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Read Genesis Chapter 43
To see the last post on Genesis click on: Everything is Against Me!
Genesis Chapter 43:
So time passes and the famine is still brutal in Canaan. All the grain they brought back from Egypt is gone. Jacob says to his sons, Go back and buy us some more food.
But Judah says, The man warned us, he said, You won’t see me again without your little brother. So if you’ll send Benjamin with us, we’ll go. But if you won’t, we can’t go, because the man in Egypt said, You won’t see me unless you bring your brother.
Israel asks, Why’d you bring this down on me, by telling the man you had a little brother?
They answered, He questioned us closely about us and our family. Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother? We just answered him. How could we know he’d say, Bring your brother down here?
Then Judah says to Israel his father, Send the boy with me and we’ll leave right away, so we and you and our kids can live and not die from the famine. I guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I don’t bring him back, I’ll bear the blame all my life. If we hadn’t waited, we could have been there and back twice by now.
Then their father Israel says, If this is how it has to be then do this: Pack up some of the best we have and take them to the man as a gift — some balm, and honey, and spices, and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds. And take twice the amount of silver with you, because you have to return the silver that was put back into your sacks. Maybe it was a mistake. Take your brother too, and go back to the man at once. And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so he’ll allow your other brother and Benjamin to come back with you. As for me, if I’m bereaved, I’m bereaved.
So they gather up the gifts and double the amount of silver, and their brother Benjamin. They hurry to Egypt and present themselves to Joseph. When Joseph sees Benjamin with his brothers, he tells his steward, Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare a meal for us; they’ll eat with me at noon.
The man does as Joseph tells him and takes them to Joseph’s house. Now his brothers were frightened when they were taken to his house. They thought to themselves, We were taken here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to overpower us and take us as slaves and take our donkeys.
So they approach Joseph’s steward and speak with him at the entrance to the house. Excuse us lord, they say, when we came down here the first time to buy food, on our way home we stopped for the night, opened our sacks, and each of us found his silver — the precise amount — in the mouth of his sack. So we brought it back with us this time. We also brought additional silver to buy food. We don’t know who put the silver in our sacks.
It’s OK, the steward says. Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, gave you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver. Then he brought Simeon out to them.
The steward took them into Joseph’s house, he gave them water to wash their feet, and he provided food for their donkeys. The brothers prepared their gifts for when Joseph would arrive at noon, because they heard they would be eating there.
So Joseph comes out, they present their gifts to him, and they bow down to him to the ground. He asks them how they’re doing, and he asks, How’s your aged father you told me about? Is he still alive?
They answer, Yes, he’s alive and well. And they bowed down, prostrating themselves before him.
As Joseph looks around he see his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son. He asks, Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about? And he says, God be gracious to you, my son. Joseph is overcome with emotion at the sight of his brother so he hurries out and looks for a place to weep. He goes into his private room and he weeps there.
This is the first of two occasions when Joseph weeps over his brothers. Jesus also wept for the descendants of Joseph’s brothers, the Jews, on two occasions: once at the tomb of His friend Lazarus, and once over His people in the City of Jerusalem. (John 11:35, Luke 19:41)
After he collects himself, he washes his face and comes back out. Then he gives the order, Serve the food.
They serve him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians eating with them by themselves, because Egyptians couldn’t eat with Hebrews, it was detestable to them. The brothers are seated in order of their ages, from oldest to youngest, and they look at each other in amazement. The portions are dished out, and Benjamin’s is five times as much as anyone else’s. So they feast, and drink freely with Joseph.
Returning to Our Joseph:
So Jacob and his family are hanging around, subsisting on the food they had from their first trip. Of course the inevitable happens and they run out, but Jacob and his sons are afraid to go back to Joseph. Jacob thinks it’ll cost him something, something dear to him — Benjamin.
That’s how it is with many of you. You’ve been to your Joseph, who is Jesus. You’ve received from Him the bread of life and the way of salvation. And you’ve been hanging out all this time subsisting on what you received from Him previously. The only thing is, as it was with Jacob, what you received from before doesn’t last forever. Oh, your salvation does, of course. But you, and I, all of us, need to go to Jesus for nourishment, regularly. Not doing so is the same as if you stopped eating. You’ll become spiritually lean. You’ll lose strength — the strength of your relationship with Jesus will weaken. Your soul needs to receive from Jesus in His house, even as Joseph’s brothers received from Joseph in his house.
What’s striking is how we’re just like Jacob, we’re afraid of what it will cost. There’s those things you’re hanging onto that you think you’ll lose if you return to your Joseph, who is Jesus: sleep on Sunday morning, or time with friends, or ESPN time, or time on the internet, or time devoted to your thing. There’s those things I’m clinging to, that I think I’ll lose if I draw closer in my relationship with Jesus: success at work, or time to exercise, or time to recreate. The fear of losing Benjamin kept Jacob from moving in a direction toward Joseph. Your fear of losing your thing keeps you from moving in a direction closer to Jesus.
But in reality, the best thing possible for Jacob was for he and his family to return to Joseph. And the best thing possible for you and your family, and for me and mine is to return to Jesus. As it was with Jacob, what you’re afraid of losing is a false perception.
After Jacob returned to Joseph, imagine how badly he must have wished he had done so sooner. All those wasted years without his son Joseph, and without the provision and multiplied blessings that came when Jacob and his family came together with him in Egypt. Instead of losing another son, he gained back two. And he was blessed beyond anything that would have happened had he stayed away.
So return to Him.
You’re only losing if you stay away.
