Month: November 2022

40.j. “But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied”

 

 

Exodus 1:8  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 enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.

This was God’s purpose for Israel’s time in Egypt. Egypt served as a mother’s womb for Israel, a place where they rapidly grew from a large clan to a mighty nation. The nation could not grow this way in Canaan, because it was practically impossible to avoid intermarriage with the pagan and wicked inhabitants of Canaan. Egypt was so racially biased and had such an entrenched system of racial separation that Israel could grow there over several centuries without being assimilated. This growth in the face of affliction has consistently been the story of God’s people, throughout all ages – the more they are afflicted, the more they grow. As the ancient Christian writer Tertullian said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Because God’s purpose was to bless Israel and fulfill His role for them in His eternal plan, no amount of affliction could defeat His purpose. The Egyptians tried their best through cruel slavery; but it did not work. The principle of Isaiah 54:17 proved true: No weapon formed against you shall prosper. The wickedness of the Egyptians could hurt the children of Israel but could never defeat God’s plan for them. Pharaoh thought it best to not kill them; but he did want them to be slaves. In the midst of their cruel and harsh service, life must have seemed hopeless to the children of Israel, and the idea that God was working out His plan must have seemed very far away – yet it was true nonetheless. (Guzik)

40.i. “But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly”

 

 

Exodus 1:1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. All the descendants of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt. Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.

From the call of Abraham, when God first told him he would make him a great nation, to the deliverance of his seed out of Egypt, were four hundred and thirty years; during the first two hundred and fifteen of which they were increased to seventy, but in the latter half, those seventy multiplied to six hundred thousand fighting men.(Benson)

During more than 200 years, while Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived at liberty, the Hebrews increased slowly; only about seventy persons went down into Egypt. There, in about the same number of years, though under cruel bondage, they became a large nation. This wonderful increase was according to the promise long before made unto the fathers. Though the performance of God’s promises is sometimes slow, it is always sure.(Henry)

The first verses of Exodus reach back some 430 years. The story of the Exodus begins where the story Genesis ends: a large family with a crucial place in God’s plan of the ages and their migration to Egypt. Joseph was the remarkable great-grandson of Abraham who saved Egypt – and the world – from terrible famine because he listened to God’s voice speaking through Pharaoh’s dream. Because of his wisdom and administration, he was lifted to high and honored office in Egypt. Yet eventually, Joseph died and the status his family enjoyed died with him. (Guzik)

The promise given to Abraham concerning a great nation coming from his family was God’s plan and promise. We look at the time from promise to Abraham until Joseph and there are 70 up till then. In three plus generations the family grew to 70 and were put in a place of protection and blessings in Egypt. These blessing continued for many years until the heart of the Egyptian Pharaoh at that time became hard against them.  This time laps (~430 years) brings us to the Exodus. God’s chosen are now going to start their journey to the promised land that was proclaimed to Abraham.

Never let circumstances and time give you reason to doubt the promises of God.  He is God and all of His plans and purposes will come to be in His perfect timing.

40.t.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Rejoice and be glad.

Give Thanks unto God.

It is right to give Thanks and Rejoice.

Let the redeemed give Thanks and Rejoice.

Give thanks and humbly serve, trust, obey, follow, cling to, and rely on Him, for He is more than able to do what we ask and much more than we can imagine.

40.h. From “Pathway to Victory”

 

 

He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt.
–Luke 18:9

A friend of mine used to tell the story of a snake that went to the optometrist and got some contact lenses. About three weeks later, the snake went back to the optometrist. The optometrist said, “How are you doing?”

The snake replied, “Well, I can see perfectly, but I am all depressed.”

“Why are you depressed?” the optometrist asked. The snake said, “Because I discovered that for the last three years, I have been living with a water hose.”

Clear vision can be painful sometimes, especially when it comes to seeing ourselves as God sees us. Yet seeing ourselves clearly is the first step to receiving God’s gift of forgiveness. That is the point of the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18. Verse 9 says, “He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt.” This parable was directed toward the Pharisees, who were trusting in themselves. That was the foundation of their faith: themselves. They were trusting in their inherent goodness rather than in God’s unconditional grace to be saved.

