Podcasts about Bilhah

Gilead. Marthas. Handmaids. Eyes. They sound biblical but if they are, where and what do these references mean? Are actual slave women co-opted as surrogate baby providers in the Bible? Do they truly lie in their mistresses' laps to conceive and give birth? What do the Handmaids mean by "Blessed be the fruit"? And who was the original Jezebel? Fans of the show need look no further. This is the Bible of the Handmaid's Tale.Written and produced by Chas Bayfield.Music by Michael Auld and Jon Hawkins MusicCover art by Lisa GoffSend any questions or feedback to contact@whollybuyable.com

A Preplanned Detour - Groundwork for RedemptionWebsite: http://www.battle4freedom.com/Network: https://www.mojo50.comStreaming: https://www.rumble.com/Battle4Freedomhttps://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2043%3A11&version=CJBIsaiah 43:11I, yes I, am Adonai; besides me there is no deliverer.Genesis 46:1 Isra'el took everything he owned with him on his journey. He arrived at Be'er-Sheva and offered sacrifices to the G_d of his father Yitz'chak. 2 In a vision at night G_d called to Isra'el, "Ya`akov! Ya`akov!" He answered, "Here I am." 3 He said, "I am G_d, the G_d of your father. Don't be afraid to go down to Egypt. It is there that I will make you into a great nation. 4 Not only will I go down with you to Egypt; but I will also bring you back here again, after Yosef has closed your eyes."Genesis 46:5 So Ya`akov left Be'er-Sheva; the sons of Isra'el brought Ya`akov their father, their little ones and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry them. 6 They took their cattle and their possessions which they had acquired in the land of Kena`an and arrived in Egypt, Ya`akov and all his descendants with him — 7 his sons, grandsons, daughters, granddaughters and all his descendants he brought with him into Egypt.Genesis 46:8 These are the names of Isra'el's children who came into Egypt, Ya`akov and his sons: Re'uven Ya`akov's firstborn; 9 and the sons of Re'uven — Hanokh, Pallu, Hetzron and Karmi. 10 The sons of Shim`on: Y'mu'el, Yamin, Ohad, Yakhin, Tzochar and Sha'ul the son of a Kena`ani woman. 11 The sons of Levi: Gershon, K'hat and M'rari.Genesis 46:12 The sons of Y'hudah: `Er, Onan, Shelah, Peretz and Zerach; but `Er and Onan died in the land of Kena`an. The sons of Peretz were Hetzron and Hamul. 13 The sons of Yissakhar: Tola, Puvah, Yov and Shimron. 14 The sons of Z'vulun: Sered, Elon and Yachle'el. 15 These were the children of Le'ah whom she bore to Ya`akov in Paddan-Aram, with his daughter Dinah. In sum, his sons and daughters numbered thirty-three. Genesis 46:16 The sons of Gad: Tzifyon, Haggi, Shuni, Etzbon, `Eri, Arodi and Ar'eli. 17 The children of Asher: Yimnah, Yishvah, Yishvi, B'ri`ah, and their sister Serach. The sons of B'ri`ah were Hever and Malki'el. 18 These were the children of Zilpah, whom Lavan gave to Le'ah his daughter; she bore them to Ya`akov — sixteen people. Genesis 46:19 The sons of Rachel Ya`akov's wife: Yosef and Binyamin. 20 To Yosef in the land of Egypt were born M'nasheh and Efrayim, whom Osnat the daughter of Poti-Fera priest of On bore to him. 21 The sons of Binyamin: Bela, Bekher, Ashbel, Gera, Na`aman, Echi, Rosh, Mupim, Hupim and Ard. 22 These were the children of Rachel who were born to Ya`akov — in sum, fourteen people.Genesis 46:23 The sons of Dan: Hushim. 24 The sons of Naftali: Yachtze'el, Guni, Yetzer and Shillem. 25 These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Lavan gave to Rachel his daughter; she bore them to Ya`akov — in sum, seven people.Genesis 46:26 All the people belonging to Ya`akov coming into Egypt, his direct descendants (not counting Ya`akov's sons' wives), totaled sixty-six. 27 The sons of Yosef, born to him in Egypt, were two in number. Thus all the people in Ya`akov's family who entered Egypt numbered seventy.Genesis 46:28 Ya`akov sent Y'hudah ahead of him to Yosef, so that the latter might guide him on the road to Goshen; thus they arrived in the land of Goshen. 29 Yosef prepared his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet Isra'el his father. He presented himself to him, embraced him and wept on his neck for a long time. 30 Then Isra'el said to Yosef, "Now I can die, because I have seen your face and seen that you are still alive."Genesis 46:31 Yosef said to his brothers and his father's family, "I'm going up to tell Pharaoh. I'll say to him, `My brothers and my father's family, who were in the land of Kena`an, have come to me. 32 The men are shepherds and keepers of livestock; they have brought their flocks, their herds and all their possessions.' 33 Now when Pharaoh summons you and asks, `What is your occupation?' 34 tell him, `Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth until now, both we and our ancestors.' This will ensure that you will live in the land of Goshen — for any shepherd is abhorrent to the Egyptians."Credit to:https://unsplash.com/photos/pathway-between-trees-74TufExdP3Yhttps://unsplash.com/photos/black-and-white-arrow-sign-Vckq-heaypghttps://unsplash.com/photos/gray-wall-paint-taO2fC7sxDU

Friday, 9 May 2025   Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Matthew 10:2   “And the twelve apostles, the names, they are these: First, Simon, being called Peter, and Andrew, his brother. James the ‘of Zebedee,' and John, his brother” (CG).   In the previous verse, Jesus called His twelve disciples together and gave them power over spirits and sicknesses. Matthew continues his narrative with, “And the twelve apostles.”   The word apostolos, apostles, is introduced. It signifies a delegate or one who is sent. In this case, being apostles of Jesus, they are essentially ambassadors of Jesus for the mission of conveying the gospel. Understanding that, it next says, “the names, they are these.”   Matthew will give a list of the selected men. They are not the same names recorded in each gospel, but they are the same people, being described by the differing names each possessed, such as Simon being Peter. The names are recorded in Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:16-19, Luke 6:13-16, and Acts 1:13.   In all lists, Simon (Peter) is recorded first, while Judas the betrayer is listed last. Each time they are listed, they are divided into three separate groups of four each. However, the internal grouping of each group is not always the same.   For an extensive analysis of the patterns of groupings, names, and relationships of these apostles, consulting the commentary of Charles Ellicott will provide great detail. Of these men, the list begins with, “First, Simon, being called Peter.”   The name is derived from the Hebrew name Shimon, which, in turn, is derived from the verb shama, to hear. Thus, the name means Hearing or He Who Hears. Peter is derived from the Greek petra, a rock, and this is the meaning of the name. He is also called Kephas, the Aramaic name meaning Rock. Next, it says, “and Andrew, his brother.”   The name is derived from anér, a male human, a man, a husband. The meaning is Manly, but that can also be equated to Courageous or Brave. Next is “James the ‘of Zebedee.'”   Both names are given detailed explanations in the commentary on Matthew 4:21. The last name in this verse is given next, saying, “and John, his brother.”   The meaning of this name was also explained in Matthew 4:21.   Life application: It is not uncommon to see people on social media call themselves Apostle This or Apostle That. The implication is that they are to be likened to the apostles in the Bible.   There is a problem with this. The title, as noted above, signifies a delegate. One does not designate oneself a delegate or an ambassador. Rather, that appointment comes from the one they represent. In the case of an apostle of Jesus, it means a person must be appointed by Jesus.   There are certain qualifications for the position that are explained in the Bible, none of which apply today. Like the sons of Israel, there is a set number of apostles. In the case of the sons of Israel, there are the twelve born to Jacob through his wives Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah.   There are also the two sons of Joseph who were adopted by Jacob as his own, as is recorded in Genesis 48. This makes a total of fourteen sons. Likewise, there are the twelve apostles named by Jesus in the gospels. There is then Matthias, who was selected to replace Judas in Acts 1.   This is then followed by Paul, who was personally selected by Jesus, “as by one born out of due time” according to 1 Corinthians 15. Thus, there are fourteen named apostles. Like the sons of Israel, that is all there are. Therefore, to claim to be an apostle of Jesus is biblically incorrect and unacceptable.   Denominations, such as Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, Swedish Lutheran, Anglicans, etc., who claim apostolic succession do so without biblical support. There is no such thing.   Be careful to evaluate people in the ministry based on their adherence to Scripture, not on a title, degree, or capability (such as knowing Hebrew or Greek). Instead, what matters is how they handle Scripture.   The Bible designates the number of sons of Israel. It also designates the number of apostles of Jesus. In this process, God is providing us with information. Patterns are made for us to understand what is on God's mind and what He is doing in the stream of redemptive history. Pay attention to such things, and a greater understanding of the workings of God will be realized.   Lord God, how grateful we are to You for Your wonderful and amazing word. We stand in awe at the wisdom behind it. For thousands of years, man has been studying it. And yet, it continues to provide us with new information from day to day. Praise You for Your word! Amen.  

Welcome to Daily Bitachon . We are now up to the section of the Hagadah which talks about the story in short, with four Pesukim excerpted from Devarim 26 ,5 and on , in the context of Bikkurim which is relevant for us now, as Shavuot is the time that we bring Bikkurim . As we march from Pesach to Shavuot, we are in a time of Hakarat HaTov and appreciation. The outcome of Yetziat Mitzrayim is supposed to be Hakarat HaTov , gratitude and appreciation for God. That is why these four Pesukim , which we base our Hagadah on, were said with the baskets of fruit in hand overflowing, thanking God. The first pasuk they said was: אֲרַמִּי֙ אֹבֵ֣ד אָבִ֔י וַיֵּ֣רֶד מִצְרַ֔יְמָה Arami oved avi vayered Mitzraima . ( A man called) Lavan HaArami tried to destroy ( or destroyed) my father… Rashi says that God considered what Lavan wanted to do as if he did it. But before we proceed with the rest of the pesukim , we have to stop and ask: Why are we mentioning Lavan here? And what does this have to do with the basket of fruit? If you want to tell me we went to Mitzrayim and now we got the land, I got it. Vayevienu el hamakom hazeh , it says and He brought us to this place after the four Pesukim , we're saying God brought us here . But that was 250 years after we entered the land and way after the story of Lavan and Yaakov. The answer is, as Yaakov and Lavan were going through this story, it was not very clear what was going on. It started with Lavan swindling Yaakov , and making him work twice as long as he needed, not seven but 14 years. But if not for that swindling, he would have just walked out with Rachel. No Leah, no Bilhah or Zilpah. Who knows how many children would not have been born? Rachel gave him only two children. With the four wives he ended up with 12. Additionally, Yaakov Avinu also walked in as a man with no money, but he walked out a very wealthy man. And let's go into the story of Egypt: We grew even more due to the oppression. We left with tremendous wealth, became purified and refined, and were ready to receive the Torah . But, it only became clear after the story was over. You can't understand a book if you only read the middle chapter. One of my favorite mashals told by the Chafetz Chaim is that of a man who visited a town for the weekend. He was a Gabbai (or Misader) in his hometown shul, and gave out the Aliyot and the other honors in the shul , like who gets to open the Heichal, who gets the first Aliyah , who gets Shlishi or Shishi (which is important depending on what your customs are.) who gets Maftir and so on. So there he was in the new shul, looking around, imagining that he was back home, deciding whom he would give each Aliyah to. 'Oh, that guy looks important, I'd give him this. That guy I think looks I'd give him that….' But in the end, nothing went the way he thought it should go. A fellow that looked like he couldn't read even got the Maftir ! He couldn't understand what was going on. He approached the man in charge and asked, " Could you please explain what's going on here? I run the shul back in my hometown, and I wouldn't have done it this way." The man in charge responded, " How long have you been here?" The guest answered, " I'm here for the weekend." The gabbai then said, " Well, if you've only been here for the weekend, you can't really question what I'm doing. You weren't here last week; you don't know what's going to happen next week. The fellow that got Maftir, who looked like he couldn't read, has his father's Yahrzeit this week. The fellow that you think should have gotten an Aliyah got one last week, and the other one is getting it next week. You can't comment when you're only here for a weekend!" So too, says the Chafetz Chaim , in life, we're only here for a short period of time. We don't see the whole story, and therefore we can't question. God wanted to teach us an important, short history lesson. He knew we were going to enter into future exiles. He wanted us to read this lesson and apply it to life in general. That's why the real message of the night of the Seder is Matchil bignut umesayem beshevach . Start with the negative and end with the positive. Rabbenu Manoac h , one of the Rishonim , in his commentary on the Rambam on the laws of Chametz U'Matzah , chapter seven, Halacha 6 , says something fascinating: With this remembering, Tihiyeh yirat Hashem al panav tamid / The fear of God will be on his face continuousl y, When he sees Hashem's supervision, And you'll never forget about Hashem . With this story of Yetziat Mitzrayim, you will see Hashem is watching you. You'll be on His mind and He'll be on your mind. And even if its times are very difficult, Yiftach b'Hashem, he'll still rely on God, Mikveh Yisrael, the One the Jewish people hope to, Moshio b'eit tzara, the One that saves us in time of difficulty . And just like the difficulty of the exile of Mitzrayim, Hayta sibah l'heitiv lahem b'achritam/Was a cause to end up doing better for them in the end, Ken kol tzarot hagalut hazeh / So too with all of these difficulties in our exile, hem sibah l'Yisrael / They will be a cause for the Jewish people, l'hoshi'am t'shuat olamim, an everlasting saving- Which is the rule we call Ma'aseh Avot Siman L'banim . The actions of the father are a sign for the future. That's our opening lesson for Maggid, the story of the Hagadah shel Pesach . And as we said, it's not just for the night of Pesach , it's every day of our lives. We have to remember Yetziat Mitzrayim . This is one of the underlying messages of Yetziat Mitzrayim , says Rabbeinu Manoach , is that it ain't over 'til it's over.

God has already written the end of our story, therefore we may have peace about the events in our lives. Genesis 37:1–11 (ESV): 37 Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan. 2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him. 5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: 7 Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. 9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” 11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

Joseph's Dreams37.1 Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan.2 These are the generations of Jacob.Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: 7 Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?”11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.Joseph Sold by His Brothers12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem.13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” 16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.'” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.”22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes 30 and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?” 31 Then they took Joseph's robe...

Fines of Favoritism - Incorporating DisenfranchisementWebsite: http://www.battle4freedom.com/Network: https://www.mojo50.comStreaming: https://www.rumble.com/Battle4Freedomhttps://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%202%3A8-9&version=CJBJames 2:8-9If you truly attain the goal of Kingdom Torah, in conformity with the passage that says, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well. But if you show favoritism, your actions constitute sin, since you are convicted under the Torah as transgressors.Genesis 37:1 Ya`akov continued living in the land where his father had lived as a foreigner, the land of Kena`an.Genesis 37:2 Here is the history of Ya`akov. When Yosef was seventeen years old he used to pasture the flock with his brothers, even though he was still a boy. Once when he was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father`s wives, he brought a bad report about them to their father. 3 Now Isra`el loved Yosef the most of all his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a long-sleeved robe. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they began to hate him and reached the point where they couldn`t even talk with him in a civil manner.Genesis 37:5 Yosef had a dream which he told his brothers, and that made them hate him all the more. 6 He said to them, "Listen while I tell you about this dream of mine. 7 We were tying up bundles of wheat in the field when suddenly my bundle got up by itself and stood upright; then your bundles came, gathered around mine and prostrated themselves before it." 8 His brothers retorted, "Yes, you will certainly be our king. You`ll do a great job of bossing us around!" And they hated him still more for his dreams and for what he said.Genesis 37:9 He had another dream which he told his brothers: "Here, I had another dream, and there were the sun, the moon and eleven stars prostrating themselves before me." 10 He told his father too, as well as his brothers, but his father rebuked him: "What is this dream you have had? Do you really expect me, your mother and your brothers to come and prostrate ourselves before you on the ground?" 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.Genesis 37:12 After this, when his brothers had gone to pasture their father`s sheep in Sh`khem, 13 Isra`el asked Yosef, "Aren`t your brothers pasturing the sheep in Sh`khem? Come, I will send you to them." He answered, "Here I am." 14 He said to him, "Go now, see whether things are going well with your brothers and with the sheep, and bring word back to me." So he sent him away from the Hevron Valley, and he went to Sh`khem, 15 where a man found him wandering around in the countryside. The man asked him, "What are you looking for?" 16 "I`m looking for my brothers," he answered. "Tell me, please, where are they pasturing the sheep?" 17 The man said, "They`ve left here; because I heard them say, `Let`s go to Dotan.`" Yosef went after his brothers and found them in Dotan.Genesis 37:18 They spotted him in the distance, and before he had arrived where they were, they had already plotted to kill him. 19 They said to each other, "Look, this dreamer is coming! 20 So come now, let`s kill him and throw him into one of these water cisterns here. Then we`ll say some wild animal devoured him. We`ll see then what becomes of his dreams!" 21 But when Re`uven heard this, he saved him from being destroyed by them. He said, "We shouldn`t take his life. 22 Don`t shed blood," Re`uven added. "Throw him into this cistern here in the wilds, but don`t lay hands on him yourselves." He intended to rescue him from them later and restore him to his father.Genesis 37:23 So it was that when Yosef arrived to be with his brothers, they stripped off his robe, the long-sleeved robe he was wearing, 24 and took him and threw him into the cistern (the cistern was empty; without any water in it). 25 Then they sat down to eat their meal; but as they looked up, they saw in front of them a caravan of Yishma`elim coming from Gil`ad, their camels loaded with aromatic gum, healing resin and opium, on their way down to Egypt. 26 Y`hudah said to his brothers, "What advantage is it to us if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let`s sell him to the Yishma`elim, instead of putting him to death with our own hands. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh." His brothers paid attention to him. 28 So when the Midyanim, merchants, passed by, they drew and lifted Yosef up out of the cistern and sold him for half a pound of silver shekels to the Yishma`elim, who took Yosef on to Egypt.Genesis 37:29 Re`uven returned to the cistern, and, upon seeing that Yosef wasn`t in it, tore his clothes in mourning. 30 He returned to his brothers and said, "The boy isn`t there! Where can I go now?"Genesis 37:31 They took Yosef`s robe, killed a male goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 Then they sent the long-sleeved robe and brought it to their father, saying, "We found this. Do you know if it`s your son`s robe or not?" 33 He recognized it and cried, "It`s my son`s robe! Some wild animal has torn Yosef in pieces and eaten him!" 34 Ya`akov tore his clothes and, putting sackcloth around his waist, mourned his son for many days. 35 Though all his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, he refused all consolation, saying, "No, I will go down to the grave, to my son, mourning." And his father wept for him.Genesis 37:36 In Egypt the Midyanim sold Yosef to Potifar, one of Pharaoh`s officials, a captain of the guard.Credits:https://unsplash.com/@sharonmccutcheon - moneyhttps://www.pexels.com/@gerhard-14620241/ - lightning storm

Genesis 371 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.2 This is the account of Jacob's family line. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.12 Now his brothers had gone to graze their father's flocks near Shechem, 13 and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.” “Very well,” he replied.14 So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived at Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”16 He replied, “I'm looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”17 “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let's go to Dothan.'” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. 18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.19 “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. 20 “Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams.”21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let's not take his life,” he said. 22 “Don't shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don't lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— 24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.28 So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.29 When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. 30 He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn't there! Where can I turn now?”31 Then they got Joseph's robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son's robe.”33 He recognized it and said, “It is my son's robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him.36 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard.

