SERIES B --- A CHOSEN PEOPLE --- LESSON 20

JOSEPH REVEALED

A DAY FOR TEARS

From Genesis 45:4-28

Joseph’s brothers stood there too shocked to answer him. The governor of all Egypt had just told them that he was their younger brother, whom they had sold as a slave. [Come close to me,] Joseph said to his brothers. Cautiously, they came closer to him. [I am your brother Joseph,] he said, [the one you sold as a slave into Egypt. But don’t worry or be afraid now for I know that YHVH sent me here to save your lives. The famine has been with us for two years now, but there are still five more years that will pass without ploughing or harvest. You must realize that I was sent here by YHVH, not you, so that you and your families may continue to live on the earth. YHVH has made me like a father to Pharaoh, lord of his household and ruler of all Egypt.] Then Joseph told them to go home with this message for his father, [Your son Joseph is alive and ruler of all Egypt, for YHVH has put him in charge of the land. I want you to come to Egypt and live in the land of Goshen so that you and your children and grandchildren can be near me. Bring also your flocks and herds. I will take care of you so that you and all that is yours will never lack any good thing, for there are five more years of famine.] Then Joseph said to Benjamin and his other brothers, [You are my witnesses that I am alive and talking to you and that I am promising these things. With five more years of famine, you will all live in poverty unless you come down here. You must tell my father of the wealth and power that I have in Egypt and what you have seen here. Now hurry and bring him to me.] Joseph took Benjamin into his arms and hugged him and cried upon his shoulder. Benjamin was so overcome with joy that he too, began to cry. Then Joseph embraced each brother, weeping as he did. At last, the brothers were able to talk to him again. It wasn’t long before Pharaoh heard the news about Joseph’s brothers. Pharaoh was pleased to hear that they had come and even his servants were pleased. [Tell your brothers to load up their donkeys and go back to Canaan for your father and all your families and bring them here to me. I will give you the best of Egypt and they will live with the best that we have to offer. Also tell your brothers to take some of our wagons for their wives and children and your father. They certainly shouldn’t be concerned about their property, for all of the land of Egypt is theirs.] Joseph gave his brothers wagons and provisions for the trip, as Pharaoh had commanded. He gave each brother a rich new robe, but he gave Benjamin five new robes and three hundred pieces of silver. He sent his father ten donkeys loaded with grain and good food from Egypt and ten female donkeys with grain, bread and other foods for his father to use on the trip to Egypt. As the brothers left, Joseph gave them one last warning, [Don’t quarrel on the way home!] So, the brothers left Egypt for Canaan. When they arrived, they could hardly wait to break the news to Jacob. [Joseph is alive! He is ruler of all the land of Egypt!] they said. It was too much to believe. Old Jacob’s heart sank when he heard this, for who could believe such a story? But he revived when he saw all the wagons and heard the words that Joseph had sent through his brothers. [My son Joseph is alive!] said Jacob. [I will go to Egypt and see him before I die.]

COMMENTARY

SOME FOREIGNERS IN ANCIENT EGYPT

It must have seemed to the brothers that their lives hung in the balance as they knelt before Egypt’s ruler. Then that ruler cried out, [I am Joseph!] Joseph had no desire for revenge. YHVH had used his brothers’ evil for good. YHVH had sent Joseph to Egypt to save them all. The ancient Egyptians considered the people from lands to the northeast of them to be crude, hairy, unsettled cultural inferiors. The men wore beards while the Egyptians were clean-shaven; they were nomads moving from place to place while the Egyptians settled in houses and cities; and they were primarily shepherds and keepers of livestock, while Egyptian life was rich and varied. But Egyptians did allow the Semites from the northeast into the country, if not very happily. One pharaoh built a line of forts along the frontier east of the Nile Delta. Nomads were checked in and out of the country there, in a kind of ancient customs system. The Egyptians not only found the Hebrews themselves inferior, they also thought their country very inconvenient. Instead of a river like the Nile to flood and water the land every year, rain fell from above and got people wet on its way down. The land in Egypt was flat and it was possible to see for miles in any direction, but in Canaan the mountains and trees blocked the view almost immediately. The ancient Egyptians found it so strange that their symbol for this foreign country and its people shows the hills of the land. The Old Testament contains many stories of people coming to Egypt. Joseph was not the first. Generations before Joseph, Abraham and Sarah travelled to Egypt to stay until the severe famine in Canaan was over. Sarah, who was beautiful, posed as Abraham’s sister during this period to protect him from the jealousy of the pharaoh. Abraham received many gifts from the pharaoh while Sarah lived as one of his wives. But plagues in the palace revealed the truth, and Abraham and Sarah were sent on their way. Many years later, during another famine in Canaan, Jacob sent Joseph’s brothers to Egypt to buy provisions. They met Joseph and did not know him. When they returned a second time, Joseph revealed his true identity to them. At the pharaoh’s personal invitation, Joseph brought Jacob, his entire family and all his possessions to Egypt. Many generations later, grown large in number, the descendants of this group would find themselves slaves under another and hostile pharaoh. The land of Egypt sometimes protected people who were victims of war or politics. During the reign of King David in Israel, the commander of the army waged a six-month campaign to destroy all the males in the neighbouring country of Edom. The Israelites and Edomites had been battling for years. Some members of the Edomite royal household escaped the massacre. They took Hadad, one of the young princes, and fled to Egypt. The pharaoh treated Hadad well and he prospered, later marrying the sister of the queen. Nevertheless, when he became a grown man, he returned to his native country to fight against Solomon, David’s successor. During Solomon’s reign the prophet Ahijah told an Israelite man named Jeroboam that he would become king over ten of the twelve tribes of Israel. Solomon wanted his son to be ruler over all of Israel, and his fury when he heard this news forced Jeroboam to go to Egypt to save his life. But some years after Solomon’s death, Jeroboam did become king of the ten northern Israelite tribes. Egypt was also briefly home for the prophet Jeremiah. When the Babylonians captured Israel and made it part of their empire, some Jewish leaders escaped captivity. Ishmael, one of these men, assassinated the Babylonian ruler of Israel and massacred his followers. The other Jewish leaders tried to stop him, and Ishmael escaped and went into hiding. The innocent Israelites, afraid of the Babylonians’ revenge, asked the prophet Jeremiah what they should do. He told them to remain in Israel, where their special blessing and protection would help them survive. But the faith of the people was weak and their fear was very strong. They did not believe Jeremiah. Instead, they left for Egypt where they would be safe, forcing Jeremiah to come with them. Jeremiah died there, and the descendants of these doubting refugees met their death as well when the Babylonians later conquered Egypt.

