THE FEAR OF GOD

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt.

Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, but the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them. Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt.

"Look," he said to his people, "the Israelites have become much 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."

So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly.

The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, "When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live." The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live.

Then 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, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive."

So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

Exodus 1:1-21

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

At the end of the final chapter of the book of Genesis, we find first Jacob, and then his son, passing away. The rest of Jacob’s sons and their families remained in Egypt but as we see at the beginning of the Book of Exodus, those sons and their relatives within that generation pass away as well:

These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt.

Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died.

So what happened to the next generations?

We go back to the scriptures for the answer:

...the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.

These descendants were from Jacob’s line, and since we know he was also given the name Israel by God, we know why the resultant people group was called the Israelites. In Genesis, we know that God promised that the Israelites, who traced back to Abraham, would be fruitful and multiply and indeed, they did just that with their population becoming “exceedingly numerous” as they began to fill the land of Egypt.

This population explosion captured the attention of a new Pharaoh who had assumed power, one who had no prior relationship with the Hebrew people. We see where this placed the Israelites at an immediate disadvantage for while the previous Pharaoh was accommodating and willing to assist the relatives of Joseph, his second in command at the time, this new Egyptian leader saw the people of Israel as a potential threat and so he decided to do something to nullify it.

"Look, the Israelites have become much 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."

Of interest, the Pharaoh had at least part of this concern right because the Israelite people would eventually “leave the country” but not because they would have sided with one of Egypt’s enemies. Rather, they would depart Egypt to follow their God to the land He had promised their ancestors.

The scriptures tell us that Pharaoh’s anxiety over the Israelites led to actions to try and stop their growth. First, he appointed "slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor” and under the supervision of the slave masters, “they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh." The intent here was to break the spirit of the Israelite people through enslavement but the scriptures reveal that his efforts were fruitless for the more the Israelites were oppressed, “the more they multiplied and spread."

Well, the Pharaoh wasn’t about to give up for we read where he treated the people of Israel even more harshly, making “their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields." And then, as if hard labor wasn’t enough, Pharaoh summoned the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, and gave them the following order:

"When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live."

Note here that oppression wasn’t enough. The Egyptian leader was ready to resort to infanticide in order to accomplish his goal, sanctioning murder to stop the growth of Israel. In doing so, we find where he drastically underestimated the Hebrew people for we read where the Hebrew midwifes refused to carry out Pharaoh’s order out of their fear of God, a God that the Egyptians didn’t prescribe to.

This stance by the Israelite midwifes is one I think that all believers today should learn from and adopt themselves. For the enemy, Satan, is always seeking to use God’s people to try and carry out his evil work. Maybe that wouldn’t necessarily involve killing someone but any proposition by the devil that involves us sinning to support his purposes is an act of absolute enmity against a God who possesses infinite power and a willingness to use it against anyone who would oppose Him.

The Hebrew midwifes feared God so much that they were willing to stand up to the authority of Egypt’s mighty Pharaoh and if they could do that, we can take a stand against Satan because we fear God more than him. Disobedience to Him can’t be an option for a believer.

Well, after learning that the Israelite midwives had defied him, he summons them to ask why they hadn’t carried out his order. Here’s what they told him:

"Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive."

Their reasoning was actually pretty funny when we think about it. Indeed, the Hebrew women weren’t like the Egyptian women but it wasn’t because they always seem able to “give birth before the midwives arrive”. Rather, they were completely different from the Egyptians because they believed and trusted in the one true God, the God who blessed the midwives for their actions by giving “them families of their own" because they feared and honored Him.

As we see evident throughout the scriptures, God blesses and rewards those who are obedient to Him. In this passage, we found the Israelite midwifes standing firm on the side of righteousness when presented with a situation where they were being commanded to sin. Their choice to remain faithful to God not only saved the lives of others but brought an abundant blessing unto their own household.

Moving ahead in the Old Testament to the 111th Psalm, we find God’s Word providing a perfect close to today’s message. For there we read these wise words from the psalmist:

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." v.10

Indeed, a lot of people deemed intelligent by the world’s standards have fallen because they lacked the wisdom to fear God and to move at His will and in His way. As believers, let us not do anything, whether by word or deed, without first seeking the approval of our Lord.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

KNOW YOUR PLACE

Can I pray for you in any way?

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?"