Isolating Israel - Spiritual Spring CleaningWebsite: http://www.battle4freedom.com/Network: https://www.mojo50.comStreaming: https://www.rumble.com/Battle4Freedomhttps://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%207%3A6&version=CJBDeuteronomy 7:6For you are a people set apart as holy for Adonai your G_d. Adonai your G_d has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his own unique treasure.Genesis 35:1 G_d said to Ya`akov, "Get up, go up to Beit-El and live there, and make there an altar to G_d, who appeared to you when you fled `Esav your brother." 2 Then Ya`akov said to his household and all the others with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods that you have with you, purify yourselves, and put on fresh clothes. 3 We're going to move on and go up to Beit-El. There I will build an altar to G_d, who answered me when I was in such distress and stayed with me wherever I went." Genesis 35:4 They gave Ya`akov all the foreign gods in their possession and the earrings they were wearing, and Ya`akov buried them under the pistachio tree near Sh'khem. 5 While they were traveling, a terror from G_d fell upon the cities around them, so that none of them pursued the sons of Ya`akov.Genesis 35:6 Ya`akov and all the people with him arrived at Luz (that is, Beit-El) in the land of Kena`an. 7 He built there an altar and called the place El-Beit-El [G_d of Beit-El], because it was there that G_d was revealed to him, at the time when he was fleeing from his brother.Genesis 35:8 Then D'vorah, Rivkah's nurse, died. She was buried below Beit-El under the oak, which was given the name Alon-Bakhut [oak of weeping].Genesis 35:9 After Ya`akov arrived from Paddan-Aram, G_d appeared to him again and blessed him. 10 G_d said to him, "Your name is Ya`akov, but you will be called Ya`akov no longer; your name will be Isra'el." Thus he named him Isra'el. 11 G_d further said to him, "I am El Shaddai. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation, indeed a group of nations, will come from you; kings will be descended from you. Genesis 35:12 Moreover, the land which I gave to Avraham and Yitz'chak I will give to you, and I will give the land to your descendants after you." 13 Then G_d went up from him there where he had spoken with him. Genesis 35:14 Ya`akov set up a standing-stone in the place where he had spoken with him, a stone pillar. Then he poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. 15 Ya`akov called the place where G_d spoke with him Beit-El.Genesis 35:16 Then they traveled on from Beit-El, and while there was still some distance to go before arriving in Efrat, Rachel went into labor, and she had great difficulty with it. 17 While she was undergoing this hard labor, the midwife said to her, "Don't worry, this is also a son for you." 18 But she died in childbirth. As she was dying she named her son Ben-Oni [son of my grief], but his father called him Binyamin [son of the right hand, son of the south]. 19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Efrat (that is, Beit-Lechem). 20 Ya`akov set up a standing-stone on her grave; it is the standing-stone of Rachel's grave to this day.Genesis 35:21 Isra'el continued his travels and pitched his tent on the other side of Migdal-`Eder. 22 It was while Isra'el was living in that land that Re'uven went and slept with Bilhah his father's concubine, and Isra'el heard about it. Ya`akov had twelve sons. 23 The sons of Le'ah were Re'uven Ya`akov's firstborn, Shim`on, Levi, Y'hudah, Yissakhar and Z'vulun. 24 The sons of Rachel were Yosef and Binyamin. 25 The sons of Bilhah Rachel's slave-girl were Dan and Naftali. 26 And the sons of Zilpah Le'ah's slave-girl were Gad and Asher. These were Ya`akov's sons, born to him in Paddan-Aram.Genesis 35:27 Ya`akov came home to his father Yitz'chak at Mamre, near Kiryat-Arba (also known as Hevron), where Avraham and Yitz'chak had lived as foreigners. 28 Yitz'chak lived to be 180 years old. 29 Then he breathed his last, died and was gathered to his people, an old man full of years; and his sons `Esav and Ya`akov buried him.DOGE and DOSE?Department of Spiritual Efficacy!https://unsplash.com/@stigson - Jordan Valleyhttps://unsplash.com/@robertina - Anointing oilhttps://unsplash.com/@fadid000 - Heart

Passage: 1 When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” 2 Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” 3 Then she said, “Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf, that even I may have children through her.” 4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5 And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan. 7 Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali. 9 When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Then Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 And Leah said, “Good fortune has come!” So she called his name Gad. 12 Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah said, “Happy am I! For women have called me happy.” So she called his name Asher. 14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son's mandrakes.” 15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. (Genesis 30:1-16 ESV) Song: Thank You, Jesus (https://open.spotify.com/track/4cpZ1FTm1SjwTGbA7R4WH1?si=e164c7ce69184551) by Chris Davenport, Ethan Hulse, Josh Baldwin Lyrics: Thank You Jesus for finding me Like a good shepherd Your mercy leads Back to Your arms where I'm meant to be So I thank You Jesus for finding me Thank You Jesus for saving me You took my place on that cursed tree Died for sinners but rose as a King So I thank You Jesus for saving me Oh it's only because of all You've done That I can be called a friend of God Oh beautiful Savior what else can I do But lift up my voice and say thank You Thank You Jesus for loving me Shame lost its hold when You set me free Every fear has to bow at Your feet So I thank You Jesus for loving me I enter the gates of the Lord with thanksgiving I enter the courts of the Lord with praise Oh thank You Oh thank You Prayer: O you plenteous source of every good and perfect gift, shed abroad the cheering light of your sevenfold grace over our hearts. Yes, Spirit of love and gentleness, we most humbly implore your assistance. You know our faults, our failings, our necessities, the dullness of our understanding, the waywardness of our affections, the perverseness of our will. When, therefore, we neglect to practice what we know, visit us, we ask you, with your grace; enlighten our minds, rectify our desires, correct our wanderings, and pardon our omissions, so that by your guidance we may be preserved from making shipwreck of faith, and keep a good conscience, and may at length be landed safe in the haven of eternal rest; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. -Anselm

In this Bible Story, Jacob marries Leah and Rachel and has 12 sons and 1 daughter. Jacob, in search of a new beginning with his family, leaves Laban and ventures back to Canaan. This story is inspired by Genesis 29-31. Go to https://www.BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is Genesis 30:4 from the King James Version.Episode 21: After working seven years for Laban, in exchange for the privilege of marrying Rachel, Jacob is given her older sister Leah instead. Tricked and taken advantage of, Jacob agrees to work another seven years for Rachel. During these years of service, strife arises between the two sisters and their maids. Their lives become a competition of who can get the love of their husband and who can bear the most children for him.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world’s greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd HaberkornSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do not Covet - Desperate, Destitute and DeceptiveWebsite: http://www.battle4freedom.com/Network: https://www.mojo50.comStreaming: https://www.rumble.com/Battle4Freedomhttps://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2020%3A17&version=CJBExodus 20:17"Do not covet your neighbor's house; do not covet your neighbor's wife, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor."Genesis 30:1 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing children for Ya`akov, she envied her sister and said to Ya`akov, "Give me children, or I will die!" 2 This made Ya`akov angry at Rachel; he answered, "Am I in G_d's place? He's the one who is denying you children." Genesis 30:3 She said, "Here is my maid Bilhah. Go, sleep with her, and let her give birth to a child that will be laid on my knees, so that through her I too can build a family." 4 So she gave him Bilhah her slave-girl as his wife, and Ya`akov went in and slept with her. 5 Bilhah conceived and bore Ya`akov a son. 6 Rachel said, "G_d has judged in my favor; indeed he has heard me and given me a son." Therefore she called him Dan [he judged]. 7 Bilhah Rachel's slave-girl conceived again and bore Ya`akov a second son. 8 Rachel said, "I have wrestled mightily with my sister and won," and called him Naftali [my wrestling].Genesis 30:9 When Le'ah saw that she had stopped having children, she took Zilpah her slave-girl and gave her to Ya`akov as his wife. 10 Zilpah Le'ah's slave-girl bore Ya`akov a son; 11 and Le'ah said, "Good fortune has come," calling him Gad [good fortune]. 12 Zilpah Le'ah's slave-girl bore Ya`akov a second son; 13 and Le'ah said, "How happy I am! Women will say I am happy!" and called him Asher [happy].Genesis 30:14 During the wheat harvest season Re'uven went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Le'ah. Rachel said to Le'ah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes [so that I can be fertile]." 15 She answered, "Isn't it enough that you have taken away my husband? Do you have to take my son's mandrakes too?" Rachel said, "Very well; in exchange for your son's mandrakes, sleep with him tonight." Genesis 30:16 When Ya`akov came in from the field in the evening, Le'ah went out to meet him and said, "You have to come and sleep with me, because I've hired you with my son's mandrakes." So Ya`akov slept with her that night. 17 G_d listened to Le'ah, and she conceived and bore Ya`akov a fifth son. 18 Le'ah said, "G_d has given me my hire, because I gave my slave-girl to my husband." So she called him Yissakhar [hire, reward]. 19 Le'ah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Ya`akov. 20 Le'ah said, "G_d has given me a wonderful gift. Now at last my husband will live with me, since I have borne him six sons." And she called him Z'vulun [living together]. 21 After this, she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah [controversy over rights].Genesis 30:22 Then G_d took note of Rachel, heeded her prayer and made her fertile. 23 She conceived, had a son and said, "G_d has taken away my disgrace." 24 She called him Yosef [may he add], saying, "May Adonai add to me another son." Genesis 30:25 After Rachel had given birth to Yosef, Ya`akov said to Lavan, "Send me on my way, so that I can return to my own place, to my own country. 26 Let me take my wives, for whom I have served you, and my children; and let me go. You know very well how faithfully I have served you." 27 Lavan answered him, "If you regard me favorably, then please listen: I have observed the signs that Adonai has blessed me on account of you. (v) 28 Name your wages," he said; "I will pay them." 29 Ya`akov replied, "You know how faithfully I have served you and how your livestock have prospered under my care. 30 The few you had before I came have increased substantially; Adonai has blessed you wherever I went. But now, when will I provide for my own household?" 31 Lavan said, "What should I give you?" "Nothing," answered Ya`akov, "just do this one thing for me: once more I will pasture your flock and take care of it. 32 I will also go through the flock and pick out every speckled, spotted or brown sheep, and every speckled or spotted goat; these and their offspring will be my wages. 33 And I will let my integrity stand as witness against me in the future: when you come to look over the animals constituting my wages, every goat that isn't speckled or spotted and every sheep that isn't brown will count as stolen by me." 34 Lavan replied, "As you have said, so be it."Genesis 30:35 That day Lavan removed the male goats that were streaked or spotted and all the female goats that were speckled or spotted, every one with white on it, and all the brown sheep; turned them over to his sons; 36 and put three days' distance between himself and Ya`akov. Ya`akov fed the rest of Lavan's flocks.shyster (noun)shy·​ster ˈshī-stər : a person who is professionally unscrupulous especially in the practice of law or politicsGenesis 30:37 Ya`akov took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white streaks on them by peeling off the bark. 38 Then he set the rods he had peeled upright in the watering troughs, so that the animals would see them when they came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, 39 the animals mated in sight of the rods and gave birth to streaked, speckled and spotted young. 40 Ya`akov divided the lambs and had the animals mate with the streaked and the brown in the flock of Lavan. He also kept his own livestock separate and did not have them mix with Lavan's flock. 41 Whenever the hardier animals came into heat, Ya`akov would set up the rods in the watering troughs; so that the animals would see them and conceive in front of them; 42 but he didn't set up the rods in front of the weaker animals. Thus the more feeble were Lavan's and the stronger Ya`akov's. 43 In this way the man became very rich and had large flocks, along with male and female slaves, camels and donkeys.Credit to:https://unsplash.com/@reskp - picture of envious woman

houghts on the readings for January 17th (Genesis 30; Psalm 34; Matthew 19) Genesis 30 tells of Rachel's exasperation in seeking children; demands from Jacob that he give her children. Rachel gives Bilhah her maid to Jacob. A son is born and named Dan (meaning “vindication”, or “judgment”) claiming that she (Rachel) has God on her side. We notice that Rachel is making this contest with her sister personal. Another son is born to Bilhah and named Naphtali – speaking of the struggle, or wrestle Rachel saw between herself and Leah. Taking up the contest Leah gives her maid, Zilpah, to Jacob. A son is produced and called Gad – meaning “a troop” – telling of another son to come. Zilpah produces a second son, who Leah names Asher (“blessed”, or “happy”). Surely Jacob would be happy with the 6 sons produced thus far by Leah and her maid. Reuben found wild mandrakes in the field; believed by the ancients to be a potential aphrodisiac and a fertility booster. Rachel asks for these and in return promises Leah access to Jacob. This results in a 5th son for Leah – named Issachar(meaning “hired” ie Jacob in exchange for the mandrakes). Leah next produced a 6th son, Zebulon – indicating “dwelling” – in the hope of Jacob becoming Leah's companion. Lastly Leah gave birth to a daughter, Dinah. Rachel is finally remembered by God and has a son Joseph – meaning “add”, or “increasing” – in the hope of having a further son. Jacob served Laban for 6 more years in order to provide for his large family. Tricky Laban during this time changed Jacob's contract 10 times. No matter how unlikely it was for Jacob to increase his herds of sheep and cattle the Almighty blessed and prospered him, as had been promised at Bethel in chapter 28. Jacob's honesty and integrity were endorsed by God in what the cattle produced. Laban's deceit and dishonesty were at this time punished by the LORD. Whilst there was some value in the selective breeding Jacob practised; there was no science behind the putting of the poplar trees before the eyes of the cattle at watering time. Cont .... https://christadelphianvideo.org/thoughts-on-the-readings-for-january-17th-genesis-30-psalm-34-matthew-19/

