Genesis 47
Joseph brings brother to Pharaohverses 1-6
THEN Joseph came and told Pharaoh – and said
My father – my brethren – their flocks – their herds
all that they have – are come out of the land of Canaan
and behold – they are in the land of Goshen
And he took some of his brethren – even five men
and presented them to Pharaoh
And Pharaoh said to his brethren
What is your occupation?
And they said unto Pharaoh
Your servants are SHEPHERDS – both we
and also our fathers
They said moreover to Pharaoh
For to sojourn in the land are we come
for your servants have no pasture for their flocks
for the FAMINE is severe in the land of Canaan
Now therefore – we pray you
let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen
And Pharaoh spoke to Joseph saying
Your father and your brethren are come to you
the land of Egypt is before you – in the best of the land
make your father and brethren to dwell
in the land of Goshen let them dwell
And if you know any able men among them
then make them rulers over my cattle
Joseph brings his father to Pharaohverses 7-10
And Joseph bought Jacob his father – and set him before Pharaoh
and Jacob BLESSED Pharaoh
And Pharaoh said to Jacob
How old are you?
And Jacob said to Pharaoh
The days of the years of my PILGRIMAGE are an
hundred and thirty years – few and EVIL have
the days of the years of my life been
And have not attained to the days of the years of the
life of my fathers in the days of their PILGRIMAGE
And Jacob BLESSED Pharaoh
and went out from before Pharaoh
Joseph gives land to his familyverses 11-12
And Joseph placed his father and his brethren
and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt
in the best of the land – in the land of Rameses
as Pharaoh had commanded
And Joseph NOURISHED his father and his brethren
and all his father’s household WITH bread
according to their families
Joseph collected all the money in Egyptverses 13-15
And there was NO BREAD in all the land
for the FAMINE was very severe
so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan
FAINTED by reason of the FAMINE
And Joseph gathered up all the MONEY that was found in the
land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan
for the grain which they brought
and Joseph brought the MONEY
into Pharaoh’s house
And when MONEY failed in the land of Egypt
and in the land of Canaan
All the Egyptians came unto Joseph – and said
Give us BREAD
for why should we DIE in your presence?
for the MONEY fails
Joseph collected all the cattle in Egyptverses 16-17
And Joseph said – Give your CATTLE
and I will give you for your CATTLE – if MONEY fail
And they brought their CATTLE to Joseph
and Joseph gave them BREAD in exchange for
horses – flocks – cattle of the herds – asses
and he fed them with BREAD for all
their CATTLE for that year
Joseph collected landverses 18-23
When the year was ended
they came unto him the SECOND year
and said to him
We will not hide it from my lord
how our MONEY is spent
My lord also has our herds of cattle
there is not anything left in the sight of the my lord
but our BODIES and our LAND
wherefore shall we DIE before your eyes
both we and our land?
BUY us and our land for BREAD
and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh
and give us seed that we may live – and not die
that the land be not desolate
And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh
for the Egyptians sold every man his field
BECAUSE the FAMINE prevailed over them
so the land became Pharaoh’s
And as for the people – he removed them to cities from
one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof
ONLY the land of the priests brought he not
for the PRIESTS had a portion assigned them by Pharaoh
and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them
wherefore they sold not their lands
Joseph gives seed and collects twenty percentverses 23-26
THEN Joseph said to the people
BEHOLD – I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh
LO – here is seed for you – and you shall sow the land
And it shall come to pass in the harvest
that you shall give the FIFTH part unto Pharaoh
and FOUR parts shall be your own
for seed of the field – and for your food
and for them of your households
and for food for your little ones
And they said – You have saved our lives
let us find GRACE in the sight of my lord
and we will be Pharaoh’s servants
And Joseph made it a LAW over the land of Egypt to this day
that Pharaoh should have a FIFTH part
EXCEPT the land of the priests only
which became not Pharaoh’s
Children of Israel prosper in Egyptverse 27
And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt – in the country of Goshen
and they had possession therein – and grew
and multiplied exceedingly
Jacob asked to be buried back in Canaanverses 28-31
And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt SEVENTEEN years
so the whole age of Jacob was
an hundred forty and seven years
And the time drew near that Israel must die
and he called his son- Joseph
and said to him
If now I have found GRACE in your sight
put – I pray – you your hand under my thigh
and deal kindly and truly with me
Bury me not – I pray you – in Egypt
but I will lie with my fathers
and you shalt carry me out of Egypt
and bury me in their burying place
And he said
I will do as you have said
And he said
Swear to me and he swore unto him
And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 6 The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if you know any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle. (2428 “activity” [chayil] means special skills, capable, qualified, valiant, efficient, virtue, men of valor.
