Podcasts about midianite

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.”

THE STORY OF JOSEPH - lesson 3 GOD'S PARADIGM OF SALVATION OF THE WORLD In this lesson we continue on with the events in Joseph's life leading up to his brothers nearly trying to kill him.  Judah saves Joseph and the brothers decide to sell Joseph to the Midianite or Ishmaelite traders. There is a question any of us would ask if we read the story carefully.  For example check out Gen. 37:36 and Gen. 39:1.  Who sold Joseph to the Egyptians?  In one verse it says the Midianites and in the other verse it says the Ishmaelites?  What is going on?  Does this mean the Bible is a book with error and irreconcilable issues?  NOPE.  We will see the Bible actually helps us with the solution to this supposedly impossible issue. So, Joseph is 1) hated by his brothers and 2) they are jealous or envious of Joseph and 3) the plot to kill him.  But remember the rabbis of old recognized something truly amazing.  The Lord is uses PARADIGMS or patterns, templates, or models.  It is the Lord taking a person or event that becomes a prototype (synonym for paradigm) for another person in the future or an event in the future.  The rabbis have a saying for this ... חיי האבות הם סימנים לבנים HaYay HaAvot Seemaneem Lay Baneem The Lives of the Fathers are Signs for the Sons In light of this the rabbis early on connected Joseph to the Messiah.  They said Joseph was a prototype of the Messiah.  For us that means Jesus.  And just as we will see in this podcast that Joseph is 1) hated by his brothers and 2) they are jealous or envious of Joseph and 3) the plot to kill him.  We also see that Jesus was 1) hated by his brothers (fellow countrymen) and 2) they were jealous of Him and 3) they met in secret to plot how to kill Him.  Joseph is a paradigm of the coming Messiah, our Jesus.  Joseph is God's model of what a savor of the world should be like.  Joseph saved the world with the bread of the earth.  Jesus saved the world with Himself and through Himself with the bread from heaven. For more resources to study this in more depth check the links below. Link 1 - a great article from the awesome website, Hebrew4Christians, focusing on one title of the Messiah the rabbis used in the time after the 3rd century A.D., "Maschiach ben Yosef," or Messiah the son of Joseph.  This has to do with the fact the rabbis recognized that the Messiah had to suffer and even die.  They also recognized that the Messiah would also be victorious as well and establish the throne of Israel in Jerusalem in the days called "The Messianic Age" or the day Messiah comes to rule and reign - https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Articles/Mashiach_ben_Yosef/mashiach_ben_yosef.html Link 2- a second article written by my lead teacher in my graduate program, Dr. Ron Mosely that discusses Joseph is a prototype of the the suffering Messiah just like David is a prototype of the conquering Messiah - https://www.academia.edu/3796976/Twice_Rejected_Mashiach_Ben_Joseph Link 3 - a link to Netivyah ministries in Jerusalem.  This is a Messianic Jewish ministry founded by Joseph Shulam, an amazing Jewish scholar who helps us reconnect to our Jewish roots of our faith.  This link is to a book written by one of their resident scholars, Elhanan ben Avraham, "Moshiach ben Yosef" (Messiah the Son Of Joseph).  I highly recommend you get this book and all the books you can buy from this ministry - https://netivyah.org/product/mashiach-ben-yoseph/ Rev. Ferret - who is this guy?  What's his background?  Why should I listen to him?  Check his background at this link - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ortnret3oxcicu4/BackgrndTeacher%20mar%2025%202020.pdf?dl=0

In this Bible Story, Gideon, a cowardly and weak man, finds strength in God. He is filled with enough bravery to summon an army against the Midianite horde and go into battle. This story is inspired by Judges 6. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is Judges 6:37 from the King James Version.Episode 62: Israel lived in peace for a time, worshiping God for his rescue of their lives but slowly the worship of idols again invaded their worship and as it did, so did the darkness of oppression. Midianites soon began pillaging and plaguing the Israelites, so much so that they needed to hide their food under tents and in wine presses. In one of these wine presses stood the man who God would use to save Israel, Gideon, a man who teaches us that God can use the weakest and most self-doubting person to accomplish His will and save His people.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.This episode is sponsored by Medi-Share, an innovative health care solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.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.

Bottom line: When we fail to finish the right fight, we fall before we cross the finish line. Gideon finished the fight against Midian, however he did not finish the fight for Israel. While he delivered Israel from Midianite oppression, he did not restore Israel to serving and worshipping Jehovah as God and King. He failed to finish the fight not only for Israel but also for himself. He ultimately got sacked by the very blessing of victory. He lost his humility, his heart-honesty, and his hallelujah. He stumbled and fell before he finished. And in the end, the people who received great blessing through his service to God forget both Gideon and God.

Bottom line: The faith-filled and faithful fight to finish the fight. We have to have faith to fight. We have to have faithfulness to finish it. Gideon was a man of both faith and faithfulness. He overcame several obstacles placed in his way that could have caused him to quit before he truly finished the fight. However, he would not be satisfied with a partial victory. He finished the fight to obtain the victory. The victory wasn't just delivering Israel from Midianite oppression. The real victory was leading Israel to return to worship God and recognize Him as their King.

28:12 – After helping the Israelites conquer the Midianites, the Yahwelians received tribute which included thirty-two Midianite virgins, without blemish. Why? Strange. Hey, why do you think they call it booty? And it’s not like they hadn’t mated with earth women before, notably in Genesis 6. Also: cultural destruction and ethnic cleansing of the Canaanite […]

28:52 – After Moses is told he will die soon, without ever setting foot in the Promised Land, he deals harshly with the women and children taken prisoner in the Midianite campaign. He would have dealt harshly with the Midianite men, too, but these had already been exterminated by Phineas the Impaler. Show art: “The Women […]

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost The Collect: Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Old Testament: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 1Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan. 2This is the story of the family 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. 3Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. 4But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him. 12Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem.13And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” He answered, “Here I am.”14So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron. He came to Shechem, 15and a man found him wandering in the fields; 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.”17The 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. 18They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. 19They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” 21But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.”22Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him” —that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. 23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; 24and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers agreed. 28When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt. Psalm: Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b 1 Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name; *        make known his deeds among the peoples. 2 Sing to him, sing praises to him, *        and speak of all his marvelous works. 3 Glory in his holy Name; *        let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. 4 Search for the Lord and his strength; *        continually seek his face. 5 Remember the marvels he has done, *        his wonders and the judgments of his mouth, 6 O offspring of Abraham his servant, *        O children of Jacob his chosen. 16 Then he called for a famine in the land *        and destroyed the supply of bread. 17 He sent a man before them, *        Joseph, who was sold as a slave. 18 They bruised his feet in fetters; *        his neck they put in an iron collar. 19 Until his prediction came to pass, *        the word of the Lord tested him. 20 The king sent and released him; *        the ruler of the peoples set him free. 21 He set him as a master over his household,        as a ruler over all his possessions, 22 To instruct his princes according to his will        and to teach his elders wisdom. 45 Hallelujah! Old Testament: 1 Kings 19:9-18 9At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”10He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” 11He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake;12and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” 15Then the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. 17Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. 18Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” Psalm: Psalm 85:8-13 8 I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, *        for he is speaking peace to his faithful people        and to those who turn their hearts to him. 9 Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, *        that his glory may dwell in our land. 10 Mercy and truth have met together; *        righteousness and peace have kissed each other. 11 Truth shall spring up from the earth, *        and righteousness shall look down from heaven. 12 The Lord will indeed grant prosperity, *        and our land will yield its increase. 13 Righteousness shall go before him, *        and peace shall be a pathway for his feet. Epistle: Romans 10:5-15 5Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that “the person who does these things will live by them.” 6But the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?'” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7“or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?'” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8But what does it say? “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. 11The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” 12For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. 13For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” 14But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? 15And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33 22Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them.25And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea.26But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” 28Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

God encourages a scared Gideon Gideon hears a prophecy about him from a Midianite soldier! The weakness of barley bread Jenn discusses 3 ways how God is good in 7 short verses   Save little babies with Seven Weeks Coffee:  https://sevenweekscoffee.com/?ref=P40   If you want to support the Bible Explained: YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hnh-aqfg8rw Website - https://www.p40ministries.com Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/p40ministries  Contact - jenn@p40ministries.com  Books - https://www.amazon.com/Jenn-Kokal/e/B095JCRNHY/ref=aufs_dp_fta_dsk  Merch Store - https://www.p40ministries.com/shop 

One of the most exciting and encouraging passages in the Bible is connected to this Psalm. 2 Chronicles 20 gives us the details of the story behind this Psalm and prayer of Asaph. It describes a coalition of at least ten Gentile nations that had formed a confederacy to wipe Israel off the face of the earth.   When King Jehoshaphat heard that they were coming he immediately turned to the LORD and called the people to do the same. (2 Chronicles 20:3-4). They prayed and sought the Lord to deliver them and give them wisdom about what to do. I love Jehoshaphat's prayer in 2 Chronicles 20:12, “O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You."  God answered his prayer by telling him through a prophet to send the choir out in front of his army to sing and lead them to victory. God then destroyed the enemy miraculously (2 Chronicles 20:21-24).   Asaph is also praying and records his prayer here in Psalm 83. In verse 1, he asked God to “not be a silent observer of their dilemma but to rise up to help them.” Then in verses 2-8, he specifically identifies the enemy armies who have come to destroy Jerusalem. I'm sure God already knew everything about the situation and who the army was that had come to destroy His people. Sometimes, I think when we pray about difficult situations and we are telling God what is going on, it helps us to face the reality of our situation and acknowledge that only God can help us.   In verses 9-11, Asaph remembered some of Jehovah's great victories in Israel's past history, especially Gideon's victory over the Midianites (Judges 6-8), and the victory of Deborah and Barak against Sisera and Jabin (Judges 4-5). En Dor is not mentioned in Judges 4-5, but it was a city near Taanach (Judg. 5:19), which was near En Dor (Josh. 17:11). The phrase in verse 10, "as dung for the ground" (ESV) describes the unburied bodies of enemy soldiers rotting on the ground. The enemy was defeated and disgraced.   Oreb and Zeeb were commanders (princes) of the Midianite army, and Zeba and Zalmunna were Midianite kings (Judg. 7:25-8:21). The victory of Gideon ("the day of Midian") stood out in Jewish history as an example of God's power (Isa. 9:4; 10:26; Hab. 3:7). Asaph closed his prayer by asking God to send such a victory to Israel that the enemy soldiers would flee in panic and look like tumbleweeds and chaff blowing before the wind. Like a forest burning on the mountainside, their armies would be consumed. The image of God's judgment as a storm is also found in Psalm 18:7-15, 50:3 and 68:4. If Asaph's prayer seems vindictive, remember that he was asking God to protect His special people who had a special work to see on earth.   In verses 16-18, Asaph concludes his prayer asking for God's name to honored and lifted up. Before asking for the destruction of the invading armies, Asaph prayed that the enemy would be "ashamed and dismayed" and would turn to the true and living God. This is what happened in Jehoshaphat's day: "And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel" (2 Chron. 20:29). King Hezekiah later prayed a similar prayer for the invading Assyrians (Isa. 37:14-20). The armies of the ten nations depended on many gods to give them success, but the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob defeated the armies and their gods! "Hallowed be Thy name" is the first request in the Lord's Prayer (Matt. 6:9) and must be the motive that governs all of our praying. The Most High God is sovereign over all the earth!   A great lesson to learn from Psalm 83 and 2 Chronicles 20 is that we should start out our journey of life each day praising, singing, and seeking to glorify the Lord. We can do this by reading a “Praise Psalm” and listening to worship and praise music as we get ready and are driving to work!   God bless!

2023-08-06 My Trials For God's Purposeby Pastor Chris Berg Scripture Reference: Genesis 37 37 So Jacob settled again in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived as a foreigner.2 This is the account of Jacob and his family. 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.3 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. 4 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.5 One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. 6 “Listen to this dream,” he said. 7 “We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!”8 His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them.9 Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it. “Listen, I have had another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!”10 This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him. “What kind of dream is that?” he asked. “Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow to the ground before you?” 11 But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant.12 Soon after this, Joseph's brothers went to pasture their father's flocks at Shechem. 13 When they had been gone for some time, Jacob said to Joseph, “Your brothers are pasturing the sheep at Shechem. Get ready, and I will send you to them.”“I'm ready to go,” Joseph replied.14 “Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are getting along,” Jacob said. “Then come back and bring me a report.” So Jacob sent him on his way, and Joseph traveled to Shechem from their home in the valley of Hebron.15 When he arrived there, a man from the area noticed him wandering around the countryside. “What are you looking for?” he asked.16 “I'm looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Do you know where they are pasturing their sheep?”17 “Yes,” the man told him. “They have moved on from here, but I heard them say, ‘Let's go on to Dothan.'” So Joseph followed his brothers to Dothan and found them there.Joseph Sold into Slavery18 When Joseph's brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him. 19 “Here comes the dreamer!” they said. 20 “Come on, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.' Then we'll see what becomes of his dreams!”21 But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to Joseph's rescue. “Let's not kill him,” he said. 22 “Why should we shed any blood? Let's just throw him into this empty cistern here in the wilderness. Then he'll die without our laying a hand on him.” Reuben was secretly planning to rescue Joseph and return him to his father.23 So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the beautiful robe he was wearing. 24 Then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it. 25 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 taking a load of gum, balm, and aromatic resin from Gilead down to Egypt.26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We'd have to cover up the crime. 27 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. 28 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.29 Some time later, Reuben returned to get Joseph out of the cistern. When he discovered that Joseph was missing, he tore his clothes in grief. 30 Then he went back to his brothers and lamented, “The boy is gone! What will I do now?”31 Then the brothers killed a young goat and dipped Joseph's robe in its blood. 32 They sent the beautiful robe to their father with this message: “Look at what we found. Doesn't this robe belong to your son?”33 Their father recognized it immediately. “Yes,” he said, “it is my son's robe. A wild animal must have eaten him. Joseph has clearly been torn to pieces!” 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes and dressed himself in burlap. He mourned deeply for his son for a long time. 35 His family all tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “I will go to my grave mourning for my son,” he would say, and then he would weep.36 Meanwhile, the Midianite traders arrived in Egypt, where they sold Joseph to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Potiphar was captain of the palace guard.  

While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. And the Lord said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the Lord, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor."And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.And the Lord said to Moses, “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.'”The name of the slain man of Israel, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, chief of a father's house belonging to the Simeonites. And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was the tribal head of a father's house in Midian.Sermon Questions1.     Do you ever feel like your own worst enemy? When/how so?2.     What are the lies of our culture that you seem susceptible to?3.     Do you agree that evil's best strategy against us is to distort the truth? What are the implications of that?4.     The passage suggests that idolatry is equivalent to adultery. Is that how you think about it when you find you are serving idols?5.     Do you ever struggle with falling for the same lie repeatedly? Discuss.6.     Do you walk around believing you are a part of the problem? If not, how do you think about it?7.     The sermon suggests that the main truth of Jesus is that he was crucified for our lie-believing sin. Is that how you relate to him? What are others ways you might relate to him?

Pastors Robert Baltodano and Dr. Jay Falzarano  Question Timestamps: Mary Jo, NJ (1:56) - What does “spirit” mean in 1 Peter 3:18? Was there a bodily resurrection or just a spiritual resurrection? Florencia, email (9:40) - My friend doesn't believe in hell, how can I question her in a way that is loving and brings truth? Avery, NJ (12:45) - Why does God allow Satan to do things to his followers? Linda, NJ (15:32) - Are the Midianites mentioned in Numbers 25 the same Midianites that Moses's father-in-law and wife are a part of? Vivian, NY (21:21) - I saw a winged devil, what does that mean? Ellen, NY (24:25) - Why did Jesus say “only God is good?” Is that Jesus saying that he isn't God? Lisa, NY (27:04) - Why did God punish Miriam for criticizing Moses's Midianite wife, but then punished the men of Israel when they were with Midianite women? Joe, TX (34:17) - Where is the limit to obeying our governing authorities? Nancy, NJ (41:56) - Is my husband in heaven? Tara, NY (46:16) - Why was Saul commanded to kill all of the men, women, and livestock by God? Why not just the men? Glen, UT (51:06) - Is there a direct reference in the Bible that Satan can appear as an angel of light? Steve, NY (54:48) - Can you explain why God punished Nadab and Abihu? Questions? 888-712-7434 Questions@bbtlive.org  

“So Jerub-baal (that is, Gideon) and his army got up early and went as far as the spring of Harod. The armies of Midian were camped north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength. Therefore, tell the people, ‘Whoever is timid or afraid may leave this mountain and go home.'” So 22,000 of them went home, leaving only 10,000 who were willing to fight. But the Lord told Gideon, “There are still too many! Bring them down to the spring, and I will test them to determine who will go with you and who will not.” When Gideon took his warriors down to the water, the Lord told him, “Divide the men into two groups. In one group put all those who cup water in their hands and lap it up with their tongues like dogs. In the other group put all those who kneel down and drink with their mouths in the stream.” Only 300 of the men drank from their hands. All the others got down on their knees and drank with their mouths in the stream. The Lord told Gideon, “With these 300 men I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Send all the others home.” So Gideon collected the provisions and rams' horns of the other warriors and sent them home. But he kept the 300 men with him. The Midianite camp was in the valley just below Gideon. That night the Lord said, “Get up! Go down into the Midianite camp, for I have given you victory over them!” ‭‭Judges‬ ‭7‬:‭1‬-‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬ "Absolutely makes sense… You just have to keep leading. Through prayer and study. Spiritually God may be giving you a Gideon moment… Judges 7:2… there are just too many to do what He is wanting to do. He wants you to conquer with few and occupy with many. Grow deep now and then wide. More people bring more distractions and divisions.  You can doubt yourself but that's not who is doing the work here… allow yourself to be a vessel to be used and let God do the work."  Grow with less before you grow with more.