Thoughts on the readings for January 17th (Genesis 30; Psalm 34; Matthew 19) Genesis 30 tells of Rachel's exasperation in seeking children; demands from Jacob that he give her children. Rachel gives Bilhah her maid to Jacob. A son is born and named Dan (meaning “vindication”, or “judgment”) claiming that she (Rachel) has God on her side. We notice that Rachel is making this contest with her sister personal. Another son is born to Bilhah and named Naphtali – speaking of the struggle, or wrestle Rachel saw between herself and Leah. Taking up the contest Leah gives her maid, Zilpah, to Jacob. A son is produced and called Gad – meaning “a troop” – telling of another son to come. Zilpah produces a second son, who Leah names Asher (“blessed”, or “happy”). Surely Jacob would be happy with the 6 sons produced thus far by Leah and her maid. Reuben found wild mandrakes in the field; believed by the ancients to be a potential aphrodisiac and a fertility booster. Rachel asks for these and in return promises Leah access to Jacob. This results in a 5th son for Leah – named Issachar (meaning “hired” ie Jacob in exchange for the mandrakes). Leah next produced a 6th son, Zebulon – indicating “dwelling” – in the hope of Jacob becoming Leah's companion. Lastly Leah gave birth to a daughter, Dinah. Rachel is finally remembered by God and has a son Joseph – meaning “add”, or “increasing” – in the hope of having a further son. Jacob served Laban for 6 more years in order to provide for his large family. Tricky Laban during this time changed Jacob's contract 10 times. No matter how unlikely it was for Jacob to increase his herds of sheep and cattle the Almighty blessed and prospered him, as had been promised at Bethel in chapter 28. Jacob's honesty and integrity were endorsed by God in what the cattle produced. Laban's deceit and dishonesty were at this time punished by the LORD. Whilst there was some value in the selective breeding Jacob practised; there was no science behind the putting of the poplar trees before the eyes of the cattle at watering time. Psalm 34 is the second most quoted Psalm in the New Testament, after Psalm 110. It was written by David to praise God from his deliverance out of the hand of Abimelech (also known as Achish), the king of Gath. David had received Goliath's sword from the Tabernacle, where it had been kept. Saul and Doeg had slain the priests of Yahweh in Nob. Saul continued hunting David and in desperation David ventured into the land of the Philistines believing he would be safer there. What an incredible lapsing of discerning and, to a large degree, a forgetting of how often he had been delivered by the LORD. What foolishness to think he could slip unnoticed in Goliath's town; whilst carrying the well known sword of the deceased Philistine Champion. He was imprisoned and feigned madness to escape. Were it not for his Sovereign's providential protection David would certainly have perished. It was not his acting ability that saved David; rather it was his heartfelt humble prayer, “This poor man cried and Yahweh heard”. The first 5 verses David extols the responsiveness of the Almighty and calls upon all the faithful to join him in this exercise. The trouble of David at this time has been mentioned in the Psalm's background. Despite the seemingly impossible circumstances David was released. He had been powerless, but the angel (who was mighty in power) had encamped around him – verse 7. David had been delivered from death, but Messiah was to die; but would be brought from the grave – “out of death” (verse 20). Verses 8-9 says that all who have tasted Yahweh's loving kindness have seen that He is good to His children. The lions, even though fed from God, we're not cared for with the same love our Sovereign shows His children. God's children will experience sore trials, but these are sent to develop godliness (Hebrews 12 verses 5 to 11). Verse 11 is a plea for the 600 followers of David, who were with him in the cave of Adullam after his release from the prison in Gath, to in humility learn from his teaching. Verses 12-19 give counsel to the faithful, as to how they must respond to the LORD's providential care. This section of the Psalm finds itself extensively drawn on by Peter in chapter 2 verses 10 to12. The Psalm finished with a confidence in the deliverance of the Almighty. The keeping the unbroken bones speaks of the assurance of hope and resurrection. Joseph in faith when dying gave charge concerning his bones (Genesis 50:24-26; Exodus 12 verse 46 and verse19; 1 Peter 2 verses 21 to 25). In Matthew 19 we have one of the topics that is greatly debated among religions – divorce. In the contemporary Jewish society of Jesus' days it was so rife that men were divorcing their wives for every reason eg she burned my meal. In the time of Moses, divorce or putting away, was regulated; but even then, only for sexual impurity. God's mind on this has always been clear. Yahweh hates putting away (Malachi 2 verses10 to16). Jesus tells us that the Father's declared will from the beginning was that man and woman should cleave to each other as man and wife to the exclusion of all others as the only basis of stable family life and a prefiguring of Christ's union with his bride (Genesis 2 verses 23 to 24; Ephesians 5 verses 22 to 33). Difficultlies do arise within marriage, but both parties must persevere. Once more an incident involving children provided an opportunity for the disciples' learning. The chapter concludes with a rich young ruler, who Jesus deeply loved because of his undoubted sincerity. Nonetheless our Lord was greatly saddened by the man's incapacity to overcome his covetousness. This caused amazement to his disciples, who believed that salvation must be a hard and costly thing. Jesus, knowing their perseverance in following him promised them rulership and thrones in his coming Kingdom. Read aloud and think about that promise in verses 28-30. Sent from my iPhone Penned by Warwick Rosser and his team, produced by Christa delphian video .org

From faith to famine - Dealing with Bad Stock OptionsWebsite: http://www.battle4freedom.com/Network: https://www.mojo50.comStreaming: https://www.rumble.com/Battle4Freedomhttps://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2022%3A6&version=CJBProverbs 22:6Train a child in the way he [should] go; and, even when old, he will not swerve from it.Genesis 29:1 Continuing his journey, Ya`akov came to the land of the people of the east. 2 As he looked, he saw a well in a field; and there were three flocks of sheep lying there next to it; because they watered the sheep from that well. The stone on the well's mouth was large, 3 and only when all the flocks had gathered there would they roll the stone away from the opening of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place on the well's opening.Genesis 29:4 Ya`akov said to them, "My brothers, where are you from?" They answered, "We're from Haran." 5 He asked them, "Do you know Lavan the [grand]son of Nachor?" They said, "We do." 6 He asked them, "Are things going well with him?" "Yes," they answered, "and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep." Genesis 29:7 He said, "Look, there's still plenty of daylight left; and it isn't time to bring the animals home; so water the sheep; then go, and put them out to pasture." 8 They answered, "We can't, not until all the flocks have been gathered together, and they roll the stone away from the opening of the well. That's when we water the sheep."Genesis 29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, because she took care of them. 10 When Ya`akov saw Rachel the daughter of Lavan his mother's brother, and the sheep of Lavan his mother's brother, Ya`akov went up and rolled the stone away from the opening of the well and watered the flock of Lavan his mother's brother. Genesis 29:11 Ya`akov kissed Rachel and wept aloud. 12 Ya`akov told Rachel that he was her father's relative, and that he was Rivkah's son; and she ran and told her father. 13 When Lavan heard the news of Ya`akov his sister's son, he ran to meet him, hugged him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Ya`akov told Lavan all that had happened. Genesis 29:14 Lavan said to him, "You are indeed my own flesh and blood." After Ya`akov had stayed with him for a whole month, 15 Lavan said to him, "Why should you work for me for nothing, just because you are my relative? Tell me how much I should pay you." 16 Now Lavan had two daughters; the name of the older was Le'ah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Le'ah's eyes were weak; but Rachel was good-looking, with beautiful features.Genesis 29:18 Ya`akov had fallen in love with Rachel and said, "I will work for you seven years in exchange for Rachel your younger daughter." 19 Lavan answered, "Better that I give her to you than to someone else; stay with me." 20 So Ya`akov worked seven years for Rachel, and it seemed only a few days to him, because he was so much in love with her.Genesis 29:21 Ya`akov said to Lavan, "Give me my wife, since my time is finished, so that I can start living with her." 22 Lavan gathered all the men of the place and gave a banquet. 23 In the evening he took Le'ah his daughter and brought her to Ya`akov, and he went in and slept with her. 24 Lavan also gave his slave-girl Zilpah to his daughter Le'ah as her slave-girl.Genesis 29:25 In the morning Ya`akov saw that he was with Le'ah, and he said to Lavan, "What kind of thing is this that you've done to me? Didn't I work for you for Rachel? Why have you deceived me?" 26 Lavan answered, "In our place that isn't how it's done, to give the younger daughter before the firstborn. 27 Finish the marriage week of this one, and we'll give you the other one also in exchange for the work you will do for me during yet another seven years." Genesis 29:28 Ya`akov agreed to this, so he finished her week, and Lavan gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. 29 Lavan also gave to his daughter Rachel his slave-girl Bilhah as her slave-girl. 30 So not only did Ya`akov go in and sleep with Rachel, but he also loved Rachel more than Le'ah. Then he served Lavan another seven years.Genesis 29:31 Adonai saw that Le'ah was unloved, so he made her fertile, while Rachel remained childless. 32 Le'ah conceived and gave birth to a son, whom she named Re'uven [see, a son!], for she said, "It is because Adonai has seen how humiliated I have been, but now my husband will love me." Genesis 29:33 She conceived again, gave birth to a son and said, "It is because Adonai has heard that I am unloved; therefore he has given me this son also." So she named him Shim`on [hearing].Genesis 29:34 Once more she conceived and had a son; and she said, "Now this time my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore she named him Levi [joining].Genesis 29:35 She conceived yet again, had a son and said, "This time I will praise Adonai"; therefore she named him Y'hudah [praise]. Then she stopped having children.

Download Notes here:https://esm.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/12.21.24-Congregation-TM-Notes.pdf________________________________________________________________פ ָּר שַׁ ת וַׁיֵּשֶׁ בVayeshev“And He Dwelt”Genesis 37:1,2 And Jacob dwelled in the land wherein his fatherwas a stranger, in the land of Canaan. These are the generationsof Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flockwith his brothers, and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, andwith the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: And Joseph broughtto his father their evil report.Exodus 12:40,41 Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, whodwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. And it cameto pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even theselfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD wentout from the land of Egypt.Genesis 37:3,4 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all hischildren, because he was the son of his old age: and he made hima coat of many colors. And when his brothers saw that their fatherloved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could notspeak peaceably to him.

Generously sponsored by Drs. Naomi & Robert Spira in memory of Robert's mother, Molly Spira, ob”m and Naomi's father, Hyman Nutkis, ob”m on the anniversary of their yahrzeits אֵלֶּה  תֹּלְדוֹת יַעֲקֹב יוֹסֵף בֶּן־שְׁבַע־עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה הָיָה רֹעֶה אֶת־אֶחָיו בַּצֹּאן וְהוּא נַעַר אֶת־בְּנֵי בִלְהָה וְאֶת־בְּנֵי זִלְפָּה נְשֵׁי אָבִיו וַיָּבֵא יוֹסֵף אֶת־דִּבָּתָם רָעָה אֶל־אֲבִיהֶם׃ This, then, is the line of Jacob: At seventeen years of age, Joseph tended the flocks with his brothers, as a helper to the sons of his father's wives Bilhah and Zilpah. And Joseph brought bad reports of them to their father.

Genesis 49 is a significant chapter in the Bible where Jacob, also known as Israel, gathers his twelve sons to deliver blessings, prophecies, and declarations about their futures and the destinies of their descendants. This chapter not only reveals Jacob's final words but also sets the tone for the future tribes of Israel. Below is an overview and reflection on the key elements of Genesis 49: Overview of Genesis 49 1.Jacob's Gathering of His Sons (Verses 1-2): Jacob calls his sons together, stating that he will reveal “what will happen to you in days to come.” This moment is both a farewell and a prophetic declaration. 2.Blessings and Prophecies (Verses 3-28): Jacob addresses each son individually. These declarations are both blessings and insights into their character and future: •Reuben (Verses 3-4): Though the firstborn, Reuben loses his preeminence due to his sin (sleeping with his father's concubine, Bilhah). Jacob describes him as “unstable as water.” •Simeon and Levi (Verses 5-7): Jacob condemns their violent tendencies (e.g., the massacre at Shechem). He predicts they will be scattered in Israel. •Judah (Verses 8-12): Judah receives a prominent blessing, being likened to a lion. Jacob prophesies that the scepter will not depart from Judah, pointing to the lineage of kings, including King David and ultimately Jesus Christ. •Zebulun (Verse 13): Zebulun is described as dwelling by the sea, engaging in trade. •Issachar (Verses 14-15): Issachar is portrayed as strong but inclined to servitude due to its complacency. •Dan (Verses 16-18): Dan is prophesied to provide justice but is also likened to a serpent, indicating cunning and danger. •Gad (Verse 19): Gad will experience attacks but will triumph in the end. •Asher (Verse 20): Asher will enjoy prosperity and provide rich food. •Naphtali (Verse 21): Naphtali is described poetically as a doe that brings beautiful words. •Joseph (Verses 22-26): Joseph receives the longest blessing, reflecting his faithfulness and God's favor. He is likened to a fruitful vine and described as being blessed abundantly. •Benjamin (Verse 27): Benjamin is likened to a ravenous wolf, symbolizing strength and victory in battle. 3.Jacob's Final Instructions and Death (Verses 29-33): After blessing his sons, Jacob gives clear instructions about his burial, requesting to be buried with his ancestors in the cave of Machpelah. He then passes away peacefully. Themes and Reflections 1.Prophetic Significance: Jacob's words are not merely reflections on his sons' characters but also divine prophecies about the future of the tribes of Israel. For instance, Judah's blessing foreshadows the Messianic lineage. 2.The Role of Character in Destiny: Jacob's blessings and rebukes often reflect the actions and character of his sons. For example, Reuben's impulsiveness and Simeon and Levi's violence impact their tribes' futures. 3.God's Sovereignty: Despite human failings, God's plan unfolds through the tribes of Israel. Joseph's blessing highlights God's faithfulness, and Judah's prophecy underscores God's redemptive purpose through the Messiah. 4.Family Dynamics and Legacy: This chapter captures the complexity of family relationships, from favoritism to conflict, and demonstrates how these dynamics can shape a legacy. Applications •Spiritual Legacy: Like Jacob, we can strive to leave a spiritual legacy, pointing others to God's plan and purposes. •God's Grace: Even amidst human flaws, God's grace and sovereignty prevail, as seen in the blessings of Judah and Joseph. •Reflection on Character: Our actions and decisions can have lasting impacts on our lives and the lives of others, reminding us to walk in integrity and faithfulness. Genesis 49 serves as both a conclusion to Jacob's life and a bridge to the unfolding story of Israel, emphasizing the fulfillment of God's promises and the continuity of His covenant.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/sendme-radio--732966/support.

30.1 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I'll die!” 2 Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” 3 Then she said, “Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.” 4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her,5 and she became pregnant and bore him a son. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.”Because of this she named him Dan. 7 Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.8 Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.” So she named him Naphtali. 9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Leah's servant Zilpahbore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” So she named him Gad. 12 Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.

Throughout this week, we'll be reading from the life of Joseph. Genesis 37:2-4 NLT When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father's flocks. He worked for his half-brothers, the sons of his father's wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing. Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So, one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe. But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn't say a kind word to him. Now, fast-forward to Joseph being sent by his dad to check on his brothers who were working in the field … Genesis 37:23-28 NLT When Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the beautiful robe he was wearing. Then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it. Then, just as they were sitting down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders … Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We'd have to cover up the crime.  Instead of hurting him, let's sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother—our own flesh and blood!” And his brothers agreed. So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph's brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt. We all know the end of the story. How God used all of these terrible situations for ultimate good. But before we get ahead of ourselves to the redemption - Do you have a memory in your own life that this story triggered for you? Something tragic? Betrayal? An injustice? While this story is painful to hear, the bottom line is we all understand family dysfunction that causes pain and creates scars that we have to deal with for a long time. But these events in our lives offer us a choice: will I let this define me or will I allow this to become a defining moment? Your relationship with God can bring purpose to create a greater, stronger you out of any circumstance. But for this to happen, the pain and the process has to be surrendered to God and then stay submitted to Him on the journey to wholeness and healing. As we walk through this week, and the story of Joseph, can you ask God to start to reveal his purpose for your pain, maybe like you have never seen it before. Let's pray: “Father, thank You for providing examples in Scripture that show me how to navigate the tragedies of life through You. Right now, I surrender my hurts, my pain, and my process of healing to You. Use it all—the good and bad—to bring me a greater sense of purpose about my life, as You lead me. As above, so below.”

Commentary on Genesis 30 Genesis 30 continues the narrative of Jacob's family, highlighting themes of rivalry, human frailty, divine intervention, and God's faithfulness to His covenant. The chapter primarily focuses on the struggles between Rachel and Leah, Jacob's wives, as they compete for his affection and vie to bear children who will continue the lineage of Israel. 1. Rachel and Leah's Rivalry (Verses 1–13) Rachel, despite being Jacob's favored wife, remains barren, while Leah continues to bear children. This causes deep frustration for Rachel, who exclaims to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” (v. 1). Jacob responds with anger, reminding her that only God can grant children. •Rachel's Desperation: Rachel resorts to using her servant, Bilhah, as a surrogate mother, mirroring the earlier story of Sarah and Hagar. Bilhah bears two sons, Dan and Naphtali, whose names reflect Rachel's feelings of vindication and struggle. •Leah's Response: Not to be outdone, Leah also gives her servant, Zilpah, to Jacob, resulting in two more sons, Gad and Asher. This rivalry shows the human tendency to seek control over circumstances instead of waiting for God's timing. Reflection: This portion of the narrative highlights the dangers of envy and competition within families. Despite their actions, God's sovereignty is evident as He fulfills His promise to build a great nation through Jacob. 2. Leah and Rachel's Fertility (Verses 14–24) The story takes a curious turn with the mention of mandrakes, a plant believed to enhance fertility. Reuben, Leah's son, brings mandrakes to his mother, but Rachel bargains for them, offering Leah a night with Jacob in exchange. Leah conceives again and bears two more sons, Issachar and Zebulun, and later a daughter, Dinah. •God's Grace to Rachel: After years of barrenness, God remembers Rachel and grants her a son, Joseph. His name reflects Rachel's prayer for God to “add” another son to her. Reflection: This section demonstrates the futility of relying on superstitions (mandrakes) versus trusting in God. Ultimately, it is God who opens and closes the womb. 3. Jacob's Prosperity (Verses 25–43) After Joseph's birth, Jacob asks Laban for permission to leave and establish his own household. However, Laban, realizing that God has blessed him because of Jacob, persuades him to stay. They agree on a plan where Jacob would keep the speckled and spotted sheep as his wages. •Jacob's Resourcefulness: Jacob employs a breeding strategy using peeled branches to influence the flocks' appearance. While the exact science behind this is unclear, the text emphasizes God's blessing on Jacob's efforts. •God's Faithfulness: Jacob becomes exceedingly prosperous, acquiring large flocks, servants, and camels, fulfilling God's promise to bless him. Reflection: This section highlights God's ability to bless His chosen people even amid human scheming. Jacob's success is not solely due to his ingenuity but ultimately stems from God's covenant with him. Key Themes in Genesis 30 1.God's Sovereignty: Despite human manipulation, it is God who determines outcomes, whether in childbearing or prosperity. 2.Faith vs. Human Effort: The chapter illustrates the tension between waiting on God and taking matters into one's hands. 3.Family Dynamics: The rivalry between Rachel and Leah showcases the complexities and struggles within Jacob's family, yet God uses their imperfections to accomplish His purposes. 4.Fulfillment of the Covenant: The children born to Jacob become the twelve tribes of Israel, furthering God's covenant with Abraham. Applications for Today 1.Trust in God's Timing: Like Rachel and Leah, we may struggle with waiting for God to act, but His plans are always perfect. 2.Avoid Envy and Strife: Rivalry and jealousy can fracture relationships, but unity and trust in God lead to peace. 3.God Uses Imperfect People: Despite their flaws, Jacob and his family are part of God's redemptive plan, encouraging us that God can use anyone for His purposes. Genesis 30 is a powerful reminder that God remains faithful to His promises, even when human actions are flawed and motivations are self-centered. It encourages us to rely on God's sovereignty and trust in His provision.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/sendme-radio--732966/support.