DEVOTION: This chapter explains how the children of Israel received the best land in Egypt. It also explains how Pharaoh came to own everything in Egypt because of the famine in the land. A side note is the fact that the only ones who didn’t have to pay for their bread were the priests of Egypt. Also these individuals didn’t have to give up their land in Egypt.
Pharaoh was willing to use the children of Israel in any way that they could be of service to him. He asked Joseph that if any of the family members had special skills regarding the care of his cattle, he would like them to do this service for him. Of course, they did have special skills regarding cattle because they were shepherds.
Pharaoh was also willing to let them have the best land in Egypt. They were to live in Goshen. There was a separation of the children of Israel from the rest of the Egyptians because they were shepherds and the Egyptians hated shepherds.
Note that they received the blessing of the LORD in this strange land. The LORD had them in a profession that was displeasing to the Egyptians but pleasing to HIM. This was a blessing to them.
The LORD had prepared a place for the children of Israel to live that was the best land in the land of Egypt. The LORD had prepared Joseph to be the leader of the land of Egypt. Pharaoh gave Joseph the freedom to give his family any part of the land of Egypt.
Now Joseph introduced his family to Pharaoh. Pharaoh liked Joseph’s family. Pharaoh seemed to be looking for good men to put over his cattle. Joseph was asked to look among his relatives to see if there was a band of men who could be trusted with the job.
People in places of authority can look over their friends and relatives and get them good positions if they are qualified. The LORD was not only blessing Joseph but also all of the children of Israel. They were going to have work in this new land.
Are we qualified to serve in important positions by the way we are acting now? Will people come up to us for recommendation for those they need to work for them? We are commanded to work until the LORD returns. Work is a blessing.
CHALLENGE: Do we consider our job a blessing from the LORD? We should. Many in the land don’t have work or a good job to support their families. Remember to look in the family of God for individuals who need work and help them get it. We help by prayer. We help by supporting them until they find work. We help by training them in new job skills.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 22 Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands. (2706 “portion” [choq] means an allotment of some amount by dividing something, prescribed limit, boundary, that which is established, share, required amount or appointed.)
DEVOTION: Here we see a government giving property to a religious group and also providing their needs. The government of Germany used to or might still pay the clergy out of the taxes collected from the people of the country. This is true in other countries as well. There are tax breaks in many countries for religious groups.
When the famine was going on in Egypt and all of the rest of the people had to sell everything they had in order to live the religious leaders of Egypt were provided for and their land was not given to the government.
Today we find that at present those involved in religion in America have the right to claim their pastor’s house and the church tax exempt. The people who give to the church are allowed to deduce their tithe from their income tax except for those who make a larger amount of money who can claim only a portion of their giving.
There are people today who would like to see this age old practice stopped and tax all the property of the church and not give tax deductions for religious contributions.
What would happen if this took place? The LORD would continue to support all the needs of those who serve HIM. HE would take care of the Biblical church just like HE is doing now in many countries around the world.
We were able to see this happen while we had no tax exempt status for the two years that we were working to be reinstated. Now that we are reinstated we will see if it makes a difference in the giving. During our time without the status all the money that was necessary came into our treasurer. The LORD provided all that was needed.
Our response to this test of faith should be PRAISE. We are praising the LORD for how everyone came together to make sure that this work moved forward.
CHALLENGE: Never doubt the LORD’S ability to provide for HIS people and HIS work.
: 25 And they said, You have saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants. (2580 “grace” [chen] means favor, good-will, gracefulness, agreeableness, acceptance, or satisfaction.)
DEVOTION: The people of Egypt came to Joseph and gave him praise because he had spared their lives. They promised to be servants of Pharaoh.