Parshat Matot-Masay:  Koshering Midianite Pots and Pans  -  English only. After fighting the battle against the Midianites, the Children of Israel take spoils including metal containers.  What can be done with these containers?  The answer is critical for everyone to know!  Recorded July 15, 2023.

To follow along with this study, visit: https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/499170?editor=1 Matot, Mattot, Mattoth, or Matos (מַּטּוֹת‎—Hebrew for "tribes", the fifth word, and the first distinctive word, in the parashah) is the 42nd weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה‎, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the ninth in the Book of Numbers. It comprises Numbers 30:2–32:42. It discusses laws of vows, the destruction of Midianite towns, and negotiations of the Reubanites and Gadites to settle land outside of Israel. The parashah is made up of 5,652 Hebrew letters, 1,484 Hebrew words, 112 verses, and 190 lines in a Torah Scroll (סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה‎, Sefer Torah). To support Eliyahu Jian's work, visit https://www.vitaltransformation.org/donate Connect with our Hebrew channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@michaelmaor168 Got a question? Click here to submit a form with your question and Eliyahu will respond to your email as soon as he can! — https://www.eliyahujian.com/contact For nearly three decades, Eliyahu Jian has been guiding men and women through the process of strengthening their relationships, improving their businesses, and embracing healthier lifestyles while connecting to a higher power and purpose. Eliyahu's roles have included coaching CEOs, investment fund managers, entrepreneurs, and leaders from every walk of life. "How we feel today and every day is a choice. What will you choose to create in your life?" - Eliyahu To rediscover your spiritual path, visit https://www.eliyahujian.com/store to schedule a session OR email info@eliyahujian.com for a FREE consultation. - Healing Session - Business Coaching Session - Relationship Coaching Session - Soul Reading - Astrology Chart Session We can not do this without YOU! To join the online community, visit https://www.vitaltransformation.org • Click here to subscribe: youtube.com/EliyahuJian/?sub_... • To watch past + future Tikkuneh Zohar classes, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0nLEx2X3Uk&list=PLHA_Az3gKZKwUK9PpK-rk6D7yFTywvAKZ • Click here to watch another video: https://youtu.be/Jvb8wExHzw8?t=199 For important info and weekly updates, subscribe to the weekly email list by visiting https://www.eliyahujian.com, scrolling all the way down to the bottom left, and entering your email! Follow Eliyahu Jian: • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eliyahujianofficial/ • Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/eliyahujian • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eliyahujian Follow Vital Transformation: • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vital_transformation • Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/TransformVital • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vitaltransfomation Eliyahu Jian: "I don't take myself too seriously and I like to make people laugh and help them choose joy and happiness. I like to simplify spirituality and make it more accessible. I translate profound spiritual wisdom into practical, everyday advice that empowers people to live their happiest and most fulfilled experiences."

In the one hundred and thirtieth year after Israel's going down to Egypt Pharaoh dreamed that he was sitting upon his throne, and he lifted up his eyes, and he beheld an old man before him with a balance in his hand, and he saw him taking all the elders, nobles, and great men of Egypt, tying them together, and laying them in one scale of the balance, while he put a tender kid into the other. The kid bore down the pan in which it lay until it hung lower than the other with the bound Egyptians. Pharaoh arose early in the morning and called together all his servants and his wise men to interpret his dream, and the men were greatly afraid on account of his vision. Balaam the son of Beor then spoke and said: "This means nothing but that a great evil will spring up against Egypt, for a son will be born unto Israel, who will destroy the whole of our land and all its inhabitants, and he will bring forth the Israelites from Egypt with a mighty hand. Now, therefore, O king, take counsel as to this matter, that the hope of Israel be frustrated before this evil arises against Egypt." The king said unto Balaam: "What shall we do unto Israel? We have tried several devices against this people, but we could not prevail over it. Now let me hear thy opinion." At Balaam's instance, the king sent for his two counselorsReuel the Midianite and Job the Uzite, to hear their advice. Reuel spoke: "If it seemeth good to the king, let him desist from the Hebrews, and let him not stretch forth his hand against them, for the Lord chose them in days of old, and took them as the lot of His inheritance from amongst all the nations of the earth, and who is there that hath dared stretch forth his hand against them with impunity, but that their God avenged the evil done unto them?" Reuel then proceeded to enumerate some of the mighty things God had performed for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he closed his admonition with the words: "Verily, thy grandfather, the Pharaoh of former days, raised Joseph the son of Jacob above all the princes of Egypt, because he discerned his wisdom, for through his wisdom he rescued all the inhabitants of the land from the famine, after which he invited Jacob and his sons to come down to Egypt, that the land of Egypt and the land of Goshen be delivered from the famine through their virtues. Now, therefore, if it seems good in thine eyes, leave off from destroying the children of Israel, and if it be not thy will that they dwell in Egypt, send them forth from here, that they may go to the land of Canaan, the land wherein their ancestors sojourned. When Pharaoh heard the words of Jethro-Reuel, he was exceedingly wroth with him, and he was dismissed in disgrace from before the king, and he went to Midian.The king then spoke to Job, and said: "What sayest thou, Job, and what is thy advice respecting the Hebrews?" Job replied: "Behold, all the inhabitants of the land are in thy power. Let the king do as seemeth good in his eyes."http://www.pseudepigrapha.com/LegendsOfTheJews/loj206.htmSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/623b4f307483db0013d3a659. I pray that God "gives you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance" https://plus.acast.com/s/623b4f307483db0013d3a659. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Main Scriptures: Judges 7:1-22; Isaiah 54:1-3;Greetings, if you would like to support Free Gospel Church and our ministries, you can make a donation at FreeGospelAssembly.com.  If you have any Podcast topic suggestions, please send an email to Freegospel3@gmail.com.  Thank you for listening. If this message has blessed you please share it, that others may hear! God bless you.At certain times God orders what seems counterintuitive to human reason, tobring glory to His name. For example in 1 Corinthians 1:18 it is the foolish looking cross that actually demonstrates the love and power of God: counterintuitive! This strange way for God to produce a victory occurs only when ordered by God. This is the point of Gideon, Abraham and Jesus' experience in doing God's will. But only when he directs.We are not called to just do counterintuitive things in order to spur God to action! It'sonly when He clearly speaks, then we obey.First, Make Sure, as much as possible, that the approach is God ordained.We are not to create difficulties in the hopes that God will intervene. In our maintext God clearly spoke in Chapter 7:1-7 and Gideon obeyed. That brought the armydown to 300: “With the 300 men... I Will save you and I will give the Midianite vast army into your hands.” In this peculiar situation, created by God, all will clearly know that it's the Lord that tips the proverbial scale. In fact even with Israel's original numbers, they were no match for the Midian army: Without the Lord's special intervention Goideon and Co. could not win.Note constantly throughout the book of Judges the children of Israel, whoconstantly slipped into ungodly, idolatrous ways had to “cry unto the Lord” and He was always faithful to respond(Judges 6:1-11)Second, Because some of God's solutions seem counterintuitive to us.He gives us special grace to persevere. In Gideon's story it manifested through variedsigns that he asked God to perform.

Parsha Pinchas, defender of faith The Parsha Perspective is in honor of the Refuah Shlema of Ruchma Leah Bas Sarah. May all those who need experience a speedy and quick recovery with G-d's help.  The Parsha Perspective is in loving memory of Leah Mintche Bas Ya'akov Yosef, Edward Ben Efraim, Shlomo Ben Edward, and Yirachmiel Daniel Ben Gedalia. May their souls be uplifted and their memories a blessing. This week's Parsha Perspective is in the merit of the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh, Rav Chaim Ibn Attar, one of the commentaries I quote frequently. Earlier this week, on Tuesday, the 15th of Tammuz, we observed his Yahrzeit, the anniversary of his passing. he release date of this episode coincides with the fast day known as Shivah Asar B'Tammuz, the 17th of Tammuz. This day marks the beginning of a three-week mourning period for the destruction of Jerusalem and both Beis Hamikdash (Temples). May this fast be the final one in exile, leading to the joyous celebration of the ultimate redemption. Click here to listen, watch and connect! Parshaperspective.com Our Parsha begins with Pinchas, the grandchild of Aaron, receiving a reward for killing Zimri, the head of the tribe of Shimon. Zimri was publicly consorting with a Midianite princess, so Pinchas took a spear and ended both of their lives. We find out the names of the people that Pinchas killed. We learn the reason the Torah mentions their names. 

And as if all that wasn't aggravating enough to the Moabitesand Midianites, he adds to his words with a long and fourth blessing. They are obviously very upset with him as not only did he not preform the service he was hired to do, but he in fact did the opposite. The assassin had taken on the role of defender. There they meet the young Midianite women who are sellingmuch more than garments. An indecent proposal follows and the exchange requested is to simply defecate in front of their idol. Driven by lust, it's easy justifying this disgusting act, not as worship but as ridicule of the strange idol these women worship. But the philosophy of Baal Peor is more than a disgusting act, it is eliminating all aspects of self-control and self-respect. What appears to be the ultimate in freedom is actually the pathto the ultimate slavery to our taavot – our It's animalistic desires and with that, many of the people fall into the trap laid out by Bilaam. Confronted by Moses and the leaders, he asks if she is permittedor forbidden. Moses replies that she is obviously forbidden. The response isridiculed with a question, Moses are you permitted a Midianite woman as a wifeand I am not? ו in the word Shalom in theTorah; writes asfollows: Shechem felt a tremendous love and passion for Dina, and this feelingcame due to an inner soul connection which he had with Dina. [We findsimilarly regarding conversion, that a gentile who converts is said to havealready had a G-dly soul designated for him even prior to conversion, and it isprecisely because of this connection with his G-dly soul that he was driven toconversion. See Or Hachaim Hakadosh beginning of Parshas Ki Teitzei This childwas born with the reincarnated soul of Shechem, who Shimon had earlier killed.In revenge of the acts of Shechem, Shimon had also killed 24000 inhabitants ofthe city. Hashem planned to set up these two individuals, Dina and Shechem, aswell as the 24000 men of Shechem, a second time, and place them to a challengeof forbidden relations, and see if they would overcome their previous mistakes. [Although a soul connection did exist betweenDina and Shechem, this did not warrant permission for them to be together, asthe time of purification for Shechem had not yet arrived. See Mei ShiloachPinchas explains that this was because Zimri hadprophetic vision, seeing that Kozbi shared a soul connection with him,contained holiness and would eventually receive a portion in the world to come. Zimrihowever, jumped the gun, and became intimate with Kozbi prior to herconversion, before her sublimation to holiness. The Asara Mamaort does notelaborate further on the journey of these two souls, although it is furtherdiscussed in the writings of the Arizal. inexplains that the souls of Dina and Shechem,and Zimri and Kozbi, were later reincarnated into the famous sage, Rebbe Akiva,and the wife of a Roman Aristocrat by the name of Tunisrufus. The Talmud[8]writes thatthe wife of Tunisrufus, who was a most beautiful woman, decided with herhusbands permission to seduce Rebbe Akiva and make him fall into sin. Sheexplained to her husband that the G-d of the Jews hates promiscuity. No one canresist me and in this way I will destroy him for you. The journeyof the two souls finally came to a proper ending, in which the soul of Dina andShechem finally completed the test of self control and became united throughthe marriage of Rebbe Akiva and the wife of Tunisrufus, after her conversion,thus elevating the holiness Shechem back to its holy root. One waskilled by the steel of the sword, another by the steel of the spear and RabbiAkiva by the steel combs

Read along with the story. Today we're reading Judges 6-8. God raises up the deliverer Gideon to save his people from the Midianite raiders. In the process of battle, God shows that numbers don't matter...only God's presence does. Thank you to our generous patrons who makes this show possible. The Bible Brief is listener-supported and brought to you by the Bible Literacy Foundation, dedicated to helping people like you learn the Bible. Looking for more? Check out our website at biblelit.org. Support the showSupport the show: Tap here to become a monthly supporter!Review the show: Tap here!Newsletter: BibleLit Newsletter Sign-UpWebsite: biblelit.orgInstagram: @biblelitTwitter: @bible_litFacebook: @biblelitEmail the Show: biblebrief@biblelit.orgSearch Tags: bible, beginner, bible verse, god, verse of the day, prayer, jesus, bible study, scripture, learn, bible introduction, introduction, intro to the bible, introduction to the bible, podcast, beginner bible, bible overview, how to read the bible, what is the bible about, bible story, bible stories, what is the bible, bible study, walkthrough, bible walkthrough, walk-through, bible basics for beginners, bible podcastCopywrite Bible Literacy Foundation 2023.