0305 辟拉 Bilhah by 靈修廣播站

Big Idea: Why family reunions are always weird. In the Beginning: Joseph Genesis 45:16-46:34 I. Every family has issues. 45:16-28 When the news reached Pharaoh's palace, “Joseph's brothers have come,” Pharaoh and his servants were pleased. Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and go on back to the land of Canaan. Get your father and your families, and come back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you can eat from the richness of the land.' You are also commanded to tell them, ‘Do this: Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your dependents and your wives and bring your father here. Do not be concerned about your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.' ” The sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had commanded, and he gave them provisions for the journey. He gave each of the brothers changes of clothes, but he gave Benjamin three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothes. He sent his father the following: ten donkeys carrying the best products of Egypt and ten female donkeys carrying grain, food, and provisions for his father on the journey. So Joseph sent his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving, he said to them, “Don't argue on the way.” So they went up from Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. They said, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned, for he did not believe them. But when they told Jacob all that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. Then Israel said, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go to see him before I die.” II. There's no distance too far for family. 46:1-7 Israel set out with all that he had and came to Beer-sheba, and he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. That night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” he said. And Jacob replied, “Here I am.” God said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you back. Joseph will close your eyes when you die.” Jacob left Beer-sheba. The sons of Israel took their father Jacob in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him, along with their dependents and their wives. They also took their cattle and possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan. Then Jacob and all his offspring with him came to Egypt. His sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters, indeed all his offspring, he brought with him to Egypt. III. You can't pick your family name. 8-27 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt—Jacob and his sons: Jacob's firstborn: Reuben. Reuben's sons: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. Simeon's sons: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. Levi's sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Judah's sons: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. Issachar's sons: Tola, Puvah, Jashub, and Shimron. Zebulun's sons: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. These were Leah's sons born to Jacob in Paddan-aram, as well as his daughter Dinah. The total number of persons: thirty-three. Gad's sons: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. Asher's sons: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. Beriah's sons were Heber and Malchiel. These were the sons of Zilpah—whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah—that she bore to Jacob: sixteen persons. The sons of Jacob's wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. They were born to him by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, a priest at On. Benjamin's sons: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. These were Rachel's sons who were born to Jacob: fourteen persons. Dan's son: Hushim. Naphtali's sons: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. She bore to Jacob: seven persons. The total number of persons belonging to Jacob—his direct descendants, not including the wives of Jacob's sons—who came to Egypt: sixty-six. And Joseph's sons who were born to him in Egypt: two persons. All those of Jacob's household who came to Egypt: seventy persons. IV. Only one family that lasts forever. 28-34 Now Jacob had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to prepare for his arrival at Goshen. When they came to the land of Goshen, Joseph hitched the horses to his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, threw his arms around him, and wept for a long time. Then Israel said to Joseph, “I'm ready to die now because I have seen your face and you are still alive!” Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's family, “I will go up and inform Pharaoh, telling him, ‘My brothers and my father's family, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. The men are shepherds; they also raise livestock. They have brought their flocks and herds and all that they have.' When Pharaoh addresses you and asks, ‘What is your occupation?' you are to say, ‘Your servants, both we and our ancestors, have raised livestock from our youth until now.' Then you will be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen, since all shepherds are detestable to Egyptians.” Next Steps:  Believe: I need to be adopted into God's family today.  Become: I will become part of a group this week.  Be Sent: I will invite someone into my life this week. Group Discussion Questions:  When was your last family reunion?  What did the shirts look like? Is your family reunion worth traveling to?  Explain your answer. How do you handle family conflicts during family reunions?  How do you stay positive when dealing with difficult family members How can you pass on family values at a reunion? Explain. Is it easy to involve multiple generations at a reunion?? Pray for Jesus to show you someone who he wants in his family this week. 

Our hero Jacob is getting trouble from 3 Generations of his family. ahead of him, his father Isaac dies at 180 years oldat his own generation, his beloved wife Rachel died, his previously murderously inclined brother comes to visit, and Bilhah, his concubine wife has a sexual encounter with someonebehind him, it is his oldest son Reuben who has laid with his wife Bilhah. In so doing, Reuben loses his first-born birthright. Join me for 7 minutes to hear of the difficulties of 3 generations and a solution to sexual temptation.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNijvDWAn2Wv2KFun2AnvCA

Joseph’s Dreams 37 Jacob lived in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan. 2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to […]

Preacher: Darren McKinnis Scripture:  Genesis 29:16-30 16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful. 18 Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I'll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.” 19 Laban said, “It's better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her. 21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to make love to her.” 22 So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast. 23 But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob made love to her. 24 And Laban gave his servant Zilpah to his daughter as her attendant. 25 When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn't I? Why have you deceived me?” 26 Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one. 27 Finish this daughter's bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.” 28 And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 29 Laban gave his servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her attendant. 30 Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.  

Big Idea: The crushing weight of God's will. In the Beginning: Joseph Genesis 37:1-36 I. Joseph's pride and dad's joy burned his brothers.   1-5 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. These are the family records of Jacob. At seventeen years of age, Joseph tended sheep with his brothers. The young man was working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought a bad report about them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons because Joseph was a son born to him in his old age, and he made a long-sleeved robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not bring themselves to speak peaceably to him. Then Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. II. Your dreams and God's dreams might be wildly different.   6-11 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: There we were, binding sheaves of grain in the field. Suddenly my sheaf stood up, and your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” “Are you really going to reign over us?” his brothers asked him. “Are you really going to rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and what he had said. Then he had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun, moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” He told his father and brothers, and his father rebuked him. “What kind of dream is this that you have had?” he said. “Am I and your mother and your brothers really going to come and bow down to the ground before you?” His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. III. If evil worked the first time, does that prove it will work again?   12-20 His brothers had gone to pasture their father's flocks at Shechem. Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers, you know, are pasturing the flocks at Shechem. Get ready. I'm sending you to them.” “I'm ready,” Joseph replied. Then Israel said to him, “Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are doing, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the Hebron Valley, and he went to Shechem. A man found him there, wandering in the field, and asked him, “What are you looking for?” “I'm looking for my brothers,” Joseph said. “Can you tell me where they are pasturing their flocks?” “They've moved on from here,” the man said. “I heard them say, ‘Let's go to Dothan.' ” So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan. They saw him in the distance, and before he had reached them, they plotted to kill him. They said to one another, “Oh, look, here comes that dream expert! So now, come on, let's kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal ate him. Then we'll see what becomes of his dreams!” IV. The dreamer tumbles down the rabbit hole.   21-36 When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from them. He said, “Let's not take his life.” Reuben also said to them, “Don't shed blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but don't lay a hand on him”—intending to rescue him from them and return him to his father. When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped off Joseph's robe, the long-sleeved robe that he had on. Then they took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty, without water. They sat down to eat a meal, and when they looked up, there was a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying aromatic gum, balsam, and resin, going down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come on, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh,” and his brothers agreed. When Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took Joseph to Egypt. When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?” So they took Joseph's robe, slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the robe in its blood. They sent the long-sleeved robe to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it. Is it your son's robe or not?” His father recognized it. “It is my son's robe,” he said. “A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has been torn to pieces!” Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said. “I will go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” And his father wept for him. Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guards. Next Steps:  Believe: I need to start a relationship with Jesus today. Become: I will turn to Jesus when the world turns against me. Be Sent: I will speak up when I face evil this week. Group Discussion Questions:  Have you ever had a dream from God? Have you ever had your dreams crushed by circumstances out of your control? If so, explain. Was there a time when your family turned against you? How closely do your will and God's will align? Have you ever been criticized for sharing the truth? When was the last time you tried to stop something evil from happening? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you surrender to God's will this week.

Big Idea: The Rebirth of a Nation. In the Beginning: Jacob Genesis 35:16-29 CSB I. What's in a name?   16-20 They set out from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth, and her labor was difficult. During her difficult labor, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid, for you have another son." With her last breath-for she was dying-she named him Ben-oni (son of my sorrow), but his father called him Benjamin (son of my right hand). So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). Jacob set up a marker on her grave; it is the marker at Rachel's grave still today. II. A blessed and dysfunctional family.   21-26 Israel set out again and pitched his tent beyond the Tower of Eder. While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons: Leah's sons were Reuben (Jacob's firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. Rachel's sons were Joseph and Benjamin. The sons of Rachel's slave Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali. The sons of Leah's slave Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram. III. Celebration of life.   27-29 Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. Isaac lived 180 years. He took his last breath and died, and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him. Next Steps:  Believe: I need a rebirth of the Holy Spirit to change my heart. Become: Today I will not let strife and contention separate me from the things of Christ. Be Sent: I want a renewed interest in experiencing God this week. Group Discussion Questions:  Do you think a rebirth is needed in our world today? If so, how do you think it should be done? How does God's affirmation of renaming Jacob to Israel reflect God's faithfulness to Abraham's descendants? How does Jacob's situation challenge us to balance obedience to God with managing complex family relationships and personal challenges? How does God's command to Jacob to build altars inspire us to create space for worship in our lives? How do you handle the emotions of joy and sorrow, as Jacob did upon the birth of Benjamin and the death of Rachel? How can we lean on God's faithfulness in times of personal and family trials? Pray for a spiritual regeneration of the body of Christ in a chaotic world.

Study Passage: Genesis 45:25-46:3025 So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. 26 And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. 27 But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.” 1 So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” 3 Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. 4 I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes.” 5 Then Jacob set out from Beersheba. The sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6 They also took their livestock and their goods, which they had gained in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him, 7 his sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters. All his offspring he brought with him into Egypt. 8 Now these are the names of the descendants of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons. Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, 9 and the sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 10 The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. 11 The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12 The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan); and the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. 13 The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Yob, and Shimron. 14 The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 15 These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, together with his daughter Dinah; altogether his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three. 16 The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. 17 The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, with Serah their sister. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. 18 These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob—sixteen persons. 19 The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife: Joseph and Benjamin. 20 And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera the priest of On, bore to him. 21 And the sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. 22 These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob—fourteen persons in all. 23 The son of Dan: Hushim. 24 The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. 25 These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob—seven persons in all. 26 All the persons belonging to Jacob who came into Egypt, who were his own descendants, not including Jacob's sons' wives, were sixty-six persons in all. 27 And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two. All the persons of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were seventy. 28 He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him in Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen. 29 Then Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He presented himself to him and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. 30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.”

In this episode of Bible Backdrop, we start the narrative of Joseph and his sale to the Ishmaelites. Then we talk about a side story with Judah and about how that fits into the Joseph narrative. Why was Joseph sold so cheaply? What was Reuben's motive to rescue Joseph? What does the Bible include the story about Judah in the middle of the Joseph narrative? Listen to this episode to find out more.If you are enjoying Bible Backdrop, please leave a 5 star rating and review. You can also contact the show by using the e-mail in the episode.

Scripture Passage: Genesis 37-50 Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan. 2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made The post Joseph appeared first on IBC Saginaw.

Jacob, the patriarch who's name becomes Israel, has a history of not being fully obedient and running a very dysfunctional family. In this episode of Bible Backdrop, we see Jacob leave Laban, wrestle with God, reunite with Esau, not follow God's directions and then have his son's slaughter a Canaanite city. Jacob's story is one of constant failure, grace, and reconciliation. His story is both a warning and a beacon of hope for us. If you are enjoying Bible Backdrop, please leave a 5 star rating and review.

Big Idea: 4 rules to overcome Envy & Every Enjoyment Vexes You. In the Beginning: Jacob Genesis 30:1-24 I. Everyone's success doesn't make you a failure 1-8 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she envied her sister. “Give me sons, or I will die!” she said to Jacob. Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God? He has withheld offspring from you!” Then she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah. Go sleep with her, and she'll bear children for me so that through her I too can build a family.” So Rachel gave her slave Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; yes, he has heard me and given me a son,” so she named him Dan. Rachel's slave Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Rachel said, “In my wrestlings with God, I have wrestled with my sister and won,” and she named him Naphtali.”   II. Nothing can satisfy your soul but Jesus 9-13 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Leah's slave Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” and she named him Gad. When Leah's slave Zilpah bore Jacob a second son, Leah said, “I am happy that the women call me happy,” so she named him Asher. III.Vent to the Holy Spirit 14-21 Reuben went out during the wheat harvest and found some mandrakes in the field. When he brought them to his mother Leah, Rachel asked, “Please give me some of your son's mandrakes.” But Leah replied to her, “Isn't it enough that you have taken my husband? Now you also want to take my son's mandrakes?” “Well then,” Rachel said, “he can sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes.” When Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come with me, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes.” So Jacob slept with her that night. God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my slave to my husband,” and she named him Issachar. Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. “God has given me a good gift,” Leah said. “This time my husband will honor me because I have borne six sons for him,” and she named him Zebulun. Later, Leah bore a daughter and named her Dinah. IV.You can rejoice at another's success 22-24 Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb. She conceived and bore a son, and she said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” She named him Joseph and said, “May the Lord add another son to me. Next Steps:  Believe: I need Jesus to change my heart. Become: I need more contentment. Be Sent: I will help someone find freedom in Christ. Growth Group Questions:  1. What's your first thought when a friend succeeds? 2. What does watching win do for your emotional health? 3. How much time did you spend on social media yesterday?  How did you feel about your life after? 4. Read Philippians 4:11-13.  What does it mean to be content?  5. Is contentment something that you receive or earn? Explain your answer. 6. What do your prayers sound like when your dreams don't come true? 7. Pray for the Holy Spirit to fill your life with contentment this week.

Big Idea: No one can love you- or hurt you- like family. In the Beginning: Jacob Genesis 29:13-35    I. When your home isn't a safe space. 13-20 When Laban heard the news about his sister's son Jacob, he ran to meet him, hugged him, and kissed him. Then he took him to his house, and Jacob told him all that had happened. Laban said to him, “Yes, you are my own flesh and blood.” After Jacob had stayed with him a month, Laban said to him, “Just because you're my relative, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.” Now Laban had two daughters: the older was named Leah, and the younger was named Rachel. Leah had tender eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful. Jacob loved Rachel, so he answered Laban, “I'll work for you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” Laban replied, “Better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay with me.” So Jacob worked seven years for Rachel, and they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.   II. Who can you trust, if not family?   21-30 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Since my time is complete, give me my wife, so I can sleep with her.” So Laban invited all the men of the place and sponsored a feast. That evening, Laban took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and he slept with her. And Laban gave his slave Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her slave. When morning came, there was Leah! So he said to Laban, “What have you done to me? Wasn't it for Rachel that I worked for you? Why have you deceived me?” Laban answered, “It is not the custom in our country to give the younger daughter in marriage before the firstborn. Complete this week of wedding celebration, and we will also give you this younger one in return for working yet another seven years for me.” And Jacob did just that. He finished the week of celebration, and Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. And Laban gave his slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave. Jacob slept with Rachel also, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban for another seven years.   III. Families should fight for, not against, each other.  31-35 When the Lord saw that Leah was neglected, he opened her womb; but Rachel was unable to conceive. Leah conceived, gave birth to a son, and named him Reuben, for she said, “The Lord has seen my affliction; surely my husband will love me now.” She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “The Lord heard that I am neglected and has given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “At last, my husband will become attached to me because I have borne three sons for him.” Therefore he was named Levi. And she conceived again, gave birth to a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him Judah. Then Leah stopped having children. Next Steps:  Believe: I need to be adopted into God's family today. Become: I need Jesus to heal my broken family. Be Sent: I will invite my family to join God's family. Growth Group Questions:  1. On a scale of 1-10, how emotionally healthy is your immediate family? 2. Have you ever experienced any hurt or betrayal from a family member? 3. If so, where did you turn after the pain? 4. Have you ever confronted a family member about the pain they caused you?  How did they respond? 5. How do you respond when a trusted friend or family member lies? 6. What would it be if you could change anything about your family today? 7. Pray for the Holy Spirit to help you heal broken families. 

