Judges 13 (New Living Translation)

13 Again the Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines, who oppressed them for forty years.

2 In those days a man named Manoah from the tribe of Dan lived in the town of Zorah. His wife was unable to become pregnant, and they had no children. 3 The angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, “Even though you have been unable to have children, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son. 4 So be careful; you must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food. 5 You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. He will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.”

6 The woman ran and told her husband, “A man of God appeared to me! He looked like one of God’s angels, terrifying to see. I didn’t ask where he was from, and he didn’t tell me his name. 7 But he told me, ‘You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food. For your son will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from the moment of his birth until the day of his death.’”

8 Then Manoah prayed to the Lord, saying, “Lord, please let the man of God come back to us again and give us more instructions about this son who is to be born.”

9 God answered Manoah’s prayer, and the angel of God appeared once again to his wife as she was sitting in the field. But her husband, Manoah, was not with her. 10 So she quickly ran and told her husband, “The man who appeared to me the other day is here again!”

11 Manoah ran back with his wife and asked, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife the other day?”

“Yes,” he replied, “I am.”

12 So Manoah asked him, “When your words come true, what kind of rules should govern the boy’s life and work?”

13 The angel of the Lord replied, “Be sure your wife follows the instructions I gave her. 14 She must not eat grapes or raisins, drink wine or any other alcoholic drink, or eat any forbidden food.”

15 Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Please stay here until we can prepare a young goat for you to eat.”

16 “I will stay,” the angel of the Lord replied, “but I will not eat anything. However, you may prepare a burnt offering as a sacrifice to the Lord.” (Manoah didn’t realize it was the angel of the Lord.)

17 Then Manoah asked the angel of the Lord, “What is your name? For when all this comes true, we want to honor you.”

18 “Why do you ask my name?” the angel of the Lord replied. “It is too wonderful for you to understand.”

19 Then Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered it on a rock as a sacrifice to the Lord. And as Manoah and his wife watched, the Lord did an amazing thing. 20 As the flames from the altar shot up toward the sky, the angel of the Lord ascended in the fire. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell with their faces to the ground.

21 The angel did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Manoah finally realized it was the angel of the Lord, 22 and he said to his wife, “We will certainly die, for we have seen God!”

23 But his wife said, “If the Lord were going to kill us, he wouldn’t have accepted our burnt offering and grain offering. He wouldn’t have appeared to us and told us this wonderful thing and done these miracles.”

24 When her son was born, she named him Samson. And the Lord blessed him as he grew up. 25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he lived in Mahaneh-dan, which is located between the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol.

Dear God,

Parents so often are just desperate to get it right.

I remember being at the hospital when our oldest child was born, holding him, and thinking, “Okay, I haven’t screwed up yet.” Of course, I was only about an hour into being a father. There were many screw-ups to come. I also remember being incredulous that they were going to trust us enough to take this new baby home and care for it. What were they thinking? We didn’t know what we were doing!

For my wife’s part, she read parenting books and tried to do everything right as a mom. Schedules. Reading to them while she nursed them. Bible time at the breakfast table every morning. Play groups.

I see that here in Samson’s parents. One might look at the finished product (which I’ll do tomorrow) and say that they failed, but there is no doubt they wanted to give this their all. Their interactions with the angel were all about getting it right. They were all about sacrificing to you and submitting themselves to the process you had for them. I just love the excitement and obedience represented in this story. This was going to make their lives weird and interesting, but they were so excited to have a child. You put something in us, I suppose, that makes us want to love something the way you love us.

Father, thank you for the time this author took to tell us the story of Manoah and his wife (I wish we knew Manoah’s wife’s name). They could have skipped this and gone straight to Samson, man of power, but they took a whole chapter in the middle of Judges to tell us about these two faithful, good-hearted people. Even though my wife and I made many mistakes, I would like to think that you saw us as faithful and good-hearted as well. What can I say except that we will continue to offer ourselves up to you through this process of caring for our adult children, our parents, and those around us.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

Exodus 18 (New Living Translation)

18 Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about everything God had done for Moses and his people, the Israelites. He heard especially about how the Lord had rescued them from Egypt.