So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father left these instructions before he died: 'This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father."

When their message came to him, Joseph wept. His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. "We are your slaves," they said.

But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children."

And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father's family. He lived a hundred and ten years and saw the third generation of Ephraim's children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph's knees.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."

And Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath and said, "God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place."

So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Genesis 50:15-26

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As the Book of Genesis closes, we find where Jacob (also named Israel by God) died and received an incredible, honorable burial in Canaan, just as he requested. You’ll recall that his passing was followed by full traditional honors, both from his Israelite family as well as the Egyptians.

After an amazing life, we know that Jacob/Israel left behind twelve sons who would form the framework of Jewish nation, each son being a head of one of the twelve tribes. Indeed, the nation of Israel would be in their hands with God as their leader and guide. As we will see through studying the remainder of the Old Testament, the future Israelites would face many challenges, many of which were of their own making but as we see in our passage today from the closing verses of chapter 50, the sons of Jacob were more focused on what they saw as a clear and present danger, one created by their father’s death.

When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?"

There were times previously when the brothers seemed to be in harm’s way when dealing with Egypt’s second in command, not knowing that he was Joseph, but that was when Jacob was living. The sons believed that their father was the big reason why Joseph held back his wrath and severe punishment before but with him now gone, they feared for the worse and so we find them sending the following appeal to Joseph:

"Your father left these instructions before he died: 'This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father."

The message was simple and succinct, containing three key points for us to consider:

1. The advice to ask for forgiveness came from their father.

Before he died, we read where Jacob had given his sons instructions regarding their relationship with Joseph. The instruction was grounded in forgiveness and reconciliation, humbly going to their brother to seek his pardon.

2. The brothers confessed to having sinned.

None of the brothers attempted to sidestep their accountability for what happened. They openly admitted that what they did to Joseph was sinful, unwarranted, and inexcusable.

3. They profess themselves to be servants of God.

Overall, this reflected great spiritual growth had happened within the hearts of Joseph’s brothers. For no true servant of God would have wronged him the way they did, selling him into slavery out of sheer jealousy.

But that was then and this was now.

Through their words, we find the brothers expressing humility and remorse. Yes, Joseph had suffered great hardship but in the end, it was all part of God’s overall plan, not only for him but for his family and the people of Egypt that he held authority over. God had used Joseph’s life circumstances to win his brothers over and they now confessed to serve the Lord themselves.

Well, the scriptures tell us that when the brothers’ message reached Joseph, his heart was touched. Overcome with emotion, "he wept" and we can see the Lord laying the foundation for forgiveness and repair of a previously fractured family relationship.

The message was followed by action as we read where Joseph’s brothers arrived and “threw themselves down before him", proclaiming:

"We are your slaves."

Note here that they don’t even wait to see if their message was received favorably but instead immediately throw themselves at Joseph’s feet professing their unworthiness, expressing that they were fit to do nothing else but be enslaved to Joseph so to repay the debt of their wrongdoing.

Friends, we should be ready to learn from these brothers of Joseph. For how many times have we wronged our Lord in the way we have lived? Shouldn’t we be throwing ourselves down at God’s feet and confess our unworthiness, understanding that we would be blessed to just be counted as His slaves?

If we’re honest as believers, we should admit the truth that none of us can stand before our Lord solely based on our own merit and righteousness for there isn’t one person living who hasn’t fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). We are all numbered with the transgressors and it’s only through placing our trust In Jesus as Savior that brings us God’s special mercy and redemption. We should all humbly come before His throne of grace with absolute thanksgiving and praise.

And this leads me to one more important point.

For since no single believer can stand before the Lord blameless, that makes no one worthy to judge another person either.

Ouch.

You see, we all too often love to assume this role as Satan loves getting us puffed up and believing we’re somehow superior to another when the truth is that we’re all the same when it comes down to it, sinners in desperate need of God’s pardon and absolution. And since He so freely forgives us through Jesus, His Son, so too are we to forgive one another.

You know, forgive others as we have been forgiven, or else risk losing God’s forgiveness altogether (Matthew 6:14-15).

Friends, this is how Joseph could so easily say this to his brothers:

"Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children."

My prayer for us today is that Joseph’s words will resonate within the chambers of our hearts and minds for like him, none of us are in God’s place. He is Lord and we aren’t. Period.