Message by Pastor Doug, recorded March 24, 2024 at First Presbyterian Church of Bellingham. Scripture read by Mary Lynn Palmer. Coats, towels, thorns: We are invited to go all in, and we are not necessary. What was the significance of the coat of many colors to Joseph? to the brothers? What was the significance of a cloak to a first century person? What does it mean that they are putting these cloaks on the path? What did Jesus mean to convey by riding the donkey? What did it mean that they were shouting out Psalm 118:26? What do you think bothered the Pharisees about the shouting? What do you think Jesus means by the rock's crying out? Genesis 37:1-11 37:1 Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan. 2 These are the descendants of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives, and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children because he was the son of his old age, and he made him an ornamented robe.[a] 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. 5 Once Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream that I dreamed. 7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright; then your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Are you indeed to have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more because of his dreams and his words. 9 He had another dream and told it to his brothers, saying, “Look, I have had another dream: the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What kind of dream is this that you have had? Shall we indeed come, I and your mother and your brothers, and bow to the ground before you?” 11 So his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. Luke 19:29-40 29 When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?' just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.' ” 32 So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They said, “The Lord needs it.” 35 Then they brought it to Jesus, and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. 37 Now as he was approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”

“Jacob Travels to Egypt!” Genesis 46:1-47:12   Thank you for listening! Please enjoy our weekly sermon from Pastor Mike Rodrigues of Aliante Community Baptist Church. We invite you, your family and friends to join us as we study God's word. We pray that you will be blessed by today's lessons from God's Word and we invite you to contact us with any questions you may have - especially questions regarding your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. We want to help you with your walk of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and with your understanding of His Holy Word, the Bible. May God richly bless you!​ Donations We are accepting offerings via our church website. Donate Here Your financial support of our ministry is greatly appreciated.   Contact Information info@aliantecommunitybaptistchurch.com Website www.aliantecommunitybaptistchurch.com   Genesis 46:1-47:12 NKJV Jacob's Journey to Egypt 46 So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.” 3 So He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. 4 I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph [a]will put his hand on your eyes.” 5 Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the [b]carts which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 6 So they took their livestock and their goods, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him. 7 His sons and his sons' sons, his daughters and his sons' daughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt. 8 Now these were the names of the children of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: Reuben was Jacob's firstborn. 9 The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 10 The sons of Simeon were [c]Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, [d]Jachin, [e]Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. 11 The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12 The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. 13 The sons of Issachar were Tola, [f]Puvah, [g]Job, and Shimron. 14 The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 15 These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Padan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the persons, his sons and his daughters, were thirty-three. 16 The sons of Gad were [h]Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, [i]Ezbon, Eri, [j]Arodi, and Areli. 17 The sons of Asher were Jimnah, Ishuah, Isui, Beriah, and Serah, their sister. And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel. 18 These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob: sixteen persons. 19 The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife, were Joseph and Benjamin. 20 And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. 21 The sons of Benjamin were Belah, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, [k]Huppim, and Ard. 22 These were the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: fourteen persons in all. 23 The son of Dan was [l]Hushim. 24 The sons of Naphtali were [m]Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and [n]Shillem. 25 These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob: seven persons in all. 26 All the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from his body, besides Jacob's sons' wives, were sixty-six persons in all. 27 And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy. Jacob Settles in Goshen 28 Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen. 29 So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. 30 And Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive.” 31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘My brothers and those of my father's house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32 And the men are shepherds, for their occupation has been to feed livestock; and they have brought their flocks, their herds, and all that they have.' 33 So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?' 34 that you shall say, ‘Your servants' occupation has been with livestock from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,' that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an[o] abomination to the Egyptians.” Joseph Is Governor of Egypt 47 Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are in the land of Goshen.” 2 And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. 3 Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.” 4 And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” 5 Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.” 7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?” 9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my [p]pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” 10 So Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. 11 And Joseph situated his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 Then Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father's household with bread, according to the number in their families.

Join us in a thought-provoking exploration of biblical complexities as Jonathan leads a captivating discussion on the tangled web of Jacob, Leah, Rachel, and their maidservants, Bilhah and Zilpah.

Study Passage: Genesis 37:1-11Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan. 2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him. 5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: 7 Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. 9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” 11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

Study Passage: Genesis 35:16-37:116 Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. 17 And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for you have another son.” 18 And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. 19 So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), 20 and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel's tomb, which is there to this day. 21 Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. 22 While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine. And Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. 23 The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob's firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's servant: Dan and Naphtali. 26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram. 27 And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned. 28 Now the days of Isaac were 180 years. 29 And Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. 36 These are the generations of Esau (that is, Edom). 2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, 3 and Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. 4 And Adah bore to Esau, Eliphaz; Basemath bore Reuel; 5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan. 6 Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his livestock, all his beasts, and all his property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan. He went into a land away from his brother Jacob. 7 For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. The land of their sojournings could not support them because of their livestock. 8 So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. (Esau is Edom.) 9 These are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. 10 These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau. 11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 (Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, Esau's wife. 13 These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife. 14 These are the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. 15 These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: the chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah. 17 These are the sons of Reuel, Esau's son: the chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife. 18 These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau's wife: the chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the chiefs born of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife. 19 These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs. 20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. 22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna. 23 These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24 These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he pastured the donkeys of Zibeon his father. 25 These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. 26 These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. 27 These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 28 These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 29 These are the chiefs of the Horites: the chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, chief by chief in the land of Seir. 31 These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites. 32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah. 33 Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place. 34 Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place. 35 Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, reigned in his place, the name of his city being Avith. 36 Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place. 37 Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates reigned in his place. 38 Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place. 39 Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place, the name of his city being Pau; his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab. 40 These are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their clans and their dwelling places, by their names: the chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel, and Iram; these are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of Edom), according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession. 37 Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan.

While the Torah says that Reuven slept with Bilhah, the Gemara in Shabbos 55b says, “Anyone who says Reuven sinned is making a mistake.” It does the same thing with five other leaders in Tanach. This episode discusses these discrepancies between pshat and drash and analyzes why the pesukim would say these things if they didn't actually occur as written.

"And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.  These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying. And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks. And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again. And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content." Genesis 37:1-27

And it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard about it. [1 hour]

With family: 1 Chronicles 7–8; Hebrews 11 1 Chronicles 7–8 (Listen) Descendants of Issachar 7 The sons1 of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four. 2 The sons of Tola: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their fathers' houses, namely of Tola, mighty warriors of their generations, their number in the days of David being 22,600. 3 The son2 of Uzzi: Izrahiah. And the sons of Izrahiah: Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah, all five of them were chief men. 4 And along with them, by their generations, according to their fathers' houses, were units of the army for war, 36,000, for they had many wives and sons. 5 Their kinsmen belonging to all the clans of Issachar were in all 87,000 mighty warriors, enrolled by genealogy. Descendants of Benjamin 6 The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, and Jediael, three. 7 The sons of Bela: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri, five, heads of fathers' houses, mighty warriors. And their enrollment by genealogies was 22,034. 8 The sons of Becher: Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Becher. 9 And their enrollment by genealogies, according to their generations, as heads of their fathers' houses, mighty warriors, was 20,200. 10 The son of Jediael: Bilhan. And the sons of Bilhan: Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. 11 All these were the sons of Jediael according to the heads of their fathers' houses, mighty warriors, 17,200, able to go to war. 12 And Shuppim and Huppim were the sons of Ir, Hushim the son of Aher. Descendants of Naphtali 13 The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shallum, the descendants of Bilhah. Descendants of Manasseh 14 The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his Aramean concubine bore; she bore Machir the father of Gilead. 15 And Machir took a wife for Huppim and for Shuppim. The name of his sister was Maacah. And the name of the second was Zelophehad, and Zelophehad had daughters. 16 And Maacah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. 17 The son of Ulam: Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, son of Manasseh. 18 And his sister Hammolecheth bore Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah. 19 The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam. Descendants of Ephraim 20 The sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, 21 Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead, whom the men of Gath who were born in the land killed, because they came down to raid their livestock. 22 And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him. 23 And Ephraim went in to his wife, and she conceived and bore a son. And he called his name Beriah, because disaster had befallen his house.3 24 His daughter was Sheerah, who built both Lower and Upper Beth-horon, and Uzzen-sheerah. 25 Rephah was his son, Resheph his son, Telah his son, Tahan his son, 26 Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, 27 Nun4 his son, Joshua his son. 28 Their possessions and settlements were Bethel and its towns, and to the east Naaran, and to the west Gezer and its towns, Shechem and its towns, and Ayyah and its towns; 29 also in possession of the Manassites, Beth-shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns, Dor and its towns. In these lived the sons of Joseph the son of Israel. Descendants of Asher 30 The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. 31 The sons of Beriah: Heber, and Malchiel, who fathered Birzaith. 32 Heber fathered Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham, and their sister Shua. 33 The sons of Japhlet: Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These are the sons of Japhlet. 34 The sons of Shemer his brother: Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. 35 The sons of Helem his brother: Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. 36 The sons of Zophah: Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah. 37 Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran, and Beera. 38 The sons of Jether: Jephunneh, Pispa, and Ara. 39 The sons of Ulla: Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia. 40 All of these were men of Asher, heads of fathers' houses, approved, mighty warriors, chiefs of the princes. Their number enrolled by genealogies, for service in war, was 26,000 men. A Genealogy of Saul 8 Benjamin fathered Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, Aharah the third, 2 Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. 3 And Bela had sons: Addar, Gera, Abihud, 4 Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, 5 Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram. 6 These are the sons of Ehud (they were heads of fathers' houses of the inhabitants of Geba, and they were carried into exile to Manahath): 7 Naaman,5 Ahijah, and Gera, that is, Heglam, who fathered6 Uzza and Ahihud. 8 And Shaharaim fathered sons in the country of Moab after he had sent away Hushim and Baara his wives. 9 He fathered sons by Hodesh his wife: Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, 10 Jeuz, Sachia, and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of fathers' houses. 11 He also fathered sons by Hushim: Abitub and Elpaal. 12 The sons of Elpaal: Eber, Misham, and Shemed, who built Ono and Lod with its towns, 13 and Beriah and Shema (they were heads of fathers' houses of the inhabitants of Aijalon, who caused the inhabitants of Gath to flee); 14 and Ahio, Shashak, and Jeremoth. 15 Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, 16 Michael, Ishpah, and Joha were sons of Beriah. 17 Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, 18 Ishmerai, Izliah, and Jobab were the sons of Elpaal. 19 Jakim, Zichri, Zabdi, 20 Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, 21 Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath were the sons of Shimei. 22 Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, 23 Abdon, Zichri, Hanan, 24 Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, 25 Iphdeiah, and Penuel were the sons of Shashak. 26 Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, 27 Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zichri were the sons of Jeroham. 28 These were the heads of fathers' houses, according to their generations, chief men. These lived in Jerusalem. 29 Jeiel7 the father of Gibeon lived in Gibeon, and the name of his wife was Maacah. 30 His firstborn son: Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Nadab, 31 Gedor, Ahio, Zecher, 32 and Mikloth (he fathered Shimeah). Now these also lived opposite their kinsmen in Jerusalem, with their kinsmen. 33 Ner was the father of Kish, Kish of Saul, Saul of Jonathan, Malchi-shua, Abinadab and Eshbaal; 34 and the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal; and Merib-baal was the father of Micah. 35 The sons of Micah: Pithon, Melech, Tarea, and Ahaz. 36 Ahaz fathered Jehoaddah, and Jehoaddah fathered Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri fathered Moza. 37 Moza fathered Binea; Raphah was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. 38 Azel had six sons, and these are their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel. 39 The sons of Eshek his brother: Ulam his firstborn, Jeush the second, and Eliphelet the third. 40 The sons of Ulam were men who were mighty warriors, bowmen, having many sons and grandsons, 150. All these were Benjaminites. Footnotes [1] 7:1 Syriac (compare Vulgate); Hebrew And to the sons [2] 7:3 Hebrew sons; also verses 10, 12, 17 [3] 7:23 Beriah sounds like the Hebrew for disaster [4] 7:27 Hebrew Non [5] 8:7 Hebrew and Naaman [6] 8:7 Or Gera; he carried them into exile and fathered [7] 8:29 Compare 9:35; Hebrew lacks Jeiel (ESV) Hebrews 11 (Listen) By Faith 11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. 13 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. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 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. 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. 20 By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. 21 By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones. 23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. 29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. 32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two,1 they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Footnotes [1] 11:37 Some manuscripts add they were tempted (ESV) In private: Amos 5; Luke 1:1–38 Amos 5 (Listen) Seek the Lord and Live 5 Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel: 2   “Fallen, no more to rise,    is the virgin Israel;  forsaken on her land,    with none to raise her up.” 3 For thus says the Lord GOD:   “The city that went out a thousand    shall have a hundred left,  and that which went out a hundred    shall have ten left    to the house of Israel.” 4 For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel:   “Seek me and live;5     but do not seek Bethel,  and do not enter into Gilgal    or cross over to Beersheba;  for Gilgal shall surely go into exile,    and Bethel shall come to nothing.” 6   Seek the LORD and live,    lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,    and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel,7   O you who turn justice to wormwood1    and cast down righteousness to the earth! 8   He who made the Pleiades and Orion,    and turns deep darkness into the morning    and darkens the day into night,  who calls for the waters of the sea    and pours them out on the surface of the earth,  the LORD is his name;9   who makes destruction flash forth against the strong,    so that destruction comes upon the fortress. 10   They hate him who reproves in the gate,    and they abhor him who speaks the truth.11   Therefore because you trample on2 the poor    and you exact taxes of grain from him,  you have built houses of hewn stone,    but you shall not dwell in them;  you have planted pleasant vineyards,    but you shall not drink their wine.12   For I know how many are your transgressions    and how great are your sins—  you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe,    and turn aside the needy in the gate.13   Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time,    for it is an evil time. 14   Seek good, and not evil,    that you may live;  and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you,    as you have said.15   Hate evil, and love good,    and establish justice in the gate;  it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts,    will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. 16 Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord:   “In all the squares there shall be wailing,    and in all the streets they shall say, ‘Alas! Alas!'  They shall call the farmers to mourning    and to wailing those who are skilled in lamentation,17   and in all vineyards there shall be wailing,    for I will pass through your midst,”      says the LORD. Let Justice Roll Down 18   Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD!    Why would you have the day of the LORD?  It is darkness, and not light,19     as if a man fled from a lion,    and a bear met him,  or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall,    and a serpent bit him.20   Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light,    and gloom with no brightness in it? 21   “I hate, I despise your feasts,    and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.22   Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,    I will not accept them;  and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,    I will not look upon them.23   Take away from me the noise of your songs;    to the melody of your harps I will not listen.24   But let justice roll down like waters,    and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. 25 “Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 26 You shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god—your images that you made for yourselves, 27 and I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts. Footnotes [1] 5:7 Or to bitter fruit [2] 5:11 Or you tax (ESV) Luke 1:1–38 (Listen) Dedication to Theophilus 1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. Birth of John the Baptist Foretold 5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,1 of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. 8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” 18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. 24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” Birth of Jesus Foretold 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed2 to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 