2 Earlier, Moses had sent his wife, Zipporah, and his two sons back to Jethro, who had taken them in. 3 (Moses’ first son was named Gershom, for Moses had said when the boy was born, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.” 4 His second son was named Eliezer, for Moses had said, “The God of my ancestors was my helper; he rescued me from the sword of Pharaoh.”) 5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, now came to visit Moses in the wilderness. He brought Moses’ wife and two sons with him, and they arrived while Moses and the people were camped near the mountain of God. 6 Jethro had sent a message to Moses, saying, “I, Jethro, your father-in-law, am coming to see you with your wife and your two sons.”

7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law. He bowed low and kissed him. They asked about each other’s welfare and then went into Moses’ tent. 8 Moses told his father-in-law everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and Egypt on behalf of Israel. He also told about all the hardships they had experienced along the way and how the Lord had rescued his people from all their troubles. 9 Jethro was delighted when he heard about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel as he rescued them from the hand of the Egyptians.

10 “Praise the Lord,” Jethro said, “for he has rescued you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh. Yes, he has rescued Israel from the powerful hand of Egypt! 11 I know now that the Lord is greater than all other gods, because he rescued his people from the oppression of the proud Egyptians.”

12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God. Aaron and all the elders of Israel came out and joined him in a sacrificial meal in God’s presence.

13 The next day, Moses took his seat to hear the people’s disputes against each other. They waited before him from morning till evening.

14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?”

15 Moses replied, “Because the people come to me to get a ruling from God. 16 When a dispute arises, they come to me, and I am the one who settles the case between the quarreling parties. I inform the people of God’s decrees and give them his instructions.”

17 “This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed. 18 “You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself. 19 Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s representative before God, bringing their disputes to him. 20 Teach them God’s decrees, and give them his instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives. 21 But select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten. 22 They should always be available to solve the people’s common disputes, but have them bring the major cases to you. Let the leaders decide the smaller matters themselves. They will help you carry the load, making the task easier for you. 23 If you follow this advice, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure the pressures, and all these people will go home in peace.”

24 Moses listened to his father-in-law’s advice and followed his suggestions. 25 He chose capable men from all over Israel and appointed them as leaders over the people. He put them in charge of groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten. 26 These men were always available to solve the people’s common disputes. They brought the major cases to Moses, but they took care of the smaller matters themselves.

27 Soon after this, Moses said good-bye to his father-in-law, who returned to his own land.

Dear God,

Jethro lived an interesting life. He was a priest, but of which god? Jethro says, “I know now that the Lord is greater than all other gods…” What does that line say about his own theology?

In this story we learn that he allowed his daughter and grandchildren to stay with him while Moses dealt with Pharaoh, the Egyptians, and the Israelites. We also know that he brought them back to Moses, and that he legitimately respected Moses. Finally, he played the role of short-term advisor. Moses was so wrapped up in the trees that he could not see the forest. I have a similar problem at my current job as the leader of a nonprofit, and the board of directors is trying to help me and play a similar role to what Jethro played for Moses.

I like this image of Jethro as father figure to Moses. I like the role he is playing in his daughter’s life by 1) helping her and her boys directly and 2) helping her husband to keep his sanity which, in turn, will be of benefit to her as well. Basically, Jethro just seems like a good man who is offering himself to be used in whatever role you have for him.

On some levels, being a son-in-law to your father-in-law can be easier than being a daughter-in-law to a mother-in-law. The dynamics are different. But one of the hard things for either men or women is to humble themselves to take advice from their elders. Pride can get in the way. On the other hand, it can sometimes be difficult for the elder to know when to remain silent and let the next generation figure things out for themselves. The best lessons are learned through the experience of failure. Finally, there usually comes a day in the life cycle when the younger generation must take over and start caring for the elder generation. That is an especially difficult transition because complete paradigms must shift. My wife and I are moving into that phase now as the younger generation, but I am also trying to steel myself and prepare my ego and heart for the day 25 or so years from now when I will need to make decisions that will make life easier for my children when I am the aging elder and they are the younger generation.

Father, that last paragraph was a lot of words to just say that humility and a willingness to serve and step out in courage are important. I am sure that Jethro was at least somewhat nervous about giving Moses his advice, but he gave it well. And Moses was able to receive it. Help me to be both a good receiver and deliverer of your counsel so that I might be who you need me to be in the lives you place around me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

Exodus 12:28-33 (New Living Translation)

28 So the people of Israel did just as the Lord had commanded through Moses and Aaron. 29 And that night at midnight, the Lord struck down all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn son of the prisoner in the dungeon. Even the firstborn of their livestock were killed. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the people of Egypt woke up during the night, and loud wailing was heard throughout the land of Egypt. There was not a single house where someone had not died.