Through his words, Joseph shows a realization that it wasn’t his place to judge because only his God had the authority to do that. What Joseph could do us forgive because not only was it God’s expectation to do so, it was his obligation.

Like Joseph, we aren’t a substitute for God. None of us have been put in His place and so we don’t have the right to judge and condemn. Thankfully, what we do have God’s spirit within us and this indwelling will lead us to a place of reconciliation, mercy, and love when we submit to it, just the place where our Lord wants us to be.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

HONOR AND RESPECT OVER NATIONALISM

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then he gave them these instructions: “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 in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.”

When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him. Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for 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, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, ‘My father made me swear an oath and said, “I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’”

Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”

So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials accompanied him—the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt—besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household. Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen. Chariots and horsemen also went up with him. It was a very large company.

When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly; and there Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father. When the Canaanites who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.” That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.

So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them: They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.

Genesis 49:29-33, 50:1-14

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Would you ever think that an Arab nation, one who had a well established polytheistic religious system, could appoint a Hebrew, one with strict monotheistic beliefs, as the second in command? Further, would that nation’s leader and its people then allow a contingent of Hebrews to actually move into and settle in, then provide full burial honors when the senior member of the Hebrew family passes away?

It’s almost completely unthinkable in today’s current world climate but as we see in the latter chapters of the first book of the Old Testament, Genesis, God truly makes all things possible.

To recap, you will remember how Joseph, the favored son of Jacob, lived in Canaan with his father, eleven brothers, and a sister. Out of jealousy, his brothers first wanted to kill him but decided against it, selling him into slavery instead. Joseph ended up being sold to an Egyptian named Potiphar, Pharaoh’s captain of the guard (37:36).

As Joseph served, God richly blessed Potiphar and as a result, he put his new servant in charge of the entire household, entrusting Joseph with everything he owned (39:1-6). Everything was going great until Potiphar’s wife tried to get Joseph to sleep with her, a request he rejected. With no one else in the house, we saw where she tried one more time to get Joseph to have sex with her, grabbing him by his cloak and as he fled, the cloak remained with her. She went onto falsely accuse Joseph of sexually assaulting her, a lie that her husband believed, putting Joseph in prison (39:6-20).

Now, while that might not have seemed to be a good thing, it all played out according to God’s plan. For the scriptures tell us that Joseph was blessed by God with the warden putting him in charge of all the prisoners, a position that allowed him to reveal a special gift that would eventually get him from the depths of incarceration to the heights of leadership over the Egyptian nation (39:21-23).

The catalyst for Joseph’s ascension came when two Egyptian servants of Pharaoh, a cupbearer and a baker, get into trouble and are imprisoned. While there, each man has a dream which Joseph, through God, interprets and as both men are restored, events unfold just as Joseph said they would. You’ll remember that the cupbearer was put back into his position but the baker was executed. You may also recall that the cupbearer promised to put a good word in with Pharaoh so to get Joseph released but he forgot (chapter 40).

Joseph would spend another two years in prison but then Pharaoh himself has two dreams and no one on his staff could tell him what they meant. It was then that the cupbearer remembered Joseph who was brought out of incarceration to deliver an interpretation, attributing it to God (41:1-16).

After hearing Pharaoh discuss the particulars of each dream, Joseph goes on to tell the Egyptian leader that they meant the same thing. For Egypt and the nations surrounding it would experience seven years of abundant harvesting that would be followed by seven years of severe famine (41:17-32).

Joseph then advises Pharaoh to choose a man who would be “discerning and wise” to oversee the next 14 years, offering specific guidance as to how the matter should be handled. This involved storing up a surplus of grain during the seven abundant years so to have adequate food to survive the seven years of famine that would follow. Hearing all this from Joseph, Pharaoh feels that no other man would be more suitable to carry out the plan than the one who provided it, the one who had the very spirit of God with him (41:33-40).

And with that, Joseph was put in a position where he was second in command of all of Egypt (41:41-46). He carried out the plan perfectly, stockpiling grain during the seven years of plenty and then selling grain to the Egyptians and other nations afterwards when the famine came (41:47-57).

It was during the difficult seven year famine that the scriptures took us back to Canaan where Joseph’s family was running out of food. This triggered Jacob sending his sons to Egypt to but grain, all of them completely unaware that they would be dealing with Joseph. We then find a lot of different encounters occurring between Joseph and his brothers before he reveals his identity to them. This leads to him inviting them, with Pharaoh’s blessings, to move to Egypt and settle in there where they could be provided for (chapters 42 through 47:12).  