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, we thank you that you, the great God of the universe, holy, perfect, you demand absolute perfection and holiness from us. And Lord, we thank you that you offer us grace to do that which you command us to do. You call us to repentance and we can't repent apart from your grace. You call us to faith in Christ, we can't do that either apart from your grace. You call us to live a life of love toward God and toward people from the heart, and Lord, we can't do that apart from you. Lord, today convict us of sin. Reveal any guilt that we are still carrying from our sin. And I pray, Lord, don't just relieve us of that guilt, but remove it from us. Eradicate it from us so we as your children can live lives of good conscience.Lord, bless our time in the holy scriptures today. Holy Spirit, we pray, minister to us, reveal the words to us, reveal the words that you would have for each of us individually. And Lord, magnify your son Jesus Christ through the preaching of your word. Jesus, we thank you that you provided a way for us to be reconciled with the Father, for that sin to be removed, for that guilt to be assuaged. And we thank you that for those who are in Christ now today, there is no condemnation. Zero whatsoever. We believe that. We love that and we receive that word. Bless our time in the holy scriptures. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.We're continuing our study through Genesis 37 through 50. We've entitled it Graduate Level Grace: A Study in the Life of Joseph. Today, we're in Genesis 42 and the title is Grace for the Guilty. Why do we call it Graduate Level Grace? Well, we need grace as much today as we did the very first day that we trusted in Jesus Christ. We need grace to be justified of our sin, but we also need grace to be sanctified then also shaped by God to be ever more useful. In his confessions, Augustine wrote around the year 400 AD, he said, "God, give me the grace to do as you command and command me to do what you will." What he's saying is, God, you can command whatever you want, but unless you give me the power to do it, unless you give me the grace to do it, I can't do it. But if you give me grace, you can command whatever you will of me. Meaning we're incapable of obeying God's commands, of doing God's will unless He grants us the ability to do so.Jesus commanded us, repent and believe. How? By God's grace. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. How? By God's grace. Marry this person, raise these children. Do your job as unto the Lord. How? By God's grace. God's grace is God's unmerited favor, but it's also fuel. Grace saves us and it sanctifies us. It trains us, it hones us, it strengthens, it grows us, and grace graduates us. And we see the same grace, it's on every single page of this narrative of the story of Joseph. This is the supreme lesson which meets us and impresses us at every stage of his history. He was a man of God and he walked in the presence of God knowing that he needed the grace of God. Everything he did, he did under the conscious realization that he's living under the watchful eye of God who loves him and will carry him through no matter what. In seasons of adversity, 13 years in prison, sold by his brothers into slavery, doesn't know a person in Egypt. In adversity, he trusted his God and waited for God's timing.And then last week, we learned that God raised him up. By God's grace, now he's second in command to only Pharaoh. And in prosperity, Joseph did not forget his God. No, he leaned upon his God and found his grace sufficient. His heart wasn't tried by humiliation nor his head turned by exaltation. He didn't let the disappointments of life break his heart, nor did he allow the victories of life go to his head. He's even-keeled, composed knowing that God is sovereign. So before the Lord exalts Joseph to this position of importance, He prepared him with discipline. And this discipline did not feel like grace. But then again, what does grace feel like? If you think about what does grace feel like?Well, what did it take for grace to be procured by God, for grace to be offered to us? Well, grace took a bloody cross, a crucifixion. That's how grace was procured. So sometimes, yes, grace comes as soothing balm to our soul, but sometimes grace comes as surgical tool slicing us open to cut out the rot. In moments which might feed human pride and self-sufficiency, what do we need? We need grace, God's grace to humble us, to keep us simple, to keep us faithful. Because Joseph walked with God in the darkness of prison, he's ready for the spotlight of the palace and that's where we find ourselves. And what kind of man is he when his brothers who sold him into captivity stand before him, bowing down before him. He holds all the power to do whatever he wants with them. What does he do? Well, we see a tender heart. How does his heart remain tender despite the hardness of the obstacles around him? Well, it was God's grace. So God's grace to Joseph made him a gracious leader, ready to forgive those who wanted harm for him.As we walk through the text together in Genesis 42, four points to frame up our time. First, your sin will find you out. Second, the slow burn of a guilty conscience. Third, now there comes a reckoning. And for fourth, the Father who won't sacrifice His beloved son. First, your sin will find you out. It's a biblical principle. Numbers 32:23. "But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord and be sure your sin will find you out." We worship a holy God and God is omniscient. He sees anything and everything and it's against His holy character to allow sin to go unpunished. Your sin will find you out.Luke 8:17, the words of Christ. "For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light", either in this life or when we stand in the judgment before Christ. So this is exactly what happens. Joseph's brothers, 10 of them, they sold him to captivity and in their minds they already think he's dead. That's the lie they told their father, Jacob, that your son was eaten, torn apart by wild animals. And for two decades, they lived with this guilt that they had murdered their brother. Later on, in the same text, twice they say the brother who was no longer with us, the brother who was no more, they thought Joseph was dead. And here, God reveals their sin and makes them reckon with it on a glorious stage. And thanks be to God that He included this narrative in scripture for us to see, for the world to see for time immemorial.Remember, Joseph is out of prison. He's appointed to second in command only to Pharaoh. God has given him incredible wisdom for not just to interpret Pharaoh's dreams but also put a plan in place to capitalize on the abundance of seven years. So he's second in command, he's shaved dressed, married, he's got two sons and he's been busy capitalizing on seven years of bountiful harvest in preparation for the seven years of debilitating famine. So that brings us to Genesis 42. We begin with verses one through five."When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, 'Why do you look at one another?' And he said, 'Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.' So 10 of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with his brothers for he feared that harm might happen to him. Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan."The famine had engulfed all the earth in including Canaan. So God sends of famine in order to awaken the brothers, in order to get them to act and to do something with the guilt that is upon them. Their father looks at them and says, "Why do you look at one another?" And he sounds exactly like my dad, my dad's Slavic. This is exactly how he parented us. Very direct. "Why you look at one another?" That's what Jacob is doing. And what is he saying? He's not just saying, you guys are lazy bums. He's saying, we got to protect our household. We got to provide for our household. You have children and you have wives, you have cattle, you have to provide. Now go and do something or else we're all going to die.Jacob heard that there was grain for sale in Egypt and he has no idea, absolutely no idea how that grain came to be. He has no idea that God had been working behind the scenes for over two decades, 13 years that Joseph was in prison, the seven years of abundance, that's 20. And time has passed with the famine. So God has been using this, overriding the sinful intentions of the brothers, the slave traders, Potiphar and Mrs. Potiphar, the forgetful butler. God was busy turning their evil into good and to shape Joseph and place him in the number two spot. Why were the brothers just sitting around? They too must have heard that there was grain for sale. Everyone heard. No one was prepared for this famine, not one of the countries. How could you be prepared? You'd have to know the future in order to build the infrastructure to farm, to gather, to store, to distribute all the grain and mountains and mountains of grain it was. And in famine that grain was as good as gold.Why were they sitting around knowing this, that if they went to Egypt they could solve all their problems? Well, because even the word of Egypt, the thought of Egypt sent a shutter down their spine and sent a cold sweat down their back. Every time they thought of Egypt, they couldn't but remember the anguished cry of their brother, Joseph, right before they sold him to the Midianites and he was sent to Egypt. Now, imagine their trip to Egypt. Imagine the silence, the deafening silence as they're all thinking the same thing, recalling the events of 20 plus years ago. Now, they're traveling the same path as Joseph did except he was in chains. Jacob, we see, hasn't changed much. His favoritism has only grown as he poured out his love on Benjamin, his youngest son, perhaps overcompensating for having lost Joseph.He wants to protect him and fear that harm might happen to him, perhaps because he never trusted the brothers, perhaps because he didn't believe their lies and the story that they told him. And later in the text we see that he did blame them for the death of Joseph. The fact that he kept Benjamin behind must have stung their consciences. It had to have. And we don't know much about Benjamin's character just yet, but Joseph's brother, we know a lot about. They were sinful. They were wicked, violent, lust-driven men. Sons two and three, that's Simeon and Levi, were guilty of premeditated genocide in the slaughter of the unsuspecting Shechemites. Son number one, Rubin, committed incest with his father's concubine in an attempt to secure ascendancy over his father. And next, all 10 of the brothers beat Joseph, stripped him, threw him into a pit with violent rage and then sold him into slavery.Son number four, we read in Genesis 38, was Judah, who impregnated his daughter-in-law, Tamar, who had disguised herself as a Canaanite prostitute. The family was not just dysfunctional, this is a family of egregious sinners and these were the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is supposed to be the family of God, the chosen people of God. God was going to bless all the families of the world through this one family. The Messiah, the promised conquerer of Satan, he was supposed to come from this family. And as you read this narrative, you're like, "What? These people, these wicked sinners?" Well, yes, all of that will come true, but God first has to do spiritual surgery upon them.These men, who are guilty of sin and had attempted to hide it for 20 years, just imagine doing that, all 10 of them maintaining the same story for two decades. These men were guilty and the time of reckoning has come and it's time that they were confronted with their sin, deal with their guilt, repent and seek forgiveness from God, from Joseph, and also from their father, Jacob. They did everything they could to forget their sin, but they couldn't. They tried to live as if nothing had happened, thereby searing their consciences all the more. And now it's time, by God's grace, their consciences are awakened by the light of God's providence.Point two is the slow burn of a guilty conscience. God has given every single one of us a conscience. This is great proof of the existence of God. And the conscience is given to us to guide us between choosing good and evil. The conscience serves as a witness to what we already know about God's law that's written upon our hearts. It's like an independent witness within, examining and passing judgment on one's conduct. Sometimes the conscience is seared through sinful living licentiousness. Sometimes the conscience is seared through legalism where we bring in manmade rules that then inform our conscience, that then sears our conscience from what is true according to God's work. Therefore, it's important, friends, to educate your conscious, to inform your conscious, to make sure your conscious is calibrated to the law of God, the word of God and nothing else.First Timothy 4:1 through five, for example. "Now the spirit expressly says in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer." Romans 2:14 through 16 testifies to the fact that God's law, his commandments are written on our hearts. Verse 14, "For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they're a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus."So the conscious is like an internal sensor that goes off when it senses that we're moving away from God's will. It beeps and then it beeps again. It's like when you're not wearing a seatbelt in your car and it beeps and it beeps and it beeps. After a while, it just stops beeping. And that's how the conscience works. That's the searing of the conscious, burnt to the point where it's not effective anymore. And at that point, the conscience needs to be awakened by the power of the Holy Spirit. It's only the Holy Spirit that can bring a person to a realization that we have sinned. Our conscience is defiled. We need a cleansing. We need the guilt removed. Titus 1:15 through 16, "To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They're detestable, disobedient and unfit for any good work."Joseph's brothers grew up in a Christian family, so to speak, a family of believers. They're supposed to know God, they're supposed to represent God to the world. And maybe that's how they even presented themselves, but their works, their life denied the fact. With their mouth they espouse that they love God, but their hearts are far from him. So Genesis 42, verse three. "So 10 of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt." And it's fascinating that the text does not call them Jacob's sons. The text calls him Joseph's brothers. Why? Because the relationship between Joseph and his brothers is in focus in this chapter. So the brothers make the trek across the Sinai and down to the Nile Valley.Verse six, it says, "Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brothers came and bowed themselves before him and their faces to the ground." Never in their wildest dreams or in their worst nightmares, would they imagine that they would meet Joseph again. They thought, and just in all probability, that he was dead. And if he was alive, most likely is just an obscure slave. But meet Joseph, they certainly did. And when they met him, they didn't recognize him. He was virtually unrecognizable, beardless, clean-shaven, likely dressed in flowing white linen, decorated with gold, speaking Egyptian. And so they did what all the foreigners were doing. They bowed themselves before this man, to the ground, faces to the ground. It was a sign of subordination, of course, and the only means of surviving the famine.I think this is a scene that Joseph had visualized in his mind a thousand times plus over the course of the last 20 years. Why? Because he had been given a prophetic dream years before that he had shared with them and with their father. This is the dream that kicked off the narrative in Genesis 37:5. "Now, Joseph had a dream and when he told it his brothers, they hated him even more. He said to them, 'Hear this dream that I have dreamed. 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.' 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."So the first dream had come to pass and Joseph knew it was from God the whole time, that dream actually sustained him through his darkest years. Now, the prophetic dream was happening in reality in real time. His brothers come here looking for grain and they, like the sheaves of grain in the dream, bow down before Joseph's sheaf. He is indeed reigning and ruling over them however much they hated him for it. Genesis 42:7. "Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. 'Where do you come from?' he said. They said, 'From the land of Canaan to buy food.' And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him."He recognized them immediately. How could he not? He had seen their faces emblazoned on his mind and his heart and nightmares for years. He remembers them. And then there's 10 bearded brothers speaking Hebrew. How often do you see that? Time had left its mark on them as on him, but he still recognized them. Joseph didn't show any outward emotion, goes about his job with stoic precision and all the power is absolutely in his hands. He has all the leverage to do whatever he wants. If he says, "Dance", they're going to dance. If he says, "Jump", they say, "How high, sir?" Not only does he have the power to withhold grain from them, he has the power to take their freedom and even their very lives. So he begins to interrogate them, speaking roughly as the strangers, verse nine."And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. And he said to them, 'You are spies. You have come to see the nakedness of the land.' They said to him, 'No, my Lord, your servants have come to buy food. We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants have never been spies.'" It says that Joseph remembered the dreams, plural. There was a first dream, but there was also a second dream. And in the second dream, his dad was included, meaning that his whole family would come down, bow down before him. So he knows that this isn't the full revelation of God just yet. In Genesis 37:9 through 11, the second dream, "Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, 'Behold, I've dreamed another dream. Behold the sun, the moon, and 11 stars were bowing down to me.' But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, '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?' And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind."So this part of the interrogation, Joseph knows the whole story, it has not been completed. He interrogates them, accuses them of espionage, on mission to find weak points in the defense in Egypt. And by the way, this was a legitimate concern. Egypt had all the grain in the world of that time. Obviously, there were threats to them. So he accuses them of this. They try to remove doubt and in doing so they divulge more information than they should have. In Genesis 42:11, they say, "We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants have never been spies." And the irony, of course, isn't lost on us. These men were not honest, although they claim to be so. And here you got to pause and say, what is Joseph doing here? Why is he testing? Why is he speaking to them as strangers harshly? Why this tone, Joseph?Well, it's because he's testing them to see if they have changed, to see if their hearts have been awakened by the spirit of God. Were they the same lying, conniving, callous, jealous, murdering sinners that they still hate him? And he's wise in doing this because of his position of influence and also he's figuring out how much am I going to help this family? He could have just said, okay, I don't trust you guys. I'm going to send grain to you and to your households and that's it. That could have been the end of the story, but it's not. He understands there's more. Genesis 42:12, "He said to them, 'No, it is the nakedness of the land that you have come to see.' And they said, 'We, your servants, are 12 brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. And behold, the youngest is this day with our father and one is no more.' But Joseph said to them, 'It is as I said to you, you are spies.'"I think here Joseph's cool, icy persona, complexion, projection I think here begins to melt a little bit. They don't just say there's 10 of us. They don't just say there's 11 of us, 10 living and one still at home, Benjamin. No, they say 12. And I wonder how Joseph felt when he heard the number 12, that they considered that the family was still intact, not withstanding their brother's death. Perhaps it's a hint here of an improvement in their spiritual condition. And then they say one is no more. Are their consciences becoming awake, unseared, coming back to life? They give Joseph more information about their family to establish credibility. And Joseph continues to accuse them like a seasoned interrogator. When the accusation doesn't stick, he just progressively repeats it louder and more emphatically till the person cracks. It is as I said, you are spies.And I think Joseph here is having a little fun because he remembers back in the day, the brothers, what do they accuse him of? What do they call him? They called him a spy. "'Did you come here again to spy on us, to bring a bad report of us to our father?" And here Joseph turns the tables. Genesis 42:15. "By this you shall be tested. By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there's truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.' And he put them all together in custody for three days." He puts them in prison, in the pit, in the dungeon. I wonder if it's the same prison that he was in just to give them a taste of their medicine. He does enslave them for three days, but he's not doing it to enslave them. He's giving them time to think. He's giving them time to think about their guilt, to experience the guilty conscience.And three days in an Egyptian prison would've been plenty of time to come to their senses, think things through and talk things over. What were they talking over? Which of us is going back home to Canaan to tell dad that we had lied for two decades? Who's going to go back and tell him that, no, Joseph is actually alive, he wasn't torn by wild animals. He was sold into captivity by wild animals, the brothers themselves. And not only that, they would have to convince Jacob to let Benjamin go to Joseph. Who's doing that? They would've probably all preferred to stay in prison to the thought of that task.And this is point three. Now there comes a reckoning. Verse 18. "On the third day, Joseph said to them, 'Do this and you will live, for I fear God. If you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households and bring your youngest brother to me so your words will be verified and you shall not die.' And they did." So Joseph proposes a new plan, probably because he understood how emotionally daunting and painful the first one would be. Plus, Joseph did care for them. And here we see Joseph's heart toward them, his real heart toward them.He knew that if one of them goes back with a sack of grain or as much as he could carry, that's not going to hold the family over for much time. So he comes up with a new plan, leave one brother here, the nine of you can go back. Just make sure you come back here with Benjamin. Though they don't deserve this grace, Joseph says, "I fear God." This Egyptian standing before them proclaims the name of God and that he doesn't just worship God, he fears God. God had extended grace toward Joseph. Now Joseph is extending grace toward the brothers.The way in which God is associated with the life of Joseph is paramount to the narrative. At every single most important juncture in Joseph's life, he brings in the name of God. Why? It shows us that he was a God-centered man and that he knew that everything in this world is controlled by God. And if he is to make the right decision, he has to lean upon God. For example, when Potiphar's wife tried to seduce Joseph, he said, "How can I do this great wickedness?" Against whom? Not Potiphar, God. "Do not interpretations belong to God?", he said to the cup bearer and to the baker in prison. When he stands before Pharaoh, he says the same. And he says, "God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. God will shortly bring it to pass." And when he has a son and he remembers God and he remembers the pain of his past, he says, "God has made me forget the pain of my father's household."Everything in Joseph's life was guided and controlled by the thought of God. Not one of the brothers has thus far mentioned God, but this Egyptian seemingly is talking about God. One brother was supposed to remain and here's the big test. Was the talk of the 12 brothers just that? Was it talk, or would they really come back for their brother, Simeon? The thought of their brother remaining in prison breaks their heart. They understand the pain and anguish that their father would feel hearing that Simeon was left in prison. And hear these words that erupts from a broken heart, these anguished words pouring from a guilty conscience beginning in verse 21."Then they said to one another, 'In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.' And Reuben answered them, 'Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen, so now there comes a reckoning for his blood." In truth, we are guilty concerning our brother, they say. Not the dreamer, not Joseph. No, this is our brother. Time does not blot out the guilt of sin, nor does time have any power over the conscience. And God, in His great providence, brings these men face to face with their sin and its due punishment. And isn't it fascinating how God does this, how God forces them to face the reality, to reckon with their sin?God brings them to Egypt on the same path that the Midianite merchants walked with Joseph. They were together in a strange land. They were in the power of a stranger whose force was infinitely greater than their own, which in turn may have had the effect of reminding them. Oh, remember that time when Joseph was defenseless, when we had all the power over him? And how do we use that power, used that power to harm him even though we heard the anguish of his soul. We see the elements of true repentance here. They say, "In truth, we are guilty." We are guilty. There's no question that we're guilty. Guilty for what? Guilty for the sin of attempting to murder our brother. We saw the distress of his soul. They remember that moment and they say, "This is why this distress has come upon us."Joseph learned here that Reuben had not consented to the sale and Joseph also learned that they had been haunted for years by his cries. And they knew that they were guilty, deserving of death. God had written this law on their hearts, on each of our hearts. Thou shall not murder. That's written on every single one of our hearts. We can all agree upon that. If you murder, an image bearer of God, you deserve the condemnation of God. We all know that. Thankfully, not many of us are murderers here in the room, but Jesus did say in Matthew five, in the Sermon on the Mount, "Whoever hates a brother in his heart, whoever hates another human being in his heart has already committed murder." Hatred in our hearts toward another human being is commensurate to murder. Genesis 9:6, "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image." So God has them reckoned with their guilt in this moment of honesty and true guilt is grace when it brings us to repentance.And Joseph's brothers here are wracked with guilt and they are now prepared for repentance. In verse 23, "They did not know that Joseph understood them for there was an interpreter between them. Then he turned away from them and wept. He returned to them and spoke to them and he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes." Joseph sees that they've been anguished by their guilt, they've acknowledged their sin. "Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy?" They've sinned against him. He hears their acknowledgement that he hears that they know they deserve a reckoning. They know they deserve to pay for their sins. And Joseph's so moved by this confession, this is all he wanted to see. He's been begging for this moment where these brothers finally understand the egregious sin that they committed against him.He's so moved by their confession that he goes into a side room and he weeps. He couldn't contain his emotion anymore. He weeps. Although they did not weep the moment that they sold him, they sold him to captivity. They put him in that pit before they sold him to captivity. And as he's crying out in that pit, "Brothers, don't do this to me, don't kill me." They sat down for a meal. They sat down to enjoy a meal that he had brought them from Jacob. Incredible callousness, just indifference. At that moment, they were dead to God. God was dead to them. God's law to not murder my ... No, no. Their jealousy and their hatred were God at that moment. And now, these same men, two decades later, are repenting, seemingly remorseful. Joseph weeps here and there would be more tears when he first saw Benjamin in chapter 43. And when Judah offers to take Benjamin's place, in chapter 45, and finally when he meets his father in chapter 46, he weeps on his father's neck.The first great revelation of his tears here was that Joseph knew that these brothers were changing. The last thing that they see, what they see before they leave, they see Simeon bound before them probably in chains. Why? This is all part of the test. Is their repentance over having sold Joseph into slavery true? Will they come back for Simeon? Will they come back for their brother? Will they show him sympathy? Genesis 42:25. "And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain and to replace every man's money in his sack and gave them provisions for the journey. And this was done for them." And this here is an indication of his true feelings toward them. He had all the reason the world to bring down vengeance upon them, to have revenge upon them, just like he could have brought revenge upon Potiphar or Mrs. Potiphar or even the cup bearer for forgetting Joseph.But you see none of that, you see no desire for vengeance or revenge in his actions in his heart. And yet he still does probe them. He does test. He puts the money in their sacks. Why? Because he wants to know, will they be happy with the money instead of Simeon? Not only did he return one of them individually, but he returned all of their money. Will they be fine keeping the money and leaving their brother? Verse 26, "Then they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed as one of them opened his sack and gave his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money in the mouth of the sack. Then he said to his brothers, 'My money has been put back. Here it is in the mouth of the sack.' At this, their hearts failed them. They turned trembling to one another saying, 'What is this that God has done to us?'" Not what is this that the second in command in Egypt has done? No, they understand that it's God in control of every single detail that has transpired in this narrative.They understand that God's arresting hand is upon them. For the first time in the narrative, they mention God. Their guilt leads them to God. That's the goal. Their awareness of God and their awareness of his holiness, their awareness that they've sinned against the holy God, that is what is awakened in them. They have a terrifying awareness of the divine and they're reading providence correctly. Yes, we are guilty before God. Initially, they realized they had sinned against Joseph. Now, they realize they've sinned against the living holy God of the universe.If you fear God over the penalty that your sin deserves, which you should, well, friend, the very second you begin to feel that fear of God, that I am guilty, not just guilt, I'm guilty because I've transgressed the law of God. I've sinned against God. The very moment you begin to feel that, that is God's grace. God does not give that to every single human being. To awaken you from your spiritual death, to give you spiritual life, and we were dead in our sins and trespasses, He made us alive. That's a miracle of the Holy Spirit. Godly fear and godly grief over our sin should lead us to repentance before God.Second Corinthians 7:8 through 13. St. Paul writes, "For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it, for I see that the letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment. At every point, you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. So although I wrote to you, it's not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. Therefore, we are comforted."Friends, perhaps you're in a situation, circumstances in your life where you clearly feel the arresting hand of God's spirit convicting you of sin, where things begin to happen in your life where you say, yes, I deserve this. I deserve this for the sins I have committed. Well friend, that's God's gift. And let this awesome awareness lead you to repentance. That's the whole goal. God wants to you to come to Him in contrition of heart, beg for forgiveness, and ask for grace. Fear alone, like guilt alone is of little use. In fact, it can be debilitating. But godly fear is a fear that God blesses, for He comes to those who fear Him. To understand that you deserve eternal condemnation for your sins, for having transgressed the perfect law of a holy God. And when you feel that fear, friend, that's grace.We sing this in the great hymn, Amazing Grace by John Newton. It goes like this, "Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed." Look, Joseph Joseph could have forgiven his brothers the very second they showed up. He could have said, "Fellas, it's been too long. Come on in. Let's enjoy, party, grain. Forget the grain. We're going to have cows, fat, sumptuous, pleasant looking cows." No, he allows them to feel to awaken their consciences so that they repent. It's God's gift. A lot of people, they want the grace to relieve the guilt before you've actually experienced the grace that leads us to fear God and tremble at His holiness. Grace teaches us to fear and grace relieves that guilt.Point four is the Father who won't sacrifice His beloved son. Genesis 42:29, "When they came to Jacob, their father in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them saying, 'The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us and took us to be spies of the land. But we said to him, 'We are honest men. We have never been spies. We are 12 brothers, sons of our father. One is no more and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan. Then the man, the lord of the land said to us, 'By this, I shall know that you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me and take grain for the famine of your households and go your way and bring your youngest brother to me then I shall know that you are not spies but honest men and I will deliver your brother to you and you shall trade in the land.'.As they emptied their sacks, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack. And when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob, their father, said to them, 'You have bereaved me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more. And now, you would take Benjamin, all this has come against me.' Then Reuben said to his father, 'Kill my sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands and I will bring him back to you.' But he said, 'My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he's the only one left. If harm should happen to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.'"The gray hairs are an indication of the toll that Jacob's grief and sorrow had taken upon him at the loss of Joseph. And he says that if Benjamin dies, that's it. I'm dead. And here we also see that Jacob has blamed the brothers for the death of Joseph. "You have bereaved me of my children. You are responsible for Joseph's death as much as Simeon's imprisonment." Did he believe their story over these decades? No, he did not. He watched them. He listened to them. No, he knew exactly what happened. You did it. You sinful, wicked men. You killed my son. And here, the oldest, Reuben, felt his father's pain and made an absurd promise. "Kill my sons if I don't bring your son back." But nothing could lessen the pain of losing a son. Jacob says, 'All this has come against me." Jacob is wracked with sorrow and he's so wracked with sorrow, he's become self-centered.He suffers from main character syndrome, as it's known, where everything that's happening around him, he says, how is it impacting me? And everything going wrong in the world is going wrong against me. He's stuck in his selfish pity party. And he couldn't even imagine that, God, yes, despite the suffering, he has been working behind the scenes to provide salvation for the family. And finally he says, "My son shall not go down with you." Jacob had loved his son, Joseph, above all the others. And then with Joseph gone, most likely he just poured out all of that love on his son, Benjamin. Would he risk the life of his beloved son, Benjamin, in order to save Simeon, in order to save the other nine? Would he give up his son to save the family? For whom? Who's asking this? The wicked, sinful brothers, selfish, proud, self-absorbed, violent murderer, sexually deviant.You want me to give up Benjamin for one of you? Of course, he wouldn't. As he looked at them, "Judah, would I give up my son, Benjamin, for you? Reuben, would I give up my son, Benjamin, for you? No, of course not. I love him more than I love any of you." Of course, he wouldn't. They don't deserve it. They're sinners. They're wicked sinners. And then, friends, this is what makes the gospel so powerful. It makes the gospel so awesome, so amazing, so shocking, so provocative, so scandalous that the God of the universe, the perfect loving Father, there's never been a greater father than Him. He gave up His perfect son, beloved son, who had never sinned. He said, "You go, I'm not just going to protect you from them, I'm going give you up." And that's what happened on the cross. On the cross, whose wrath is Jesus Christ bearing? The son of God, in whom the Father delights.Well, at that moment, Jesus Christ was bearing our sin, our guilt, our condemnation was upon Him. That's all the Father saw as He was pouring out His wrath upon the son. Romans 8:31 through 32. "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He now also with Him graciously give us all things?" Not only did God the Father, not spare God the Son, but it says that He gave him up for us all. God the Father gave up God the Son, to save us from our sins and to cleanse our guilty conscience. So this is why grace is to teach us to fear. Because when you see the cross and you say, "Oh, this is what it takes for my sin to be forgiven, this is what it takes for my guilty conscience to be cleansed." It takes the death of the beloved Son of the Father. And the Father did that for us.So friends, this is the great news. If you're not a believer, if you're new to the faith, you don't know where you stand before God, this is the great news. Whatever guilt you feel right now, that's God's grace. Whatever conviction you feel, that's God's grace for whatever sins you've ever committed. And if you are a believer and you're still carrying around your guilt of past sins, today, receive grace. Let that grace not just relieve you of the guilt, but let that grace completely remove it. Look to the cross of Jesus Christ today. See the love of God the Father for you, and see the hatred, the wrath of God for sin. And thank God that He had made a way for us to be saved.A lot of people ask, well, how do I pray? How do I receive Christ? How do I become a Christian? And usually, people come up with some kind of manmade prayer, pray this. Jesus, I repent of my sins, forgive me, et cetera, et cetera. I think one of the greatest prayers of repentance in all of scripture is Psalm 51. In Psalm 51, we see the psalm of a man who knew God's will. It was a man after God's own heart. It was a man who actually committed murder to cover up the adultery that he had committed. And then he was brought to reckon with his sin when the prophet Nathan comes to him and calls him out. And by God's grace, David does repent. He bears the consequences of his sin, but he does repent. And this is his prayer of repentance. And if you're not a believer, even if you are, meditate on this text and pray often.And I'll close with this Psalm 51. "To the choir master: a Psalm of David. When Nathan, the prophet, went to him after he had gone into Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love, according to your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly for my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgments. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness. Let the bones that you have broken, rejoice.Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence. And take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgresses your way and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice or I would give it. You will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken heart, a broken and contrite heart. O God, you will not despise. Do good in Zion in your good pleasure build up the walls of Jerusalem; then will you delight in right sacrifices and burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered up on your altar."Let us pray. Lord God, we thank you that you, a holy God, a just God are also a merciful God. We thank you for your long suffering and your loving kindness. Lord, we thank you that you have provided a way for each one of us to be reconciled with you. And Lord, we thank you for the grace that you offer us the very moment that we repent. And we thank you for the grace you offer us on a daily basis as you tell us to follow you. Lord, if there's anyone here who is not yet reconciled with you, I pray, Lord, convict their hearts and draw them to yourself. And I pray for us as believers, I pray, continue to make us people who are sensitive to your spirit and sensitive to your guidance. Continue to inform our consciences with your word and continue to make us a people who serve you from a good conscience. And we pray all this in Christ's holy name, amen.