31 Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron during the night. “Get out!” he ordered. “Leave my people—and take the rest of the Israelites with you! Go and worship the Lord as you have requested. 32 Take your flocks and herds, as you said, and be gone. Go, but bless me as you leave.” 33 All the Egyptians urged the people of Israel to get out of the land as quickly as possible, for they thought, “We will all die!”

Dear God,

It was the mass loss of life and of their children that finally broke the Egyptians and Pharaoh. They were willing to pay any price after that. You even brought Pharaoh to his knees by it. It reminds me of an ‘80s song by Sting called “Russians” in which he has a line about the Russians loving their children too. While the Egyptians might be the bad guys in Exodus, much like we saw the Russians/Soviets as the bad guys when I was a kid, there are some basic things about all of us that are similar. One of them is that we love our children.

Sometimes I marvel at how special my two children are to me. When they were small and playing sports or performing on stage, they were all my eyes wanted to follow. Often, I could not have told you what else was happening. I just cared about them. I held one while they projectile vomited on me. I flew across the country to help one (actually, I have done that for each of them now that I think about it). I was there at each of their births. They look a little like me and a little like my wife. If you were to look at a bell curve of the things my wife and I discuss, they would be in the center. They are the center of my wife’s and my daily prayer time. And even with all of that, we can feel so helpless. Kobe Bryant could not save his daughter when they both crashed in that helicopter, and I know he would have given all he had if he could have just saved her. I could not even stop bullies from picking on my children when they were little. I remember holding one in my lap and crying together, but I could not completely shield them. I tried, but I couldn’t.

Father, thank you for this rich, joyful, painful experience called parenthood. You have used it to mold me. You are still using it. The Egyptians loved their children. The Israelites who had to watch their children live and die in slavery (and some drowned in the Nile) all loved their children. The Russians and everyone else love their children. I even saw a baby lamb next to its mother for safety when I was on a bike ride last Sunday. She loved her child too. And of course, you love us as well—even more than I can fathom. Thank you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

Exodus 4:24-26 (New Living Translation)

24 On the way to Egypt, at a place where Moses and his family had stopped for the night, the Lord confronted him and was about to kill him. 25 But Moses’ wife, Zipporah, took a flint knife and circumcised her son. She touched his feet with the foreskin and said, “Now you are a bridegroom of blood to me.” 26 (When she said “a bridegroom of blood,” she was referring to the circumcision.) After that, the Lord left him alone.

Dear God,

Okay, I do not remember this story, and the author (Moses?) did not do a very good job of telling it. Moses and his family are on their way to Egypt, and for some unexplained reason you were about to kill him. Was he complaining too much? Was he telling Zipporah that he could not do what you were asking him to do? Or had you told him to circumcise the boy and he would not do it? Either way, you were obviously fed up, and Zipporah stepped up to the plate and circumcised her son en route. We can tell she was upset about having to do it with her statement to Moses that he was now a “bridegroom of blood” to her.

Regarding circumcision, I do not think I have ever thought about how Moses being circumcised would have impacted his life. Is that how he knew he himself was Hebrew and not Egyptian? (Exodus 2:6 and 2:11). I am sure it came up with his wife too, since he did not look like other males. So how did she know that circumcising her son would assuage your anger? How old was the boy anyway? I do not know, but what I see is a woman who apparently saved her husband’s life by doing something she really did not want to do to her son. Was Moses too weak to do it when the boy was born?

Father, this one story gives me so much respect for Zipporah. She had to be scared to go to Egypt and take her family with her, but when the time came, she was willing to do what needed to be done. Moms can be amazing. Wives too. As a man who has greatly benefitted from a great woman as my wife, I can recognize it when I see Moses’s wife. She left a life of comfort with her father and went through everything Moses did. Thank you for her example.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

Exodus 2:1-10 (New Living Translation)

2 About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married. 2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a special baby and kept him hidden for three months. 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River. 4 The baby’s sister then stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen to him.