Not only that, but Luke said the Pharisees also viewed others with contempt. After all, what is the use of thinking highly of yourself if you cannot think lowly of other people? In their book “Psychology through the Eyes of Faith,” Christian psychologists David Myers and Malcolm Jeeves said the problem with many people is not that they think too lowly of themselves but that they think too highly of themselves. They wrote, “The most common error in people’s self-images is not unrealistically low self-esteem, but rather self-serving pride; not an inferiority complex, but a superiority complex.” That was the Pharisees. They thought highly of themselves and viewed other people with contempt.

40.g. “the Book of Beginnings – ends”

 

 

Genesis 50:22  So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father’s house. Joseph lived 110 years. And Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation. The children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were counted as Joseph’s own. And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

Joseph lived a life of dramatic faith. Yet in the end, this is how he was remembered in the Hebrews 11 Museum of Faith: By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones (Hebrews 11:22). This was faith, because it trusted God’s promise to His people, it knew where God’s people belonged, because it looked to the future, and it proclaimed God’s faithful promise in any way possible – even through a dead man’s bones! This promise was fulfilled some 400 years later, when Israel left Egypt (Exodus 13:19). This command showed that Joseph’s heart was in the Promised Land. It also proved him to be a man of great faith, trusting in things not yet seen. 

Some promises of God take a long time to fulfill, and we must persevere in trusting God. George Mueller was a remarkable man of faith who ran orphanages in England. In a sermon preached when he was 75 years old, he said 30,000 times in his 54 years as a Christian he received the answer to prayer on the same day he prayed it. But not all his prayers were answered so quickly. He told of one prayer that he brought to God about 20,000 times over more than 11 years, and he still trusted God for the answer: “I hope in God, I pray on, and look for the answer. Therefore, beloved brethren and sisters, go on waiting upon God, go on praying.” 

Joseph died looking forward to God’s unfolding plan of redemption, and that is where the Book of Genesis – the Book of Beginnings – ends. It concludes looking forward to the continuation of God’s eternal, loving, wise plan. (Guzik)

40.f. “God meant it for good”

 

 

Genesis 50:15  When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

The brothers feared that perhaps Joseph would turn on them after Jacob’s death. Knowing human nature, this was certainly possible. Here, they freely acknowledged all the evil which they did. What they worried about was justice. They feared righteous retribution. Joseph, with his high status and prestige in Egypt, was certainly capable of bringing this retribution.  From a human perspective, Joseph had the right and the ability to bring retribution upon his brothers, but he knew God was God and he was not. Such retribution was God’s place, not Joseph’s. Every Christian should be able to see the overarching and overruling hand of God in their life; to know that no matter what evil man brings against us, God can use it for good. Joseph did not have the text of Romans 8:28, but he had the truth of it: And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Sadly, many of us who have the text do not have the truth.  Ultimately, our lives are not in the hands of men, but in the hands of God, who overrules all things for His glory. Because Joseph trusted the overarching hand of God, even in all the evil that came upon him through his brothers, he showed the love and compassion to them he did. Often, the problem we have in loving others and in freeing ourselves from bitterness we may have towards them is really a problem of not knowing who God is and trusting Him to be who He says He is. (Guzik)

 Various motives might cause the sons of Jacob to continue in Egypt, notwithstanding the prophetic vision Abraham had of their bondage there. Judging of Joseph from the general temper of human nature, they thought he would now avenge himself on those who hated and injured him without cause. Not being able to resist, or to flee away, they attempted to soften him by humbling themselves. They pleaded with him as the servants of Jacob’s God. Joseph was much affected at seeing this complete fulfilment of his dreams. He directs them not to fear him, but to fear God; to humble themselves before the Lord, and to seek the Divine forgiveness. He assures them of his own kindness to them. See what an excellent spirit Joseph was of, and learn of him to render good for evil. He comforted them, and, to banish all their fears, he spake kindly to them. Broken spirits must be bound up and encouraged. Those we love and forgive, we must not only do well for, but speak kindly to. (Henry)

How sad it is for the heart of a person to carry the burden of their actions upon another person and not seek forgiveness for the harm they have caused. What harm can be caused by humbly acknowledging a wrong you have committed and asking for forgiveness? If you are forgiven, two hearts are free of the burden. If you are not forgiven then you have done your best to reconcile and the burden is lessened in your heart. 