When you’re up against an enemy, most people will agree there is strength in numbers. The more people on your side, the more likely you are to win. But in Judges 7, we learn that numbers are meaningless when God is involved. The Lord tasked Gideon with leading the Israelites into battle against the Midianites who had oppressed them for seven years (Judges 6:1). Their power was “oppressive” (6:2). In the valley, their warriors were as “thick as locusts”, and their camels like “the sand on the seashore” (7:12). The odds were clearly stacked against Gideon and his army. His army consisted of 32,000 soldiers. However, God knew that even with this many people, they would boast about their strength (vv. 2–3). So, Gideon eliminated 22,000 soldiers who were too fearful to fight. With 10,000 remaining, God decided there were still too many. Like a master gardener pruning shrubs, God continued to remove men from Gideon’s army. After drinking from the river, only the ones who kept alert by lapping the water from their hands were allowed to stay (vv. 5–8). This reduced the army to a measly 300. God wanted only the alert and courageous to fight for Him. Despite the small size of his army, Gideon received confirmation through a Midianite’s dream that the Lord was in control (vv. 13–15). That night, he gathered his men and concocted a plan that most likely baffled his seasoned warriors. Perhaps they thought it was a result of his inexperience, but they trusted him and God. Leadership can be frightening because you are taking people where they have never been before. Here we see God teach Gideon that our strength is not in numbers; our strength must come only from God. >> Despite what you might think, leaders often experience fear. What fears (failure, rejection, inadequacy, conflict, loneliness, etc.) are most likely to prevent you from facing a difficult situation? What does today’s reading teach us about fear?

If God is good, how do bad things happen? How could God command the children to be killed? Does God approve of genocide? How does God's wrath show His love for His people? In this episode, Emma Dotter takes us through Numbers 31. In this passage, we are reminded of God's absolute truth in every chapter of the Bible, despite the challenging subject. Scriptures referenced in today's episode: Exodus 34: God's character and the covenantNumbers 25: Midianite sexual immoralityExodus 22:24: Mistreating travelersGenesis 2:17: Adam's sinRomans 5:12: Death through sinIsaiah 10: God uses secondary agentsJoel 2:13: God's patience should lead to repentanceLeviticus 25:44, Deuteronomy 20:14 and 21:10-14, 2 Chronicles 28:8-10, Isaiah 14:2: How captive women were to be treatedCheck out Join the Journey's Daily Devotionals & Discussion Questions by following this link: https://www.jointhejourney.com/ Grab a Join The Journey Journal: https://www.amazon.com/Genesis-Jesus-Vol-Journey-Journal/dp/B0BNV27BLB/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1BXFFJWY6666Z&keywords=join+the+journey&qid=1684868081&sprefix=join+the+journey%2Caps%2C171&sr=8-1

As the adopted son of the Egyptian Pharaoh's daughter, Moses was nursed and raised by his Hebrew mother. After Moses was weaned, he was delivered to Pharaoh's daughter's house. Moses grew up knowing he was Hebrew, even though he had an Egyptian name, and was raised in an Egyptian household by an Egyptian woman. Moses' Hebrew brothers and sisters were slaves to the Egyptians and were under harsh bondage as foretold by YeHoVaH to Abraham, the patriarch. When Moses was grown, his Hebrew identity conflicted with his Egyptian upbringing leading him to making a decision that branded him as a murderer. This caused Moses to flee to Midian away from both his Hebrew brothers and sisters and the Egyptians he was raised amongst. Join us this week on this intriguing journey intertwining the Hebrew, Egyptian, and Midianite cultures as we follow a conflicted Moses in the message, Moses the Murderer. 

In this sermon, Curtis looks at the Israelite; no, Hebrew; no, Egyptian; no Midianite, that is Moses, and what he has to do with our identity.