Joseph didn’t take advantage of the situation but made a law that Pharaoh should receive twenty percent of all that the land produced from that time forward. The only ones who were exempt from the law that Joseph passed were the priests.
He had never bought the land of the priests during the famine. Their land was their own so their produce was their own to do with as they pleased.
The people felt that Joseph had saved their lives because he was willing to work with them throughout the famine. He treated them fair during this time period when they were down.
As believers we are not to take advantage of people when they are down. It could be in school when other students are picking on someone believers should not join in but should defend those who are being picked on.
Believers have the responsibility to treat their enemies well. There will be a time when we can have the upper hand over those that have mistreated us, but that is not what the LORD wants us to do.
CHALLENGE: Imagine what would happen if this took place not only in our homes but in our churches. It might even reach into a community.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 29 As the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph and said to him, If now I have found grace in your sight, put, I pray you, your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me, bury me not , I pray you, in Egypt. (571 “truly” [‘emeth] means firmness, trustworthiness, constancy, faithfulness, firmness, stability, perpetuity, or honesty.)
DEVOTION: Jacob or Israel was making plans for his death. He wanted his son to promise that he would not bury his body in Egypt but would take it to the place where Abraham and Isaac were buried.
He wanted his son to promise this because of his unfailing love for his father. Joseph would honor his father by doing what he wanted. It is a great testimony to the love the family had for each other in spite of all that had happened.
This passage gives us a standard that every family should have in their relationship to each other. There are going to be hard times between siblings but they came together at this time. There are going to different feelings regarding our parents but when it come to their final wishes we should be willing to honor them in that way.
The word used in this verse in the King James Version is “grace.” We need to show grace to each other. What is grace? It is giving someone what they don’t deserve. Sometimes we might look at our parents and think that they don’t deserve honor because of some of the things they have done but God commands us to honor our parents.
CHALLENGE: Jacob wanted grace from his children after his death Do we want the same for our children. .
: 31 And he said, Swear unto me. And he swore unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed’s head. (7812 “bowed” [shachah] means1 to bow down. 1a (Qal) to bow down. 1b (Hiphil) to depress (fig). 1c (Hithpael). 1c1 to bow down, prostrate oneself. 1c1a before superior in homage. 1c1b before God in worship. 1c1c before false gods. 1c1d before angel. [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship].)
DEVOTION: Recently I had the honor of being introduced to a local king in Africa. The first thing that we observed was that people bowed down to him, and acknowledged his sovereignty. Bowing is an act of submission to another person. While we do not physically do the act very much in Western culture any more, it was practiced throughout many cultures of the world where there are still kings.
Bowing is still the idea behind Philippians 2 describing how at the name of Jesus Christ every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD. It is the idea behind some actions of worship like prayer, where we take the time to close our eyes and bow our heads. It is acknowledging who He is and how much greater than us He is. In fact, when we think of bowing our heads (and hearts) towards God, it brings to mind the idea of worshipping God.
The conclusion, then, of Jacob’s life is one of worship toward the LORD. How different this was from the first part of His life, when he had lived for himself and sought to take advantage of everyone he had come across. When Jacob wrestled with God immediately prior to his reunion with Esau, he came to realize that there was a power that he was not able to defeat, and that the only proper response he could offer was worship. From that time forward, his was a life of worship toward the LORD. Jacob therefore also shows us how to finish life well by bowing His head toward God.