You’ll be gaining great blessings if you return.
After you come back, like Jacob, you’ll wish you had done so sooner.
Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
Jesus Christ, John 6:27
References:
Bible Gateway
Blue Letter Bible
Jon Courson
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Why Some People Have One More Than Their Brothers: Genesis 48:21-22
Dungeon Below Blarney Castle
Baby Boomer Behavior
Lately I’ve noticed the abundance said and written by twenty and thirty-somethings about how “that miserable baby boomer generation has failed us.”
“They’re greedy geezers.”
“They’re leaving us a great burden of debt.”
“The leaders from their generation are short sighted and selfish.”
“It’s as though they threw a big party and left it to us to clean up their mess.”
And besides all that, “They told us we could be anything we wanted as long as we put our minds to it. I found out recently — I can’t be an astronaut after all.”
Let me just tell you what I think about all these statements, they’re all undeniably Read More
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Posted on November 15, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis
Discipline, Genesis, Genesis 48, Joseph's character, prosperity, success
The Key to Blessing Your Family: Genesis 48:15-16
Read Genesis 48:15-16.
Jacob Blesses His Family
“May the God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully,
the God who has been my shepherd
all my life to this day,
the Angel who has delivered me from all harm
—may he bless these boys.”
Genesis 48:15-16
How to Bless Your Family
An independent filmmaker told me a story recently about a shoot he did, here in Southern Oregon, just a few months ago. One day they were scheduled to film at the top of Mount Baldy in the Applegate Valley. It’s a very remote location, in fact, the director and his wife found themselves ten feet from a mountain lion a few weeks prior to the shoot, when they first scouted the area (fortunately the mountain lion fled).
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Posted on October 31, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis, Marriage
blessing family, Genesis 48, how do I bless family, Jacob blesses Ephraim, Jacob blesses Joseph
You’re Dying and What to do About It — Genesis 48:1-15
To read the previous post on Genesis, go to Joseph and Israel, Jesus and the Jew.
Read Genesis 48:1-15
Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him. When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed. (Genesis 48:1-2)
Then he blessed Joseph. (v.15)
You’re dying and what to do about it
It seems apparent, Jacob knows he is dying. So here he is, on his death bed, knowing he is dying, and what does he do?
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Posted on October 24, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis
death and dying, deathbed, dying, Genesis 48, Jacob bless Joseph, Mark 6:30
Prepare Yourself for What’s Ahead: Genesis 47:14-27
Read Genesis 47:14-27.
Joseph’s Choices and Consequences
So here we see Joseph, after his preparation for these years of famine that have come upon Egypt and Canaan. And now he’s experiencing the consequences of that preparation. You know, God gives us the freedom to make choices, but He doesn’t give us the freedom to choose the consequences of our choices. That’s just the way His universe works. If you jump off a 100 story building, that’s your choice, but you don’t get to choose whether or not you’ll experience the consequence of gravity. That’s how it is with everything. A whole lot of pain can be avoided if you can just understand that one principle.
Because Joseph chose to prepare for the famine, the consequences of his choice put him in a position to receive tremendous blessings:
He collects money from those in Egypt and Canaan, in payment for the grain they were buying.
When the money ran out, he gathered up livestock as payment.
When the livestock ran out, he exchanged land for payment.
Ultimately he received 20% of their crop production every year.
Everything listed above was on behalf of Pharaoh. But he also found himself, personally, in a position to establish his family, the Israelites, in the land of Goshen, where they acquired property, and became fruitful, and grew in number.
Individual Choices and Consequences
Often times, wisdom is simply doing now, what you will be glad you did, one, or seven, or ten, or thirty years from now. Joseph was able to receive all these blessings, and enjoy all these benefits, as a result of his preparation according to the leading of God’s Spirit, beginning seven years before.
Any individual living in Egypt or Canaan could have done the same, on a smaller scale. They could have recognized the time of plenty, and they could have anticipated a time of economic correction. They could have saved their grain. They could have put themselves in a position to receive great blessing during the time of famine.
But they chose not to. And they had to live with the consequences.
Your Choices and Consequences
Preparing for hard economic times is important. But infinitely more important is preparing for eternity. Every single one of us will die. And we know this time on earth is the briefest of time compared to our eternal life on the other side of the door of death. David asked God, “Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days…” And the answer came, …the span of David’s years was as nothing before God. “Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure,” David said. (Psalm 39:4-5)
As important as it was to prepare for the seven years of famine, it was only seven years. When it comes to preparing yourself for death we’re talking about eternity. There is no more important preparation to be made. Not for school, or for marriage, or for work, or for retirement. Nothing compares in importance to your preparation for eternity.
Nothing.
So prepare for it. Right now. Recognize you’re a sinner. You’ve made wrong choices in your life. Those wrong choices alienate you from God. There’s no way to save yourself. But God provided a way. He sent His Son to die on your behalf, to pay for your wrong choices. He says, yes, if you insist, you can spend eternity in hell, but it will have to be over my Son’s dead body!
God doesn’t want that!
He wants to spend eternity with you. He wants that so bad He sacrificed His Son to provide you a way, a path, to get you there, to get you to heaven, to spend eternity with Him.
So do it. Ask Him. Ask God to forgive you for your wrong choices. Tell God you know you’re a sinner. Tell Him you know you need a savior. Tell Him you accept the sacrifice His Son Jesus made on your behalf. Tell Him you’re opening your heart up to receive His Son into your life. Tell Him you’re giving your life over to Him.
Surrender yourself to God.
And live…
…for eternity…
…with Him…
…in heaven.