Audio Transcript: This media has been made available by Mosaic BostonChurch. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston ordonate to this ministry. Please visit mosaicboston.com. Lord God, we thank You for giving us the holy scriptures, and we know that the center of the holy scriptures is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Jesus, we thank You that You lived the perfect life on our behalf, fulfilled all of the commandments of God, all the will of God perfectly, and then Lord, You went to a cross, so You were crucified on our behalf, burying the wrath of God that we deserve for our law-breaking. Then, Lord, we thank You that You didn't stay dead, but You rose victoriously over Satan's sin and death, and because of Your resurrection, You offer us salvation, You offer us both mercy and grace. Mercy in that, You do not give us the condemnation we deserve. Grace in that, You give us the righteousness of Christ, and we thank You, Lord, for Your grace. We thank You that we are saved by grace through faith. If there's anyone here who's not yet a Christian, has not had their sins forgiven, I pray today, Lord, draw them to Yourself. By the power of the Spirit, convert them, and, Lord, use this sermon series to teach us that we will never graduate from needing grace, and at some seasons in life, we do need a graduate-level grace, and if there's any one season like that now, a season of suffering, trial, tribulation, I pray be especially close to them. Show us that because of what You did with Christ, You took the greatest evil ever in the crucifixion of Christ, and You turned it into the greatest good ever, the resurrection of Christ. You can turn our evil into good as well. Bless our time in the holy scriptures, and we pray all this in the beautiful name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Today, we're excited to start a new sermon series through Genesis 37 through 50. We're entitling it Graduate Level Grace: A Study In the Life of Joseph. The idea behind this text and behind the series is we come to know the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ when we're saved by grace through faith, but that's just a start of our relationship with the Lord, a walk with the Lord, and then often, the Lord does take us through seasons in life where it seems like we're about to embark on the next level, and with the next level, we need next-level grace. The title of the sermon today is Reject Victimhood. Why this series? It's a story about a young man, who goes from just a shepherd to a Prime Minister in 13 years, but those 13 years include a lot of suffering. We're going to learn many lessons, Lord willing, glean much wisdom about the most important things in life, the most important parts of life, family, relationships, work, prayer, vision, godliness, influence, authority, leadership, integrity, rejection, betrayal, reconciliation, forgiveness, adversity, and prosperity. A quick recap of where we find ourselves, Genesis is the book of beginnings. In the beginning, we see a personal, loving, sovereign God, who creates the universe and rules over it, and God creates humanity in His image and blesses them with the mandate, "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and govern it, reign over it. Love God," He tells them, "And love one another, have a family, raise your children to do the same." That was God's vision for humanity, but in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve, man, humanity, wickedly rebels against God. They seek to be equal with God, and so sin introduces the reign of death in the world, but God is a good God and He doesn't leave us in our sin. To save humanity, God promises to send a Savior, who will come from the seed of Abraham to save the world. The Lord chooses a family, chooses Abraham and says, "Abraham, I'm going to bless you with a family, and through your family, I'm going to send a Savior that will bless the families of the world." Abraham, Isaac, and then Jacob. We find ourselves here in the story of Jacob. He takes us Genesis 25 through 50, half the book. He is Israel after all, the direct ancestor of the nation of Israel and the father of the 12 sons from whom would come the 12 tribes. The thing that we notice about the life of Joseph is he comes from a big, dysfunctional family, a family that's riven by jealousy and hatred. They're a covenant family with God's blessing upon them, but they're torn apart by conflict, through intermarriage with pagans, et cetera, but we see that the Lord uses Joseph and his suffering to bring this hate-filled family together, and at the end, we see the family reconciled, purified, and preserved in safety in Egypt. Look at the stories of redemption in scripture. One of the greatest is the apostle Paul. He goes from being a terrorist of the Church, a persecutor of Christians to being the apostle, the evangelist to the Gentile's incredible redemption, story of redemptive arc, but ultimately, this story of Joseph is arguably even greater of a redemptive story. The story is about how God intervenes despite the brokenness, despite the sin, despite the folly, we see His grace intervene, and He takes all of the evil, the sin, the brokenness, and He brings it all together for the good of both this family and us. Toward the conclusion of the great narrative, when Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, this is what he says in Genesis 45:7, "And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over the land of Egypt." What a God He is, because He's not just a God of the extraordinary, but a God of the ordinary.  He takes the ordinary actions of people despite their folly, despite their sin, and He turns it all around to fulfill His perfect plan. Three points to frame up our time as we walk through the text in Genesis 37. The first is for those who love God, all things work together for good. Second, beware the soul-rotting sin of jealousy and covetousness, and three, replace a victimhood mindset with a sovereignty mindset. So first, for those who love God, all things work together for good. We get this from Romans 8:28, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose, and this, we see over and over in the life of Joseph and his family. The story begins in Genesis 37:1. "Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan." In the previous chapter, Jacob's older brother, Esau, forsakes the land of the promised Canaan, and he goes to the land of Seir, so this acknowledges that Jacob has a right to the promised land, so Jacob settles down. In verse 2, "These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being 17 years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the songs of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives, and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father." Joseph was the second to last son, so he's number 11. Benjamin came after. Joseph lived 17, and this is a fun fact, but I think it's important for parents, in particular. The first time my oldest daughter made me an omelet, I said, "Oh, my. Finally, a little ROI. A little return on investment," but you look at Jacob, and Jacob raises Joseph for 17 years, and then he doesn't see him again until the end of the book, and then, Jacob, when he and his family moved to Egypt, he lives with Joseph for 17 years, the last 17 years of his life, but here, we see conflict between the sons of Joseph's older sons. The fact that there were bad things to report on shouldn't come as a surprise. We've already learned that they had significant behavior issues, sin, et cetera. Reuben, the oldest, slept with his father's concubine. Simeon and Levi slaughtered the Shechemites because of their sister's disgrace, so these were hard, rough, and reckless men, that were the older brothers of Joseph. Would this endear him to his older brothers, that he's bringing a bad report about them to his dad? No. Of course not. They would consider him a tattletale or a snitch. The word for brothers here is used 21 times in the text keyword, but there's dramatic irony every time the word's used because though outwardly, these men were brothers, but inwardly, spiritually, they were the furthest from the truth, so Joseph's bad report reflects badly on all of them, the brothers because they were bad things to say, and Joseph because he chose to say them. So we see resentment smoldering in the hearts of the brothers of Joseph, and we're only at verse 2. In verse 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." Favoritism had been a generational sin in Jacob's family. If you remember Isaac preferred Esau over Jacob, and if you remember, Rebecca loved Jacob more than Esau, and recall that Jacob loved Rachel and her children more than Leah and her offspring, and Jacob probably could not even help his feelings of favoritism because Joseph was the son of Rachel. She had passed already, but she was his never-forgotten first love, and Joseph had been born late in life after many years of frustration. Also, along with all of this, Joseph seems to be free from the sins of his older brothers, which was a source of solace and joy to his father. Nevertheless, Jacob's blatant favoritism was unconscionable. The lifelong hurt inflicted by his own father's favoritism should have made him weary even a hint of not being even-handed with his children, and he made him a robe of many colors, so not only did everyone already know this, but now, everyone sees that Joseph is the one who's loved most, through this public mark of Jacob's greater affection. So it doesn't surprise us that his brothers hated him, even more after the father lavished his gift on them. Quick word to parents, fathers in particular, fathers, don't be as stupid as Jacob was. Very simple lesson here. "Don't exasperate your children," the apostle Paul says. One of the ways that children can be exasperated is if you love one more than the others. How do I do this? I do it like this. I equally favor each of them, so I tell them when they're one-on-one, I was like ... I have four daughters. I tell them, "You're my favorite. Don't tell the others," but it's okay 'cause I say it to all four, so that's fine. The point is we got to love our children equally, uniquely, yes. We, uniquely, parents need to know our children's hearts, how they're wired, et cetera, but equally, we are to love them. Genesis 37:4, "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." So young Joseph's sudden appearance, in his distinctive robe, ignites their hatred, so he's alienated from them. They can't even speak civilly to him. The robe inflames their burning rage. They loathed his presence. Insult to injury, Joseph gets a few dreams, and he decides to share them. Verse 5, "Now, Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said to them, 'Hear this dream that I have dreamed. 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.' 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." So fuel here is added to the relational strife in the form of these Joseph-exalting dreams. Was he excited about the dream? Of course, he was. He was so full of the dream. He was compelled to pour it our to his brothers, tactless, insensitive perhaps. The brothers had no difficulty interpreting. They know exactly what he's trying to say. They don't believe it, of course, and what was the expected reaction from him? What did he expect from them? We don't know, but they respond with hatred. Verse 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 the eleven stars were bowing down to me.'" Repetition here in the book of Genesis when it comes to dreams, repetition is a sign of certainty, so Joseph, when he interprets the dreams of Pharaoh, later on in the book, in Genesis 41:32, it says, "And the doubling of Pharaoh's dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about." So Joseph knows this God communicating to him. In the second dream, for him sealed the matter. God would sovereignly bring this to pass, and that perhaps was the reason why he found the audacity to share with his family the content. His father loves him, and his father has been doting upon him, but even his father rebukes him at this point. This is verse 10. "And 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?' And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind." To his credit, even though Jacob rebukes his son, he didn't dismissed the dream, as the brothers did. He knew Revelation when he saw it and when he heard it, so he keeps the matter in mind. Without the dream, there would be no Joseph story. Without the dream, his brothers just hate him for the robe, but God does send the dream, and He sends two of them, and because of the dreams, Joseph can't, but share the dreams with his brothers, which sets the whole story in motion, that God sovereignly sealed and ensured the rejection of young Joseph. Do you see what that tells us? It reveals that any of us, who follow God, will live a life that will sometimes get very tangled. At times, complications will arise from our own sin, as with Joseph, or from the sin of those around us, and we live in this world that is fallen. People around us are fallen, and this world is caught in a web of sin, and it constantly casts you webs, but we know that amidst life complexities, God's creative power is at work to do us good. This is true when we get sick. This is true when we have trouble with our children, our grandchildren, when professional problems engulf us. We have the providence of God, a God who sustains our souls and all of life, perpetually working good. This is a truth to learn because life is not going to get easier, from this moment, friends. Your life is not going to get easier. With every coming day, as you get older, as we get older, with every day, it seems sometimes that the crosses that God entrusts to us get bigger, and God promised us, "If you want to follow Me, you got to deny self and take up your cross?" In fact, the more you follow God, the more complicated life will become, because your life's cores will buck against this world. So what are we to do here? Take heart that God is at work in our lives to do us good because we belong to Him, so rest your soul in that and submit yourself to Him in great processes of life and follow Him. Second is, "Beware of the soul-rotting sin of jealousy and covetousness." This is Genesis 37:11. "His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind." This entire story of the 12 sons and their animosity and eventual reconciliation begins with God, making a clear distinction between Joseph and the other brothers, thus, the significance of the dream. Joseph got the dream, the others did not. Here's a fact of life, and one perhaps that we struggle with in one way or another as the brothers struggled with. God does not treat us all the same. No. He does not give us all the same things. He does not give us all the same favor. He does not give us all the same blessings. Some Christians are smarter than others. Some are better-looking, more athletic, more successful financially, marry to lovelier and more impressive spouses, some have better jobs than others, some have higher-achieving children, some have better health and live longer lives. Some people seem to step from one victory, one triumph to another, and others never seem to be able to escape the long reach of trouble, only sometimes of their own making. Even among Christians, for someone it seems they're just naturally wired to be better Christians. Some are naturally sweeter, some are naturally more patient. The rest of us got to work a lot harder, so you look at this and you're like, "It's not fair. This isn't fair." Well, we learned this through Jonah, we learned this last week. "No, no, no, grace isn't fair." Of course it's not fair because no one earns grace. Grace is unmerited favor. Samuel Eliot Morison, the American historian and writer, he puts it like this. He says, "Life is like a card game. God deals a deck, and He gives some a strong hand and some a weak hand, and some people with a strong hand, they squander, and some people, the weaker hand, they play to the best of their ability and do well," but if a great hand is dealt and a great hand is played well, it's unbeatable, and Joseph was dealt a great hand, a mom and a dad that absolutely love him, and his father, I think made a lot of mistakes with the older sons, and by the time he gets to 11, he's like, "I think I got this," but then, he messes up with the favoritism part, but God chooses Joseph for prominence. He chooses him for power. He puts him in the position of the Egyptian core, and so the brothers have some ... They got to decide what to do. Clearly, this younger brother is blessed in a unique way. How are we going to respond? And they respond with jealousy and covetousness, and they respond with the resentment and bitterness at Jacob, at Joseph, and even at God, and they tried to resist God's will, which obviously is futile. In fact, everything they did, every evil motion, every evil act only served to fulfill God's plan. We must recognize that the way in which the Lord gives to others things that He has not given to us is an opportunity for us to step back and say, "What is grace? What is the principle of grace?" Paul would later ask, "What do you have that you have not received? Who makes you to differ?" Well, it's God, of course, who gives us what we have. If God wishes to give one of His children something He has not given you, what is that to you? Everything He gives, He gives in defiance of the fact that we don't deserve anything, except for His punishment. And who are you to tell the Almighty and your heavenly Father how to run His own family? We're called to put on humility, right? The root of all sin is pride, and I will say that if you have been given less than others, entrusted with less to steward, well, then your path of humility is a little easier than theirs. Listen to some of the wisest Christians before us about goals. Thomas A. Kempis says, "Desire to be unknown." Jeremy Taylor says, "O, teach me to love to be concealed." Archbishop Leighton says, "Be ambitious to be unknown." Augustine says, "if you ask me what the first thing in religion is, I should reply the first, the second, and third thing is humility." Alexander Moody Stuart, "There is not a humble heart in all the world that the high God is not dwelling in." Pascal, "Without humility, all our other virtues are but vices." Joseph, you do get a little hint of arrogance here. Yeah, he's dressed better than everyone else. By the way, when you're dressed nice, you know there's something there, and so you walk on a ... There is a little arrogance. There's arrogance in his speech, the dreams he could not wait for the brothers to hear. Gentlemen, do you see what's ... And how long did the Lord take to humble Joseph? His path to humility was so much harder, in many ways, than his brothers. If God wishes to exalt Joseph, that was God's doing, and it's our duty to acknowledge that it's His right to do so, and so adore God's wisdom and sovereignty. Verse 12, "Now, his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem, 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,' 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." A path, a journey of about 50 miles, or it definitely took a significant time, and so he gets to ... By the way, before he gets to Shechem ... I'll give you a little backstory. So you know the backstory where his brothers can't stand him, but the other backstory about Shechem is the Shechemites can't stand the sons of Jacob, because his two older sons went in after their sister was disgraced, and they slaughtered a bunch of the Shechemites, so they're in peril and the father wants to know, "Okay, how are they?" By the way, this is a tall ask for Joseph. Joseph knows, "My brothers hate me. I'm going to a dangerous place. This is going to take a long time," and all we hear from him, when his father gives him this duty, all we hear is, "Here I am," so he's presented as diligent, as hard-working as an obedient son, even doing an unpleasant bidding. Verse 15, when he's at Shechem, "And a man found him, wandering in the fields, and the man asked him, 'What are you seeking?' 'I'm seeking my brothers,' he said. 'Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock,' and the man said, 'They've gone away, for I heard them say,' 'Let's go to Dothan,' so Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan." So Dothan is another 14 miles that he's got to travel further, and here too, is a hidden hand of divine providence of the careful reader, is to know and to ponder Joseph, it says, "Is wandering in the fields." How long was he wandering? I don't know, but probably a significant time for it to even be mentioned he's wandering around. Perhaps, he feels like he's wasting time. Perhaps it feels like it's all aimless. "What am I doing here, Lord?" "Why am I stuck in this field?" Well, this is how the providence of God often works in our daily lives. You'll have a job to do, you'll get to a place, and here, he knows he's wasting time. It's a waste of time. It's aimless, and it's brought from the perspective of the story had he not taken this little hiatus at Shechem, had he not paused there, he would not have gotten to Dothan in time to coincide with the caravan of the Ishmaelite traders. So we see God pauses him on purpose. If he were not paused, the brothers would've killed him, instead of selling him into slavery, and this is what the scripture teaches, that often, in our lives, God works through the ordinary details, and if we are not paying attention, we miss the lessons. Scripture teaches that every single moment of life is supercharged with significance, because every piece of it is falling through the fingers of your heavenly Father. One of the biggest fallouts of living in a secular society, where people just don't acknowledge that there is a transcendence, supernatural, sovereign God over us, who cares about us and cares about the details of our lives, one of the things that we miss in this culture, where we don't believe that God is over all and in all and through all, we miss the purpose of just everyday life. We miss the purpose-filled infusion of God in everyday life, and I think that's why a lot of people are bored. Perhaps you in your daily walk with the Lord, you feel this boredom, this ennui sometimes, because you don't realize that God is working every single detail for your good, so we are to pay attention to the details of our lives, knowing that God is sovereign. Verse 18, "They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him." They recognized him from his distinctive robe, and now, they hatch a plan. Verse 19, "They said to one another, 'Here comes this dreamer. 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'll see what will become of his dreams.'" Dreamer here obviously is used sarcastically. They would prove his dreams wrong by killing him. They want to throw him into a pit, which was a cistern hewn out of rock for the storage of water, found all throughout. Israel served as an excellent dungeon, and they wanted not just to kill him, but to kill him in the most dishonorable way to kill him, and throw his body in the cistern, where he would not be buried. Genesis 37:21, "But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, 'Let us not take his life,' 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.'" Reuben, now, we learned in the previous chapters, if you read, he had fallen from his father's favor, because he had an affair with Bilhah, and he couldn't further afford anymore animosity or from his dad, so he knows he's going to have to bear the responsibility, so he steps into rescue his brother seemingly. In verse 23, "So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore, and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty, there was no water in it." We're only left to imagine Joseph's response. How did he respond? Did he scream? Was he terrified? On Genesis 42:21, the brothers recollect exactly how Joseph responded. "Then, they said to one another, 'In truth, we are guilty concerning our brother. In that, we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us, and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.'" By God's grace, their posture of heart changed toward the end, but what was their posture of heart at this moment, after beating him, stripping him, mocking him? It says in verse 25, "Then, they sat down to eat, and looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead, and their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh on their way to carry down to Egypt." We see callousness, we see heartless barbarity as they sit down to eat the meal that Joseph had brought them from their father. Verse 26, "Then, Judah said to his brothers, 'What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 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." So Judah is right after Reuben, and was he trying to save his brother placate his own conscience, make a little profit? We're not told, but we see that God does use this situation to save Joseph's life. Verse 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 20 shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt." So Joseph was sold to a non-covenant people. The brothers had disposed of Joseph and his dreams, or so they thought. Verse 29, "When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes and returned to his brothers and said, 'The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?'" Oh, Reuben knows the agony that his father is going to experience. He asked his brothers, "What do we do? What do I do?" And the only response from them is silence. Verse 31, "And they took Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood." This real irony here, Jacob had deceived his father by taking his brother's clothes and used a goat in order to deceive his dad. Jacob's youthful sins come full circle, his deceit. His deceit comes back to bite him. In verse 32, "They sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, 'This, we have found. Please identify whether it is your son's robe or not,' and he identified it and said, 'It is my son's robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.'" Verse 34, "Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days, and all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, 'No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.' And thus, his father wept for him." Conventional grieving lasted a week for a child or a parent. For Moses, it was a period of a month. Jacob refused to be comforted and promised here to continue mourning. We see the titanic hypocrisy in the sons. They're attempting to comfort their father in the death of his favorite son when they knew very well he wasn't dead and what had happened. Verse 36, "Meanwhile, the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard." Narrator reminds us that while Jacob struggled to adjust to the tragedy, Joseph was beginning a new life in Egypt at the age of 17, and this brings the point, three, replace a victimhood mindset with a sovereignty mindset, and I say it because that's the only way to understand what happened with Joseph. For this next 13 years of suffering, this is a man of God that pressed into the suffering, instead of blame-shifting and being immobilized by a victimhood mindset. Scripture teaches that God is sovereign, therefore, we are responsible. Look at Joseph. He's dragged naked from the pit, tethered to a beast of burden. He himself is probably carrying stuff all the way to the Nile, and he began the story as a robe prince in Israel, and he ends as a slave. He, of all people, had a massive case for victimhood. Why not pity himself? He was indeed pitiful. He had done nothing to deserve this. His biggest sin was he had a big mouth and he didn't know to keep it shut when he should have. And where was God in all of this? Why didn't God intervene? "God, why didn't You protect me from my brothers?" "God, why didn't you protect me from this caravan bound for Egypt? Why, why, why?" What's fascinating is Joseph takes absolute responsibility for himself in Egypt. He knows who he is, he knows who's he is, and he lives his life as you and I live ours. He had God's word guiding him, and he had God's Spirit with him, he had an imperfect understanding of life around him, he had his own besetting sins, but he knew that he was with the Lord. Joseph had ample reason for self-pity, for rage, for anger with God and revenge, and he doesn't do any of it. It's as if he forgets what lies behind, and he's ready to lean into what God was teaching. I say that because in this family, you see the victimhood mindset arise every once in a while. Jacob. Jacob had ... He could blame everybody. "Laban, you weren't righteous to me. Esau, you weren't righteous to me. My parents, you weren't righteous to me. It's all your fault." "It's all your fault," even with the brothers, Reuben. Reuben could've said it to Jacob, "My dad didn't love me." Judah could've said the same thing, "That's why I am the way I am. It's all their fault." That's a victimhood mindset. "I'm a victim of someone else's sin." Joseph could have done that. He does not. He rejects it because he believes in the sovereignty of God. "God allowed this in my life, therefore, God has purposes for it." He knew Abraham, of Abraham, his great-grandfather. He knew that God had spoken to him. Joseph believed that same promise that was handed down from Abraham and Isaac, and he knew that God is with him, that God will bless him, that God will use him. He had an immense view of God, and thus, reason that God was doing his will throughout the inscrutable drama that we see. Friends, no one will escape the will of God. No one will escape the hand of God, the rule of God, the plan and purpose of Almighty God, for children of God that comes as a great comfort, and no matter what, God is going to use all of these things in my life to bring about good, but for enemies of God, or for those of you, you're not sure if you're a child of God or an enemy of God, well, the fact that God is sovereign, no one will escape His reach or His plan should send a shiver down our spine, so what are we to do? We are to seek mercy and seek grace. As Dante puts it, "In His will is our peace." Yes. Can you say, "God, thy will be done," because thy will is good, because you are loving? Our heavenly Father orchestrates our lives moment by moment, we know His love, we know His wisdom, we know His faithfulness because we know His Son, Jesus Christ and what Jesus did for us. The love of Jesus Christ, the kindness of Christ, that's what separates Christianity from every other religion, it's that God offers us grace, and how does God offer us grace? Through both the sacrifice of Christ and His suffering that comes to us. Also, as an example, 1 Peter 2:21-25, "For to this, you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return, when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in His Body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness." "By His wounds, you have been healed, for you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." If there was ever a victim, it's Jesus Christ, but even Jesus turned that tragedy into a great victory. In Christ, we see that we can be more than conquerors. The story of Joseph is incredible in many ways, but it does point to the greater Joseph, Jesus Christ. Many ways, Joseph's life is a type, a typology of Christ. Joseph was rejected by his brothers, sold into captivity, and it is through that, through the fat that he was enslaved through his suffering that his brothers are freed in the end, his brothers are saved, that reminds me of a story where Pilate has Christ right before him, and they had this traditional Passover week, where he would release a prisoner, and he says, "Do you want me to release Jesus to you?," and they said, "No." The text is clear that they had brought Christ to be crucified because they envied Him. Matthew 27:15-23, "Now, at the feast, the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd, any one prisoner whom they wanted, and they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas, so when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, 'Whom do you want me to release for you, Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?,' for He knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered Him up. Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, 'Have nothing to do with that righteous Man, for I have suffered much because of Him today in a dream.' Now, the chief priest and the others persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus." "The governor again said to them, 'Which of the two do you want me to release to you?,' and they said, 'Barabbas.' Pilate said to them, 'Then, what shall I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?' They all said, 'Let Him be crucified,' and he said, 'Why? What evil has He done?,' and they shouted all the more, 'Let Him be crucified!'" We worship a God who took the greatest evil that was ever done, the crucifixion of the Son of God, and He turned it into the greatest event, the greatest good that could ever be, and that's the resurrection of Jesus Christ, through which we have forgiveness of sins. So if God can take the greatest evil and turn it into the greatest good in the life of Christ and the death, burial, and resurrection, well, He can do the same thing in the life of Joseph, and we'll see He does. He takes what they meant for evil and turns it into good. In the same way, when we entrust ourselves to the Lord, He can take everything in our lives, the good, the bad, the ugly, even the sin, even the evil, and He brings it all together, and He works out His good purpose. I'll close with Romans 8:31-39, "'What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?'" "'He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?' It is God who justifies. 'Who is to condemn?' Christ Jesus is the One who died, more than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand of the God, who indeed is interceding for us." "'Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?' As it is written, for Your sake, we are being killed all the day long, we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. Now, in all of these things, we are more than conquerors through Him, who loved us, for I'm sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Amen. Let us pray. Lord, we thank You for this incredible word, and we thank You for You sovereignty, and we thank You for Your grace. We thank You for taking this really miserable account of brothers who hated one of their own, sold him into captivity. We thank You for the story, where You showed that You can override even our greatest acts of evil. Lord, we come to You and we come to the cross of Christ.We repent of sin of pride, of folly. Continue to lead us in the ways of sanctification and continue to produce much fruit through us, and pray all this in Christ's name. Amen.

