- Today's Reading:
- Genesis 46:1 - 47:31
- Proverbs 4:14 - 19
Genesis 46:1 - 47:31
Joseph's family moved from Canaan to the land of Goshen in Egypt. The NLT version of the bible says that there were 70 total descendants of Jacob and that all made the journey to Egypt. When they arrived they were given the very best land of Egypt to choose from. I can hardly comprehend how well regarded Joseph was; to have Pharaoh tell Joseph to take the best of all his land had to offer for a full 70 people is extreme. No doubt about it, Joseph was highly blessed for his faithful service.
Jacob was 130 years old when he moved to Egypt. Then he lived 17 more years after that! I noticed how Jacob said that he was old, but not as old as his ancestors (47:9). I wonder what the average lifespan was? Was it only Jacob who was especially blessed with long life? We think about how much the lifespan has increased in the last century or two, and we feel accomplished to have an average lifespan of 78+ years. Yet the bible tells of these incredibly long lives. I have already seen it mentioned many times that if you follow the Lord wholeheartedly and listen to His wisdom and live right, you will be blessed with long life. I wonder what the correlation is between current long life and being a Christian. I'm not sure how we would even being to test that though, since we cannot see into a person's heart to see their true relationship with God.
The famine continued to worsen, and Joseph doled out food to all. First the people spent all their money on the food. Then they spent all their livestock. Finally, they sold Joseph all their land and promised their work to Pharaoh. By the time the famine was done, Joseph obtained all the money of Egypt, all the livestock, and all of the land except that of the priests for Pharaoh. Joseph also gave the people seed to grow crops, and told them they could keep all but one-fifth of their produce -- that part would be given to Pharaoh.
Such overwhelming responsibility was given to Joseph when he was told to prepare for this famine, yet he succeeded with flying colors. How could he not, when the Lord chose him? Through all of Joseph's major trials in life, never did he give up and never did he lose his spirit. Some might argue say that they're tired of hearing the old story of Joseph, but Joseph was such an amazing example of how we should always trust the Lord and never give up. Even in the worst situations in life, the Lord is there with us. And the Lord has something planned for us that is better than we could ever have imagined.
Jacob was 130 years old when he moved to Egypt. Then he lived 17 more years after that! I noticed how Jacob said that he was old, but not as old as his ancestors (47:9). I wonder what the average lifespan was? Was it only Jacob who was especially blessed with long life? We think about how much the lifespan has increased in the last century or two, and we feel accomplished to have an average lifespan of 78+ years. Yet the bible tells of these incredibly long lives. I have already seen it mentioned many times that if you follow the Lord wholeheartedly and listen to His wisdom and live right, you will be blessed with long life. I wonder what the correlation is between current long life and being a Christian. I'm not sure how we would even being to test that though, since we cannot see into a person's heart to see their true relationship with God.
The famine continued to worsen, and Joseph doled out food to all. First the people spent all their money on the food. Then they spent all their livestock. Finally, they sold Joseph all their land and promised their work to Pharaoh. By the time the famine was done, Joseph obtained all the money of Egypt, all the livestock, and all of the land except that of the priests for Pharaoh. Joseph also gave the people seed to grow crops, and told them they could keep all but one-fifth of their produce -- that part would be given to Pharaoh.
Such overwhelming responsibility was given to Joseph when he was told to prepare for this famine, yet he succeeded with flying colors. How could he not, when the Lord chose him? Through all of Joseph's major trials in life, never did he give up and never did he lose his spirit. Some might argue say that they're tired of hearing the old story of Joseph, but Joseph was such an amazing example of how we should always trust the Lord and never give up. Even in the worst situations in life, the Lord is there with us. And the Lord has something planned for us that is better than we could ever have imagined.
Proverbs 4:14 - 19
The message of these few verses are direct and simple: do not do as the wicked do. Turn away, walk away in righteousness. Being wicked is like being in complete darkness. Or, like so many of our parents like to say: "If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump too?" Don't let the wickedness of others, the sins of others, the wrong doing of others, influence you to do what you know that you should not.
The message of these few verses are direct and simple: do not do as the wicked do. Turn away, walk away in righteousness. Being wicked is like being in complete darkness. Or, like so many of our parents like to say: "If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump too?" Don't let the wickedness of others, the sins of others, the wrong doing of others, influence you to do what you know that you should not.
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