With family: 1 Chronicles 3–4; Hebrews 9 1 Chronicles 3–4 (Listen) Descendants of David 3 These are the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: the firstborn, Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelite; the second, Daniel, by Abigail the Carmelite, 2 the third, Absalom, whose mother was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; the fourth, Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith; 3 the fifth, Shephatiah, by Abital; the sixth, Ithream, by his wife Eglah; 4 six were born to him in Hebron, where he reigned for seven years and six months. And he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 5 These were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan and Solomon, four by Bath-shua, the daughter of Ammiel; 6 then Ibhar, Elishama, Eliphelet, 7 Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, 8 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine. 9 All these were David's sons, besides the sons of the concubines, and Tamar was their sister. 10 The son of Solomon was Rehoboam, Abijah his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son, 11 Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son, 12 Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son, 13 Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son, 14 Amon his son, Josiah his son. 15 The sons of Josiah: Johanan the firstborn, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum. 16 The descendants of Jehoiakim: Jeconiah his son, Zedekiah his son; 17 and the sons of Jeconiah, the captive: Shealtiel his son, 18 Malchiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama and Nedabiah; 19 and the sons of Pedaiah: Zerubbabel and Shimei; and the sons of Zerubbabel: Meshullam and Hananiah, and Shelomith was their sister; 20 and Hashubah, Ohel, Berechiah, Hasadiah, and Jushab-hesed, five. 21 The sons of Hananiah: Pelatiah and Jeshaiah, his son1 Rephaiah, his son Arnan, his son Obadiah, his son Shecaniah. 22 The son2 of Shecaniah: Shemaiah. And the sons of Shemaiah: Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah, and Shaphat, six. 23 The sons of Neariah: Elioenai, Hizkiah, and Azrikam, three. 24 The sons of Elioenai: Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani, seven. Descendants of Judah 4 The sons of Judah: Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal. 2 Reaiah the son of Shobal fathered Jahath, and Jahath fathered Ahumai and Lahad. These were the clans of the Zorathites. 3 These were the sons3 of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash; and the name of their sister was Hazzelelponi, 4 and Penuel fathered Gedor, and Ezer fathered Hushah. These were the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem. 5 Ashhur, the father of Tekoa, had two wives, Helah and Naarah; 6 Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah. 7 The sons of Helah: Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan. 8 Koz fathered Anub, Zobebah, and the clans of Aharhel, the son of Harum. 9 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.”4 10 Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm5 so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked. 11 Chelub, the brother of Shuhah, fathered Mehir, who fathered Eshton. 12 Eshton fathered Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah, the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Recah. 13 The sons of Kenaz: Othniel and Seraiah; and the sons of Othniel: Hathath and Meonothai.6 14 Meonothai fathered Ophrah; and Seraiah fathered Joab, the father of Ge-harashim,7 so-called because they were craftsmen. 15 The sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh: Iru, Elah, and Naam; and the son8 of Elah: Kenaz. 16 The sons of Jehallelel: Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel. 17 The sons of Ezrah: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. These are the sons of Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered married;9 and she conceived and bore10 Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah, the father of Eshtemoa. 18 And his Judahite wife bore Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. 19 The sons of the wife of Hodiah, the sister of Naham, were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite and Eshtemoa the Maacathite. 20 The sons of Shimon: Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon. The sons of Ishi: Zoheth and Ben-zoheth. 21 The sons of Shelah the son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the clans of the house of linen workers at Beth-ashbea; 22 and Jokim, and the men of Cozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who ruled in Moab and returned to Lehem11 (now the records12 are ancient). 23 These were the potters who were inhabitants of Netaim and Gederah. They lived there in the king's service. Descendants of Simeon 24 The sons of Simeon: Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, Shaul; 25 Shallum was his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son. 26 The sons of Mishma: Hammuel his son, Zaccur his son, Shimei his son. 27 Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brothers did not have many children, nor did all their clan multiply like the men of Judah. 28 They lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, 29 Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, 30 Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, 31 Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Beth-biri, and Shaaraim. These were their cities until David reigned. 32 And their villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan, five cities, 33 along with all their villages that were around these cities as far as Baal. These were their settlements, and they kept a genealogical record. 34 Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah the son of Amaziah, 35 Joel, Jehu the son of Joshibiah, son of Seraiah, son of Asiel, 36 Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, 37 Ziza the son of Shiphi, son of Allon, son of Jedaiah, son of Shimri, son of Shemaiah—38 these mentioned by name were princes in their clans, and their fathers' houses increased greatly. 39 They journeyed to the entrance of Gedor, to the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks, 40 where they found rich, good pasture, and the land was very broad, quiet, and peaceful, for the former inhabitants there belonged to Ham. 41 These, registered by name, came in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and destroyed their tents and the Meunites who were found there, and marked them for destruction to this day, and settled in their place, because there was pasture there for their flocks. 42 And some of them, five hundred men of the Simeonites, went to Mount Seir, having as their leaders Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. 43 And they defeated the remnant of the Amalekites who had escaped, and they have lived there to this day. Footnotes [1] 3:21 Septuagint (compare Syriac, Vulgate); Hebrew sons of; four times in this verse [2] 3:22 Hebrew sons [3] 4:3 Septuagint (compare Vulgate); Hebrew father [4] 4:9 Jabez sounds like the Hebrew for pain [5] 4:10 Or evil [6] 4:13 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew lacks Meonothai [7] 4:14 Ge-harashim means valley of craftsmen [8] 4:15 Hebrew sons [9] 4:17 The clause These are . . . married is transposed from verse 18 [10] 4:17 Hebrew lacks and bore [11] 4:22 Vulgate (compare Septuagint); Hebrew and Jashubi-lahem [12] 4:22 Or matters (ESV) Hebrews 9 (Listen) The Earthly Holy Place 9 Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. 2 For a tent1 was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence.2 It is called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a second section3 called the Most Holy Place, 4 having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. 5 Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. 6 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, 7 but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. 8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing 9 (which is symbolic for the present age).4 According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, 10 but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation. Redemption Through the Blood of Christ 11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come,5 then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify6 for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our7 conscience from dead works to serve the living God. 15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.8 16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. 18 Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. 19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” 21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. 22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. 23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Footnotes [1] 9:2 Or tabernacle; also verses 11, 21 [2] 9:2 Greek the presentation of the loaves [3] 9:3 Greek tent; also verses 6, 8 [4] 9:9 Or which is symbolic for the age then present [5] 9:11 Some manuscripts good things to come [6] 9:13 Or For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies [7] 9:14 Some manuscripts your [8] 9:15 The Greek word means both covenant and will; also verses 16, 17 (ESV) In private: Psalms 146–147; Amos 3 Psalms 146–147 (Listen) Put Not Your Trust in Princes 146   Praise the LORD!  Praise the LORD, O my soul!2   I will praise the LORD as long as I live;    I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 3   Put not your trust in princes,    in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.4   When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;    on that very day his plans perish. 5   Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,    whose hope is in the LORD his God,6   who made heaven and earth,    the sea, and all that is in them,  who keeps faith forever;7     who executes justice for the oppressed,    who gives food to the hungry.   The LORD sets the prisoners free;8     the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.  The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;    the LORD loves the righteous.9   The LORD watches over the sojourners;    he upholds the widow and the fatherless,    but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. 10   The LORD will reign forever,    your God, O Zion, to all generations.  Praise the LORD! He Heals the Brokenhearted 147   Praise the LORD!  For it is good to sing praises to our God;    for it is pleasant,1 and a song of praise is fitting.2   The LORD builds up Jerusalem;    he gathers the outcasts of Israel.3   He heals the brokenhearted    and binds up their wounds.4   He determines the number of the stars;    he gives to all of them their names.5   Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;    his understanding is beyond measure.6   The LORD lifts up the humble;2    he casts the wicked to the ground. 7   Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;    make melody to our God on the lyre!8   He covers the heavens with clouds;    he prepares rain for the earth;    he makes grass grow on the hills.9   He gives to the beasts their food,    and to the young ravens that cry.10   His delight is not in the strength of the horse,    nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,11   but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,    in those who hope in his steadfast love. 12   Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!    Praise your God, O Zion!13   For he strengthens the bars of your gates;    he blesses your children within you.14   He makes peace in your borders;    he fills you with the finest of the wheat.15   He sends out his command to the earth;    his word runs swiftly.16   He gives snow like wool;    he scatters frost like ashes.17   He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs;    who can stand before his cold?18   He sends out his word, and melts them;    he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.19   He declares his word to Jacob,    his statutes and rules3 to Israel.20   He has not dealt thus with any other nation;    they do not know his rules.4  Praise the LORD! Footnotes [1] 147:1 Or for he is beautiful [2] 147:6 Or afflicted [3] 147:19 Or and just decrees [4] 147:20 Or his just decrees (ESV) Amos 3 (Listen) Israel's Guilt and Punishment 3 Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt: 2   “You only have I known    of all the families of the earth;  therefore I will punish you    for all your iniquities. 3   “Do two walk together,    unless they have agreed to meet?4   Does a lion roar in the forest,    when he has no prey?  Does a young lion cry out from his den,    if he has taken nothing?5   Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth,    when there is no trap for it?  Does a snare spring up from the ground,    when it has taken nothing?6   Is a trumpet blown in a city,    and the people are not afraid?  Does disaster come to a city,    unless the LORD has done it? 7   “For the Lord GOD does nothing    without revealing his secret    to his servants the prophets.8   The lion has roared;    who will not fear?  The Lord GOD has spoken;    who can but prophesy?” 9   Proclaim to the strongholds in Ashdod    and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt,  and say, “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria,    and see the great tumults within her,    and the oppressed in her midst.”10   “They do not know how to do right,” declares the LORD,    “those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.” 11 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:   “An adversary shall surround the land    and bring down

Throughout this week, we'll be reading from the life of Joseph. Genesis 37:2-4 NLT When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father's flocks. He worked for his half-brothers, the sons of his father's wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing. Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So, one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe. But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn't say a kind word to him. Now, fast-forward to Joseph being sent by his dad to check on his brothers who were working in the field … Genesis 37:23-28 NLT When Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the beautiful robe he was wearing. Then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it. Then, just as they were sitting down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders … Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We'd have to cover up the crime.  Instead of hurting him, let's sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother—our own flesh and blood!” And his brothers agreed. So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph's brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt. We all know the end of the story. How God used all of these terrible situations for ultimate good. But before we get ahead of ourselves to the redemption - Do you have a memory in your own life that this story triggered for you? Something tragic? Betrayal? An injustice? While this story is painful to hear, the bottom line is we all understand family dysfunction that causes pain and creates scars that we have to deal with for a long time. But these events in our lives offer us a choice: will I let this define me or will I allow this to become a defining moment? Your relationship with God can bring purpose to create a greater, stronger you out of any circumstance. But for this to happen, the pain and the process has to be surrendered to God and then stay submitted to Him on the journey to wholeness and healing. As we walk through this week, and the story of Joseph, can you ask God to start to reveal his purpose for your pain, maybe like you have never seen it before. Let's pray: “Father, thank You for providing examples in Scripture that show me how to navigate the tragedies of life through You. Right now, I surrender my hurts, my pain, and my process of healing to You. Use it all—the good and bad—to bring me a greater sense of purpose about my life, as You lead me. As above, so below.”

In this Podcast, we deal with the story whereby Jacob, who would be renamed subsequently Israel, acquired four wives from his mother's extended family in Mesopotamia. Ironically, Jacob only wanted, and loved, one wife. But because of his Uncle Laban's duplicity, he ended up not only with Rachel, but with her less attractive but elder sister, Leah. As wedding presents, both sisters were given maids: Bilhah and Zilpah. Jacob ended up with thirteen children by these four women, twelve sons and one daughter. The story itself revolves on the rivalry between Leah and Rachel to attract Jacob's attention, thinking that bearing children was the way to his heart. In a patriarchal culture, it is both ironic and humorous that both women orchestrate not only events but Jacob himself.

1 Chronicles 7–8 1 Chronicles 7–8 (Listen) Descendants of Issachar 7 The sons1 of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four. 2 The sons of Tola: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their fathers' houses, namely of Tola, mighty warriors of their generations, their number in the days of David being 22,600. 3 The son2 of Uzzi: Izrahiah. And the sons of Izrahiah: Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah, all five of them were chief men. 4 And along with them, by their generations, according to their fathers' houses, were units of the army for war, 36,000, for they had many wives and sons. 5 Their kinsmen belonging to all the clans of Issachar were in all 87,000 mighty warriors, enrolled by genealogy. Descendants of Benjamin 6 The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, and Jediael, three. 7 The sons of Bela: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri, five, heads of fathers' houses, mighty warriors. And their enrollment by genealogies was 22,034. 8 The sons of Becher: Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Becher. 9 And their enrollment by genealogies, according to their generations, as heads of their fathers' houses, mighty warriors, was 20,200. 10 The son of Jediael: Bilhan. And the sons of Bilhan: Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. 11 All these were the sons of Jediael according to the heads of their fathers' houses, mighty warriors, 17,200, able to go to war. 12 And Shuppim and Huppim were the sons of Ir, Hushim the son of Aher. Descendants of Naphtali 13 The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shallum, the descendants of Bilhah. Descendants of Manasseh 14 The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his Aramean concubine bore; she bore Machir the father of Gilead. 15 And Machir took a wife for Huppim and for Shuppim. The name of his sister was Maacah. And the name of the second was Zelophehad, and Zelophehad had daughters. 16 And Maacah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. 17 The son of Ulam: Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, son of Manasseh. 18 And his sister Hammolecheth bore Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah. 19 The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam. Descendants of Ephraim 20 The sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, 21 Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead, whom the men of Gath who were born in the land killed, because they came down to raid their livestock. 22 And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him. 23 And Ephraim went in to his wife, and she conceived and bore a son. And he called his name Beriah, because disaster had befallen his house.3 24 His daughter was Sheerah, who built both Lower and Upper Beth-horon, and Uzzen-sheerah. 25 Rephah was his son, Resheph his son, Telah his son, Tahan his son, 26 Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, 27 Nun4 his son, Joshua his son. 28 Their possessions and settlements were Bethel and its towns, and to the east Naaran, and to the west Gezer and its towns, Shechem and its towns, and Ayyah and its towns; 29 also in possession of the Manassites, Beth-shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns, Dor and its towns. In these lived the sons of Joseph the son of Israel. Descendants of Asher 30 The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. 31 The sons of Beriah: Heber, and Malchiel, who fathered Birzaith. 32 Heber fathered Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham, and their sister Shua. 33 The sons of Japhlet: Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These are the sons of Japhlet. 34 The sons of Shemer his brother: Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. 35 The sons of Helem his brother: Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. 36 The sons of Zophah: Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah. 37 Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran, and Beera. 38 The sons of Jether: Jephunneh, Pispa, and Ara. 39 The sons of Ulla: Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia. 40 All of these were men of Asher, heads of fathers' houses, approved, mighty warriors, chiefs of the princes. Their number enrolled by genealogies, for service in war, was 26,000 men. A Genealogy of Saul 8 Benjamin fathered Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, Aharah the third, 2 Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. 3 And Bela had sons: Addar, Gera, Abihud, 4 Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, 5 Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram. 6 These are the sons of Ehud (they were heads of fathers' houses of the inhabitants of Geba, and they were carried into exile to Manahath): 7 Naaman,5 Ahijah, and Gera, that is, Heglam, who fathered6 Uzza and Ahihud. 8 And Shaharaim fathered sons in the country of Moab after he had sent away Hushim and Baara his wives. 9 He fathered sons by Hodesh his wife: Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, 10 Jeuz, Sachia, and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of fathers' houses. 11 He also fathered sons by Hushim: Abitub and Elpaal. 12 The sons of Elpaal: Eber, Misham, and Shemed, who built Ono and Lod with its towns, 13 and Beriah and Shema (they were heads of fathers' houses of the inhabitants of Aijalon, who caused the inhabitants of Gath to flee); 14 and Ahio, Shashak, and Jeremoth. 15 Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, 16 Michael, Ishpah, and Joha were sons of Beriah. 17 Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, 18 Ishmerai, Izliah, and Jobab were the sons of Elpaal. 19 Jakim, Zichri, Zabdi, 20 Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, 21 Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath were the sons of Shimei. 22 Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, 23 Abdon, Zichri, Hanan, 24 Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, 25 Iphdeiah, and Penuel were the sons of Shashak. 26 Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, 27 Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zichri were the sons of Jeroham. 28 These were the heads of fathers' houses, according to their generations, chief men. These lived in Jerusalem. 29 Jeiel7 the father of Gibeon lived in Gibeon, and the name of his wife was Maacah. 30 His firstborn son: Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Nadab, 31 Gedor, Ahio, Zecher, 32 and Mikloth (he fathered Shimeah). Now these also lived opposite their kinsmen in Jerusalem, with their kinsmen. 33 Ner was the father of Kish, Kish of Saul, Saul of Jonathan, Malchi-shua, Abinadab and Eshbaal; 34 and the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal; and Merib-baal was the father of Micah. 35 The sons of Micah: Pithon, Melech, Tarea, and Ahaz. 36 Ahaz fathered Jehoaddah, and Jehoaddah fathered Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri fathered Moza. 37 Moza fathered Binea; Raphah was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. 38 Azel had six sons, and these are their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel. 39 The sons of Eshek his brother: Ulam his firstborn, Jeush the second, and Eliphelet the third. 40 The sons of Ulam were men who were mighty warriors, bowmen, having many sons and grandsons, 150. All these were Benjaminites. Footnotes [1] 7:1 Syriac (compare Vulgate); Hebrew And to the sons [2] 7:3 Hebrew sons; also verses 10, 12, 17 [3] 7:23 Beriah sounds like the Hebrew for disaster [4] 7:27 Hebrew Non [5] 8:7 Hebrew and Naaman [6] 8:7 Or Gera; he carried them into exile and fathered [7] 8:29 Compare 9:35; Hebrew lacks Jeiel (ESV)