5 Soon Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, and her attendants walked along the riverbank. When the princess saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it for her. 6 When the princess opened it, she saw the baby. The little boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This must be one of the Hebrew children,” she said.

7 Then the baby’s sister approached the princess. “Should I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” she asked.

8 “Yes, do!” the princess replied. So the girl went and called the baby’s mother.

9 “Take this baby and nurse him for me,” the princess told the baby’s mother. “I will pay you for your help.” So the woman took her baby home and nursed him.

10 Later, when the boy was older, his mother brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son. The princess named him Moses, for she explained, “I lifted him out of the water.”

Dear God,

It is interesting that we do not get Moses’s mother’s (and father’s) name here (we get them in Numbers 26). It is also interesting that we do not get much about the father here, but who knows what his life was like? He might have been in hard labor and hardly around. Regardless, they are as important as any two people I read about in Genesis. They saved the life of the boy/man who would lead your people out of Egypt. Who would even meet Jesus during the Transfiguration.

I cannot imagine what it would have been like for the Israelite women to have to see their baby boys killed. Here’s something I never thought of before: I suppose that they circumcised Moses. Is that how Pharaoh’s daughter knew immediately that the boy was a Hebrew? As mothers go, she is as critical of a part of this story as Moses’s Hebrew parents. She was his adopted mother, and I do not think we get her name either.

Why do I bring that up? Well, because we tend to think so much of ourselves, but it is our actions that matter more than our words. These people all did the right thing. They had decisions to make, and they made them. Whereas we remember Jacob for being so worried about his own name and his own convenience, the names of these good people are lost. It is a reminder to me that my life is not about my name living forever, but the actions I take trickling through history.

Father, help me to do the right thing. Help me to be the husband, father, son, brother, and uncle you need me to be. Help me to willingly decrease so that you can increase. Love through me. Help me to stay in each moment and not be distracted by the future. Let your kingdom come and your will be done on earth through my life as you will.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

Genesis 50:22-26

22 So Joseph and his brothers and their families continued to live in Egypt. Joseph lived to the age of 110. 23 He lived to see three generations of descendants of his son Ephraim, and he lived to see the birth of the children of Manasseh’s son Makir, whom he claimed as his own.

24 “Soon I will die,” Joseph told his brothers, “but God will surely come to help you and lead you out of this land of Egypt. He will bring you back to the land he solemnly promised to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”

25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath, and he said, “When God comes to help you and lead you back, you must take my bones with you.” 26 So Joseph died at the age of 110. The Egyptians embalmed him, and his body was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Dear God,

This is a brief chance to see Joseph as a father. Actually, it is our second glimpse. The first was when Jacob blessed Joseph’s sons but ignored their birth order, and it upset Joseph. Then it talks about him seeing his great-grandchildren born. It paints a picture of interest in his children, their children, and their children.

We do not get any stories about the boys, good or bad, so it is hard to know, but Genesis certainly is not shy about telling us the ugly parts of their lives. That is why I kind of get the impression that things turned out alright for Joseph as a father. First, I do not know how many wives he had (or daughters), but it appears he only had the two boys, so it is not like he was just having tons of kids by tons of women (that we know of). I do not know. I am doing A LOT of inferring here, but Joseph seemed to live a reasonably controlled life that made room for loving his family (children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren) and his brothers. And he also lived a life of forgiveness, choosing to not punish his brothers for what they did to him.

Father, I do not know that there is really anything I can take from Joseph as a father and apply to my life, but it is refreshing to see one of these guys seem to care about the development of his children and how their lives turn out for their sake and not for his. Please help me to be the father, husband, brother, and son you need me to be for my own family.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

Genesis 49 (New Living Translation)

49 Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, “Gather around me, and I will tell you what will happen to each of you in the days to come.

2 “Come and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father.

3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength, the child of my vigorous youth. You are first in rank and first in power.4 But you are as unruly as a flood, and you will be first no longer.For you went to bed with my wife; you defiled my marriage couch.

5 “Simeon and Levi are two of a kind; their weapons are instruments of violence.6 May I never join in their meetings; may I never be a party to their plans.For in their anger they murdered men, and they crippled oxen just for sport.7 A curse on their anger, for it is fierce; a curse on their wrath, for it is cruel.I will scatter them among the descendants of Jacob; I will disperse them throughout Israel.