Jacob would go onto live in Egypt for seventeen years before reaching the point of dying. You’ll remember that he (Jacob) made Joseph swear a vow to make sure he was not buried in Egypt but in the place where his fathers were laid to rest in Canaan (47:28-31). As we see in our passage for today, Joseph made good on the promise he made to his father.

For after Jacob (also named Israel by God) dies, we find him buried “in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan”, the site that “Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite”. It was there that Abraham and his wife Sarah, Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and Jacob’s wife Leah were all laid to rest.

What was really impressive about what happened after Jacob’s passing was how the Egyptians provided such loving service, despite him being a Hebrew. We read where they first offered embalming services through their physicians and overall the entire nation “mourned for him seventy days”. That’s more than two months if you do the math. Simply incredible and a beautiful display of respect for someone who wasn’t even an Egyptian citizen.

Then, Pharaoh completely honored Jacob’s request to be buried in Canaan without reservation. But he didn’t just stop there for the scriptures tell us that “all Pharaoh’s officials accompanied” Joseph and his family, “the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt”. This Egyptian representation included “chariots and horsemen”, and was nothing short of a “very large company”.

Before the final burial, we read where there was a “seven day period of mourning” that occurred at “the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan” and the period was observed by the Hebrews and Egyptians alike

And with that, Jacob was carried “to the land of Canaan” and buried “in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite”. Afterwards, the scriptures tell us that “Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him”.

Indeed, this was the end of an important era in Hebrew and Egyptian history, one that showed that there can be peaceful cooperation and integration between two nations and people who on the surface appear to be diametrically opposed. If God could do in it Old Testament times, none of us should fail to believe He could do it again. Let this be our prayer over the current Middle Eastern world environment where we still find Arabs and Hebrews living in proximity to one another.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

A MATTER OF LEGACY (PART 2)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.”

“Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down among the sheep pens. When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor.”

“Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.”

“I look for your deliverance, Lord.”

“Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels.”

“Asher’s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king.”

“Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.”

“Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb. Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.”

“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”

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.

Genesis 49:15-28

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In yesterday’s message, we found Jacob (also named Israel by God) proclaiming the future of his sons, starting from the oldest. And given that each of his sons would be the progenitors of the Israelite nation’s twelve tribes, we get a sense of what would lie ahead for future generations.

In part one of this message, A Matter of Legacy, we looked at the future of Rueben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. You’ll remember that the prospects for the first three weren’t positive as they had acted sinfully in some way, disrespecting their father in the process. On the other hand, Judah would find himself richly blessed and highly successful, having shown himself as being honorable during his life.

The main takeaway was that the way we live impacts the way we will be remembered and transgressions we may commit can have lasting effects on later generations.

Today, in the second and final message of this series, we turn to the other eight sons and see what Jacob says about their destinies. Look again at those words here:

“Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.”

“Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down among the sheep pens. When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor.”

“Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.”

“I look for your deliverance, Lord.”

“Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels.”

“Asher’s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king.”

“Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.”

“Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb. Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.”

“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”

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. Vv.15-28

Let’s look at these eight sons and how their father’s prophecies played out.

1. Zebulun.

“Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.”

When land was allocated to each tribe after Israel inhabited Canaan, the land God had promised to them, the tribe of Zebulun was allotted land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Galilee. In regard to the land on the sea, the tribe’s northern border did indeed “extend toward Sidon”.

2. Issachar.

“Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down among the sheep pens. When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor.”

These words spoke to Issachar’s tribe being grounded in agriculture and the hard work and labor associated with that work. As it played out, the tribe ended up with land in the valley of Jezreel in Galilee, land rich and ripe for farming.

3. Dan.

“Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.”

One of Israel’s judges, Samson, came from the tribe of Dan and “provided justice” for the Israelite people but not everything about this tribe would be so positive for unfortunately, many of the tribe’s leaders would turn to idol worshiping, a sin that would bring God’s judgment (Judges, chapter 18).

4. Gad.

“Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels.”

This prediction was based on the future fighting ability of the tribe of Gad. In the twelfth chapter of 1 Chronicles, we find a large fighting force from Gad supporting King David.

5. Asher.

“Asher’s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king.”