Do it now.
He’s waiting.
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Posted on October 4, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis
brevity of life, death, dying, Genesis 47, Heaven, Jesus, Joseph and Jesus, save me
Financial Feast and Famine: Genesis 47:12-13
Read Genesis 47:12-13
There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. –Genesis 47:13
Years of Plenty
Kathy and I were so excited. Mortgage interest rates were all the way down to the 6% range, and, if you were willing to accept an adjustable rate, you could get down into the 4s.
I remember saying the words to Kathy, “Money is on sale, we should borrow as much as we can.”
So we did.
We borrowed, and then we borrowed some more. I could hardly believe what our banker was telling us — he almost never said no. We bought real estate, then we bought some more real estate. And our properties appreciated, at a record setting pace.
We were experiencing the years of plenty.
Years of Famine
You might be surprised to learn, if I had a time machine and could go back to do it over again, I’d borrow as little as possible. Why? Because that was the world’s way, and not God’s way.
The world says, “Buy it! Buy it now and pay later! You want this. You need that. Just borrow and get it now.”
“You deserve it!” The world says.
Why does the world relentlessly hammer away with these messages, day after day after day? They do it because it makes them money! They do it because you believe their message, and act on it. They do it because the system is set up for the world to win, and for you to lose. The companies attempting to convince you to borrow want to make money — at your expense.
God, on the other hand, doesn’t need your money. All of your money is His money to begin with anyway. And while the scriptures don’t prohibit borrowing, God does portray it in a negative light. “…the borrower is slave to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7 tells us. Borrow and you’re a slave to the bank. Borrow and you’re a slave to the credit card company when they raise your interest rate. Borrow and your spirit is a slave to the weight of debt hanging over your head.
Your financial well being doesn’t come from your income, your net worth, or your financial portfolio anyway. Research shows, whatever your range of income, financial well being comes with consistent saving and an avoidance of borrowing and high risk investing. Many financial advisers tell their clients not to pay off their homes, even when they’re able to, so they can write off the interest. But people living with a great sense of financial well being tend to ignore this advice. It turns out (not surprisingly) managing your finances God’s way brings peace. (see Well Being by Rath and Harter)
In our text, in Egypt and Canaan, there was no food. The seven years of plenty are over and now Egypt and Canaan are experiencing the seven years of famine.
You know what? That’s how it always is. Always. No economy moves in a straight line. Every economy has its years of plenty and its years of famine. Any casual student of history knows that. And God’s word tells us how to manage our finances in a way that accounts for these economic ups and downs.
Joseph saved during the seven years of plenty. The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down, Proverbs 21:20 tells us. Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer, we’re told in Proverbs 30:25.
So any time you have the opportunity to save, jump on it!
You can always anticipate a time of famine ahead.
Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children. (Genesis 47:12)
Manage your financial blessings according to God’s word — and you will too.
Notes:
Harvard researchers have determined credit cards provide a psychological uncoupling from the money we spend with them, which of course creates a tendency toward the accumulation of debt. But the current financial system also provides opportunity for saving. Automatic payroll deduction into a savings account also uncouples us psychologically. A short time after it’s in place, auto-deducted savings are out of sight and out of mind, and are more easily maintained. (Well Being, Rath and Harter)
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Posted on September 27, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis, Money
Christian, debt, finances, Genesis 47, Genesis 47:12 and debt, money, what does the Bible say about money
Becoming a Great Man or Woman of God: Genesis 47:7-12
Great Men of God:
He was intimidating. He was a bad to the bone long haired biker who loved to party. Skeeter Jackson was up to his eyes in the biker culture and I’m not talking about Bikers for Christ.
John Webb was a clean cut, responsible, hard working man. He was everything opposite of Skeeter Jackson. And Skeeter’s life represented everything John was opposed to. But in spite of that, John reached out to Skeeter. He did his best to gently show Skeeter Christ’s love.
In our text we see Jacob bless Pharoah. He blessed him even though Pharaoh was exceedingly different from Jacob culturally. He blessed him even though Pharaoh was different from him ethnically. He blessed Pharaoh even though he was different from Jacob religiously.
Billy Graham was like that. I recently read the book The Preacher and the Presidents. Over the course of his lifetime, Billy Graham had friendships with nearly every President of the United States, regardless of their politics or religious beliefs.
Jesus loved and blessed other people, without regard for who they were as well. Jesus blessed adulteresses, corrupt tax collectors, and prostitutes. He loved zealots and skeptics. He blessed Jews and Gentiles.
All great men and women of God seem to do that.
All great men and women of God seem to have that one thing in common: they have a way of loving people without regard for differences. And they consistently bless people regardless of how others view them.
The Rest of the Story:
Skeeter Jackson’s story didn’t end in the biker culture. As a result of John Webb’s tender overture on Jesus’ behalf, Skeeter made a decision for Christ. Immediately afterwards he lost his desire for alcohol and drugs. In a short time he turned his life around completely. Skeeter Jackson was a new man in Jesus.
Shortly thereafter, John became a firefighter. After awhile he encouraged the regenerated Skeeter to apply, and, with John’s help, Skeeter became a firefighter too.
A few years after that a skinny kid from Chicago became a firefighter for the same department there in the Rogue Valley, in Oregon. He was assigned to Skeeter’s crew, and, more than anyone else, Skeeter influenced him to give his life to Jesus Christ.
That skinny kid was me.
So love people who are different from yourself. Bless people who are shunned by others.