8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will grasp your enemies by the neck. All your relatives will bow before you.9 Judah, my son, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey.Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants,until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor.11 He ties his foal to a grapevine, the colt of his donkey to a choice vine.He washes his clothes in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.12 His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.

13 “Zebulun will settle by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.

14 “Issachar is a sturdy donkey, resting between two saddlepacks.15 When he sees how good the countryside is and how pleasant the land,he will bend his shoulder to the load and submit himself to hard labor.

16 “Dan will govern his people, like any other tribe in Israel.17 Dan will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous viper along the paththat bites the horse’s hooves so its rider is thrown off.18 I trust in you for salvation, O Lord!

19 “Gad will be attacked by marauding bands, but he will attack them when they retreat.

20 “Asher will dine on rich foods and produce food fit for kings.

21 “Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.

22 “Joseph is the foal of a wild donkey, the foal of a wild donkey at a spring— one of the wild donkeys on the ridge.23 Archers attacked him savagely; they shot at him and harassed him.24 But his bow remained taut, and his arms were strengthenedby the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.25 May the God of your father help you; may the Almighty bless youwith the blessings of the heavens above, and blessings of the watery depths below, and blessings of the breasts and womb.26 May my fatherly blessings on you surpass the blessings of my ancestors, reaching to the heights of the eternal hills.May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, who is a prince among his brothers.

27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, devouring his enemies in the morning and dividing his plunder in the evening.”

28 These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he told his sons good-bye. He blessed each one with an appropriate message.

29 Then Jacob instructed them, “Soon I will die and join my ancestors. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. 30 This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a permanent burial site. 31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. And there I buried Leah. 32 It is the plot of land and the cave that my grandfather Abraham bought from the Hittites.”

33 When Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his ancestors in death.

How could Jacob consciously choose to curse some of his children (and seemingly their descendants as well). I mean, who does that? That cannot be a sign of good parenting, right?

I also notice that Jacob seems to have completely embraced the idea that the rights of the firstborn are NOT absolute. Again, maybe this is because he was the second-born child, and he took his brother’s birthright and blessing. His father, Isaac, was born after Ishmael and had taken his brother’s blessing. Now, he had a grudge against Reuben so he kind of let him have it. Then he showed he still remembered how Simeon and Levi slaughtered that town in the name of defending their sister’s honor, and he cursed them as well. That brought the first positive blessing to Judah, the fourth-born son.

I suppose what I should probably do is break the blessings down by who the mother was. There are four mothers here. Was there a difference in how he looked at his sons based on their mother?

Leah

Reuben – bad blessing

Simeon – bad blessing

Levi – bad blessing

Judah – Good blessing

Issachar (born after Asher) – good blessing

Zebulun (born after Issachar) – good blessing

Bilhah (Rachel’s servant (slave?))

Dan – good blessing

Naphtali – good blessing

Zilpah (Leah’s servant (slave?))

Gad – medium blessing

Asher – good blessing

Rachel

Joseph – good blessing

Benjamin (Rachel died in childbirth) – good blessing

Hmm. That’s interesting. Only the first three got “bad blessings,” if you want to call them that. Gad’s was okay, but he has to be attacked first. When I just read them through, it felt like there was more negativity than that, but, no, it was limited to the first three. They were the ones with whom Jacob had a specific beef. And, going back to an earlier prayer about him and his fathering, his problems seemed to center more on how the boys’ actions impacted him than whether they were right or wrong.

The thing about Reuben and the concubine is notable. It gets half of one verse (Genesis 35:22: “While he was living there Reuben had intercourse with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Jacob soon heard about it.”). This is right after Rachel died in childbirth with Benjamin, and Bilhah had been Rachel’s slave. I wonder if Reuben thought she was unimportant to Jacob because Rachel was dead. Who knows? But it does not say Jacob did anything about it at the time. It seems that he waited until this moment to blast him with it. Not very good parenting.