Jacob’s prophecy regarding the tribe of Asher predicted that they would later inherit land that would produce “rich” food. This tribe would be given the fertile land of Carmel located near the seacoast.

6. Naphtali.

“Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.”

While we don’t fully understand what Jacob meant here, it’s believed that Naphtali would be a tribe that would be admired by the other tribes.

This leaves us with Joseph and Benjamin, the two sons that were delivered by Jacob’s beloved, deceased wife Rachel. We know how much Jacob admired both of these sons, especially Joseph, and this is reflected in the blessing he declares for each.

7. Joseph.

“Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb. Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.”

What would have happened to Jacob and his family if Joseph hadn’t allowed God to place him in a significant place of Egyptian leadership by trusting Him in obedience and then showing grace, mercy, and forgiveness towards his brothers who had sold him into slavery?

Indeed, Jacob’s favored son stood out from the rest in a big way, reflecting the abundant blessings of the Lord through his life.

As we see in Jacob’s prophecy, this would continue into the future and Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, would each lead their own tribes, both claimed by Jacob as if they were his sons (Genesis 48:15-16).

8. Benjamin.

“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”

As we will see play out in Old Testament history, many warriors will emerge from the tribe of Benjamin such as Ehud, Saul (Israel’s first king), and his son Jonathan. Ultimately, the tribe would gain a reputation for being mighty in battle.

And with that, Jacob had completed “giving each” of “the twelve tribes of Israel” the “blessing appropriate” to them. Each of them had a unique legacy to fulfill and it’s so interesting to read the rest of the Old Testament from this point on to see how these predictions come to be. 

As Christian believers, we need to be mindful that the lives we live and the associated influence from those lives carries an impact as to the mark we will leave on this world we live in. The Lord's expectation is that we will leave things better than they were and that He will be glorified through those who remember the wonderful, Kingdom work that we did in obedience to His will and way. It's a matter of legacy that we can't afford to not get right. 

Tomorrow, we will see how Jacob’s (Israel’s) life comes to an end as he leaves his sons to carry on his name and establish themselves as the Israelite nation.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

A MATTER OF LEGACY (PART 1)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

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. And to you, as one who is over your brothers, I give the ridge of land I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow."

Then Jacob called for his sons and said: "Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come. "Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.”

"Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it.”

"Simeon and Levi are brothers— their swords are weapons of violence. Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.”

"Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you. You are a lion's cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. 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 ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk."

Genesis 48:21-22, 49:1-12

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

After Jacob finishes blessing Joseph and his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, he calls the rest of his sons to be with him. In Genesis, chapter 49, we find where all twelve gather around him as their father addresses each, one at a time, prophesying what their tribe would like per the characteristics of the son, that tribe’s namesake.

Through his predictions, we learn something about the importance of the word “legacy”.

First up, we find Jacob addressing his eldest son, Reuben, the firstborn who deserved his father’s birthright but as we see, he instead received a curse from his father who said:

"Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it.”

Reuben had everything going for him as the oldest of Jacob’s twelve sons but he allowed sin to enter into his life, choosing to commit adultery with Bilhah, one of Jacob’s wives and the servant of his beloved deceased wife Rachel. As we can see, it was an act that Jacob never forgot.

And so Reuben lost his chance to be blessed and left behind a legacy of deceit and infidelity, all because he decided that fulfilling his selfish needs were greater than staying true to God’s will and way. In the end translation, his one night stand cost him a lifetime of honor and respect.

Friends, this should serve as a warning to all who read through this passage. For I would feel safe in saying that someone in the world every day makes a poor choice that ends up ruining what was a promising future, leaving them with a damaged reputation. The truth of the matter is that it only takes one impropriety to destroy years of work to establish oneself in life. And we so often see, once a person loses their good repute, they never are able to gain it back again.

I think if we could go back and talk with Reuben after receiving his father’s rebuke and its associated penalty, I’m pretty sure he would have said it wasn’t worth the moments of pleasure he had with Bilhah, moments that disregarded and disrespected his father.

Well, after Reuben, we find Jacob addressing Simeon and Levi. Similar to Reuben, they had everything going for them as well for after their older brother had sinned so badly, losing the birthright, they would have been next in line as the second and third born.

But there was that matter that had occurred at Shechem.