See people the way John saw Skeeter, the way Jacob saw Pharaoh. See people the way Jesus saw the prostitutes and the tax collectors.
See people the way God sees people.
Find and focus on the good in people then love them, and bless them.
Become a great man or woman of God.
Related Links:
Cerulean Sanctum
Insider Look at Christian Outreach to Sex Industry Employees on NotAshamedOfTheGospel.com
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Posted on September 20, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis
Becoming a man of God, becoming a woman of God, Genesis 47, grace, Jacob bless Pharaoh, man of God, woman of God
9/11 and the Coming Election: Genesis 47:1-6
Photo by 9/11 Photos, Creative Commons
To read the last post on Genesis, go to Ready to Die.
Read Genesis 47:1-6
Joseph’s family are now with him in Egypt, and while that’s good, he still has a big frog to swallow. He has to present some of his family members to Pharaoh and gain permission for them to settle in Egypt, in the land of Goshen.
So Joseph goes to Pharaoh and tells him his family is in Goshen. He chooses five of his brothers and he presents them to Pharaoh.
What’s your occupation? Pharaoh asks.
Your servants are shepherds just as our fathers were, they reply. And we’ve come to live here for awhile, because the famine is so bad in Canaan we have no pasture for our flocks. So please, let your servants settle in Goshen.
Pharaoh says to Joseph, Your father and your brothers can settle anywhere you like. Put them in the best part of Egypt. Let them live in Goshen. And if any of them have special talent with livestock, put them in charge of my herds.
Genesis 47:1-6
9/11
Today is the eleventh anniversary of 9/11. While I was still a firefighter I traveled to New York City, after the towers were attacked, with a group of Christian police officers, firefighters, and dispatchers to see what we could do to help. I spoke with many firefighters who experienced the loss of family and/or friends when the twin towers were taken down. (There were so many killed, very often firefighters had to choose between attending the funeral of a fellow firefighter who was family, or one who was a friend, because they were held at the same time) I attended funerals where Mayor Giuliani addressed the crowd. I spoke with forensics specialists who collected gruesome evidence at ground zero.
I’ve given this terrible tragedy a lot of thought over the last eleven years. And I’ve not just thought about 9/11, but I’ve also given considerable thought to our country’s leadership during that tragedy, and the leadership to come in the 2012 election.
I’ve come to a conclusion.
Egypt’s Tragedy
Egypt had a tragedy with the potential to kill more than we lost on 9/11. A seven year famine could have been devastating. However through God’s intervention with His servant Joseph, Pharaoh and Egypt escaped this famine relatively unscathed. But in spite of his success, can’t you just hear the criticisms that must have come from the people?
Pharaoh didn’t handle it right. He shouldn’t have given the best of the land to Israel and his family. He shouldn’t have given them positions of authority over Pharaoh’s flocks. That land and those job positions should have been given to Egyptians. This only happened because Joseph is so well connected.
The Coming Election
Just a few minutes ago I came across a video about how 9/11 was an inside job. How President Bush knew. How it was all a part of Bush’s effort to usher in the new world order. (I’m not much of a conspiracy theorist, so I won’t dignify this video by posting a link)
The last few months of the presidential race, I’ve seen both sides meet out huge doses of negative campaigning.
On Twitter and Facebook I see my friends and family lambasting the opposition, either Republican or Democrat, Romney or Obama, depending on their political leanings.
But think this thing through with me — Remember back to that moment of optimism after “our guy” won the election? How’s that been working for us? After “our man” was in office for awhile, was there any appreciable difference? Time and time again when “our man” is in there, the real tangible changes made have been negligible. Many today maintain that the differences between the parties are rapidly narrowing. The reality is…
…putting your time and energy into politics won’t make a difference.
The Answer
In a democracy, where we elect our leadership, we will continue to get what we ask for. You and I and the rest of the voting population are responsible for who serves in political office. And the voting public seems to choose leadership that doesn’t change much, time and time again.
In a democracy, the voting population gets what they deserve — every time.
You know what? Pharaoh’s decisions concerning the famine, Israel, and Israel’s family weren’t made because of Pharaoh. Pharaoh’s decisions concerning the famine, Israel, and his family were all a part of God’s divine plan.
God is where the power is for change. So why invest your time and energy into a man?
Here’s my conclusion: Take all the time and energy you invest in the political process and reapportion it into prayer. Because here’s the real solution to effecting change in a democracy:
Revival.
Because after revival, the voting public will no longer put up with mediocre leadership. They’ll vote in better (not perfect but better) leaders into office. After revival, many of the country’s problems will be mitigated. We’ll see a reduction in corruption, drug and alcohol abuse, broken families, crime, etc. We’ll see these things improve because after revival more people will walk through life closer to Christ.
So stop bashing the other guy, whatever side you’re on, and start praying.
Pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and revival in your family, in your church, in your city, in your state, in your entire country.
Pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and revival in you.
God is where the power is for effecting change.
Pray.
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Posted on September 11, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis
9/11, Christian politic, election, Genesis 47, Jesus, joseph, Obama, pray, Romney
Ready to Die: Genesis 46:5-30
Image by Areta Ekarafi — Creative Commons
Read Genesis Chapter 46
To read the last post on Genesis go to Deeper Relationship With God.
Last post we saw Jacob draw close to God when he stopped to make a sacrifice to Him on his way down to Egypt. After he makes his sacrifice, God gives him direct confirmation, that he should go to Egypt and reunite with Joseph.
Jesus and Joseph:
Again we see Jesus manifested in Joseph’s life. Israel’s reunion with Joseph after seeing him alive is a picture of the Father’s reunion with His Son Jesus, after Jesus rose from the dead.