Audio Transcript: This media has been made available by Mosaic BostonChurch. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston ordonate to this ministry. Please visit mosaicboston.com. Lord God, we thank You for giving us the holy scriptures, and we know that the center of the holy scriptures is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Jesus, we thank You that You lived the perfect life on our behalf, fulfilled all of the commandments of God, all the will of God perfectly, and then Lord, You went to a cross, so You were crucified on our behalf, burying the wrath of God that we deserve for our law-breaking. Then, Lord, we thank You that You didn't stay dead, but You rose victoriously over Satan's sin and death, and because of Your resurrection, You offer us salvation, You offer us both mercy and grace. Mercy in that, You do not give us the condemnation we deserve. Grace in that, You give us the righteousness of Christ, and we thank You, Lord, for Your grace. We thank You that we are saved by grace through faith. If there's anyone here who's not yet a Christian, has not had their sins forgiven, I pray today, Lord, draw them to Yourself. By the power of the Spirit, convert them, and, Lord, use this sermon series to teach us that we will never graduate from needing grace, and at some seasons in life, we do need a graduate-level grace, and if there's any one season like that now, a season of suffering, trial, tribulation, I pray be especially close to them. Show us that because of what You did with Christ, You took the greatest evil ever in the crucifixion of Christ, and You turned it into the greatest good ever, the resurrection of Christ. You can turn our evil into good as well. Bless our time in the holy scriptures, and we pray all this in the beautiful name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Today, we're excited to start a new sermon series through Genesis 37 through 50. We're entitling it Graduate Level Grace: A Study In the Life of Joseph. The idea behind this text and behind the series is we come to know the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ when we're saved by grace through faith, but that's just a start of our relationship with the Lord, a walk with the Lord, and then often, the Lord does take us through seasons in life where it seems like we're about to embark on the next level, and with the next level, we need next-level grace. The title of the sermon today is Reject Victimhood. Why this series? It's a story about a young man, who goes from just a shepherd to a Prime Minister in 13 years, but those 13 years include a lot of suffering. We're going to learn many lessons, Lord willing, glean much wisdom about the most important things in life, the most important parts of life, family, relationships, work, prayer, vision, godliness, influence, authority, leadership, integrity, rejection, betrayal, reconciliation, forgiveness, adversity, and prosperity. A quick recap of where we find ourselves, Genesis is the book of beginnings. In the beginning, we see a personal, loving, sovereign God, who creates the universe and rules over it, and God creates humanity in His image and blesses them with the mandate, "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and govern it, reign over it. Love God," He tells them, "And love one another, have a family, raise your children to do the same." That was God's vision for humanity, but in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve, man, humanity, wickedly rebels against God. They seek to be equal with God, and so sin introduces the reign of death in the world, but God is a good God and He doesn't leave us in our sin. To save humanity, God promises to send a Savior, who will come from the seed of Abraham to save the world. The Lord chooses a family, chooses Abraham and says, "Abraham, I'm going to bless you with a family, and through your family, I'm going to send a Savior that will bless the families of the world." Abraham, Isaac, and then Jacob. We find ourselves here in the story of Jacob. He takes us Genesis 25 through 50, half the book. He is Israel after all, the direct ancestor of the nation of Israel and the father of the 12 sons from whom would come the 12 tribes. The thing that we notice about the life of Joseph is he comes from a big, dysfunctional family, a family that's riven by jealousy and hatred. They're a covenant family with God's blessing upon them, but they're torn apart by conflict, through intermarriage with pagans, et cetera, but we see that the Lord uses Joseph and his suffering to bring this hate-filled family together, and at the end, we see the family reconciled, purified, and preserved in safety in Egypt. Look at the stories of redemption in scripture. One of the greatest is the apostle Paul. He goes from being a terrorist of the Church, a persecutor of Christians to being the apostle, the evangelist to the Gentile's incredible redemption, story of redemptive arc, but ultimately, this story of Joseph is arguably even greater of a redemptive story. The story is about how God intervenes despite the brokenness, despite the sin, despite the folly, we see His grace intervene, and He takes all of the evil, the sin, the brokenness, and He brings it all together for the good of both this family and us. Toward the conclusion of the great narrative, when Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, this is what he says in Genesis 45:7, "And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over the land of Egypt." What a God He is, because He's not just a God of the extraordinary, but a God of the ordinary.  He takes the ordinary actions of people despite their folly, despite their sin, and He turns it all around to fulfill His perfect plan. Three points to frame up our time as we walk through the text in Genesis 37. The first is for those who love God, all things work together for good. Second, beware the soul-rotting sin of jealousy and covetousness, and three, replace a victimhood mindset with a sovereignty mindset. So first, for those who love God, all things work together for good. We get this from Romans 8:28, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose, and this, we see over and over in the life of Joseph and his family. The story begins in Genesis 37:1. "Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan." In the previous chapter, Jacob's older brother, Esau, forsakes the land of the promised Canaan, and he goes to the land of Seir, so this acknowledges that Jacob has a right to the promised land, so Jacob settles down. In verse 2, "These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being 17 years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the songs of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives, and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father." Joseph was the second to last son, so he's number 11. Benjamin came after. Joseph lived 17, and this is a fun fact, but I think it's important for parents, in particular. The first time my oldest daughter made me an omelet, I said, "Oh, my. Finally, a little ROI. A little return on investment," but you look at Jacob, and Jacob raises Joseph for 17 years, and then he doesn't see him again until the end of the book, and then, Jacob, when he and his family moved to Egypt, he lives with Joseph for 17 years, the last 17 years of his life, but here, we see conflict between the sons of Joseph's older sons. The fact that there were bad things to report on shouldn't come as a surprise. We've already learned that they had significant behavior issues, sin, et cetera. Reuben, the oldest, slept with his father's concubine. Simeon and Levi slaughtered the Shechemites because of their sister's disgrace, so these were hard, rough, and reckless men, that were the older brothers of Joseph. Would this endear him to his older brothers, that he's bringing a bad report about them to his dad? No. Of course not. They would consider him a tattletale or a snitch. The word for brothers here is used 21 times in the text keyword, but there's dramatic irony every time the word's used because though outwardly, these men were brothers, but inwardly, spiritually, they were the furthest from the truth, so Joseph's bad report reflects badly on all of them, the brothers because they were bad things to say, and Joseph because he chose to say them. So we see resentment smoldering in the hearts of the brothers of Joseph, and we're only at verse 2. In verse 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." Favoritism had been a generational sin in Jacob's family. If you remember Isaac preferred Esau over Jacob, and if you remember, Rebecca loved Jacob more than Esau, and recall that Jacob loved Rachel and her children more than Leah and her offspring, and Jacob probably could not even help his feelings of favoritism because Joseph was the son of Rachel. She had passed already, but she was his never-forgotten first love, and Joseph had been born late in life after many years of frustration. Also, along with all of this, Joseph seems to be free from the sins of his older brothers, which was a source of solace and joy to his father. Nevertheless, Jacob's blatant favoritism was unconscionable. The lifelong hurt inflicted by his own father's favoritism should have made him weary even a hint of not being even-handed with his children, and he made him a robe of many colors, so not only did everyone already know this, but now, everyone sees that Joseph is the one who's loved most, through this public mark of Jacob's greater affection. So it doesn't surprise us that his brothers hated him, even more after the father lavished his gift on them. Quick word to parents, fathers in particular, fathers, don't be as stupid as Jacob was. Very simple lesson here. "Don't exasperate your children," the apostle Paul says. One of the ways that children can be exasperated is if you love one more than the others. How do I do this? I do it like this. I equally favor each of them, so I tell them when they're one-on-one, I was like ... I have four daughters. I tell them, "You're my favorite. Don't tell the others," but it's okay 'cause I say it to all four, so that's fine. The point is we got to love our children equally, uniquely, yes. We, uniquely, parents need to know our children's hearts, how they're wired, et cetera, but equally, we are to love them. Genesis 37:4, "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." So young Joseph's sudden appearance, in his distinctive robe, ignites their hatred, so he's alienated from them. They can't even speak civilly to him. The robe inflames their burning rage. They loathed his presence. Insult to injury, Joseph gets a few dreams, and he decides to share them. Verse 5, "Now, Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said to them, 'Hear this dream that I have dreamed. 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.' 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." So fuel here is added to the relational strife in the form of these Joseph-exalting dreams. Was he excited about the dream? Of course, he was. He was so full of the dream. He was compelled to pour it our to his brothers, tactless, insensitive perhaps. The brothers had no difficulty interpreting. They know exactly what he's trying to say. They don't believe it, of course, and what was the expected reaction from him? What did he expect from them? We don't know, but they respond with hatred. Verse 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 the eleven stars were bowing down to me.'" Repetition here in the book of Genesis when it comes to dreams, repetition is a sign of certainty, so Joseph, when he interprets the dreams of Pharaoh, later on in the book, in Genesis 41:32, it says, "And the doubling of Pharaoh's dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about." So Joseph knows this God communicating to him. In the second dream, for him sealed the matter. God would sovereignly bring this to pass, and that perhaps was the reason why he found the audacity to share with his family the content. His father loves him, and his father has been doting upon him, but even his father rebukes him at this point. This is verse 10. "And 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?' And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind." To his credit, even though Jacob rebukes his son, he didn't dismissed the dream, as the brothers did. He knew Revelation when he saw it and when he heard it, so he keeps the matter in mind. Without the dream, there would be no Joseph story. Without the dream, his brothers just hate him for the robe, but God does send the dream, and He sends two of them, and because of the dreams, Joseph can't, but share the dreams with his brothers, which sets the whole story in motion, that God sovereignly sealed and ensured the rejection of young Joseph. Do you see what that tells us? It reveals that any of us, who follow God, will live a life that will sometimes get very tangled. At times, complications will arise from our own sin, as with Joseph, or from the sin of those around us, and we live in this world that is fallen. People around us are fallen, and this world is caught in a web of sin, and it constantly casts you webs, but we know that amidst life complexities, God's creative power is at work to do us good. This is true when we get sick. This is true when we have trouble with our children, our grandchildren, when professional problems engulf us. We have the providence of God, a God who sustains our souls and all of life, perpetually working good. This is a truth to learn because life is not going to get easier, from this moment, friends. Your life is not going to get easier. With every coming day, as you get older, as we get older, with every day, it seems sometimes that the crosses that God entrusts to us get bigger, and God promised us, "If you want to follow Me, you got to deny self and take up your cross?" In fact, the more you follow God, the more complicated life will become, because your life's cores will buck against this world. So what are we to do here? Take heart that God is at work in our lives to do us good because we belong to Him, so rest your soul in that and submit yourself to Him in great processes of life and follow Him. Second is, "Beware of the soul-rotting sin of jealousy and covetousness." This is Genesis 37:11. "His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind." This entire story of the 12 sons and their animosity and eventual reconciliation begins with God, making a clear distinction between Joseph and the other brothers, thus, the significance of the dream. Joseph got the dream, the others did not. Here's a fact of life, and one perhaps that we struggle with in one way or another as the brothers struggled with. God does not treat us all the same. No. He does not give us all the same things. He does not give us all the same favor. He does not give us all the same blessings. Some Christians are smarter than others. Some are better-looking, more athletic, more successful financially, marry to lovelier and more impressive spouses, some have better jobs than others, some have higher-achieving children, some have better health and live longer lives. Some people seem to step from one victory, one triumph to another, and others never seem to be able to escape the long reach of trouble, only sometimes of their own making. Even among Christians, for someone it seems they're just naturally wired to be better Christians. Some are naturally sweeter, some are naturally more patient. The rest of us got to work a lot harder, so you look at this and you're like, "It's not fair. This isn't fair." Well, we learned this through Jonah, we learned this last week. "No, no, no, grace isn't fair." Of course it's not fair because no one earns grace. Grace is unmerited favor. Samuel Eliot Morison, the American historian and writer, he puts it like this. He says, "Life is like a card game. God deals a deck, and He gives some a strong hand and some a weak hand, and some people with a strong hand, they squander, and some people, the weaker hand, they play to the best of their ability and do well," but if a great hand is dealt and a great hand is played well, it's unbeatable, and Joseph was dealt a great hand, a mom and a dad that absolutely love him, and his father, I think made a lot of mistakes with the older sons, and by the time he gets to 11, he's like, "I think I got this," but then, he messes up with the favoritism part, but God chooses Joseph for prominence. He chooses him for power. He puts him in the position of the Egyptian core, and so the brothers have some ... They got to decide what to do. Clearly, this younger brother is blessed in a unique way. How are we going to respond? And they respond with jealousy and covetousness, and they respond with the resentment and bitterness at Jacob, at Joseph, and even at God, and they tried to resist God's will, which obviously is futile. In fact, everything they did, every evil motion, every evil act only served to fulfill God's plan. We must recognize that the way in which the Lord gives to others things that He has not given to us is an opportunity for us to step back and say, "What is grace? What is the principle of grace?" Paul would later ask, "What do you have that you have not received? Who makes you to differ?" Well, it's God, of course, who gives us what we have. If God wishes to give one of His children something He has not given you, what is that to you? Everything He gives, He gives in defiance of the fact that we don't deserve anything, except for His punishment. And who are you to tell the Almighty and your heavenly Father how to run His own family? We're called to put on humility, right? The root of all sin is pride, and I will say that if you have been given less than others, entrusted with less to steward, well, then your path of humility is a little easier than theirs. Listen to some of the wisest Christians before us about goals. Thomas A. Kempis says, "Desire to be unknown." Jeremy Taylor says, "O, teach me to love to be concealed." Archbishop Leighton says, "Be ambitious to be unknown." Augustine says, "if you ask me what the first thing in religion is, I should reply the first, the second, and third thing is humility." Alexander Moody Stuart, "There is not a humble heart in all the world that the high God is not dwelling in." Pascal, "Without humility, all our other virtues are but vices." Joseph, you do get a little hint of arrogance here. Yeah, he's dressed better than everyone else. By the way, when you're dressed nice, you know there's something there, and so you walk on a ... There is a little arrogance. There's arrogance in his speech, the dreams he could not wait for the brothers to hear. Gentlemen, do you see what's ... And how long did the Lord take to humble Joseph? His path to humility was so much harder, in many ways, than his brothers. If God wishes to exalt Joseph, that was God's doing, and it's our duty to acknowledge that it's His right to do so, and so adore God's wisdom and sovereignty. Verse 12, "Now, his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem, 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,' 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." A path, a journey of about 50 miles, or it definitely took a significant time, and so he gets to ... By the way, before he gets to Shechem ... I'll give you a little backstory. So you know the backstory where his brothers can't stand him, but the other backstory about Shechem is the Shechemites can't stand the sons of Jacob, because his two older sons went in after their sister was disgraced, and they slaughtered a bunch of the Shechemites, so they're in peril and the father wants to know, "Okay, how are they?" By the way, this is a tall ask for Joseph. Joseph knows, "My brothers hate me. I'm going to a dangerous place. This is going to take a long time," and all we hear from him, when his father gives him this duty, all we hear is, "Here I am," so he's presented as diligent, as hard-working as an obedient son, even doing an unpleasant bidding. Verse 15, when he's at Shechem, "And a man found him, wandering in the fields, and the man asked him, 'What are you seeking?' 'I'm seeking my brothers,' he said. 'Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock,' and the man said, 'They've gone away, for I heard them say,' 'Let's go to Dothan,' so Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan." So Dothan is another 14 miles that he's got to travel further, and here too, is a hidden hand of divine providence of the careful reader, is to know and to ponder Joseph, it says, "Is wandering in the fields." How long was he wandering? I don't know, but probably a significant time for it to even be mentioned he's wandering around. Perhaps, he feels like he's wasting time. Perhaps it feels like it's all aimless. "What am I doing here, Lord?" "Why am I stuck in this field?" Well, this is how the providence of God often works in our daily lives. You'll have a job to do, you'll get to a place, and here, he knows he's wasting time. It's a waste of time. It's aimless, and it's brought from the perspective of the story had he not taken this little hiatus at Shechem, had he not paused there, he would not have gotten to Dothan in time to coincide with the caravan of the Ishmaelite traders. So we see God pauses him on purpose. If he were not paused, the brothers would've killed him, instead of selling him into slavery, and this is what the scripture teaches, that often, in our lives, God works through the ordinary details, and if we are not paying attention, we miss the lessons. Scripture teaches that every single moment of life is supercharged with significance, because every piece of it is falling through the fingers of your heavenly Father. One of the biggest fallouts of living in a secular society, where people just don't acknowledge that there is a transcendence, supernatural, sovereign God over us, who cares about us and cares about the details of our lives, one of the things that we miss in this culture, where we don't believe that God is over all and in all and through all, we miss the purpose of just everyday life. We miss the purpose-filled infusion of God in everyday life, and I think that's why a lot of people are bored. Perhaps you in your daily walk with the Lord, you feel this boredom, this ennui sometimes, because you don't realize that God is working every single detail for your good, so we are to pay attention to the details of our lives, knowing that God is sovereign. Verse 18, "They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him." They recognized him from his distinctive robe, and now, they hatch a plan. Verse 19, "They said to one another, 'Here comes this dreamer. 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'll see what will become of his dreams.'" Dreamer here obviously is used sarcastically. They would prove his dreams wrong by killing him. They want to throw him into a pit, which was a cistern hewn out of rock for the storage of water, found all throughout. Israel served as an excellent dungeon, and they wanted not just to kill him, but to kill him in the most dishonorable way to kill him, and throw his body in the cistern, where he would not be buried. Genesis 37:21, "But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, 'Let us not take his life,' 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.'" Reuben, now, we learned in the previous chapters, if you read, he had fallen from his father's favor, because he had an affair with Bilhah, and he couldn't further afford anymore animosity or from his dad, so he knows he's going to have to bear the responsibility, so he steps into rescue his brother seemingly. In verse 23, "So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore, and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty, there was no water in it." We're only left to imagine Joseph's response. How did he respond? Did he scream? Was he terrified? On Genesis 42:21, the brothers recollect exactly how Joseph responded. "Then, they said to one another, 'In truth, we are guilty concerning our brother. In that, we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us, and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.'" By God's grace, their posture of heart changed toward the end, but what was their posture of heart at this moment, after beating him, stripping him, mocking him? It says in verse 25, "Then, they sat down to eat, and looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead, and their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh on their way to carry down to Egypt." We see callousness, we see heartless barbarity as they sit down to eat the meal that Joseph had brought them from their father. Verse 26, "Then, Judah said to his brothers, 'What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 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." So Judah is right after Reuben, and was he trying to save his brother placate his own conscience, make a little profit? We're not told, but we see that God does use this situation to save Joseph's life. Verse 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 20 shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt." So Joseph was sold to a non-covenant people. The brothers had disposed of Joseph and his dreams, or so they thought. Verse 29, "When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes and returned to his brothers and said, 'The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?'" Oh, Reuben knows the agony that his father is going to experience. He asked his brothers, "What do we do? What do I do?" And the only response from them is silence. Verse 31, "And they took Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood." This real irony here, Jacob had deceived his father by taking his brother's clothes and used a goat in order to deceive his dad. Jacob's youthful sins come full circle, his deceit. His deceit comes back to bite him. In verse 32, "They sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, 'This, we have found. Please identify whether it is your son's robe or not,' and he identified it and said, 'It is my son's robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.'" Verse 34, "Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days, and all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, 'No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.' And thus, his father wept for him." Conventional grieving lasted a week for a child or a parent. For Moses, it was a period of a month. Jacob refused to be comforted and promised here to continue mourning. We see the titanic hypocrisy in the sons. They're attempting to comfort their father in the death of his favorite son when they knew very well he wasn't dead and what had happened. Verse 36, "Meanwhile, the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard." Narrator reminds us that while Jacob struggled to adjust to the tragedy, Joseph was beginning a new life in Egypt at the age of 17, and this brings the point, three, replace a victimhood mindset with a sovereignty mindset, and I say it because that's the only way to understand what happened with Joseph. For this next 13 years of suffering, this is a man of God that pressed into the suffering, instead of blame-shifting and being immobilized by a victimhood mindset. Scripture teaches that God is sovereign, therefore, we are responsible. Look at Joseph. He's dragged naked from the pit, tethered to a beast of burden. He himself is probably carrying stuff all the way to the Nile, and he began the story as a robe prince in Israel, and he ends as a slave. He, of all people, had a massive case for victimhood. Why not pity himself? He was indeed pitiful. He had done nothing to deserve this. His biggest sin was he had a big mouth and he didn't know to keep it shut when he should have. And where was God in all of this? Why didn't God intervene? "God, why didn't You protect me from my brothers?" "God, why didn't you protect me from this caravan bound for Egypt? Why, why, why?" What's fascinating is Joseph takes absolute responsibility for himself in Egypt. He knows who he is, he knows who's he is, and he lives his life as you and I live ours. He had God's word guiding him, and he had God's Spirit with him, he had an imperfect understanding of life around him, he had his own besetting sins, but he knew that he was with the Lord. Joseph had ample reason for self-pity, for rage, for anger with God and revenge, and he doesn't do any of it. It's as if he forgets what lies behind, and he's ready to lean into what God was teaching. I say that because in this family, you see the victimhood mindset arise every once in a while. Jacob. Jacob had ... He could blame everybody. "Laban, you weren't righteous to me. Esau, you weren't righteous to me. My parents, you weren't righteous to me. It's all your fault." "It's all your fault," even with the brothers, Reuben. Reuben could've said it to Jacob, "My dad didn't love me." Judah could've said the same thing, "That's why I am the way I am. It's all their fault." That's a victimhood mindset. "I'm a victim of someone else's sin." Joseph could have done that. He does not. He rejects it because he believes in the sovereignty of God. "God allowed this in my life, therefore, God has purposes for it." He knew Abraham, of Abraham, his great-grandfather. He knew that God had spoken to him. Joseph believed that same promise that was handed down from Abraham and Isaac, and he knew that God is with him, that God will bless him, that God will use him. He had an immense view of God, and thus, reason that God was doing his will throughout the inscrutable drama that we see. Friends, no one will escape the will of God. No one will escape the hand of God, the rule of God, the plan and purpose of Almighty God, for children of God that comes as a great comfort, and no matter what, God is going to use all of these things in my life to bring about good, but for enemies of God, or for those of you, you're not sure if you're a child of God or an enemy of God, well, the fact that God is sovereign, no one will escape His reach or His plan should send a shiver down our spine, so what are we to do? We are to seek mercy and seek grace. As Dante puts it, "In His will is our peace." Yes. Can you say, "God, thy will be done," because thy will is good, because you are loving? Our heavenly Father orchestrates our lives moment by moment, we know His love, we know His wisdom, we know His faithfulness because we know His Son, Jesus Christ and what Jesus did for us. The love of Jesus Christ, the kindness of Christ, that's what separates Christianity from every other religion, it's that God offers us grace, and how does God offer us grace? Through both the sacrifice of Christ and His suffering that comes to us. Also, as an example, 1 Peter 2:21-25, "For to this, you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return, when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in His Body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness." "By His wounds, you have been healed, for you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." If there was ever a victim, it's Jesus Christ, but even Jesus turned that tragedy into a great victory. In Christ, we see that we can be more than conquerors. The story of Joseph is incredible in many ways, but it does point to the greater Joseph, Jesus Christ. Many ways, Joseph's life is a type, a typology of Christ. Joseph was rejected by his brothers, sold into captivity, and it is through that, through the fat that he was enslaved through his suffering that his brothers are freed in the end, his brothers are saved, that reminds me of a story where Pilate has Christ right before him, and they had this traditional Passover week, where he would release a prisoner, and he says, "Do you want me to release Jesus to you?," and they said, "No." The text is clear that they had brought Christ to be crucified because they envied Him. Matthew 27:15-23, "Now, at the feast, the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd, any one prisoner whom they wanted, and they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas, so when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, 'Whom do you want me to release for you, Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?,' for He knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered Him up. Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, 'Have nothing to do with that righteous Man, for I have suffered much because of Him today in a dream.' Now, the chief priest and the others persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus." "The governor again said to them, 'Which of the two do you want me to release to you?,' and they said, 'Barabbas.' Pilate said to them, 'Then, what shall I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?' They all said, 'Let Him be crucified,' and he said, 'Why? What evil has He done?,' and they shouted all the more, 'Let Him be crucified!'" We worship a God who took the greatest evil that was ever done, the crucifixion of the Son of God, and He turned it into the greatest event, the greatest good that could ever be, and that's the resurrection of Jesus Christ, through which we have forgiveness of sins. So if God can take the greatest evil and turn it into the greatest good in the life of Christ and the death, burial, and resurrection, well, He can do the same thing in the life of Joseph, and we'll see He does. He takes what they meant for evil and turns it into good. In the same way, when we entrust ourselves to the Lord, He can take everything in our lives, the good, the bad, the ugly, even the sin, even the evil, and He brings it all together, and He works out His good purpose. I'll close with Romans 8:31-39, "'What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?'" "'He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?' It is God who justifies. 'Who is to condemn?' Christ Jesus is the One who died, more than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand of the God, who indeed is interceding for us." "'Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?' As it is written, for Your sake, we are being killed all the day long, we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. Now, in all of these things, we are more than conquerors through Him, who loved us, for I'm sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Amen. Let us pray. Lord, we thank You for this incredible word, and we thank You for You sovereignty, and we thank You for Your grace. We thank You for taking this really miserable account of brothers who hated one of their own, sold him into captivity. We thank You for the story, where You showed that You can override even our greatest acts of evil. Lord, we come to You and we come to the cross of Christ.We repent of sin of pride, of folly. Continue to lead us in the ways of sanctification and continue to produce much fruit through us, and pray all this in Christ's name. Amen.

