as Christ's followers must step up to the plate and love others!
Isaiah 45 declares that Cyrus the Great, King of Persia, will one day destroy the Babylonian Empire. The uniqueness of this is that Cyrus does not exist yet. God is foretelling the future.
He declares what He will do through one who does not know Him. Hear the Lord...
"I call you by your name,
I name you, though you do not know me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me,
that people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I form light and create darkness,
I make well-being and create calamity,
I am the Lord, who does all these things."
Isaiah continues to declare the fall of Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon for 43 years. Throughout his reign Babylon grew in greatness. Nebuchadnezzar honored the Lord Most High due to Daniel. After his death came three kings that did not honor the Lord Most High. Thus, just as God used Nebuchadnezzar to punish his people Israel, God used Cyrus to punish the Babylonians.
We must always remember that God is Sovereign over all things including history. He knows what is coming. He establishes His will over all history. Nothing surprises Him. Not the events in the Middle East nor the events in America. We must trust Him.
He declares what He will do through one who does not know Him. Hear the Lord...
"I call you by your name,
I name you, though you do not know me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me,
that people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I form light and create darkness,
I make well-being and create calamity,
I am the Lord, who does all these things."
Isaiah continues to declare the fall of Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon for 43 years. Throughout his reign Babylon grew in greatness. Nebuchadnezzar honored the Lord Most High due to Daniel. After his death came three kings that did not honor the Lord Most High. Thus, just as God used Nebuchadnezzar to punish his people Israel, God used Cyrus to punish the Babylonians.
We must always remember that God is Sovereign over all things including history. He knows what is coming. He establishes His will over all history. Nothing surprises Him. Not the events in the Middle East nor the events in America. We must trust Him.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Thursday, March 3rd
“Ready yet?” Translation… “Is it ready yet?” My son has learned to ask this question when Mommy brings home a pineapple. He loves pineapple. I could take it or leave it. It took my son’s love for pineapple for me to learn that just because the fruit has been purchased and transported home does not necessarily mean that it is “ready.” The pineapple has to go through a process. I’m still not really sure how you know it’s ready.
As we look at Job chapter 17 you may be thinking, “What in world has this man read that made him think about pineapple?” It’s not about pineapple, or any other kind of fruit for that matter, but about the ripening or readying process. The first four words of the chapter let me know that Job’s spirit, his heart, is ripe… it is ready for God to do something awesome. How do I know that? Job says that his spirit is “broken.” Brokenness is how you know the human spirit is “ready.”
Along those same lines slide down and look at verse 11. Job’s plans are undone. The things he wanted to do have been tossed into the proverbial trash. This is another marker of a person primed to be used by God in a great way.
In chapter 18 I imagine that Bildad is doing what I have done far too many times. When Job started speaking Bildad stopped listening and starting thinking about his “come back.” Ever done that… or is it just me? Bildad has the opportunity to see that Job is poised for blessing from the Lord. However I believe he didn’t even hear a word that Job just said. Nearly everything that Bildad says in the following verses is absolutely true. So what’s the problem? Timing; God will judge unrighteousness. Wickedness will be punished; in his timing. Meanwhile the godly may (will) suffer and the wicked may prosper. We are not to look at the circumstances surrounding a person’s life and assume to know what God is doing.
So what about your heart? What about your spirit? Is it ready? Could God be in the process of readying you through brokenness? His methods are greater than ours; may we be a people willing to seek the benefits of brokenness.
Psalm 24,25,26
Psalm 24
God owns everything, because God made everything. First he made the seas. Then he made the dry land. In verse 4 "clean hands and a pure heart" means righteous. It means God has forgiven these people. Our hearts are inside us. Only God sees inside us. Only he knows if we are clean inside. The Jews believed that God was their king. They believed that he went everywhere with the ark. They carried the ark through the gates. This was a picture to the Jews. It was a picture of God as king of Jerusalem. The psalm calls God "the king of glory" 4 times.
Psalm 25
When two people agree, we say that they have made an agreement. Another word for agreement is covenant. This is the word that Christians use for the agreement between God and his people.
There were 2 sides to the covenant: God's side and the Jews' side. God promised to take care of the Jews if they continued to love him and be his servants. God kept his side of the covenant but the Jews didn't. So God said, that there must be a new covenant. This happened when Jesus came to the earth. Jesus made the new covenant with his body and his blood. (Jesus said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood". Luke 22:20)
Psalm 26
Only God can make us whole and righteous (blameless). We become right with God, or honest to God, when we become Christians. We ask God to excuse us and we promise to become his people. We ask God to forgive us and he does.
Washing of hands was to show that they had not done murder. We find the same idea in verse 6 - here, it is not murder, but anything that is wrong.
In verse 9 - David means that when he dies he does not want to be with sinners. He wants to be free, he wants to be with God in heaven, not with sinners. The flat place in verse 12 is a safe place.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Tuesday March 1, 2011
In Judges 17-18, I see the pervasive, sad actions of the Levites. The Levites are to be God's representatives much as our modern day pastors. Yet we see a Levite that can be bought and will serve for an individual rather than for the Lord Jehovah and to a nation. We even see that he tolerates graven images made that people worshipped which goes directly against the 10 commandments that was passed to the nation of Israel from Mt. Sinai. When he is brought out of the home of the Ephraimite and starts serving in the tribe of Dan we see that because of his example they continue to set up the graven image and worship it.
In Judges 19-21, I wish that Ed was the blogger. I know for sure in this very difficult story that we see an ugly, evil depravity that has come across the nation of Israel. We see a Levite that is in Gibeah, in the tribe of Benjamin, with his virgin daughter and concubine. We see that the men in Gibeah want to have sexual relations with him and ultimately the host gave them his concubine and they raped her. She is sent back in twelve pieces. I do not know why - except that it would not be forgotten what they did to her. The rest of the nation of Israel took vengeance against Gibeah. The battle against Gibeah and the tribe of Benjamin was costly to everyone. It cost the loss of many lives on both sides. We can never underestimate the cost of sin as it is ugly all the way around. The one thing that I will say in closing about this passage is that because this story is included in the scriptures is partially proof to me of the validity of scriptures. This is not a story that we as humans would naturally have told, but it is included within the canon of scriptures revealing the depravity of man and the pervasiveness of sin.
In Judges 19-21, I wish that Ed was the blogger. I know for sure in this very difficult story that we see an ugly, evil depravity that has come across the nation of Israel. We see a Levite that is in Gibeah, in the tribe of Benjamin, with his virgin daughter and concubine. We see that the men in Gibeah want to have sexual relations with him and ultimately the host gave them his concubine and they raped her. She is sent back in twelve pieces. I do not know why - except that it would not be forgotten what they did to her. The rest of the nation of Israel took vengeance against Gibeah. The battle against Gibeah and the tribe of Benjamin was costly to everyone. It cost the loss of many lives on both sides. We can never underestimate the cost of sin as it is ugly all the way around. The one thing that I will say in closing about this passage is that because this story is included in the scriptures is partially proof to me of the validity of scriptures. This is not a story that we as humans would naturally have told, but it is included within the canon of scriptures revealing the depravity of man and the pervasiveness of sin.
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