This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston, or donate to this ministry, please visit mosaicboston.com.Heavenly Father, as we come across this beautiful text, where we see a father and a son reunited after decades of being apart. Lord, I pray that You, today, focus our attention on how incredible the moment will be when we meet You in heaven, when we see You face to face, when we walk with You as Adam walked with You in the garden. Lord, we are also reminded that there are many enemies of your family, enemies of the family. And I pray, Lord, from this text, remind us about how precious humans are, remind us how precious the family is, how precious children are.And Lord, we thank You for the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus, we thank You that despite our sin, despite our transgressions against You, and against one another, You offer us grace even today. We thank You that You loved us so much that you died for us when we were, yes, sinners, and we thank You so much that You continue to love us even when we do sin. We pray for that grace, I pray, apply it to us today. Lord, also, in the same way that Jacob spoke to You and You spoke to him, he met with You and You met with him, I pray, meet with us today. By the power of the Holy Spirit, speak to us in a way that our souls need to hear, not from a person but from You. And we pray all this in Christ's holy name. Amen.We're continuing our sermon series entitled, Graduate Level Grace, a Study in the Life of Joseph. Today, we are in Chapter 46. The title is, A Glorious Reunion, where we see Jacob, who is 130 years old at this time, feeble Jacob, meeting his son Joseph, who has been prime minister of Egypt. Joseph is in late 30s, early 40s. And we see this glorious reunion. It's a reminder to us of the incredible promise of God that every child of God will one day soon see God face to face. We will see Jesus Christ face to face. 1 John 3:2 promises, "When he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is." And what a glorious reunion that will be. We long for the coming of Christ. We pray for it. Come, Lord Jesus, come. Today, our text before us narrates this glorious reunion, certainly not nearly on the same scale as our physical reunion with Christ, but certainly beautiful, certainly heartwarming, and hope infusing.Imagine living for two decades thinking your beloved son was dead or worse. And then, you're given an opportunity to meet him and you realize that this was all part of God's plan from the very beginning. And it didn't make sense until this culmination, until this moment. But from the perspective of this moment, everything just makes sense. What Jacob learned was his life was not his own and his life was not about him. Joseph learned this as well. This whole story is about God who longs to bless not just this family, but the nations of the world through this family. And for that blessing to come, this family needed to be reconciled with God, reconciled with one another, and then through them would be sent Jesus Christ. And only through Jesus Christ can our relationship be restored with God, because we in and of ourselves are estranged from God, estranged and alienated.To fight off our natural tendency to read every scripture with its main character syndrome. We are reminded here from this story that God has greater plans for our lives than we could ever imagine. And here what this text does is it answers two main overarching meta-narrative questions. How did Israel end up in Egypt? How were they enslaved for 400 years? Why did all this happen? Well, it happened according to God's plan. And then God sent Moses to tell Pharaoh, "Let my people go." And God promised to Abraham that he would make his family into a nation. And that nation is formed in the crucible of oppression and adversity and slavery in Egypt. And this is what God was... he promised Abraham this from the beginning. "I am going to allow the people to be enslaved." And during that time, God prepared the land of Canaan and he prepared the people of Israel. This is Genesis 15:13 through 16."Then the Lord said to Abraham, 'Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in the land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for 400 years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that you serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.'" So as the family of Abraham is removed from the land of Canaan, with them goes God's common grace on the people of Canaan and with the last of a godly witness removed from the land that Canaanites take their sin and their evil to its logical consequence, and then are ultimately consigned to judgment via the invasion by Israel.So that's the introduction and three points for our text. First, is Israel Moves to Egypt. Second, The Family of Israel and three, Israel and Joseph are Reunited. By Israel here, this is the name that God gave Jacob as he renamed him and redefined his identity. And so they're used interchangeably in the text. So first, Israel Moves to Egypt. This is Genesis 46:1-4. "So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, 'Jacob, Jacob.' And he said, 'Here I am.' Then he said, 'I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I'll make you into a great nation. And I myself will go down with you to Egypt and I will bring you up again, and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes.'"So Israel, formerly known as Jacob, offers sacrifices to God. God speaks to him in a vision and he's called Israel here to emphasize that it's not just a personal decision and it's not just a family decision. This is a national decision, and because God promised, "I will make of you a great nation." Perhaps Jacob hesitated leaving the promised land without the Lord's explicit permission. His whole family has been told that this is the promised land, "Don't ever leave." And it's a huge deal to uproot and transplant your whole family. And the fact that his whole family, hundreds of people the text later tells us were willing to follow his leadership, shows us that he has grown as a father and as a leader in his household. If he is to leave, there is much to be sacrificed. If Jacob is to leave the promised land, he's going to leave the grave of his wife, Rachel.And this is probably one of the hardest decisions of his life. And he's lived a life of many hard decisions. And so he's seeking assurance. "God, are you going with me? God, is this your plan? God is this your will?" And before he makes that decision, he goes to a place that's very meaningful to him, a place where God has met him often. He goes to Beersheba. Beersheba is 26 miles south of Hebron and marks the southern boundary of usable land. It's the last stop before Egypt. Beersheba is where Abraham made a covenant with Abimelech. This is where he planted a tree, this is where he lived. Abraham did after God stopped him from sacrificing Isaac. This is where Isaac built an altar later in life, and the Lord appeared to him.And Jacob was also familiar with Beersheba because after he left home when Esau was pursuing him, this was his first stop on the journey of Laban's house. And this is where God wrestled with him. Scripture says that, "He wrestled in prayer at night with an angel," and then it said that God met him. So most likely this is a theophany and a physical manifestation of God. Maybe it was Christ himself. This is where he had a stone for a pillow. And then he saw a staircase toward heaven with the angels of God ascending and descending. This is where God made a promise to him originally in Genesis 20:15, "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."And one of the beauties of reading a historical narrative is we see the progression in a person's life. We see the character development not just in terms of fictional character development, but in terms of the integrity of this man. Jacob had finally learned to put God first. This wasn't true of him when he was younger. God had taken his beloved Rachel, God had taken his beloved Joseph. And when God disciples his children, this is usually how he does it. He goes for the most sensitive parts in our life. He goes for the most sensitive parts of our heart, the place that we will call, my precious. Lord, I give you all except for this. Lord, this is the only part I keep off limits. Is there an object or a person around which your heart has wrapped itself more than any other? Something or someone who rises to God's rival in your heart?Well, that's what God often deprives us of and this is what happened with Abraham. Abraham, "Here's your son, your long awaited son, your beloved son, sacrifice him." God stopped him. And this was a story with Jacob. There were idolatrous relationships in his life. There were misprioritized things in his life. And here finally we see that Jacob has grown. God tested him with Benjamin, "Will you continue your idolatrous favoritism sacrificing the family for Benjamin or will you release him to the Lord?" And Lord Jesus taught us this principle in the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you." What were all these things in that context? It's our physical needs. Our physical needs, although important, are not as important as seeking the kingdom of God. Is this a priority in your life?And although Jacob hasn't seen Joseph for nearly 22 years, he stops. You're thinking, "I haven't seen my son in this long. I'm going to do everything to get to him as quickly as possible." No, he stops the expedition to do what? To worship God, the God of his father's Abraham and Isaac. When going through a season where you are before a critical juncture, before a critical decision, when you are in doubt, what are called to do from this text? We can learn, we're to worship in a time of worry or anxiety or doubts or stress or upheaval or uncertainty. What does Jacob do? He pauses to make time to worship God. And he makes sacrifices to God. He humbly offers sacrifices because he understood that no one can approach God except on the basis of a blood sacrifice.We've all sinned and scripture teaches that the penalty for sin is a shedding of blood. And before Jesus Christ, they did that through the animal sacrifices. But praise be to God today, we can come to God on the basis of Christ's sacrifice. We don't have to shed blood on the basis of Christ, shed blood on Calvary's cross, we come to him. By offering sacrifices, Jacob is worshiping God because there's no true worship of God without sacrifice because what does it mean to worship? Worship is significantly more than just singing. Singing is an integral part of it, but worship is you're loving God. You're showing God that you're loving Him and to love anyone and including God takes sacrifice. And we are to sacrifice. We are to sacrifice time. We are to be religious, so to speak, about our relationship with the Lord.You've heard this often and I've said this often, Christianity is not a religion, It's about a relationship with the Lord. And I wholeheartedly agree with that as long as you understand your relationship with God. And God has expectations and God makes mandates on us. People are religious about what they find to be important. You're religious about what you find to be most important. Food, health, fitness, education, career, money. You make time for what matters. The question is, are you religious about your relationship with God? And this is why it's important to have a day where you devote to the Lord, the Sabbath day. It is a commandment. And God gave us this day, a day of rest to religiously worship God from the heart because that's what builds our relationship with the Lord.And often I've heard people say, "Well, yeah, you know church isn't that important. What's most important is my relationship with the Lord. And if I do sin, there's grace," and et cetera. Yes, God forgives all of our sins. The moment you come to the Lord, you presenting your sin, God forgives you of past, present, and future. But for what purpose? Why does God forgive us our sins? So we continue to live for ourselves and go along our merry way? No, it's so that we grow in awe and reverence of God. For example, Psalm 130:3, "If you, O Lord should, mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness that you may be feared." We should stand in great awe and wonder and astonishment that God would forgive me of my sins without a blood sacrifice of an animal.How? How could this be possible? Well, what did it take? It took the death of his beloved son. So yes, Lord, I worship You. I love You. Thank You. I'm here to serve. What is your will? Lord, I fear You and I'm in awe of You. So the Lord here meets Jacob and he uses the old name twice. He doesn't call him Israel. He calls him Jacob, and he says it twice. A sign of love, a sign of affection, and God meets Jacob here for the seventh and last recorded time. Jacob makes a sacrifice to meet with the Lord. And the Lord responds and he meets him. And this is a principle the scripture teaches us, approach God, come close to God and he will come close to you. In particular in times where you have to make a decision that is going to impact the trajectory of your life.So, friend, do you make it a practice of inquiring of the Lord before making life altering decisions or do you make the decision and then hope that the Lord blesses it? Here we see the pattern that before Jacob goes on this expedition, moves his whole family, uproot all of them, he meets with the Lord. So important decision like, Lord, should I move? Lord, where should I move? Lord, whom should I marry? Lord, should we have children? When should we have children? How many? The more important the decision, the more important the juncture in life, the more crucial it is to seek the Lord's face and the Lord's will. We don't discern God's will by presenting burnt sacrifices. Praise be to God. Instead, we discern God's will by presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice to the Lord. This is how we discern God's will.For example, Romans 12:1-2, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." God, what's your will for my life? And his response is, "Worship me. Worship me holistically. Worship me by presenting your body as a living sacrifice." I said, "Lord, whatever you call me to do, whatever sacrifice it takes, I'll do it." And once you do this, that humble posture of heart puts you in a place where God begins to work out the details of the plan. And the more momentous the decision, the more important to seek certainty through worship, through sacrifice. And then the Lord guides us.For example, Psalm 25:8-9, "Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and he teaches the humble His way." Psalm 32:8-9, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like the horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with a bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you." The words of Jesus Christ where he calls himself the good shepherd and he says, "His sheep, believers, hear His voice."John 10:1-4, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheep fold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him, the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he is brought out all his own, he goes before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice." Jacob responds, and when he hears the voice of the Lord, he says, "Here I am." And if you're in true and full fellowship with God, that's the natural state of your heart, Lord, here I am, Lord, speak to me. What would you have me do?This is the Lord's last recorded revelation until God speaks to Moses four centuries later. So God here makes a weighty promise to Jacob and to Jacob's descendants, he says, "Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid to go to Egypt," and here's why, "for there, he says, "I will make of you a great nation." And he says, "I will go down with you into Egypt and I will bring you up again, and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes." So God makes it clear that this move is about significantly more than just temporary reprieve from the famine. This was God's definite plan to turn this family into a nation from whom the God man, Jesus Christ, would come and provide redemption for all of the elect from this nation and from all nations. "I myself will go down with you."Do we have a promise like this? There are moments in life where you need this promise, the promise that Jesus gives us in the great commission of Matthew 28:20, "Behold, I'm with you always to the end of the age. Behold I am with you always." This is reassuring, especially when you begin a new season in life or especially if you perhaps move to Boston, you're new. In between service, I met a college student entering his freshman year. I could tell by his eyes he's excited, he's excited. And when I told him I was like, I invited him to my community group. I was like, "You need spiritual family. I've seen this too often, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed freshmen showing up and they get eaten alive by this city. You need a family, you need a community. You need people around you that point you to Christ and say, 'Look, the Lord is with you. The Lord is with you, so live accordingly.0"Genesis 46:5-7, "Then Jacob set out from Bathsheba and the sons of Israel carried Jacob, their father, their little ones and their wives and the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. And they also took their livestock and their goods, which they had gained in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt. And Jacob and all his offspring with him, his sons and his sons' sons with him, his daughters and his sons' daughters. All his offspring he brought with him into Egypt." Point two is, The Family of Israel. And here the text gives us an expanded list of descendants of Jacob. I'm going read the genealogy. And you're like, "How does Pastor John know how to pronounce all of these words?"I will tell you, I'm making it up on the fly because I was taught in seminary when you get to a list like this, you say it with confidence and you say it quickly and no one really questions you. But I think it's an important this genealogy because there's people and their image bears of God, and God loves people and God loves families and God loves children. And these texts are here to remind us that we are to orient our lives around loving people and loving family and loving God's family. So Genesis 46:8-18, "Now these are the names of the descendants of Israel who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons. Reuben, Jacob's firstborn and the sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.""The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shalah, Perez, and Zarah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan); and the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. And the sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Yob and Shimron. The sons of Zebulun: Sared, Elon and Jahleel. And these are the sons of Leah whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, together with his daughter Dina; altogether his sons and his daughters numbered 33. The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggai, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Areli. The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Beriah and Serah, their sister. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. And these are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah, his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob, 16 persons."Some of these grandsons were born in Egypt already, and Hebrew genealogies didn't usually mention daughters. And I've had this conversation with my daughters. Whenever we get to genealogies as we do in Bible study, like, "Hey, why is it just guys? Why are the men mentioned and not all of the women?" Obviously Jacob had sons and he had many daughters. Well, because the man wasn't just an individual, the name of the man it's not just about the guy, it's about the household. The man is a representative of the household because the man is the head of the household, meaning that God is going to hold the man responsible, the husband, the father, for the household. And this should inform the way that we think through family.Why is Serah mentioned? Most likely, perhaps she wasn't married and she was still part of her father's household. Genesis 46:19-22, "The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife: Joseph and Benjamin. And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, and the daughter of Potiphere, the priest of On, bore to him. And the sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard. And these are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob. 14 persons in all." So we see Benjamin, who most likely he's the youngest son and most likely he's in his 20s now, or he may be younger. And 10 of his sons are mentioned and most likely these are his future offspring. It's not he had 10 sons already. And they're included here because of the fact that they were in Benjamin when Benjamin entered Egypt.The theological language is, they were in his loins. And this language is used in the book of Hebrews in the chapter on Melchizedek. Which just informed us that God views us from an internal perspective and God views our decisions from internal perspective. Sometimes we think that what we do in this life, in this body doesn't make much difference outside of us or outside of our little circle of influence. But from God's perspective, nothing that a believer does is secular except sin. Everything that we do is sacred. And so I bring this in from Hebrews 7:1-10, where there's the story of Melchizedek and Abraham meets him, and Abraham worships God and sacrifices 10% to Melchizedek. And the text comments that Levi, who was with Abraham at the time was also giving that tithe to Melchizedek.So look at the text with me. Hebrews 7:1-10, "For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him, Abraham apportioned a 10th part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever. See how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a 10th of the spoils! And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers though these are also descended from Abraham. But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithe from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.""It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom is testified that he lives. One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him." Well, what an interesting turn of phrase. Well, this shows us that from God's perspective, he sees the whole thing. And theology like this needs to expand our thinking. And in particular, in a day and age where young people are just taught to live for yourself, actualize yourself, focus on career, focus on money, focus on pleasure, focus on luxury, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, focus on a good time.Where texts like this remind us, look, God does give us good gifts and oftentimes he does bless us with good times. But God wants us to think about legacy, think about generations, think about how we live today impacts not just us and the people around us today, but centuries to come. And texts like this are important. And we do emphasize at Mosaic, the first commandment, which is the great mandate. This is Genesis 1:27-28, "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female, he created them. And God blessed them. And said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'" So this genealogy and the many in scripture reveal how God plans to bless the world is through the family.God builds his kingdom through the family, the father, mother and children, and then the families build the community. And God promised to bless the nations of the world through his family and the family unit. And I just say that to emphasize the fact that we are to care for families and we are to love children. I love seeing children at Mosaic and this is why we emphasize so much on Mini Mosaic. We want to disciple our beautiful children. These are eternal souls, these are the future of the church, they're going to impact the world for centuries. So I just say this because in the heart of God, God wants people to love children and wants people to love family. I don't know how that works out in your life. I ask for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, but it is an orientation of life.For example, Psalm 1:27, "Unless the Lord builds the house and those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. And it is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil for he gives to his beloved sleep. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them. He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate." By God's grace, I have four little arrows. Pink. They're pink arrows. Four girls we have, and man, they're sharp. We are sharpening them. They are going to fly far, hopefully not too far.Genesis 46:23-27, "The sons of Dan: Hushim. And the sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem. And these are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and those she bore to Jacob, seven persons in all. And all the persons belonging to Jacob who came into Egypt, who were his own descendants, not including Jacob's son's wives, were 66 persons in all. And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him and Egypt, were two. And all the persons of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were 70." Was the number precisely 70? Here it says 66, but that doesn't include those who died in Canaan, Ephraim and Manasseh. 70, it just represents fullness, totality, completeness. And the emphasis here is on all of Israel went down into Egypt.The list stands in stark contrast with the multitude of people that Moses led out of Egypt 400 years later, most likely there were 2 million plus of them. And so God grew this family into a nation and He often tells them, "Do not get proud of your numbers, do not get proud of your power, but trust in the Lord." Point three is, Israel and Joseph are Reunited. And this is verse 28. "He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him in Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen. And then Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel, his father in Goshen. He presented himself to him and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said to Joseph, 'Now let me die since, I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.'"First, we see that Jacob tells Judah, remember Judah? Judah's the one that sinned with Tamar, just egregious sinner, but he repented and he rebuilt his trust with his father. So now his father takes him, not Reuben, the oldest, but he takes Judah and sends him to prepare the way before him. That's a tremendous hopeful verse right there. And Joseph comes riding in style. He looks like an Egyptian, dressed like an Egyptian, has his state chariot probably with an entourage of servants. Jacob must have hardly recognized him. And we see them with one of the most beautiful reunions in all of scripture. So haven't seen your son for decades, and now you see him. And Joseph fell on his father's neck and he weeps and he weeps and they are consoled.Not many words are spoken, no words are needed and at times like this, when feelings are so deep. Jacob's son, whom he bewailed and lamented over for years is now in his arms. And Jacob finally speaks and he says, "I'm ready to die. I've seen my son. I'm ready to die." And similar sentiment to that of Simeon and Luke chapter two, when Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the temple, and Simeon who's been waiting his whole life to see the Messiah. It says in Luke 2:28, and he said that, "He took him in his arms and blessed God and said, 'Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you've prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.'"Genesis 46:31, "Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, 'I will go up and tell Pharaoh and will say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. And the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.' When Pharaoh calls you and says, 'What is your occupation?' you shall say, 'Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers' in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.'" We see Joseph's wisdom at work here as an administrator, as a politician. He coaches his family on what to say and how to say it to Pharaoh so that they get what they want.What do they want? They want the best land in all of Egypt and Goshen, luscious pasture land for their flocks. And they would be secluded from any pressure of the Egyptian culture. But in order to get that land, they have to tell Pharaoh and the Egyptians that they're shepherds, which is unflattering. The Egyptians viewed shepherds as an abomination and that was the lowest of the low. But Joseph says, "We're going to lead with this. Tell Pharaoh this and nothing else so that you get this land." And by God's grace, that's what happened. It's incredible how the Lord provides for this family here, but he does this after decades of exposing their sin, decades of exposing their evil. And by God's grace, he gets them to this place where they're presented before Pharaoh and their needs are met. Joseph serves in this text as a prototype of Christ, saving his family, being put in a position where he can save his family just like Christ was.Christ was put in a position where he can offer salvation to us. But in order to provide salvation for us, Christ had to be forsaken by the Father. When Jesus Christ took our sin upon himself, God, the Father had to turn his face from God, the Son. For the very first time in all of eternity there's a separation in the communion between father and son. The beloved son was forsaken by our loving father. Why? So that the father could extend his love and forgiveness to us and make us sons and daughters. Psalm 22 is one of the most powerful prophetic psalms in all of scripture. A messianic Psalm. Jesus quotes liberally from the Psalm, from the cross.It begins like this, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer. And by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you are fathers trusted; they trusted and you delivered them. To you, they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame." How can a holy God provide deliverance for sinful, idolatrous, rebellious, and grumbling people? Because he offered up his son, Jesus Christ for us. Psalm 22:6-8, "But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind, despised by the people. All who see me mock me; They make mouths at me; they wag their heads. 'He trusts in the Lord. Let him deliver him: let him rescue him, for he delights in him!'"Yes, the Father does delight in the Son. He said that at Christ's baptism, but on the cross, he turned his face of delight away and Christ, what did he experience? Only the wrath of God. Psalm 22:16-18, "For dogs encompassed me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet. I can count all my bones. They stare and glow over me; they divide my garments among them and for my clothing, they cast lots. They've pierced my hands and feet." Centuries before crucifixion was even invented as a form of capital punishment, the text predicts that Christ's hands, Christ's feet would be pierced. There's another story in scripture about father and son reconciled, although in an inverted way, with the son coming to the father. And that's a story of the prodigal son.In Joseph's case, he was the one watching and waiting for his father. In the story of the prodigal son, what's most striking, and the story is the son knew the father's will completely, the son knew the father's love, experienced it completely. And from early on he was raised in a loving home. He was taught the right way, he was provided for. And yet despite all the father's love, the son rebels. And finally, the son comes to his senses. He repents in his heart. And then he repents before his father in Luke 15:17 says, "But when he came to himself and he said, 'How many of my fathers hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger. I will arise and go to my father and I'll say to him, Father, I've sinned against heaven and before you. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.'""And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I've sinned against heaven and before you. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, put it on him and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate." "My son was dead and is alive again," prophetic words in the life of Joseph, prophetic words in the life of the prodigal son, prophetic words in Christ. Christ died and he was buried and was raised on the third day.As you meditate on the gospel, it's hard to figure out what's more amazing. Is it that Christ loves us so much that he would die for our sins? Or is it that Christ continues to love us even after we continue to sin? Is it Christ dying on the cross when we didn't deserve it? Or is it Christ continuing to love us despite of our unloveliness? And when I call people to repentance, I do want to mention, it's an invitation. Repentance is an invitation to come and have your sins forgiven. Have not just the penalty of your sins forgiven, but even the traces of sin in your life, God wants to remove through the process of sanctification. If God calls us to repent, it means he's willing to forgive, It means he's willing to welcome us home.The last couple of weeks I was on vacation, sort of, turned into a staycation. Our daughters, we sent them to overnight summer camp. And this is the first time we sent all four, all four of my little arrows, we shot them to summer camp for two weeks. It was tremendous. So my wife and I, we had the place all to ourselves and we're like, "What are we going to do?" And then my wife looks at the hallway and she's like, "You know what? I think the hallway could use a fresh coat of paint." And I was like, "Oh, oh, no." And then I painted it and it looks so good. I'm pretty good at painting. I grew up painting with my dad, Vlad, my dad, Vlad has a business called Vlad's Painting, if your house looks bad, don't get sad, call Vlad.So I grew up doing that. So I painted the hallway and my wife was just pouring on the praise because she knows that's going to keep me going. She's like, "Look at your lines, they're so perfect. Look at the walls. Look." And then she's like, "The living room. I think we should do..." So two weeks later, every single square inch of our place is repainted except the floors. And then we got back to church and Pastor Andy said, "How was your vacation?" And my wife, she says, "It was great, we spent two weeks repenting," because she has a Ukrainian accent. And then Pastor Andy looked at me and he is like, "Good, good." And I was like, "No, we're repainting." But I'm telling you, there's a connection, painting is very similar to repentance, if you do it well. There's bad painting where you just cover up everything, fresh coat and that's it.And then there's good painting, what makes good painting is the prep work. You got to sand everything down, you got to get... we had a wall next to one of our beds that was just covered in boogers. I will not mention. So you got to scrape it all off. And that's kind of how I view the Christian life. The Christian life is yes, you're welcoming Jesus Christ into your life, but Jesus doesn't just forgive you and just say, "Okay, keep living any way you want." No, Jesus loves you too much to leave you the way you are. He brings his grace in. And little by little sands things down, fixes things up and patches things up. And when you get the end product, it's just gorgeous. In this life, we're never going to get away completely from sin, although we grow in sanctification.But there will come a day when we will have glorious bodies in the new heavens and the new earth, where we will have the glorious reunion with God, where we'll walk with God as Adam did. We'll dwell with God, who will be amongst us. And this text is a hopeful text. And I'll end with this, Revelation 21:1-8, "And then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven, and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.'""'He'll wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former, things have passed away.' And he who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I'm making all things new.' And he said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.' And he said to me, 'It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage and I'll be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.'"So, friends, today, repent, believe, receive the grace of God and walk with the Lord taking up your cross daily as you follow Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. And let us do it with love and joy and delight with the God, our Father. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are a loving God. We thank you that you delight in us, not because of our righteousness or our goodness or our holiness, but because of the righteousness of your son, Jesus Christ. Christ, we thank you that on the cross you were willing to be forsaken by God, the Father, in order to offer to us reconciliation. Yes, in and of ourselves, Lord, we are sinners and alienated from you, but we ask for forgiveness. And we ask for your grace.And, Lord, for if there's anyone who's still far from you, I pray, draw them to yourself. And I pray, Lord, draw them home, home to a loving relationship with God, our Father. Lord, continue to use us powerfully as believers and as a church to draw many who are far from you to the family of God. And we pray all this in Christ's name. Amen.