Father, my dad had a friend who used to say, “Everyone has a purpose in life, even if it is to serve as a bad example.” Well, I must tell you, God, I don’t think much of the example that Jacob was for us. He lied and cheated. He was passive-aggressive and selfish. He did not mind showing all his boys who his favorites were. He held grudges. I have to say, it is hard for me to see how he compares favorably with Esau. But there it is. You used him. You used him to build a nation. You used him to shape the world, an influence that continues to this day, thousands of years later. So, thank you that I do not have to be perfect to be used by you. Thank you for just asking me to love you and do my best and then you work around me when I fail. Thank you for the redemption you offer me as a Gentile. I am very grateful.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

Genesis 47:28-48:22 (New Living Translation)

28 Jacob lived for seventeen years after his arrival in Egypt, so he lived 147 years in all.

29 As the time of his death drew near, Jacob called for his son Joseph and said to him, “Please do me this favor. Put your hand under my thigh and swear that you will treat me with unfailing love by honoring this last request: Do not bury me in Egypt. 30 When I die, please take my body out of Egypt and bury me with my ancestors.”

So Joseph promised, “I will do as you ask.”

31 “Swear that you will do it,” Jacob insisted. So Joseph gave his oath, and Jacob bowed humbly at the head of his bed.

48 One day not long after this, word came to Joseph, “Your father is failing rapidly.” So Joseph went to visit his father, and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

2 When Joseph arrived, Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to see you.” So Jacob gathered his strength and sat up in his bed.

3 Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. 4 He said to me, ‘I will make you fruitful, and I will multiply your descendants. I will make you a multitude of nations. And I will give this land of Canaan to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’

5 “Now I am claiming as my own sons these two boys of yours, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born here in the land of Egypt before I arrived. They will be my sons, just as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 But any children born to you in the future will be your own, and they will inherit land within the territories of their brothers Ephraim and Manasseh.

7 “Long ago, as I was returning from Paddan-aram, Rachel died in the land of Canaan. We were still on the way, some distance from Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). So with great sorrow I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath.”

8 Then Jacob looked over at the two boys. “Are these your sons?” he asked.

9 “Yes,” Joseph told him, “these are the sons God has given me here in Egypt.”

And Jacob said, “Bring them closer to me, so I can bless them.”

10 Jacob was half blind because of his age and could hardly see. So Joseph brought the boys close to him, and Jacob kissed and embraced them. 11 Then Jacob said to Joseph, “I never thought I would see your face again, but now God has let me see your children, too!”

12 Joseph moved the boys, who were at their grandfather’s knees, and he bowed with his face to the ground. 13 Then he positioned the boys in front of Jacob. With his right hand he directed Ephraim toward Jacob’s left hand, and with his left hand he put Manasseh at Jacob’s right hand. 14 But Jacob crossed his arms as he reached out to lay his hands on the boys’ heads. He put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, though he was the younger boy, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, though he was the firstborn. 15 Then he blessed Joseph and said,

“May the God before whom my grandfather Abraham and my father, Isaac, walked—the God who has been my shepherd all my life, to this very day,16 the Angel who has redeemed me from all harm— may he bless these boys.May they preserve my name and the names of Abraham and Isaac.And may their descendants multiply greatly throughout the earth.”

17 But Joseph was upset when he saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head. So Joseph lifted it to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 “No, my father,” he said. “This one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”

19 But his father refused. “I know, my son; I know,” he replied. “Manasseh will also become a great people, but his younger brother will become even greater. And his descendants will become a multitude of nations.”

20 So Jacob blessed the boys that day with this blessing: “The people of Israel will use your names when they give a blessing. They will say, ‘May God make you as prosperous as Ephraim and Manasseh.’” In this way, Jacob put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

21 Then Jacob said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will take you back to Canaan, the land of your ancestors. 22 And beyond what I have given your brothers, I am giving you an extra portion of the land[e] that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”

Dear God,

We actually have two fathers in this story: Jacob and Joseph.

I suppose Jacob always did have a soft spot in his heart for the younger sibling over the older. And as I noticed many times before, it is seldom the oldest that ends up being the greatest in Biblical families. Isaac before Ishmael (Muslims would disagree with this, and I would too if I were them, but since this is from a Christian perspective I’ll go with it). Abel was more pleasing to you than Cain. David wasn’t Jesse’s firstborn. Solomon wasn’t David’s. I do not know—maybe I would feel differently if I were the oldest instead of the youngest in my family, but I think the theory that the firstborn is the obvious choice as the natural one to receive the birthright blessing is not supported by many Old Testament stories.

Joseph obviously felt this way about his boys. He wanted them to be blessed according to their birth order. But Jacob had a different paradigm, and we will see tomorrow that he blesses his fourth-born, Judah, as the leader of his sons and not Reuben, the firstborn.