Silver symbolizes blood in Scripture. When Joseph put his brothers' silver back in their sacks, he alluded to the silver they received when they sold him into slavery, and also reminded them that they now held Simeon's blood in their hands.
#genesis 42:25-28 #miketz

What kind of menorah do you use for Hanukkah?

You can add a comment about your reasons and significance as well. I’m personally looking into this and hoping not to cause any upset.

Prize wisdom highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.
#proverbs 4:8

The wise choice often appears impractical and unprofitable, but it always leads to gain, in honor if nothing else.

#hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה‎ dedication) Day 1 Quote: "[The king commanded] that they profane the sabbaths and festival days, and pollute the sanctuary... Set up altars... and sacrifice swine’s flesh... That they should also leave their children uncircumcised... that they might forget the Torah" (1 Maccabees 1:45b-49).

With this topic I want to start off by saying, if you are reading this and already keeping the Sabbath, I am not here to change your mind on what you feel convicted to do. This whole series is going into detail of my initial walk and the things presented to me along the way.

One of the topics often brought up when it comes to Sabbath is cooking. Some say cooking is work. Some say cooking is part of the command to not light a fire on Sabbath. Most that I have run into use the instance pictured in the comic as their example. In Exodus 16, God tells Israel that they are going to rest on the Sabbath. Verse 23 that is referenced in the comic, God gives instructions on cooking the mana that is being gathered. There are several things to look at for this instance.

First, as I am pointing out in the comic, the command it bake/boil what you will and leave the rest. What is the rest? What you didn't bake/boil. If they aren't supposed to be cooking on the Sabbath, wouldn't have God said bake/boil all of it, eat it, then whatever you didn't eat, leave until morning? Coming from a perspective of someone who cooks a lot, if I was given a bunch of raw flour and was told to bake what I want and leave the rest, I wouldn't bake all the flour. I would save the rest of it in a jar.

Second goes with the flour aspect. I use flour as an example because of how they are using the mana. In Numbers 11:8 it tells us the cooked this mana into loaves or flat cakes, depending on your translation. Bread and pancakes. Something you make with flour. There is also the aspect of when the mana went bad. In Exodus 16:20, before any mention of cooking, some of the Israelites tried to keep the mana for more than a day and it was filled with maggots. If comparing this to flour, raw flour is usually kept in air-tight containers or the freezer to keep bugs out of it. Bread, on the other hand, can be left on the counter unprotected for several days. The concern with bread isn't bugs, but mold.

The last point here is the overall chapter. Exodus 16 is all about gathering. God commands Israel to not gather on the Sabbath, but every other morning. When we get an example of someone breaking God's command here, it isn't because someone is cooking on the Sabbath. It is because someone went out to gather on the Sabbath. Verses 27 and 28: "Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions?"

Outside of this instance, there are a few other things about sacrifices to consider. On the feast days, God never says to not cook, but they are rest days (Sabbaths) just like the weekly. There is also the aspect that all the feast days have some type of sacrifice happening specifically for that feast day. Sacrifices are cooking. Even in Numbers 28:2, the sacrifice is called "food" for God. These feast days do not have an exception to the command if they fall onto a weekly Sabbath. Also, looking at Numbers 28, there are daily sacrifices that don't stop just because it is the Sabbath and sacrifices specifically for the Sabbath.

So, to cook or not to cook on the Sabbath? That is the question you will need to seek and pray about for you and yours.

https://thestraightandnarrow.cfw.me/comics/557

#bible #bibleverse #bibleverseimages #biblestudy #biblestudynotes #church #christian #webcomic #webcomicseries #cartoon

On this date in history, 12/19/1777: The Continental Army enters its winter quarters at Valley Forge. #otd #tdih #americanrevolution #amrev

Thank you for being patient with us for a couple of weeks while we move from Delaware to Tennessee. Looking forward to being back with everyone very soon.