You’ll remember that Shechem himself lusted after their sister Dinah and ended up raping her. And so in a spirit of vengeance over the sexual assault of their sister, Simeon and Levi tricked the men of Shechem into getting circumcised, promising that they would be allowed to marry the Israelite women if they did. The scriptures tell us that as the men were in the midst of their painful recovery from the circumcisions, Simeon and Levi entered the town and murdered them all before taking an abundance of plunder.

Like with Reuben, Jacob hadn’t forgotten what his two sons had done and in today’s passage he addresses their murderous rampage that left him so angry and disgraced, saying:

"Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel!"

Simeon and Levi had left a legacy of revenge and bloodshed that they initiated without seeking the counsel of God and their killing spree cost them any chance of gaining what Reuben had thrown away.

The case of Simeon and Levi got me thinking about how so many people today allow themselves to be consumed and overcome by anger and rage until they surrender themselves to murderous thoughts and kill others. Unfortunately, this happens every single day somewhere in the world as mere human beings take away the matter of judgment from the Lord, the only One with the right to exact judgment.

Oh, if every person would only go to the Word of God and simply submit themselves to learn from it. How many of these incidents could be prevented?

Well, if I stopped this message here, it would be filled with nothing but bad news but thankfully, we come to Judah and find a refreshing injection of positivity. For where the other three older brothers had fallen from grace with their father, we read where Judah is elevated to a place of honor.

Within our passage and Jacob’s words to Judah, we learn that he (Judah) will experience the following:

1. Command respect.

"...your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you."

2. Reign in power.

"...the scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his."

3. Gain success.

“He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.”

Indeed, Judah would go onto greatness but why did he gain this level of honor?

Well in the Joseph story, the scriptures show us that Judah was the brother who was willing to sacrifice himself for the good of the youngest of the twelve, Benjamin. You’ll remember that Jacob had been apprehensive about sending Benjamin to Egypt as Joseph had demanded but Judah stepped in to put his father at ease, willing to exchange himself for his youngest brother if need be.

Further, you’ll also remember that it was Judah who spoke up and interceded for Benjamin and the rest of his brothers when Joseph had his silver cup planted in Benjamin’s bag. Judah’s impassioned plea showed his willingness to exhibit courage and honor during a crisis, even putting himself on the line for the ones he loved.

In the end translation, Judah did all the right things that allowed him to establish a great reputation and a legacy that could receive his father’s blessing.

All this leads us to some questions requiring introspect and self reflection.

For if we were to stop our life right now, what would our legacy be?

Would others see us in a positive or negative light?

And beyond that, how would our Lord view us? Would we hold a good or bad reputation with Him?

When it all comes down to it, the matter of legacy is always about the choices we make. For we all have the capacity to be as good or as bad as we want to be.

This is why today’s message is so important for us as believers because as we see, choosing our own sinful desires over the righteousness that God wants to lead us to has dire consequences. If they could speak out from the grave, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, or the countless others who made the same mistakes in life would tell us so.

So today and every day forward, let us all as Christians recommit to making the same choices that Jesus would make, doing what He would do in all things. For it is only by doing this that we can ensure that our legacy will be grounded in living as He did and there couldn’t be a better way to be remembered than that.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

LET'S TALK ABOUT FINISHING SECOND

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven.

When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried."

"I will do as you say," he said.

"Swear to me," he said.

Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

Some time later, Joseph was told, "Your father is ill." So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him.

When Jacob was told, "Your son Joseph has come to you," Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed. 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 will 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.'”

"Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I 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. As I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath" (that is, Bethlehem).

When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, "Who are these?"

"They are the sons God has given me here," Joseph said to his father.

Then Israel said, "Bring them to me so I may bless them."

Now Israel's eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them. Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too."

Then Joseph removed them from Israel's knees and bowed down with his face to the ground. And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel's left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel's right hand, and brought them close to him.

But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim's head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh's head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn. Then he blessed Joseph and said, "May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the Angel who has delivered me from all harm—may he bless these boys. May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly upon the earth."

When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim's head, he was displeased; so he took hold of his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. Joseph said to him, "No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head."

But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations."

He blessed them that day and said, "In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing: 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.'"

So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

Genesis 47:28-31, 48:1-20

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As Genesis, chapter 47 comes to a close, we find Jacob (also named Israel by God) near death, seventeen years after relocating from Canaan to Egypt. He had lived quite a life full of incredible ups and downs through his “a hundred and forty-seven” years.