Message for 05/21/2023 "Conquer" by Justin McTeer. *All verses are NLT unless otherwise noted* Consecration, Cleansing, and Conquest Conquest Joshua 6:1-5 - Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go out or in. 2 But the Lord said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors. 3 You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. 4 Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram's horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. 5 When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams' horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.” Joshua 6:15-21 - On the seventh day the Israelites got up at dawn and marched around the town as they had done before. But this time they went around the town seven times. 16 The seventh time around, as the priests sounded the long blast on their horns, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the town! 17 Jericho and everything in it must be completely destroyed as an offering to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and the others in her house will be spared, for she protected our spies. 18 “Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. 19 Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the Lord and must be brought into his treasury.” 20 When the people heard the sound of the rams' horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it. 21 They completely destroyed everything in it with their swords—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys. Joshua 10:1-14 - Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard that Joshua had captured and completely destroyed Ai and killed its king, just as he had destroyed the town of Jericho and killed its king. He also learned that the Gibeonites had made peace with Israel and were now their allies. 2 He and his people became very afraid when they heard all this because Gibeon was a large town—as large as the royal cities and larger than Ai. And the Gibeonite men were strong warriors. 3 So King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem sent messengers to several other kings: Hoham of Hebron, Piram of Jarmuth, Japhia of Lachish, and Debir of Eglon. 4 “Come and help me destroy Gibeon,” he urged them, “for they have made peace with Joshua and the people of Israel.” 5 So these five Amorite kings combined their armies for a united attack. They moved all their troops into place and attacked Gibeon. 6 The men of Gibeon quickly sent messengers to Joshua at his camp in Gilgal. “Don't abandon your servants now!” they pleaded. “Come at once! Save us! Help us! For all the Amorite kings who live in the hill country have joined forces to attack us.” 7 So Joshua and his entire army, including his best warriors, left Gilgal and set out for Gibeon. 8 “Do not be afraid of them,” the Lord said to Joshua, “for I have given you victory over them. Not a single one of them will be able to stand up to you.” 9 Joshua traveled all night from Gilgal and took the Amorite armies by surprise. 10 The Lord threw them into a panic, and the Israelites slaughtered great numbers of them at Gibeon. Then the Israelites chased the enemy along the road to Beth-horon, killing them all along the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As the Amorites retreated down the road from Beth-horon, the Lord destroyed them with a terrible hailstorm from heaven that continued until they reached Azekah. The hail killed more of the enemy than the Israelites killed with the sword. 12 On the day the Lord gave the Israelites victory over the Amorites, Joshua prayed to the Lord in front of all the people of Israel. He said, “Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon.” 13 So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies. Is this event not recorded in The Book of Jashar? The sun stayed in the middle of the sky, and it did not set as on a normal day. 14 There has never been a day like this one before or since, when the Lord answered such a prayer. Surely the Lord fought for Israel that day! Judges 4:4-7 - Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet who was judging Israel at that time. 5 She would sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would go to her for judgment. 6 One day she sent for Barak son of Abinoam, who lived in Kedesh in the land of Naphtali. She said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: Call out 10,000 warriors from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun at Mount Tabor. 7 And I will call out Sisera, commander of Jabin's army, along with his chariots and warriors, to the Kishon River. There I will give you victory over him.” Judges 4:17-21 - Meanwhile, Sisera ran to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because Heber's family was on friendly terms with King Jabin of Hazor. 18 Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come into my tent, sir. Come in. Don't be afraid.” So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a blanket. 19 “Please give me some water,” he said. “I'm thirsty.” So she gave him some milk from a leather bag and covered him again. 20 “Stand at the door of the tent,” he told her. “If anybody comes and asks you if there is anyone here, say no.” 21 But when Sisera fell asleep from exhaustion, Jael quietly crept up to him with a hammer and tent peg in her hand. Then she drove the tent peg through his temple and into the ground, and so he died. Judges 6:1-6 - The Israelites did evil in the Lord's sight. So the Lord handed them over to the Midianites for seven years. 2 The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. 3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, marauders from Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east would attack Israel, 4 camping in the land and destroying crops as far away as Gaza. They left the Israelites with nothing to eat, taking all the sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. 5 These enemy hordes, coming with their livestock and tents, were as thick as locusts; they arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count. And they stayed until the land was stripped bare. 6 So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help. Judges 7:19-24a - It was just after midnight, after the changing of the guard, when Gideon and the 100 men with him reached the edge of the Midianite camp. Suddenly, they blew the rams' horns and broke their clay jars. 20 Then all three groups blew their horns and broke their jars. They held the blazing torches in their left hands and the horns in their right hands, and they all shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 21 Each man stood at his position around the camp and watched as all the Midianites rushed around in a panic, shouting as they ran to escape. 22 When the 300 Israelites blew their rams' horns, the Lord caused the warriors in the camp to fight against each other with their swords. Those who were not killed fled to places as far away as Beth-shittah near Zererah and to the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath. 23 Then Gideon sent for the warriors of Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh, who joined in chasing the army of Midian. 24 Gideon also sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down to attack the Midianites. Cut them off at the shallow crossings of the Jordan River at Beth-barah.” Joshua 6:15 - On the seventh day the Israelites got up at dawn and marched around the town as they had done before. But this time they went around the town seven times. Joshua 10:36-37 - From Eglon, Joshua and the Israelite army went up to Hebron and attacked it. 37 They captured the town and killed everyone in it, including its king, leaving no survivors. They did the same thing to all of its surrounding villages. And just as he had done at Eglon, he completely destroyed the entire population. Joshua 15:13-15 - The Lord commanded Joshua to assign some of Judah's territory to Caleb son of Jephunneh. So Caleb was given the town of Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), which had been named after Anak's ancestor. 14 Caleb drove out the three groups of Anakites—the descendants of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the sons of Anak. Deuteronomy 20:10 - As you approach a town to attack it, you must first offer its people terms for peace Most readers imagine that God commissioned his nation to vengefully wipe out an entire nation of Canaanite men, women, and children. However, a deeper reading reveals that the reasons for the conquest were more complex, the scope of the destruction was smaller, and God's mercy was present throughout. - Andy Patton Deuteronomy 9:5 - It is not because you are so good or have such integrity that you are about to occupy their land. The Lord your God will drive these nations out ahead of you only because of their wickedness, and to fulfill the oath he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Genesis 15:16 - After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.” Revelation 17:14 ESV - They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” Romans 12:9-21 - Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection,[e] and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.[f] 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God's people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you. Don't curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! 17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. 19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge. I will pay them back,” says the Lord. 20 Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” 21 Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 140 Psalm 140 (Listen) Deliver Me, O Lord, from Evil Men To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 140   Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men;    preserve me from violent men,2   who plan evil things in their heart    and stir up wars continually.3   They make their tongue sharp as a serpent's,    and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah 4   Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;    preserve me from violent men,    who have planned to trip up my feet.5   The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,    and with cords they have spread a net;1    beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah 6   I say to the LORD, You are my God;    give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD!7   O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,    you have covered my head in the day of battle.8   Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;    do not further their2 evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah 9   As for the head of those who surround me,    let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!10   Let burning coals fall upon them!    Let them be cast into fire,    into miry pits, no more to rise!11   Let not the slanderer be established in the land;    let evil hunt down the violent man speedily! 12   I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted,    and will execute justice for the needy.13   Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;    the upright shall dwell in your presence. Footnotes [1] 140:5 Or they have spread cords as a net [2] 140:8 Hebrew his (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Numbers 25 Numbers 25 (Listen) Baal Worship at Peor 25 While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. 4 And the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang1 them in the sun before the LORD, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.” 5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.” 6 And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand 8 and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. 9 Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand. The Zeal of Phinehas 10 And the LORD said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. 12 Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, 13 and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.'” 14 The name of the slain man of Israel, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, chief of a father's house belonging to the Simeonites. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was the tribal head of a father's house in Midian. 16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Harass the Midianites and strike them down, 18 for they have harassed you with their wiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the chief of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague on account of Peor.” Footnotes [1] 25:4 Or impale (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 61–62 Isaiah 61–62 (Listen) The Year of the Lord's Favor 61   The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,    because the LORD has anointed me  to bring good news to the poor;1    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,  to proclaim liberty to the captives,    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;22   to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor,    and the day of vengeance of our God;    to comfort all who mourn;3   to grant to those who mourn in Zion—    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,  the oil of gladness instead of mourning,    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;  that they may be called oaks of righteousness,    the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.34   They shall build up the ancient ruins;    they shall raise up the former devastations;  they shall repair the ruined cities,    the devastations of many generations. 5   Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;    foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;6   but you shall be called the priests of the LORD;    they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;  you shall eat the wealth of the nations,    and in their glory you shall boast.7   Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;    instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;  therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;    they shall have everlasting joy. 8   For I the LORD love justice;    I hate robbery and wrong;4  I will faithfully give them their recompense,    and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.9   Their offspring shall be known among the nations,    and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;  all who see them shall acknowledge them,    that they are an offspring the LORD has blessed. 10   I will greatly rejoice in the LORD;    my soul shall exult in my God,  for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,  as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.11   For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,  so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise    to sprout up before all the nations. Zion's Coming Salvation 62   For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,    and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet,  until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,    and her salvation as a burning torch.2   The nations shall see your righteousness,    and all the kings your glory,  and you shall be called by a new name    that the mouth of the LORD will give.3   You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD,    and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.4   You shall no more be termed Forsaken,5    and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,6  but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,7    and your land Married;8  for the LORD delights in you,    and your land shall be married.5   For as a young man marries a young woman,    so shall your sons marry you,  and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,    so shall your God rejoice over you. 6   On your walls, O Jerusalem,    I have set watchmen;  all the day and all the night    they shall never be silent.  You who put the LORD in remembrance,    take no rest,7   and give him no rest    until he establishes Jerusalem    and makes it a praise in the earth.8   The LORD has sworn by his right hand    and by his mighty arm:  “I will not again give your grain    to be food for your enemies,  and foreigners shall not drink your wine    for which you have labored;9   but those who garner it shall eat it    and praise the LORD,  and those who gather it shall drink it    in the courts of my sanctuary.”9 10   Go through, go through the gates;    prepare the way for the people;  build up, build up the highway;    clear it of stones;    lift up a signal over the peoples.11   Behold, the LORD has proclaimed    to the end of the earth:  Say to the daughter of Zion,    “Behold, your salvation comes;  behold, his reward is with him,    and his recompense before him.”12   And they shall be called The Holy People,    The Redeemed of the LORD;  and you shall be called Sought Out,    A City Not Forsaken. Footnotes [1] 61:1 Or afflicted [2] 61:1 Or the opening [of the eyes] to those who are blind; Septuagint and recovery of sight to the blind [3] 61:3 Or that he may display his beauty [4] 61:8 Or robbery with a burnt offering [5] 62:4 Hebrew Azubah [6] 62:4 Hebrew Shemamah [7] 62:4 Hebrew Hephzibah [8] 62:4 Hebrew Beulah [9] 62:9 Or in my holy courts (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: 2 Thessalonians 1 2 Thessalonians 1 (Listen) Greeting 1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Thanksgiving 3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers,1 as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. The Judgment at Christ's Coming 5 This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from2 the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. 11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Footnotes [1] 1:3 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters [2] 1:9 Or destruction that comes from (ESV)

