JANUARY 22, 2021 Exodus 1:13-14 So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor. And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage—in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor. It is important for us to consider that what we read in […]
JANUARY 21, 2021 Exodus 1:11-12 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel. If Jewish tradition is to be considered in this story, […]
JANUARY 20, 2021 Exodus 1:8-10 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our […]
JANUARY 19, 2021 Exodus 1:8-10 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our […]
JANUARY 18, 2021 Exodus 1:6-7 And Joseph died, all his brothers, and all that generation. But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them. After Jacob, his twelve sons and those original 70 passed away, the children of Israel began to increase in the land […]
JANUARY 16, 2021 Genesis 50:19-20 Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” In saying, “Am I in the place of God” Joseph conveyed to […]
JANUARY 15, 2021 Genesis 50:15-17 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.” Even though Joseph had made provision for them and their families and even though hugs and kisses had been exchanged between them, […]
JANUARY 14, 2021 Genesis 49:33 And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people. The way the text reads, it sounds as if Jacob passed away from this life almost immediately after prophesying over his sons and their […]
JANUARY 13, 2021 Genesis 49:27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.” Jacob portrays the tribe of Benjamin as a warring tribe in that he “tears his prey” and “divides the spoil.” Indeed, there are examples of their warlike tendencies in the […]
JANUARY 12, 2021 Genesis 49:26 “The blessings of your father have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.” It is amazing to think, given […]
JANUARY 11, 2021 Genesis 49:23-24 “The archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him. But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob.” The Hebrew word translated as “archers” is literally translated as “Masters of piercing” thus hinting at arrows. The archers are those […]
JANUARY 10, 2021 Genesis 49:22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; his branches run over the wall.” The most eloquent blessing was reserved for Joseph who unites the best qualities of Reuben and Judah. He is a dreamer, a visionary some might say, but one who balances his dreams with moral and […]