With his time coming to an end, we find Jacob calling his beloved son, Joseph, asking him to make the following promise:

"If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried."

Out of respect for his father and his wishes, we read where Joseph swears an oath to do as Jacob requested.

The scriptures tell us that soon after this, Jacob becomes ill and Joseph is summoned to visit him which he does with "his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim”. As Jacob sits up in bed, we find him doing something very peculiar for through his words, he adopts Joseph’s two sons:

"Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine."

And with that, we read where Jacob asks Joseph to bring the two boys to him so he could bless them. Joseph does what his father asks and we see where he strategically positions his sons according to their age. Manasseh was the oldest, the firstborn, and so by custom, he deserved the birthright. Because of this, Joseph placed him on Jacob’s right. The younger son, Ephraim, was put on Jacob’s left.

Now all this happened so to make the matter of blessing a simple matter. All Jacob needed to do was reach out his right hand and place it on Manasseh and the left hand on Ephraim but as we see in this passage, things didn’t quite go as expected. For we read where Jacob crossed his arms as he reached out, placing his right hand on the head of Ephraim, the youngest, and his left hand fell upon the head of the oldest, Manasseh.

We read where all this caused Joseph to be "displeased", so much so that he "took hold of his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head", saying:

"No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head."

In response, Jacob "refused" to do so, saying:

"I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations."

And with that, Jacob’s blessing was done as he put “Ephraim ahead of Manasseh” while proclaiming:

"In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing: 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.'"

And so it was.

The oldest son who was supposed to finish first finished second and Joseph had a problem with that.

Why?

Because Joseph perceived what was happening on worldly terms, not on the Lord’s. He only saw the switch as Manasseh losing his birthright, something his father Jacob knew all too much about. For you will remember how he and his mother Rebekah deceived his father, Isaac, so that he could gain the birthright that was rightfully Esau’s. And so, Esau ended up finishing second to his younger brother and now history was repeating itself as Ephraim, the younger, moved ahead of Manasseh, the elder.

All this led me to think about a question, I believe the Lord would ask us today. For how well do we handle coming in second in life when we believe we should have been first.

I don’t know about you but I have had my difficulties in the past through my sixty-five years of life.

You see, within our humanity, we seem to be very competitive by nature. Winning is everything and nobody seems to remember who was the runner up. As the old saying goes, “To the victor goes the spoils”.

And so we end up obsessing over finishing first, so much so that many people are willing to do almost anything, even sin, to avoid coming in second. We saw this play out in the worst way possible earlier in this Book of Genesis in the story of Cain and Abel.

You may remember that the two brothers brought offerings to the Lord. Abel brought his best while Cain didn’t and when God favored Abel, Cain’s jealousy and anger gave way to killing his brother in cold blood.

And then, in the story of Joseph, we found Jacob showing favor to Joseph, the first son born to his beloved, deceased wife Rachel. This special treatment led to Joseph’s brothers becoming jealous and wanting to kill him, just as Cain had done to his brother. Only intervention from his brother Reuben saved Joseph’s life but he was still sold into slavery before the brothers deceived Jacob to believe Joseph had been killed by a wild animal.

In both of these cases, and many others like them since, we see people unwilling to handle finishing second. And unfortunately, this happens even within the church.

Friends, we need to learn lessons from the scriptures and work hard to shed this need for being first in everything. For the scriptures make it clear that the body of Christ doesn’t have one part more important or greater than the others (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). Instead, all the parts of the body are equally important to carry out the will and purposes of God the Father.

Further, we are all subordinate to God when it all comes down to it. He is, and always will be, first in everything and we’re all a very distant second. In His eyes, none of us rank any better than the next (Romans 2:11); we’re all sinners who fall short of His glory (Romans 3:23).

Now, in saying this, there is only one way that any person can be assured that they will finish first and be there forever. For all sinners are without hope short of the salvation that comes through the crucified and risen Savior, God’s only Son, Jesus Christ. Through Him, all believers are guaranteed to finish first together at the end.

In other words, in the final analysis, it’s not important who finishes first while we’re living in this world. It’s only important that we love one another, remain united in Jesus, and conclude the race together, all Christ believers in first place when we cross the finish line into the awesome glory of Heaven, abiding for all eternity with God the Father and Jesus, His Son.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.