Speaking of the Old Testament scriptures, Jesus said, “These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5:39-40)
Ready to Die:
We also see a dynamic illustrated here for you and for me.
By now you’ve probably heard about the famous Stanford University marshmallow experiment involving four year old kids. One at a time these kids were presented with one marshmallow, and then offered a deal: they could either eat the one marshmallow immediately, or, not eat the marshmallow while the researcher left for a few minutes. If they were willing to wait without eating the first marshmallow, until the researcher returned, they could have an additional marshmallow.
What’s typically discussed is how this experiment proved to be a powerful predictor of success in the adult lives of these subjects as they were followed closely into their forties. Those who were willing to delay gratification were far more likely to experience success in relationships, and in life in general. For instance, the SAT scores of those who waited for the second marshmallow were on average 210 points higher than those who didn’t wait.
But what’s not often discussed, is what the experimenters discovered in the later iterations of this experiment. When I think of delayed gratification, I think of will power. But what these researchers discovered was, the how behind the ability to delay gratification has little to do with willpower. But has much to do with focus. Those who were able to focus on something else, while waiting for gratification, were the ones who were successful at achieving their goal of attaining the second marshmallow, or, later in life, experiencing a successful marriage, earning a degree, or finding success in their career.
The lead researcher made what I thought was a very insightful statement: “We can’t control the world, but we can control how we think about it.” (Read more: Don’t! — NewYorker.com)
I think in today’s world where we’re inundated with news, information, and entertainment, this idea of focus is more important than ever.
You see, our own selfish nature is like that first marshmallow. You just can’t resist it. Trying to use will power to prevail against your selfishness just doesn’t work. Like the kids who were successful in the experiment, the secret to success where selfishness is concerned lies with focus.
When Israel saw Joseph alive, or to put it another way, it was when he turned his focus on Joseph alive, that he said, “Now I am ready to die.” (v. 30)
It’s the same for you and it’s the same for me. When we focus on our greater than Joseph, Jesus, when we focus on Jesus alive, something important happens to us. When Jesus becomes alive to me, like Israel, I become ready to die. I become ready to die to my selfish desires. When Jesus becomes alive to you, you become ready to die to yourself, in a way that elevates God and people above yourself. When Jesus becomes alive to us, we become ready to release our selfishness and put others before ourselves.
You might be asking, How? How do I turn my focus on Jesus alive? The answer is found in prayer. Our focus turns to Jesus’ aliveness, when we ask the Holy Spirit to reveal Him to us.
So before you read His word,
before you pray,
before you sing His praises,
before you take communion…
…ask.
Ask God to pour out His Holy Spirit upon you,
that you will see Jesus,
alive,
in your life.
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Posted on September 7, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis
die, die to self, Genesis 46, Jacob and Joseph reunited, Jesus, Jesus and Joseph, Marshmallow experiment, selfishness
Deeper Relationship with God: Genesis 46:1-4
Photo by BabaSteve, Creative Commons
Read Genesis 46:1-4
To read the last post on Genesis go to Will God Come Through for You?
Going Deeper
Last post I mentioned I’m working on a biography for a friend of mine, Kent Brown. One of the things about Kent is he’s had numerous broken dysfunctional marriages. But there was this one marriage that was a healthy one. Her name was Lori, and it’s interesting how her and Kent’s relationship began. In Kent’s words:
“She told me where she worked and I brought her flowers and took her to lunch every day for a month.”
It’s no accident the Bible portrays relationship with God as a marriage relationship. (supporting verses are in abundance, including Revelation 19:7-9, Ephesians 5:25-27, Revelation 21:2, John 3:29, 2 Corinthians 11:2) Kent invested in his relationship with Lori by sacrificing his time, money, and energy. It took dedication and discipline to bring her flowers every day. It cost him to take her to lunch every day. But the result was a great marriage relationship.
Jacob does the same in his relationship with God. He sacrifices to Him. And a sacrifice to God was a big deal. It cost a precious animal from the herd. And it took a lot of hard work to prepare that animal for sacrifice. Here in Beersheba we see how Jacob commits his time, and his possessions, and his energy to his God. And the result is a great relationship.
When you read verses one through four, you see the result is God speaks to Jacob, He reveals great blessings to Jacob, and he provides comfort to Jacob.
Maybe you’re wondering why God isn’t speaking to you. Maybe you’re wondering why God hasn’t revealed any blessings to you lately. Maybe you’re feeling uncomfortable and you’re wondering why God isn’t providing any comfort.
Maybe it’s because you’re not sacrificing.
Like a marriage relationship, your relationship with God changes when you make sacrifices and offerings. When you sacrifice your Sunday mornings, to spend time with Him at His house, when you sacrifice a few minutes in the morning to read His scriptures, when you offer Him your thanksgiving, when you offer the sacrifice of praise, your relationship with Him changes. It deepens and grows into something beautiful. It metamorphosizes. It transforms. You grow to know Him. You begin to hear Him, similar to the way Jacob did. You begin to anticipate what He’s thinking.
Of all the people in existence, who would you want to have the deepest strongest relationship with?
The only answer that makes sense is God.
So make changes.
Make changes beginning right now.
Sacrifice.
