If you’re reading along and don’t have a One Year Bible, click on this link Every Day in the Word. If that doesn't work, go to http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/ and click on “Every Day in the Word.”
Genesis 39:1-41:16
Genesis 39
Two things stand out to me regarding this story:
First, there is nothing like adversity to focus you on the Lord. Now, that positive effect of adversity doesn't always happen, but to the right people, the kind of loneliness and hardship Joseph is experiencing, brings them closer to God. I don't see this in Jacob's life, but it seems to be what happened to Joseph as God engineered this hardship to shape him.
A "sub" note here, is that Joseph was bought and sold by "Midianites" who are referred to as Ishmaelites. Midian was one of Abraham's sons born to his wife, Keturah, after Sarah's death. (Gen.25:1-4). In the 100+ years, the tribe has grown and might have mixed (as Esau did) with Ishmael's clan. As a nation, the Midianites will be a problem to Israel in a couple of important places. It might be that Jacob's sons regarded all of the other 7 sons of Abraham, and their descendants, as Ishmaelites.
Second, it was apparent to Joseph and to Potiphar that the blessing was from God. Joseph didn't have to be grateful to God and allow that to determine his behavior and heart, but he did. Jacob didn't and most people really don't. But Joseph was grateful. So when Potiphar's wife goes for him, Joseph realized that he would ultimately be throwing away his relationship with God, not repaying God in kind for the mercy and blessing he had received.
Theoretically, these are great discipleship lessons, but they have to be lived. Without the hardship endured in following Christ in the harvest, most of us never learn to focus on God. Without the blessing of seeing Him use us in the harvest, most of us never truly appreciate our salvation and His grace and mercy to us.
Joseph wasn't wearing much, if she could pull off his robe and see that he was uncircumcised. I guess they dressed differently back then, like the Scots in kilts. Abraham and Isaac grew an enormous community in Canaan that spanned over ….how many years? You can figure it out from the text…Abe was 75 when he entered Canaan, Isaac was born when Abe was 100 and Isaac lived to be 180, so this community was in Canaan over 200 years. They were large and wealthy and a stop on the caravan routes and were known as Hebrews and were herders and Bedouin, living in tents, and they had this one particularity, the men were circumcised. Over the 200 years, the Egyptians, especially the merchants, had heard of the Hebrews. Remember, too, we'll find out in a couple of chapters, that the Egyptians despised shepherds as crass, dirty, bottom dwellers. Now, with her anger and resentment focused on Joseph, she sees he is obviously a Hebrew.
I once messed up in a Sunday school class, saying that Potiphar probably knew his wife was a flirt and had to save face and didn't want to do this to Joseph. The teacher wisely corrected me by pointing out, in the text, that it says that when Potiphar heard the story from his wife, his "anger was kindled." Pot got hot, and Joe went to jail.
Paul says we should work to be approved workmen. You've got to know the text before you teach and before you venture out on a limb. That embarrassment taught me a good lesson, and, as you can see, I still remember that magic moment of correction.
Notice that even in the bitterness of being wrongfully accused, without appeal, God began immediately to give Joseph favor and to bless everything he touched. This was the Lord's confirmation and help to Joseph, but then, Joseph had to be in the right frame of heart to see this. As disciples, we too, have to be looking for where the Lord is working. He is always with us. We need to be alert, even in when things don't "go our way."
Just as something to pay attention to in this story, how much time is passing in Joseph's life? There will be clues, and you've already been given a big one. You know how old Joseph was when this happened to him. These sorts of little details make you skilled in understanding and applying the story. I still shake my head when I see pictures of Daniel in the lion's den as a young man. What utter ignorance and abuse of the text. No wonder few people know how important Daniel 6 is, and sadly, it is all there in the book. Disciples need to read with curiosity and pay attention to what God is saying.
The same applies here. We need to pay attention to the passage of time. God didn't change Joseph overnight, and He won't do it with us either. If you pay attention, you won't preach or teach superficial baloney.
Genesis 40
"Some time afterwards" is hard to understand now, but it will make sense tomorrow, unless you are really curious and figure it out today. And if you figure it out, figure out, too, how old Joseph is when he reveals himself to his brothers. And if you go to a study Bible and let them do it for you, you missed the joy of discovery. Finding the answer someone else figured out doesn't do the same thing for your heart and growth.
I'm not sure if Joseph had understanding of all dreams, or that the Spirit nudged him here and showed Joe what these two meant.