It is hard for a proud and prideful person to admit they have wronged a person, let alone seek forgiveness. The humble heart that admits and acknowledges a wrong they have committed has a steeper and harder task ahead, “Forgiving themselves”.  I think this is one of the hardest things to do but it is essential for the heart to heal.  

40.e. “But we do not want you to be uninformed”

 

 

Genesis 50:1  Then Joseph fell on his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.

 Genesis 23:2     And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

 Mark 5:38-39    They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.

 John 11:35-36     Jesus wept.  So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

 Acts 8:2     Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him.

 1 Thessalonians 4:13     But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

Though pious relatives and friends have lived to a good old age, and we are confident they are gone to glory, yet we may regret our own loss, and pay respect to their memory by lamenting them. Grace does not destroy, but it purifies, moderates, and regulates natural affection. The departed soul is out of the reach of any tokens of our affection; but it is proper to show respect to the body, of which we look for a glorious and joyful resurrection, whatever may become of its remains in this world. Thus Joseph showed his faith in God, and love to his father. He ordered the body to be embalmed, or wrapped up with spices, to preserve it.  (Henry)

With the loss of a sibling, parent, spouse, or child there are so many emotions that flood our hearts and minds. None of these ever reach the ear of the departed. None of these emotions of loss, love, sorrow, and heartache will be heard by those departed.  It is natural to mourn the loss of a loved one or to mourn with a friend who has lost a loved one. Many times our sorrow in their death is because we have left some things unsaid or undone. Maybe we haven’t communicated to them just how much they meant to us or how much they have influenced our lives.  We may have had hopes for their lives. We mourn and it is natural. The loss of a loved one hurts our heart. Nothing could hurt the heart more than a loved one who dies not knowing or committing to God’s love, grace, and mercy through Jesus Christ. Let it be our goal to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we say, think, and do, and when our time on earth is complete and there is mourning for our passing, let it be short-lived and turned into rejoicing and praise because we have passed from death to life with our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.

40.d. “And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it”

 

 

Genesis 49:28  All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him. Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah— the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites.” When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

 Exodus 28:21     There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes.

 1 Kings 18:31   Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,”

 Revelation 7:4     And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

 Job 5:26     You shall come to your grave in ripe old age, like a sheaf gathered up in its season.

 Job 14:10   But a man dies and is laid low; man breathes his last, and where is he?

 Ecclesiastes 12:7     and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

 Isaiah 57:1-2    The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from calamity;  he enters into peace; they rest in their beds who walk in their uprightness.

 Hebrews 11:13-16    These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.  For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.  If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.  But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Each son and each tribe that would come from them had their own calling and destiny. Yet the remarkable promise remained – that they each would survive and grow into significant tribes, without one perishing during the centuries to come in Egypt. (Guzik)

Jacob blessed every one according to the blessings God in after-times intended to bestow upon them. He spoke about his burial-place, from a principle of faith in the promise of God (Henry)

all these are the twelve tribes of Israel—or ancestors. Jacob’s prophetic words obviously refer not so much to the sons as to the tribes of Israel. (Jamieson-fausset-brown)

All these are the twelve tribes of Israel,…. The twelve sons of Jacob before mentioned were heads of twelve tribes, who were afterwards seated, and had their part in the land of Canaan; there were indeed thirteen tribes, two springing from Joseph; but then the tribe of Levi had no part in the land of Canaan, which was divided into twelve parts; this shows that the above predictions respect not the persons of the patriarchs, but their tribes and everyone according to his blessing he blessed them; according to the blessing which was appointed to them of God, and was in later times bestowed on them, Jacob under a spirit of prophecy was directed to bless them with, or to foretell what blessings should come upon them, and which accordingly did. (Gill)