I also note that Jacob did not leave Egypt during his life. I would have thought that after the famine was over, they would have returned to Canaan. Did he not want to inconvenience his children? Was he too old for the journey? Was he too weak to lead them? I understand that you ended up using the ensuing slavery to build his lineage as a nation, but it seems to me that it would have been easier for his family to return to Canaan being well-fed and nourished over the last few years of famine. On paper it seems like this was a failing in Jacob and even in his sons. They all got fat and happy. But you still were able to use what I perceive as their possible failing for your purposes and plan.

Father, I know I will fail. I know that despite my best efforts I can act fat and happy. But there is freedom in the idea that I know my heart is for you. I worship you, I love you, and I am doing my best; and you can work with my sin and my failures to still bring about your plan for your glory. I simply pray that my work will be pleasing in your sight.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

Genesis 45:25-46:7 (New Living Translation)

25 And they left Egypt and returned to their father, Jacob, in the land of Canaan.

26 “Joseph is still alive!” they told him. “And he is governor of all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned at the news—he couldn’t believe it. 27 But when they repeated to Jacob everything Joseph had told them, and when he saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him, their father’s spirits revived.

46 So Jacob set out for Egypt with all his possessions. And when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. 2 During the night God spoke to him in a vision. “Jacob! Jacob!” he called.

“Here I am,” Jacob replied.

3 “I am God, the God of your father,” the voice said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make your family into a great nation. 4 I will go with you down to Egypt, and I will bring you back again. You will die in Egypt, but Joseph will be with you to close your eyes.”

5 So Jacob left Beersheba, and his sons took him to Egypt. They carried him and their little ones and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had provided for them. 6 They also took all their livestock and all the personal belongings they had acquired in the land of Canaan. So Jacob and his entire family went to Egypt— 7 sons and grandsons, daughters and granddaughters—all his descendants.

Genesis 46:26-30

26 The total number of Jacob’s direct descendants who went with him to Egypt, not counting his sons’ wives, was sixty-six. 27 In addition, Joseph had two sons who were born in Egypt. So altogether, there were seventy members of Jacob’s family in the land of Egypt.

28 As they neared their destination, Jacob sent Judah ahead to meet Joseph and get directions to the region of Goshen. And when they finally arrived there, 29 Joseph prepared his chariot and traveled to Goshen to meet his father, Jacob. When Joseph arrived, he embraced his father and wept, holding him for a long time. 30 Finally, Jacob said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I have seen your face again and know you are still alive.”

Genesis 47:7-10

7 Then Joseph brought in his father, Jacob, and presented him to Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

8 “How old are you?” Pharaoh asked him.

9 Jacob replied, “I have traveled this earth for 130 hard years. But my life has been short compared to the lives of my ancestors.” 10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again before leaving his court.

Dear God,

The story sort of skips over this part, but I wonder what the conversation was like among the brothers as they returned to Jacob. They were going to have to tell him what they did: “Uh, Dad. Yeah. Well. Remember Joseph? Remember how we told you that he had been eaten by a wild animal? Well, that wasn’t really true. As it turns out, we sold him as a slave to some Ishmaelites—you remember Uncle Ishmael? Anyway, apparently, Joseph is now the governor of Egypt, so it’s all good!”

All this does not seem to have mattered too much to Jacob. His son was alive! I told a group the other night that one thing that surprised me about being a parent was how easy I found it to forgive my children. It gave me a picture of your love for me in a new way. For Jacob, he had his boy back. He had all twelve boys (including Simeon). And now there was hope for his future.

Finally, I guess I should mention that Jacob agreed to leave his homeland to be closer to his son so that he could care for him, and he allowed Joseph to have that role in his life. This can be a real issue when aging parents agree to accept help from their children. Help me to be willing to be that humble when my time comes.

Father, thank you for the experience of fatherhood. Thank you for teaching me so much through my children—both through being a father and what you have taught me through them as individuals. Thank you for growing and stretching me through my wife and partnering with her as parents as well. It has not always been easy, but you have really used all of them to shape me, mold me, and humble me. Do with me what you will.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

Genesis 42:29-43:14 (New Living Translation)

29 When the brothers came to their father, Jacob, in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened to them. 30 “The man who is governor of the land spoke very harshly to us,” they told him. “He accused us of being spies scouting the land. 31 But we said, ‘We are honest men, not spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of one father. One brother is no longer with us, and the youngest is at home with our father in the land of Canaan.’