This chapter is a bridge to what is to come. What is important for us as disciples is to see how God used this, again, to form Joseph. We can go to the next chapter in a second. Joseph couldn't. Joseph was forgotten and never knew that the cupbearer would eventually remember. All Joseph knows at this point, and for the next two years, is to live everyday for God, to forget his family, and to forget that one weird moment when he interpreted those dreams, when it seemed that something might work out for him. In that daily life and disappointment, God was molding his heart for chapter 41.
Genesis 41
Two years later. In tomorrow's reading you'll learn how old Joseph was when this happened, and therefore, how long he was captive in Egypt and even how old he was when he interpreted the dream of the cupbearer. And not just 2 years, but 2 whole years.
The cupbearer finally made good on his promise.
In case we think that Joseph had it good as the assistant to the warden, notice what the jail was called.
Matthew 12:46-13:23
Matthew 12:46-50
This section should have been placed with the text from yesterday.
Having heard that Jesus was "beside himself" and that he was possessed by the devil, the family freaked and came to get him. The sword that Simeon said would pierce Mary's heart was beginning to cut its way through as she, herself, was beginning to doubt her son and all the events around his birth. The brothers were probably James and Jude, both writers of letters in the New Testament. I always imagine that the plan was that Mary should distract Jesus, and James would come in high and put the grain sack over Jesus' head and around his arms and then Jude would come in low with the ropes. Once tied, they would carry Him home.
Anyway, Jesus was not falling for this one. In fact, Jesus is absolutely focused and Jesus points to his disciples and (quoting Luke) gives the simple message of discipleship, Luke 8:21 But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."
Matthew 13:1-17
What I think is important for us as disciples, in this section, is the emphasis on "wanting to hear and understand." This is very much the same as "seek and you will find, etc…"
The issue here, is that Jesus told parables, not to hide the truth, but to show who was interested in understanding. The promises to those who "ask and seek and knock" are absolute. The faith promise here for the disciple, (that is, it is only a promise if you believe it and do it) is that the more you give Him in seeking to understand (time in the Bible, praying, doing), the more you will get back. This will, itself, be a motivation for some people, and others will just say, "Whatever, I'm good with what I've got."
Matthew 13:18-23
Your observations here are more valuable than my comments, but if you're interested, I have written some stuff on this section in two posts.
Dec 14th
http://fencerail.blogspot.com/2010/12/hearing-and-sharing-in-harvest-and-ch-2.html
Dec 1st
http://fencerail.blogspot.com/2010/12/hearing-in-harvest.html
Psalm 17
If you have never felt pursued, this might not do much for you. I used to speed read the psalms until I got "run over" in ministry. Now I can't read them fast.
A couple of notes:
Who said we invented blogging? Don't these psalms read like posts to God? And imagine the compassion and understanding of a God who would inspire them.
When I read verse 8, I always think of E. Elliot's book, "The Shadow of the Almighty."
Also on verse 8, I never understood the expression "apple of your eye" and how the English speaking world misunderstands this, until I learned German. In German, the word for "eyeball" is, literally, "eye apple." Turned around, what is being said here is that God will protect us like you would protect your eyeball. Not only do you cover your eye, but if anyone threatens to poke out your "eye apple" we tend to get angry and aggressive. We get this image of God having found a nice, juicy, ripe, red, shiny apple, and if you try to take a bite out of it, boy, will He get mad. No. The apple is an eye-apple, or for us English speakers, an eyeball.
Proverbs 3:33-35
Doesn't verse 34 seem like what we've been reading about in Genesis, in the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?
I'm writing these comments to and for those at New Song who are following a One Year Bible and involved in a discipleship cell. We're meeting weekly and discussing the texts, not necessarily my comments. We're growing together, learning to become and make disciples who make disciples. We will all be leading others in this process and training them to do likewise.
The comments I'm writing are in no way exhaustive, but meant to give some leading thoughts on how the text applies to us as disciples and to encourage and stimulate our growth in reading the Bible, with the effect that we will grow as disciples and encourage the growth of others as disciples growing in the word. If you would like a more descriptive commentary that is still readable and concise, I'd recommend the Bible Knowledge Commentary. It's keyed to the NIV, so the result is, the commentators are constantly telling you what the Greek or Hebrew is. That never hurts.
I am not endorsing any particular One Year Bible, in fact, no one in our church reads the version I do, die revidierte Lutherbibel 1984.
Anyone reading along with us is welcome to do so and encouraged to take their own notes and make their own observations. If the comments made do not agree with your particular tradition or understanding, that's OK. Nothing I've written is meant to criticize any point of view, but only to express the truth of what God has written to us, as I understand it.
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