Old Testament: 1 Chronicles 7 1 Chronicles 7 (Listen) Descendants of Issachar 7 The sons1 of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four. 2 The sons of Tola: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their fathers' houses, namely of Tola, mighty warriors of their generations, their number in the days of David being 22,600. 3 The son2 of Uzzi: Izrahiah. And the sons of Izrahiah: Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah, all five of them were chief men. 4 And along with them, by their generations, according to their fathers' houses, were units of the army for war, 36,000, for they had many wives and sons. 5 Their kinsmen belonging to all the clans of Issachar were in all 87,000 mighty warriors, enrolled by genealogy. Descendants of Benjamin 6 The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, and Jediael, three. 7 The sons of Bela: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri, five, heads of fathers' houses, mighty warriors. And their enrollment by genealogies was 22,034. 8 The sons of Becher: Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Becher. 9 And their enrollment by genealogies, according to their generations, as heads of their fathers' houses, mighty warriors, was 20,200. 10 The son of Jediael: Bilhan. And the sons of Bilhan: Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. 11 All these were the sons of Jediael according to the heads of their fathers' houses, mighty warriors, 17,200, able to go to war. 12 And Shuppim and Huppim were the sons of Ir, Hushim the son of Aher. Descendants of Naphtali 13 The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shallum, the descendants of Bilhah. Descendants of Manasseh 14 The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his Aramean concubine bore; she bore Machir the father of Gilead. 15 And Machir took a wife for Huppim and for Shuppim. The name of his sister was Maacah. And the name of the second was Zelophehad, and Zelophehad had daughters. 16 And Maacah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. 17 The son of Ulam: Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, son of Manasseh. 18 And his sister Hammolecheth bore Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah. 19 The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam. Descendants of Ephraim 20 The sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, 21 Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead, whom the men of Gath who were born in the land killed, because they came down to raid their livestock. 22 And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him. 23 And Ephraim went in to his wife, and she conceived and bore a son. And he called his name Beriah, because disaster had befallen his house.3 24 His daughter was Sheerah, who built both Lower and Upper Beth-horon, and Uzzen-sheerah. 25 Rephah was his son, Resheph his son, Telah his son, Tahan his son, 26 Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, 27 Nun4 his son, Joshua his son. 28 Their possessions and settlements were Bethel and its towns, and to the east Naaran, and to the west Gezer and its towns, Shechem and its towns, and Ayyah and its towns; 29 also in possession of the Manassites, Beth-shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns, Dor and its towns. In these lived the sons of Joseph the son of Israel. Descendants of Asher 30 The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. 31 The sons of Beriah: Heber, and Malchiel, who fathered Birzaith. 32 Heber fathered Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham, and their sister Shua. 33 The sons of Japhlet: Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These are the sons of Japhlet. 34 The sons of Shemer his brother: Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. 35 The sons of Helem his brother: Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. 36 The sons of Zophah: Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah. 37 Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran, and Beera. 38 The sons of Jether: Jephunneh, Pispa, and Ara. 39 The sons of Ulla: Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia. 40 All of these were men of Asher, heads of fathers' houses, approved, mighty warriors, chiefs of the princes. Their number enrolled by genealogies, for service in war, was 26,000 men. Footnotes [1] 7:1 Syriac (compare Vulgate); Hebrew And to the sons [2] 7:3 Hebrew sons; also verses 10, 12, 17 [3] 7:23 Beriah sounds like the Hebrew for disaster [4] 7:27 Hebrew Non (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 5 Psalm 5 (Listen) Lead Me in Your Righteousness To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David. 5   Give ear to my words, O LORD;    consider my groaning.2   Give attention to the sound of my cry,    my King and my God,    for to you do I pray.3   O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;    in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you1 and watch. 4   For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;    evil may not dwell with you.5   The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;    you hate all evildoers.6   You destroy those who speak lies;    the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. 7   But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,    will enter your house.  I will bow down toward your holy temple    in the fear of you.8   Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness    because of my enemies;    make your way straight before me. 9   For there is no truth in their mouth;    their inmost self is destruction;  their throat is an open grave;    they flatter with their tongue.10   Make them bear their guilt, O God;    let them fall by their own counsels;  because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,    for they have rebelled against you. 11   But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;    let them ever sing for joy,  and spread your protection over them,    that those who love your name may exult in you.12   For you bless the righteous, O LORD;    you cover him with favor as with a shield. Footnotes [1] 5:3 Or I direct my prayer to you (ESV) New Testament: Matthew 7 Matthew 7 (Listen) Judging Others 7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. 6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. Ask, and It Will Be Given 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! The Golden Rule 12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. 13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy1 that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. A Tree and Its Fruit 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. I Never Knew You 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' Build Your House on the Rock 24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” The Authority of Jesus 28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. Footnotes [1] 7:13 Some manuscripts For the way is wide and easy (ESV)

Old Testament: 1 Chronicles 3–4 1 Chronicles 3–4 (Listen) Descendants of David 3 These are the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: the firstborn, Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelite; the second, Daniel, by Abigail the Carmelite, 2 the third, Absalom, whose mother was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; the fourth, Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith; 3 the fifth, Shephatiah, by Abital; the sixth, Ithream, by his wife Eglah; 4 six were born to him in Hebron, where he reigned for seven years and six months. And he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 5 These were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan and Solomon, four by Bath-shua, the daughter of Ammiel; 6 then Ibhar, Elishama, Eliphelet, 7 Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, 8 Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine. 9 All these were David's sons, besides the sons of the concubines, and Tamar was their sister. 10 The son of Solomon was Rehoboam, Abijah his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son, 11 Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son, 12 Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son, 13 Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son, 14 Amon his son, Josiah his son. 15 The sons of Josiah: Johanan the firstborn, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum. 16 The descendants of Jehoiakim: Jeconiah his son, Zedekiah his son; 17 and the sons of Jeconiah, the captive: Shealtiel his son, 18 Malchiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama and Nedabiah; 19 and the sons of Pedaiah: Zerubbabel and Shimei; and the sons of Zerubbabel: Meshullam and Hananiah, and Shelomith was their sister; 20 and Hashubah, Ohel, Berechiah, Hasadiah, and Jushab-hesed, five. 21 The sons of Hananiah: Pelatiah and Jeshaiah, his son1 Rephaiah, his son Arnan, his son Obadiah, his son Shecaniah. 22 The son2 of Shecaniah: Shemaiah. And the sons of Shemaiah: Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah, and Shaphat, six. 23 The sons of Neariah: Elioenai, Hizkiah, and Azrikam, three. 24 The sons of Elioenai: Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani, seven. Descendants of Judah 4 The sons of Judah: Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal. 2 Reaiah the son of Shobal fathered Jahath, and Jahath fathered Ahumai and Lahad. These were the clans of the Zorathites. 3 These were the sons3 of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash; and the name of their sister was Hazzelelponi, 4 and Penuel fathered Gedor, and Ezer fathered Hushah. These were the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem. 5 Ashhur, the father of Tekoa, had two wives, Helah and Naarah; 6 Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah. 7 The sons of Helah: Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan. 8 Koz fathered Anub, Zobebah, and the clans of Aharhel, the son of Harum. 9 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.”4 10 Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm5 so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked. 11 Chelub, the brother of Shuhah, fathered Mehir, who fathered Eshton. 12 Eshton fathered Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah, the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Recah. 13 The sons of Kenaz: Othniel and Seraiah; and the sons of Othniel: Hathath and Meonothai.6 14 Meonothai fathered Ophrah; and Seraiah fathered Joab, the father of Ge-harashim,7 so-called because they were craftsmen. 15 The sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh: Iru, Elah, and Naam; and the son8 of Elah: Kenaz. 16 The sons of Jehallelel: Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel. 17 The sons of Ezrah: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. These are the sons of Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered married;9 and she conceived and bore10 Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah, the father of Eshtemoa. 18 And his Judahite wife bore Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. 19 The sons of the wife of Hodiah, the sister of Naham, were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite and Eshtemoa the Maacathite. 20 The sons of Shimon: Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon. The sons of Ishi: Zoheth and Ben-zoheth. 21 The sons of Shelah the son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the clans of the house of linen workers at Beth-ashbea; 22 and Jokim, and the men of Cozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who ruled in Moab and returned to Lehem11 (now the records12 are ancient). 23 These were the potters who were inhabitants of Netaim and Gederah. They lived there in the king's service. Descendants of Simeon 24 The sons of Simeon: Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, Shaul; 25 Shallum was his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son. 26 The sons of Mishma: Hammuel his son, Zaccur his son, Shimei his son. 27 Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brothers did not have many children, nor did all their clan multiply like the men of Judah. 28 They lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, 29 Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, 30 Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, 31 Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Beth-biri, and Shaaraim. These were their cities until David reigned. 32 And their villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan, five cities, 33 along with all their villages that were around these cities as far as Baal. These were their settlements, and they kept a genealogical record. 34 Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah the son of Amaziah, 35 Joel, Jehu the son of Joshibiah, son of Seraiah, son of Asiel, 36 Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, 37 Ziza the son of Shiphi, son of Allon, son of Jedaiah, son of Shimri, son of Shemaiah—38 these mentioned by name were princes in their clans, and their fathers' houses increased greatly. 39 They journeyed to the entrance of Gedor, to the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks, 40 where they found rich, good pasture, and the land was very broad, quiet, and peaceful, for the former inhabitants there belonged to Ham. 41 These, registered by name, came in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and destroyed their tents and the Meunites who were found there, and marked them for destruction to this day, and settled in their place, because there was pasture there for their flocks. 42 And some of them, five hundred men of the Simeonites, went to Mount Seir, having as their leaders Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. 43 And they defeated the remnant of the Amalekites who had escaped, and they have lived there to this day. Footnotes [1] 3:21 Septuagint (compare Syriac, Vulgate); Hebrew sons of; four times in this verse [2] 3:22 Hebrew sons [3] 4:3 Septuagint (compare Vulgate); Hebrew father [4] 4:9 Jabez sounds like the Hebrew for pain [5] 4:10 Or evil [6] 4:13 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew lacks Meonothai [7] 4:14 Ge-harashim means valley of craftsmen [8] 4:15 Hebrew sons [9] 4:17 The clause These are . . . married is transposed from verse 18 [10] 4:17 Hebrew lacks and bore [11] 4:22 Vulgate (compare Septuagint); Hebrew and Jashubi-lahem [12] 4:22 Or matters (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 2 Psalm 2 (Listen) The Reign of the Lord's Anointed 2   Why do the nations rage1    and the peoples plot in vain?2   The kings of the earth set themselves,    and the rulers take counsel together,    against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,3   “Let us burst their bonds apart    and cast away their cords from us.” 4   He who sits in the heavens laughs;    the Lord holds them in derision.5   Then he will speak to them in his wrath,    and terrify them in his fury, saying,6   “As for me, I have set my King    on Zion, my holy hill.” 7   I will tell of the decree:  The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;    today I have begotten you.8   Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,    and the ends of the earth your possession.9   You shall break2 them with a rod of iron    and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.” 10   Now therefore, O kings, be wise;    be warned, O rulers of the earth.11   Serve the LORD with fear,    and rejoice with trembling.12   Kiss the Son,    lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,    for his wrath is quickly kindled.  Blessed are all who take refuge in him. Footnotes [1] 2:1 Or nations noisily assemble [2] 2:9 Revocalization yields (compare Septuagint) You shall rule (ESV) New Testament: Matthew 3–4 Matthew 3–4 (Listen) John the Baptist Prepares the Way 3 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”1 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,   “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  ‘Prepare2 the way of the Lord;    make his paths straight.'” 4 Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” The Baptism of Jesus 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him,3 and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son,4 with whom I am well pleased.” The Temptation of Jesus 4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,   “‘Man shall not live by bread alone,    but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,   “‘He will command his angels concerning you,' and   “‘On their hands they will bear you up,    lest you strike your foot against a stone.'” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,   “‘You shall worship the Lord your God    and him only shall you serve.'” 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. Jesus Begins His Ministry 12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 15   “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,    the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—16   the people dwelling in darkness    have seen a great light,  and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,    on them a light has dawned.” 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”5 Jesus Calls the First Disciples 18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”6 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds 23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan. Footnotes [1] 3:2 Or the kingdom of heaven has come near [2] 3:3 Or crying: Prepare in the wilderness [3] 3:16 Some manuscripts omit to him [4] 3:17 Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved [5] 4:17 Or the kingdom of heaven has come near [6] 4:19 The Greek word anthropoi refers here to both men and women (ESV)