Ex 2: 1-10

Moses came from the tribe of Levi, which meant he had no country or could possess no land. His beginnings were humble and was cared for by God from birth. His mother was especially caring and gave him the best opportunity for survival given the current edict. The "happenstance" that Pharoah's daughter who drew him out of the water and his eventual naming and rearing was God's divine plan for the greatest man that the next 4 books of the Bible are about and were written by.

One could say that he was born with a "silver spoon" but internally he was just an alien in a foreign land, gaining life lessons and being chisled away.

Yesterday was a relatively hectic day, but things are cooking at work. The major regret of the day will be not being able to get back to see David perform with his HS friend's band at a NYC club tonight. Still looking forward to getting home and being in NYC tomorrow. Prayers for GG and his safe flight back and hopefully will be able to see him this weekend.

Praise for today: Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard: he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. Ps. 66: 8-9

Exodus 1

All good things must come to an end and so it was for the Israelites and the Egyptians. After Joseph and his brothers were long gone and the new king of Egypt came into power,  the Jews became a hazard rather than a benefit. Unlike the situation in Germany during the 1920-1940s, they became slaves of the Egyptians since their frame of reference from the famine was long gone. They became the bane of Egypt and ultimate built their cities, Pithom and Rameses as food storage facilities. Still the amount of Israelites grew to the point to where the Egyptians made the do all of the heavy lifting so that they would be discourage to breed. Soon the only way to curtail the population boom was to kill off all the newborn male babies. However, two Israelite women refused to obey the king's order and let the male babies live and were blessed by God for their actions. The male babies were then ordered to be thrown into the river in hopes that they would be drowned.

The stage is set for the introduction of Moses and his eventual rescue from the watery passage. Looking forward to it!

Good weekend but extremely tiring. Hopefully this week at work will be somewhat less stressful than previous year end ones... We'll see. Trying to make David's gig in Manhattan on Wed night but seems like that may not happen. Good to see GG and all of the people on Sat/Sun night.

Praise for today: The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whome I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. 2 Sam 22: 2-3a

Gen 50: 15-26

Now with Jacob out of the picture, the brothers feared for their lives. Pleading with him for mercy and grace, they literally threw themselves at him and gave themselves up to him as his slaves. Joseph reassured them that they wouldn't be harmed and gave them the perspective that defines his life (v20) and the bigger picture. The Bible reinforces the tone of the speech in v 21. The rest of the chapter details the rest of Joseph's life (110 years) and the 3 generations of Ephraim 's children as well as Manasseh's offspring. Unlike Jacob who was buried with his ancestors, Joseph's remains were embalmed and was placed in a coffin in Egypt until he would be moved from this place. This was carried out in spirit in Ex. 13:9 and in reality in Joshua 24:32.

I really enjoyed my run through Genesis. Since I spent some time teaching this book in a high school class, I hesistated for a long while to do this but it was worth the wait. I guess the next step will be to "let my people go"....

Looking forward to going home later but not having to fix my toilet tomorrow. I guess that is the joys of homeownership. Hopefully, this won't take all day.

Praise for today: His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. Luke 1:50

Gen 50: 1-14

With Jacob's death came the fulfillment of God's promise. Jacob was embalmed for  40 days and was mourned by the Egyptians for 70 days. After the days of mourning had ceased, Joseph went to Pharoah and told him of the promise to return Jacob's body to the land of Canaan. With all of the pomp and circumstances that would accompany a dignitary, Jacob's body was laid to rest. There were so many Egyptians there at the ceremony that the Canaanites thought that they were burying an Egyptian. He was buried in the place that Abraham purchased centuries before. Then Joseph and the rest of the clan returned to Egypt. Given the distance between the two places, it was a difficult journey.

The end of an era, often God is referred to by the names of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. While Joseph would gain prominence, he would still never be equated the same as his fathers. Still, he was great unto himself and his God.

Long day yesterday but still rewarding. Getting ready for the holidays still much to do when I get home tomorrow night into Sunday.

Praise for today: Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to redeem his people. Luke 1: 68.

Gen 49:19-27

The attention now turns to Gad and how his tribe will be under constant attack - they will be successful in thwarting their plans. Asher's land would be fertile and produce many crops. Even Solomon used their produce in his palace in 1 Kings 4:22-28. As for Naphtali, the commentary suggests that it is refering to Barak in Judges 4:6 and the poetry referring to Judges 5.

Now the attention is turned to Joseph, and while he wasn't a soldier - he was a righteous man (Ps 1:2-3) and while dealt wrongly was protected by God and made Joseph an overcomer. He then was bestowed the gifts that are due the one with the birthright and because of that his two sons received a double share of his father's possessions and was granted seperate parcels of land when the Promised land was divided up.

The tribe of Benjamin would be fighters, in the OT it would Saul that would come from this tribe and ruled with cruelty and in the NT, it would be Paul who would fight in a totally different way for the Gospel.

As we approach Christmas and the end of the year, I said goodby to an old friend and wished him well as he rides off into the sunset. 10 years is a long time and 170,000 miles is by some standards decent but still that was not meant to be. Who knows when the next time I will welcome a new one into the mix....

Praise for today: I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me. Ps 13:6

Gen 49: 13-18

Zebulun since he will live by the sea will be a trader since the tribe will settle at the Sea of Galilee (but didn't include Sidon) and it didn't extend to the Mediterranean. However, they too will trade with them. Issacher would use his rawboned strength to be a farmer. They would be blessed with good land but they will labor hard. Dan would spawn the judge of Samson who was a small viper who took down the Phillistines, despite of his flaws. He would deliver his people from  oppression. The tribe of Dan would fight for his people.

It is interesting how each son would ultimately fulfill their destiny. Names did mean something back then as they would play a huge part of their development.

All in all, a decent weekend. Still much to be done to get the place ready for the masses next Sunday. I plan on making a dish (Thai curry mussels) to go with the seafood theme of the evening. Still just one more gift to get and I am done.

Praise for today: I look for your deliverance , O Lord. Gen 49:18

Gen 49: 8-12

Judah was the first son to be addressed as far as the blessing goes. The older ones were not given as nice a treatment by Jacob but now Judah will - with good reason. Jesus is from the lineage of Judah and that's why he is referred to as the Lion of Judah who will take the throne. He will be an overcomer of his enemies and will gain the praise and respect that is due him. The tribe of Judah was the one who led Israel into war and was the one who would gain the victory. From Judah, David and Solomon would follow as their greatest kings. While their descendants would rule afterwards, most of them were not loyal and thus fostered the split between the tribes. Ultimately, Jesus would be the one who will be seated on the throne and will unite the world. Jacob described the land that Judah will have as one that is extremely properous and uses crazy analogies to prove the wealth that will be generated from the land. The person from that land will be healthy because the land is healthy as well.

Got home relatively early after the party last night even getting stuck in some construction traffic. Still a decent time and good grub. Today, I got the delivery that I was waiting for early, did my laundry and now ready to face the great outdoors.

Praise for today: Judah, your name means “praise”. And your brothers will praise you.

You will overcome your enemies.  You will be like a man who puts his hand on the neck of his enemy.

Your father’s sons will bow to give you honour. Gen. 49:8