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Posted on August 30, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Study, Genesis
Deeper relationship with God, Deeper with God, Genesis 46, Jacob goes to Egypt, Jacob goes to Joseph, sacrifice
Will God Come Through for You? — Genesis 45:4-28
Photo credit: NotAnyRon, Creative Commons
Read Genesis 45:4-28
Joseph says to his brothers, Come close to me. And they’re all terrified at what might happen to them, because they know what they did to Joseph years ago, and Joseph knows, and they know Joseph knows. But they come close anyway. (see previous post What God Says to You)
After they draw near, Joseph says, It’s me, your brother, Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! But don’t be afraid, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me into slavery here, because God sent me ahead of you to save lives. For two years now there’s been famine, and for five more years there’ll be no plowing or reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve you, a remnant on earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Continuing to note the remarkable parallels between Joseph’s life and Jesus’, just as Joseph gave his brothers a pardon, our Greater than Joseph, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) And even as God sent Joseph to preserve the family of Israel, God sent Jesus to preserve you, and to save your life by a great deliverance.
So it wasn’t you who sent me here, but God. He made me like a father to Pharaoh, the lord of his entire household and the ruler over all of Egypt. Now hurry back to my father and tell him, This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t wait. You’ll live in the region of Goshen and be near me — you and all your family, your flocks, your herds, all you have. I’ll provide for you there because five years of famine are still ahead. Come down or you and your household will become destitute.
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35) Even as Joseph provided for his family, our Greater than Joseph provides for us.
You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it’s really me speaking to you. Tell my father about all the honor I receive here in Egypt and about everything you’ve seen. And bring my father back here, quickly.
Joseph directed his brothers to share his glory with their father. You and I are wise to share Jesus’ glory with our heavenly Father. Praising Jesus pleases the Father, even as praising Joseph pleased Jacob.
Then he throws his arms around his brother Benjamin and weeps, and Benjamin embraces him, weeping. And Joseph kisses all his brothers and weeps over them. Afterward his brothers talk with him.
When the news reaches Pharaoh’s palace about Joseph’s brothers, Pharaoh and all his officials are pleased. Pharaoh says to Joseph, Tell your brothers to load their animals and return to the land of Canaan, and to bring your father and your families back to me. I’ll give them the best land in Egypt and they can enjoy the fat of the land.
You’re also directed to tell them: Take some carts from Egypt for your children and your wives, and get your father and come. Don’t worry about your belongings, because the best of Egypt will be yours.
Part of Joseph’s purpose was to move everyone closer to him, to the land of Goshen. Our Greater than Joseph, Jesus has the purpose of drawing us closer to Him. (see previous post What God Says to You)
So the sons of Israel do all this. Joseph gives them carts, as Pharaoh had directed, and he also gives them provisions for their journey. He gives each of them new clothes, but to Benjamin he gives three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of new clothes. And he sends his father ten donkeys, loaded with the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other provisions for his journey. Then he sends his brothers away, and as they’re leaving he says, Don’t quarrel on the way!
Remember how Joseph’s brothers quarreled in Genesis chapter 42? We’re being punished because of what we did to Joseph! One said. Didn’t I tell you not to hurt him! Reuben said. But you wouldn’t listen!
Of course when they were arguing, Joseph was right there before them. Though the brothers didn’t realize it, Joseph, being fluent in Hebrew, understood every word they said. So he knew their propensity to bicker. Even as Joseph knew their tendency to argue, our Greater than Joseph knows our tendency to argue. And even as Joseph commanded his brothers not to quarrel on the way, our Greater than Joseph, Jesus, commands us, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)
So they go up out of Egypt and come to their father Jacob in Canaan. They tell him, Joseph is still alive! In fact, he’s ruler over all of Egypt. Jacob is stunned and he doesn’t believe them. But when they tell him everything Joseph said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent for the journey back, the spirit of Jacob revived. And finally Israel says, OK, I’m convinced! My son Joseph is still alive. I’ll go and see him before I die.
Will God Come Through for You?
I’m working on a book right now about Kent Brown, a friend of mine who lived a most improbable life. He was in the Navy and present in Guantanamo Bay during the Bay of Pigs incident. He was a photographer for the Navy in the Gulf of Tonkin when the Vietnam war started. And Bobby Kennedy’s people had him take photographs at the Ambassador Hotel the night Kennedy was assassinated. Later he was given high level clearances by the FBI. He carried a Halliburton attache case handcuffed to his wrist, a gun in a shoulder holster, and a backup gun strapped to his ankle as he flew around the country transporting top secret documents. He was living a life most young men only dream about, until broken marriages and a broken body from a freak accident brought him to the end of himself. He lost his family, he lost his job, he lost his house, he lost it all.
It wasn’t until he was at the end of himself, he gave his life, utterly and completely gave his life, to Jesus.
Maybe you’re like Joseph’s brothers were, or like Kent Brown was, struggling to put food on the table, no pride left, no dignity — nothing, nothing left. If you are, then you’re just the kind of person Jesus is looking for. Joseph was waiting for his brothers to reach the place where they had no pride or dignity. Jesus is waiting for some of us to reach that same place.
Because so often it’s not until we’re at the end of ourselves, before we finally feel moved to completely surrender ourselves over to Jesus, even as Judah gave himself to Joseph in the previous chapter. (see previous post What Does God Want)
But though our difficulties and trials may be great, in the end, God has a way of coming through.
He did for Joseph’s family.
He did for my friend Kent Brown.
He will for you and yours.
References:
Bible Gateway
Blue Letter Bible
Matthew Henry
Jon Courson
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Posted on August 22, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis
Genesis 45, God, God's love, Joseph reveals himself, Will God come through
What Does God Want? Genesis Chapter 44
Read Genesis 44
In our last post we left Joseph’s brothers feasting and drinking freely with Joseph. After the end of chapter 43, one might think the brothers are out of the woods, so to speak. But look what happens next.