Bulletin for Wednesday, May 17, 2023Service Time: 2:00 p.m.Bible Study: 2:30 p.m.There is no evening service during the summerAll are welcome, bring a friend, neighbor or relativeVisit our YouTube channel — Click the red “subscribe” box, and then click on the “bell” next to that box to receive Live Streaming notifications. You must be logged into YouTube to activate these features.Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”Archive of BULLETINSNumbers 10:11-36 In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. They set out for the first time at the command of the LORD by Moses. The standard of the camp of the people of Judah set out first by their companies, and over their company was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. And over the company of the tribe of the people of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. And over the company of the tribe of the people of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the LORD has promised good to Israel.” But he said to him, “I will not go. I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.” And he said, “Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. And if you do go with us, whatever good the LORD will do to us, the same will we do to you.” So they set out from the mount of the LORD three days' journey. And the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them three days' journey, to seek out a resting place for them. And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp. And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” And when it rested, he said, “Return, O LORD, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.” Luke 16:19-31 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.' But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.' And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.' But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'” The Sacrament of Holy BaptismWhat benefits does Baptism give? It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare. Which are these words and promises of God?Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Mark: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16)

With family: Numbers 25; Psalm 68 Numbers 25 (Listen) Baal Worship at Peor 25 While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. 4 And the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang1 them in the sun before the LORD, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.” 5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.” 6 And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand 8 and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. 9 Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand. The Zeal of Phinehas 10 And the LORD said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. 12 Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, 13 and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.'” 14 The name of the slain man of Israel, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, chief of a father's house belonging to the Simeonites. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was the tribal head of a father's house in Midian. 16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Harass the Midianites and strike them down, 18 for they have harassed you with their wiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the chief of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague on account of Peor.” Footnotes [1] 25:4 Or impale (ESV) Psalm 68 (Listen) God Shall Scatter His Enemies To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song. 68   God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;    and those who hate him shall flee before him!2   As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;    as wax melts before fire,    so the wicked shall perish before God!3   But the righteous shall be glad;    they shall exult before God;    they shall be jubilant with joy! 4   Sing to God, sing praises to his name;    lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;  his name is the LORD;    exult before him!5   Father of the fatherless and protector of widows    is God in his holy habitation.6   God settles the solitary in a home;    he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,    but the rebellious dwell in a parched land. 7   O God, when you went out before your people,    when you marched through the wilderness, Selah8   the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,    before God, the One of Sinai,    before God,1 the God of Israel.9   Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;    you restored your inheritance as it languished;10   your flock2 found a dwelling in it;    in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy. 11   The Lord gives the word;    the women who announce the news are a great host:12     “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”  The women at home divide the spoil—13     though you men lie among the sheepfolds—  the wings of a dove covered with silver,    its pinions with shimmering gold.14   When the Almighty scatters kings there,    let snow fall on Zalmon. 15   O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;    O many-peaked3 mountain, mountain of Bashan!16   Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,    at the mount that God desired for his abode,    yes, where the LORD will dwell forever?17   The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,    thousands upon thousands;    the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.18   You ascended on high,    leading a host of captives in your train    and receiving gifts among men,  even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there. 19   Blessed be the Lord,    who daily bears us up;    God is our salvation. Selah20   Our God is a God of salvation,    and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.21   But God will strike the heads of his enemies,    the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.22   The Lord said,    “I will bring them back from Bashan,  I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,23   that you may strike your feet in their blood,    that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.” 24   Your procession is4 seen, O God,    the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—25   the singers in front, the musicians last,    between them virgins playing tambourines:26   “Bless God in the great congregation,    the LORD, O you5 who are of Israel's fountain!”27   There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,    the princes of Judah in their throng,    the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali. 28   Summon your power, O God,6    the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.29   Because of your temple at Jerusalem    kings shall bear gifts to you.30   Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds,    the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.  Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;    scatter the peoples who delight in war.731   Nobles shall come from Egypt;    Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God. 32   O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;    sing praises to the Lord, Selah33   to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;    behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.34   Ascribe power to God,    whose majesty is over Israel,    and whose power is in the skies.35   Awesome is God from his8 sanctuary;    the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.  Blessed be God! Footnotes [1] 68:8 Or before God, even Sinai before God [2] 68:10 Or your congregation [3] 68:15 Or hunch-backed; also verse 16 [4] 68:24 Or has been [5] 68:26 The Hebrew for you is plural here [6] 68:28 By revocalization (compare Septuagint); Hebrew Your God has summoned your power [7] 68:30 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain [8] 68:35 Septuagint; Hebrew your (ESV) In private: Isaiah 15; 1 Peter 3 Isaiah 15 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab.   Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night,    Moab is undone;  because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night,    Moab is undone.2   He has gone up to the temple,1 and to Dibon,    to the high places2 to weep;  over Nebo and over Medeba    Moab wails.  On every head is baldness;    every beard is shorn;3   in the streets they wear sackcloth;    on the housetops and in the squares    everyone wails and melts in tears.4   Heshbon and Elealeh cry out;    their voice is heard as far as Jahaz;  therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud;    his soul trembles.5   My heart cries out for Moab;    her fugitives flee to Zoar,    to Eglath-shelishiyah.  For at the ascent of Luhith    they go up weeping;  on the road to Horonaim    they raise a cry of destruction;6   the waters of Nimrim    are a desolation;  the grass is withered, the vegetation fails,    the greenery is no more.7   Therefore the abundance they have gained    and what they have laid up  they carry away    over the Brook of the Willows.8   For a cry has gone    around the land of Moab;  her wailing reaches to Eglaim;    her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9   For the waters of Dibon3 are full of blood;    for I will bring upon Dibon even more,  a lion for those of Moab who escape,    for the remnant of the land. Footnotes [1] 15:2 Hebrew the house [2] 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places [3] 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse (ESV) 1 Peter 3 (Listen) Wives and Husbands 3 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. 7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you1 of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. Suffering for Righteousness' Sake 8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For   “Whoever desires to love life    and see good days,  let him keep his tongue from evil    and his lips from speaking deceit;11   let him turn away from evil and do good;    let him seek peace and pursue it.12   For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,    and his ears are open to their prayer.  But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered2 once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which3 he went and proclaimed4 to the spirits in prison, 20 because5 they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. Footnotes [1] 3:7 Some manuscripts since you are joint heirs [2] 3:18 Some manuscripts died [3] 3:19 Or the Spirit, in whom [4] 3:19 Or preached [5] 3:20 Or when (ESV)

God used a cowering Gideon and three Israelite soldiers with trumpets, pitchers, and lanterns to defeat the mighty Midianite army. Pick up your Bible or phone and turn to Judges 6 to hear the story.For those who use Word Aflame Curriculum, the Bible passage focused on in this episode comes from God's Word for Life, Spring 2023, entitled, "Gideon and the Strength of Honesty" (May 14, 2023). This episode is produced by the Pentecostal Publishing House and is hosted by LJ Harry. Visit us at www.pentecostalpublishing.comAt PentecostalPublishing.com, use one-time use promo code GWFL10 to save 10% off your entire orderLet's continue the conversation at Facebook.com/GodsWordforLifeFind an Apostolic church that preaches this gospel and our response at UPCI.orgTo order resources of the God's Word for Life curriculum, visitPentecostalPublishing.comApostolicDiscipleship.com 

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 130 Psalm 130 (Listen) My Soul Waits for the Lord A Song of Ascents. 130   Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!2     O Lord, hear my voice!  Let your ears be attentive    to the voice of my pleas for mercy! 3   If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,    O Lord, who could stand?4   But with you there is forgiveness,    that you may be feared. 5   I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,    and in his word I hope;6   my soul waits for the Lord    more than watchmen for the morning,    more than watchmen for the morning. 7   O Israel, hope in the LORD!    For with the LORD there is steadfast love,    and with him is plentiful redemption.8   And he will redeem Israel    from all his iniquities. (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Numbers 10:11–36 Numbers 10:11–36 (Listen) Israel Leaves Sinai 11 In the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, the cloud lifted from over the tabernacle of the testimony, 12 and the people of Israel set out by stages from the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. 13 They set out for the first time at the command of the LORD by Moses. 14 The standard of the camp of the people of Judah set out first by their companies, and over their company was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 15 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. 16 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. 17 And when the tabernacle was taken down, the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who carried the tabernacle, set out. 18 And the standard of the camp of Reuben set out by their companies, and over their company was Elizur the son of Shedeur. 19 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 20 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 21 Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things, and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival. 22 And the standard of the camp of the people of Ephraim set out by their companies, and over their company was Elishama the son of Ammihud. 23 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 24 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni. 25 Then the standard of the camp of the people of Dan, acting as the rear guard of all the camps, set out by their companies, and over their company was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 26 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ochran. 27 And over the company of the tribe of the people of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan. 28 This was the order of march of the people of Israel by their companies, when they set out. 29 And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.' Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the LORD has promised good to Israel.” 30 But he said to him, “I will not go. I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.” 31 And he said, “Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. 32 And if you do go with us, whatever good the LORD will do to us, the same will we do to you.” 33 So they set out from the mount of the LORD three days' journey. And the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them three days' journey, to seek out a resting place for them. 34 And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp. 35 And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.” 36 And when it rested, he said, “Return, O LORD, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel.” (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 48–49