He gathered up his feet into the bed, not only as one patiently submitting to the stroke, but as one cheerfully composing himself to rest, now that he was weary. He freely gave up his spirit into the hand of God, the Father of spirits. If God’s people be our people, death will gather us to them. Under the care of the Shepherd of Israel, we shall lack nothing for body or soul. We shall remain unmoved until our work is finished; then, breathing out our souls into His hands for whose salvation we have waited, we shall depart in peace, and leave a blessing for our children after us. (Henry)

 “Jacob did not yield up the ghost until he had delivered the last sentence of admonition and benediction to his twelve sons. He was immortal till his work was done. So long as God had another sentence to speak by him, death could not paralyze his tongue.” (Spurgeon)

This ends the life of the last of the great patriarchs, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Yet the work and plan of God did not end. It continued through men and generations to come. (Guzik)

40.c. “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf”

Genesis 49:27  “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey and at evening dividing the spoil.”

 Deuteronomy 33:12    Of Benjamin he said, “The beloved of the LORD dwells in safety. The High God surrounds him all day long, and dwells between his shoulders.”

 Judges 3:15-29     Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, and the LORD raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man.

 Jeremiah 5:6   Therefore a lion from the forest shall strike them down; a wolf from the desert shall devastate them. A leopard is watching their cities; everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, their apostasies are great.

It is plain Jacob was guided in what he said by a spirit of prophecy, and not by natural affection, else he would have spoken with more tenderness of his beloved son Benjamin, concerning whom he only foretels that his posterity should be a warlike tribe, strong and daring; and that they should enrich themselves with the spoil of their enemies; that they should be active in the world, and a tribe as much feared by their neighbours as any other. (Benson)

Benjamin is described as a wolf who is engaged morning and evening, that is, all day long, in hunting after prey. He was warlike by character and conduct Judges 20-21, and among his descendants are Ehud, Saul, and Jonathan. (Barnes)

we have an early instance of the valour and success of this tribe in a war waged with all the other tribes, and in two pitched battles, in one with 26,000 men it beat 400,000, Judges 20:15, and if this tribe is compared to a wolf for rapaciousness, this may be illustrated by the remainder of those, after the loss of a third battle, catching and carrying away the daughters of Shiloh, and making them their wives, Judges 21:23. Some apply this to particular persons of this tribe, as to Saul the first king of Israel, who was of Benjamin; and who as soon as he took the kingdom of Israel, in the morning, in the beginning of that state, fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines, and the Amalekites, 1 Samuel 14:47 and to Mordecai and Esther, who were of the same tribe, who after the captivity, and in the evening of that state, divided the spoil of Haman, Esther 8:1 this is observed by Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Ben Gersom. Some of the Christian fathers have applied the prophecy to the Apostle Paul, who was of the tribe of Benjamin; who in the morning of his youth was a fierce and ravenous persecutor, and made havoc of the church of God: and in the evening, or latter part of his life, spent his days in dividing the spoil of Satan among the Gentiles, taking the prey out of his hands, turning men from the power of Satan unto God, and distributed food to the souls of men. In a spiritual sense he was a warlike man, a good soldier of Christ, and accouted as such, had a warfare to accomplish, and enemies to fight with; and did fight the good fight of faith, conquered, and was more than a conqueror through Christ. (Gill)

“Benjamin – which tears in pieces; in the morning he devours prey, and in the evening he divides spoil.” Morning and evening together suggest the idea of incessant and victorious capture of booty (Del.). The warlike character which the patriarch here attributes to Benjamin, was manifested by that tribe, not only in the war which he waged with all the tribes on account of their wickedness in Gibeah (Judges 20)  (Keil and Delitzsch)