Before the brothers leave for home, Joseph gives the steward of his house these instructions: Fill up their sacks with all the food they can carry, and put their silver in their sacks. Also, put my silver cup in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver and grain.
So the steward does as Joseph instructed.
Morning comes and the men are sent on their way. They aren’t very far along on their journey when Joseph says to his steward, Go after them, and when you catch them, say, Why have you repaid good with evil? You have the cup my master drinks from and uses for divination. This is a wicked thing you’ve done.
So when the steward catches up with them he says what he was ordered to say. And they answer, Why are you saying these things? We would never do anything like that! We brought back the silver we had from last time. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master now? Tell you what, if you find the cup on any one of us, that person will die; and the rest of us will become your master’s slaves.
All right then, the steward says, It’ll be how you want it. Whoever has it will become my slave, the rest will be free from blame.
They all toss their sacks to the ground and open them up. Then the steward searches them, beginning with the oldest and working his way to the youngest. And there it is, the cup, in Benjamins sack. Right away they despair and tear their clothes. Then they load up their donkeys and head back to Joseph’s house in the city.
Joseph is still there when Judah and his brothers come in, and they throw themselves to the ground in front of Joseph. Joseph says, What have you done? Don’t you realize a man like me can find out what’s happened by divination?
What can we say? Judah responds. What can we say? What could we do to prove our innocence? God has exposed your servants’ guilt. We’re now your slaves — we ourselves and the one who had the cup.
But Joseph says, Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the one who had the cup will become my slave. The rest can go back to your father in peace.
Then Judah goes up to him and says, Please excuse your servant, my lord, please allow me to have a word with my lord. Don’t be angry with your servant, even though you’re equal to Pharaoh himself. My lord asked his servants, Do you have a father or a brother? And we told you, We have an elderly father, and there’s a young boy born to him in his old age. His brother’s dead, and he’s the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.
Then you said to us, your servants, Bring him down here to me so I can see him for myself. And we said to my lord, The youngest son can’t leave his father, if he leaves, his father will die. But you told us, your servants, Unless you bring him back, you won’t see me again. When we went back to your servant, my father, we told him everything you said.
Then our father said, Go back to Egypt and buy some more food. But we told him, We can’t go unless our youngest brother goes with us. We can’t see the man’s face unless we bring Benjamin.
Your servant, my father, said, You know my wife had two sons. One of them went away and never came back, I said, He has surely been torn to pieces. And I haven’t seen him since. If you take Benjamin, and harm comes to him, I’ll die from grief.
So at this point, if the youngest isn’t with us when we go back, and my father, whose life is closely bound up with the his, sees he isn’t with us, my father will die. Your servants will bring him down to the grave in grief and sorrow. I myself guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father.
So please, let me remain here as your slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return to his brothers. How can I go back to my father if he’s not with me? No! Don’t let me see the misery that would come upon my father.
What Does He Want?
Imagine with me what Judah and his brother’s must be saying to each other at this point: What, what, what? What does Joseph want? Why is this happening? When will it stop? We gave Joseph our silver to buy food. We left Simeon as a prisoner. We went home, we came back, we brought Benjamin as requested. We brought gifts, almonds, honey, the best the land has to offer. We bowed before Joseph — four times so far! But no, none of that is what Joseph wants. So what then? What? What is it?
What does Joseph want from us?
Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever asked those questions? Maybe like Judah and his brothers, you’re asking yourself those questions now: “Why is this happening to me? When will it stop? What does God want? What does Jesus want from me?”
The answer for Judah and his brothers concerning what Joseph wanted was this: Joseph wanted the brothers themselves. He wanted the brothers to give themselves to him. At the end of our text we see Judah offer himself to Joseph. And we’ll see in chapter 45, it’s not until Judah finally offers himself to Joseph, that Joseph reveals himself to Judah, and the rest of the brothers.
The answer for you is the same. It’s the same with your greater than Joseph, Jesus. He doesn’t crave your money. He doesn’t need your worship. He doesn’t want to imprison anybody. He doesn’t need your gifts. He doesn’t need your sacrifices. What does He want?
He wants you…
…to give yourself…
…to Him.
All of you. Everything. Everything you are.
He wants your life.
The moment you make that commitment, the moment you flip that switch in your head and your heart, to give all of yourself to Him — as Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, Jesus will begin to reveal Himself to you.
So do it! What reason is there not to? You only have blessings awaiting you on the other side of that commitment. So what are you waiting for? Flip that switch. Pray to Him right now. Give yourself, all of yourself, to Him
Do it, and like Judah and his brothers — your life will never be the same.
[Image via Fenway71 – Creative Commons]
References:
Bible Gateway
Blue Letter Bible
Jon Courson
Notes:
Joseph’s brothers bowed down to him, fulfilling Joseph’s prophetic dream, a total of five times:
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Posted on August 4, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Genesis
Genesis 44, give yourself to God, God, Jesus, joseph, Joseph's brothers, Joseph's brothers bow, What does God want?
Starving but Afraid to Return: Genesis Chapter 43
Photo by What What, Creative Commons
Read Genesis Chapter 43
To see the last post on Genesis click on: Everything is Against Me!
Genesis Chapter 43:
So time passes and the famine is still brutal in Canaan. All the grain they brought back from Egypt is gone. Jacob says to his sons, Go back and buy us some more food.