33 “Then the man who is governor of the land told us, ‘This is how I will find out if you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take grain for your starving families and go on home. 34 But you must bring your youngest brother back to me. Then I will know you are honest men and not spies. Then I will give you back your brother, and you may trade freely in the land.’”

35 As they emptied out their sacks, there in each man’s sack was the bag of money he had paid for the grain! The brothers and their father were terrified when they saw the bags of money. 36 Jacob exclaimed, “You are robbing me of my children! Joseph is gone! Simeon is gone! And now you want to take Benjamin, too. Everything is going against me!”

37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my two sons if I don’t bring Benjamin back to you. I’ll be responsible for him, and I promise to bring him back.”

38 But Jacob replied, “My son will not go down with you. His brother Joseph is dead, and he is all I have left. If anything should happen to him on your journey, you would send this grieving, white-haired man to his grave.”

43 But the famine continued to ravage the land of Canaan. 2 When the grain they had brought from Egypt was almost gone, Jacob said to his sons, “Go back and buy us a little more food.”

3 But Judah said, “The man was serious when he warned us, ‘You won’t see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you send Benjamin with us, we will go down and buy more food. 5 But if you don’t let Benjamin go, we won’t go either. Remember, the man said, ‘You won’t see my face again unless your brother is with you.’”

6 “Why were you so cruel to me?” Jacob moaned. “Why did you tell him you had another brother?”

7 “The man kept asking us questions about our family,” they replied. “He asked, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ So we answered his questions. How could we know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?”

8 Judah said to his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will be on our way. Otherwise we will all die of starvation—and not only we, but you and our little ones. 9 I personally guarantee his safety. You may hold me responsible if I don’t bring him back to you. Then let me bear the blame forever. 10 If we hadn’t wasted all this time, we could have gone and returned twice by now.”

11 So their father, Jacob, finally said to them, “If it can’t be avoided, then at least do this. Pack your bags with the best products of this land. Take them down to the man as gifts—balm, honey, gum, aromatic resin, pistachio nuts, and almonds. 12 Also take double the money that was put back in your sacks, as it was probably someone’s mistake. 13 Then take your brother, and go back to the man. 14 May God Almighty[b] give you mercy as you go before the man, so that he will release Simeon and let Benjamin return. But if I must lose my children, so be it.”

Dear God,

I just had a couple of thoughts as I read this story.

First, I noticed how Joseph asked about his father and little brother. After all those years away. He was probably desperate for news from home. “Is your father still alive?” “Do you have another brother?”

Second, no one seemed to mind leaving Simeon in jail indefinitely. No one made an argument that they should take Benjamin back so they could get Simeon out of Egypt. Genesis 43:10 says, “If we hadn’t wasted all this time, we could have gone and returned twice by now.” So Simeon was in jail quite a while and no one seemed to care. I wonder what his time in jail was like. What kind of forgiveness issues did Joseph have to work through with Simeon while he knew he sat there in jail?

Jacob refers to Benjamin as all that he has left after the loss of Joseph. First, he still really feels the loss of Joseph in a way that he apparently does feel for Simeon, and he feels protective of Benjamin as the last of Rachel’s sons.

Simeon does get a shout-out in Genesis 43:14 when Jacob includes his release in the blessing he gives the boys as they leave.

Jacob was the patriarch of the family, but he had zero idea of what was happening. That might be the biggest lesson in this story for me as a father.

● He did not understand why his children were disappearing.

● He did not know his sons had sold Joseph into slavery.

● He did not know that Joseph had kept Simeon in jail and that he was safe.

● He did not know that Benjamin could not have been safer than going to be with Joseph.

● And, for me, this is the big one: He did not know that you were using all of this to set up the nation of Israel through more than 400 years of incarceration and slavery in Egypt.

If he had known your plan, would he have yielded to it? Would he have made the decision to die of starvation in Canaan as opposed to knowing his descendants would live in slavery in Egypt? It is a reminder that you are very good at protecting us (me) with ignorance. As I have said many times, you keep me on a need-to-know basis, and I very rarely need to know.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen