Month: January 2017

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GENESIS 50:1-26 | EXODUS 1:1-2:10 | MATTHEW 16:13-17:9 | PSALM 21:1-13PROVERBS 5:1-6

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²⁰ You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. ²¹ So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. 

That is what the text tells us about Joseph.  Those were Joseph’s words to his brothers.  That was the kind of person he was.  Reassuring his brothers after their father’s death, Joseph repays them with kindness — not just the brothers, but their entire families.  What amazing grace!

And so, we wrap up the book of Genesis, and begin a new book–the second one in the Pentateuch or Torah–called Exodus.  The title refers to the physical exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt back to Canaan.  The story of Joseph’s life and times has come to an end. 

Joseph dies at the age of 110, and is afforded all the high honors of the land, but soon the memory of this great Hebrew begins to fade in the minds of the people.  Pharaohs come and pharaohs go, and there then comes a time when the reigning Pharaoh begins to notice the prosperity of this expatriate population.  And while this fact ought have been a source of pride and power, it instead makes the Pharaoh insecure to the point of his beginning to scheme to contain this population.

We have here perhaps the very first documented account of ethnic cleansing.  The Pharaoh’s orders are first to kill the male Hebrew children at birth by the midwives, and when that plan doesn’t seem to work too well, he orders that all male children be drowned in the Nile.  Sound familiar?  Herod, king of Judea, removed many centuries later engages in the same practice of killing the male newborns in the hopes that he would prevent the “King of the Jews” from being born.  And yet, out of these dire circumstances, we see the rise of yet another great character:  Moses.

Moses’ story is another fascinating one:  his resourceful mother saves the child, hides it for three months, then prepares a wicker basket, places the baby within it, and makes it so that the basket is discovered by the daughter of the Pharaoh who comes down to bathe in the river.  And what’s more, as providence would have it, the nurse appointed for the baby is none other than the baby’s mother!  I think Pharaoh’s daughter must have known all along what she was doing:  she was defying her father’s orders in rescuing a Hebrew baby and commissioning a Hebrew woman to care for it. 

But that is how things go sometimes:  you are led by a greater power and force that is beyond your own understanding to carry out a mission that you would otherwise never think of engaging in. 

And so, here we have it:  a precious boy rescued from the bulrushes of the Nile by an Egyptian princess who names the child Moses, meaning, I drew him out of the water.

Turning next to our reading in Matthew we find Peter speaking these words:  “You are the Christ,the Son of the living God.”  This is Peter’s proclamation and confession to Jesus, this man who randomly called out to him one day to come and follow him.  This is the same Peter who not too much later will deny all knowledge of Jesus — not once but three times.

And so, Matthew continues his account of Jesus’ life and times.  We see how Jesus continues to travel throughout the region: preaching and teaching about the Kingdom of God. 

And as his time draws near, he says to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save his lifewill lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. ²⁶ What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

Great question, don’t you think?  What can one give in exchange for the security of your soul?  Can you trade or buy your salvation?  With what?  In case the disciples were wondering as well, they would have surely had an epiphany when a few days later they were given to see the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain-top and they hear a voice from above identifying him.  Surely, this must be the Son of God!  And here he is within their midst offering eternal life to everyone that believes.

Next, we look to the Psalms, and find David offering these words of praise:

¹ The king rejoices in your strength, LORD.
How great is his joy in the victories you give!

And finally, a few verses from the book of Proverbs where Solomon, wise king of Israel, offers these words of exhortation:

¹ My son, pay attention to my wisdom,
turn your ear to my words of insight,
² that you may maintain discretion
and your lips may preserve knowledge.

May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word.  Amen.

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GENESIS 46:1-47:31 | MATTHEW 15:1-28 | PSALM 19:1-14 | PROVERBS 4:14-19

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At the age of 130, Jacob takes his entire household and moves down to Egypt — to be close to his beloved son Joseph — who sends for him from the famine-struck land of Canaan, and provides for his father and all his brothers by settling them in the fertile land of Goshen near the Nile. 

This is how Joseph repays his brothers for their evil done to him:  he drowns them in kindness.

Joseph continues to prove a wise and able administrator to Pharaoh in the time of famine, and shows great resourcefulness in ensuring that the people continue to have food and grain in the season of drought. 

Seventeen years later, at the age of 147 years, when it comes time for Jacob to die, he calls Joseph to ask for a last wish:  to be buried in the land of his ancestors, i.e., in Canaan.  And thus ends the life of the great patriarch of the people of Israel, Israel himself, also known as Jacob.

Turning now to the book of Matthew, we see Jesus continuing with his ministry.  And yet, not everyone is pleased.  The Pharisees, who are the priests in the Temple have lots of questions:  why this, why that — always attempting to show that Jesus has broken the law, i.e., the Ten Commandments and a host of other dietary and social customs of the Jewish people. 

And they are actually right — Jesus is breaking laws every which way you look:  he works on the Sabbath, he hangs out with the tax-collectors and fishermen, he speaks up for prostitutes, he speaks of forgiveness to all, he eats everything, he feeds everyone — and he calls himself the Son of God! 

Just who does he think he is?!  The Son of God?

Well, Jesus wastes no time in telling his disciples not to mind the Pharisees.  He says:  ¹⁴ Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

Furthermore, regarding all those dietary laws, he seems to have had just about enough of all this nonsense coming from the Pharisees.  He spells it out for one and all, once and for all. 

He says:  “Listen and understand. ¹¹ What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’” 

But Peter still wants some clarification, and so Jesus leaves no stone unturned when He says in response:  ¹⁷ “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? ¹⁸ But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. ²⁰ These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’”

Toward the end of this chapter there is an interesting account of a woman who approaches Jesus with a plea for help for her demon-possessed daughter.  And Jesus initially appears somewhat fatigued and even annoyed at the fact that people such as this woman and perhaps the many multitudes that he preaches to every single day are there to gain some physical benefit by way of a healing, and aren’t really interested in what he is telling them about the Kingdom of God.  This is a rare moment where we see a glimpse of the human-side in the person of Jesus. 

Jesus’ primary purpose was to announce himself as the long-awaited Messiah to the Jewish people, but it seems like the people really don’t care, and certainly don’t believe him.  And if it weren’t for all these miracles being performed, perhaps no one would believe anything, anyway.  And so Jesus appears to be getting miracle-weary, it seems, but this is only for a moment. 

Because the woman’s great faith in him moves him so greatly, and owing solely to her faith, he speaks the words, “Your request is granted”.  He doesn’t even need to go in person and touch the girl — so great is that girls’ mother’s faith that Jesus essentially says to her ‘consider it done’– and it is! 

Would that our faith was like that woman’s!

Psalm 19 is a beautiful hymn of praise.  David weaves his words most delightfully in singing the praises of the Almighty God.  It is therefore no surprise that popular contemporary songs have come out of this very psalm.  The verses below form the words for a song that I learned many years ago (from the KJV):

⁷The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

⁸The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

⁹The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

¹⁰More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 

Another praise-song has these words directly from this psalm: 

¹⁴Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

Finally, in our Proverbs for the day, Solomon exhorts us to stay away from the wicked.  He says:

¹⁸ The path of the righteous is like the morning sun,
   shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

¹⁹ But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
   they do not know what makes them stumble.

May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word.  Amen.