But Judah says, The man warned us, he said, You won’t see me again without your little brother. So if you’ll send Benjamin with us, we’ll go. But if you won’t, we can’t go, because the man in Egypt said, You won’t see me unless you bring your brother.
Israel asks, Why’d you bring this down on me, by telling the man you had a little brother?
They answered, He questioned us closely about us and our family. Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother? We just answered him. How could we know he’d say, Bring your brother down here?
Then Judah says to Israel his father, Send the boy with me and we’ll leave right away, so we and you and our kids can live and not die from the famine. I guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I don’t bring him back, I’ll bear the blame all my life. If we hadn’t waited, we could have been there and back twice by now.
Then their father Israel says, If this is how it has to be then do this: Pack up some of the best we have and take them to the man as a gift — some balm, and honey, and spices, and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds. And take twice the amount of silver with you, because you have to return the silver that was put back into your sacks. Maybe it was a mistake. Take your brother too, and go back to the man at once. And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so he’ll allow your other brother and Benjamin to come back with you. As for me, if I’m bereaved, I’m bereaved.
So they gather up the gifts and double the amount of silver, and their brother Benjamin. They hurry to Egypt and present themselves to Joseph. When Joseph sees Benjamin with his brothers, he tells his steward, Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare a meal for us; they’ll eat with me at noon.
The man does as Joseph tells him and takes them to Joseph’s house. Now his brothers were frightened when they were taken to his house. They thought to themselves, We were taken here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to overpower us and take us as slaves and take our donkeys.
So they approach Joseph’s steward and speak with him at the entrance to the house. Excuse us lord, they say, when we came down here the first time to buy food, on our way home we stopped for the night, opened our sacks, and each of us found his silver — the precise amount — in the mouth of his sack. So we brought it back with us this time. We also brought additional silver to buy food. We don’t know who put the silver in our sacks.
It’s OK, the steward says. Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, gave you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver. Then he brought Simeon out to them.
The steward took them into Joseph’s house, he gave them water to wash their feet, and he provided food for their donkeys. The brothers prepared their gifts for when Joseph would arrive at noon, because they heard they would be eating there.
So Joseph comes out, they present their gifts to him, and they bow down to him to the ground. He asks them how they’re doing, and he asks, How’s your aged father you told me about? Is he still alive?
They answer, Yes, he’s alive and well. And they bowed down, prostrating themselves before him.
As Joseph looks around he see his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son. He asks, Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about? And he says, God be gracious to you, my son. Joseph is overcome with emotion at the sight of his brother so he hurries out and looks for a place to weep. He goes into his private room and he weeps there.
This is the first of two occasions when Joseph weeps over his brothers. Jesus also wept for the descendants of Joseph’s brothers, the Jews, on two occasions: once at the tomb of His friend Lazarus, and once over His people in the City of Jerusalem. (John 11:35, Luke 19:41)
After he collects himself, he washes his face and comes back out. Then he gives the order, Serve the food.
They serve him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians eating with them by themselves, because Egyptians couldn’t eat with Hebrews, it was detestable to them. The brothers are seated in order of their ages, from oldest to youngest, and they look at each other in amazement. The portions are dished out, and Benjamin’s is five times as much as anyone else’s. So they feast, and drink freely with Joseph.
Returning to Our Joseph:
So Jacob and his family are hanging around, subsisting on the food they had from their first trip. Of course the inevitable happens and they run out, but Jacob and his sons are afraid to go back to Joseph. Jacob thinks it’ll cost him something, something dear to him — Benjamin.
That’s how it is with many of you. You’ve been to your Joseph, who is Jesus. You’ve received from Him the bread of life and the way of salvation. And you’ve been hanging out all this time subsisting on what you received from Him previously. The only thing is, as it was with Jacob, what you received from before doesn’t last forever. Oh, your salvation does, of course. But you, and I, all of us, need to go to Jesus for nourishment, regularly. Not doing so is the same as if you stopped eating. You’ll become spiritually lean. You’ll lose strength — the strength of your relationship with Jesus will weaken. Your soul needs to receive from Jesus in His house, even as Joseph’s brothers received from Joseph in his house.
What’s striking is how we’re just like Jacob, we’re afraid of what it will cost. There’s those things you’re hanging onto that you think you’ll lose if you return to your Joseph, who is Jesus: sleep on Sunday morning, or time with friends, or ESPN time, or time on the internet, or time devoted to your thing. There’s those things I’m clinging to, that I think I’ll lose if I draw closer in my relationship with Jesus: success at work, or time to exercise, or time to recreate. The fear of losing Benjamin kept Jacob from moving in a direction toward Joseph. Your fear of losing your thing keeps you from moving in a direction closer to Jesus.
But in reality, the best thing possible for Jacob was for he and his family to return to Joseph. And the best thing possible for you and your family, and for me and mine is to return to Jesus. As it was with Jacob, what you’re afraid of losing is a false perception.
After Jacob returned to Joseph, imagine how badly he must have wished he had done so sooner. All those wasted years without his son Joseph, and without the provision and multiplied blessings that came when Jacob and his family came together with him in Egypt. Instead of losing another son, he gained back two. And he was blessed beyond anything that would have happened had he stayed away.
So return to Him.
You’re only losing if you stay away.
You’ll be gaining great blessings if you return.
After you come back, like Jacob, you’ll wish you had done so sooner.
References:
Bible Gateway
Blue Letter Bible
Jon Courson
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Posted on July 28, 2012 by Kurt Bennett
Bible Commentary, Bible Study, Genesis
Christ, church, prodigal, Return to Jesus
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