CHALLENGE: Worship is a key element of our relationship with God. Make the first thing you do in the morning be an act of worship to God. (MW)
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Pharaohverses 1-28
Asked occupation of Joseph’s brothers
Told him they were shepherds
Jacob brought before Pharaoh
Asked Jacob how old he was
Land of Canaanverses 1, 4, 13
Land of Goshen in Egyptverses 1, 6, 11
Land of Ramesesverse 11
No bread in the landverse 13
False priests given breadverse 22
Land of priests not given to Pharaohverse 26
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Evilverse 9
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Blessedverses 7, 10
Nourished verse 12
Graceverses 25, 29
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Josephverses 1-31
Presented five brothers to Pharaoh
Nourished his father and brothers
Gathered all the money in land of Egypt
Brought all the money to Pharaoh
Told cattle as payment for grain
Brought all the land of Egypt
Move Egyptians to the cities
One fifth of all produce given to Pharaoh
Jacob brought before Pharaohverses 7-11, 28-31
He blessed Pharaoh (2x)
Told his age to Pharaoh: 130
Lived seventeen years in Egypt
Died at 147
Asked Joseph to bury him in Canaan
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
DONATIONS:
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QUOTES regarding passage
Significantly, the central concern of the narrative is to show that Jacob “blessed Pharaoh” (wayeḇāreḵ … ʾeṯ-parʿōh, vv.7, 10) when he was brought before him. Its importance can be seen from the fact that it was mentioned twice. Lying behind such an emphasis in the narrative is God’s promise to Abraham that he would bless those who blessed the offspring of Abraham. The passage shows that in Joseph and Jacob, the promise to Abraham was being fulfilled with the nations round about them.
The words of Jacob to the Pharaoh in v.9—“My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers”—sound unusual in the way they contrast with the two accounts of his blessing of Pharaoh. What do Jacob’s words mean? They appear to be a deliberate contrast to the later promise in Deuteronomy that one who honors his father and mother should “live long and that it may go well with you in the land” (Deut 5:16). Jacob, who deceived his father and thereby gained the blessing, must not only die outside the Promised Land, but also we learn here that his years were few and difficult. From his own words, then, we can see a final recompense for Jacob’s actions earlier in the book. As Abraham obeyed God and lived long in the land (Gen 26:5), so Jacob’s years were short and difficult. In spite of such a final verdict on the life of Jacob, the narrative goes on to show that he lived out his remaining years “in the good [bemêṭaḇ; NIV, ‘best part’] of the land” (v.11), though not the Promised Land; and Joseph, his son, provided for him and his household. (Sailhamer, J. H. (1990). Genesis. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers (Vol. 2, p. 264). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
Gen. 47:7–9. Joseph then presented his father to Pharaoh, but not till after the audience of his brothers had been followed by the royal permission to settle, for which the old man, who was bowed down with age, was not in a condition to sue. The patriarch saluted the king with a blessing, and replied to his inquiry as to his age, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are 130 years; few and sorrowful are the days of my life’s years, and have not reached (the perfect in the presentiment of his approaching end) the days of the life’s years of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” Jacob called his own life and that of his fathers a pilgrimage (מְגוּרִים), because they had not come into actual possession of the promised land, but had been obliged all their life long to wander about, unsettled and homeless, in the land promised to them for an inheritance, as in a strange land. This pilgrimage was at the same time a figurative representation of the inconstancy and weariness of the earthly life, in which man does not attain to that true rest of peace with God and blessedness in His fellowship, for which he was created, and for which therefore his soul is continually longing (cf. Ps. 39:13; 119:19, 54; 1 Chron. 29:15). The apostle, therefore, could justly regard these words as a declaration of the longing of the patriarchs for the eternal rest of their heavenly fatherland (Heb. 11:13–16). So also Jacob’s life was little (מְעַט) and evil (i.e., full of toil and trouble) in comparison with the life of his fathers. For Abraham lived to be 175 years old, and Isaac 180; and neither of them had led a life so agitated, so full of distress and dangers, of tribulation and anguish, as Jacob had from his first flight to Haran up to the time of his removal to Egypt. (Keil, C. F., & Delitzsch, F. (1996). Commentary on the Old Testament (Vol. 1, p. 242). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.)
“My years have been few and difficult,” Jacob told Pharaoh (Gen. 47:9), who probably thought that 130 years was far from “few.” But Isaac had died at 180 and Abraham at 175; so comparatively speaking, Jacob’s pilgrimage was a short one. The word “evil” (kjv) doesn’t imply wickedness, but rather “misery” or “distress.” Jacob’s life had been a difficult one, but now it would close with seventeen years of peace and happiness.
We can’t help but admire Joseph in the way he handled the relocation of his family and their presentation to Pharaoh. He was surely a gifted administrator. In a land devoted to the worship of numerous gods and goddesses, it was important that Joseph’s family bear witness by their conduct to the true and living God. Peter called this “having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles” (1 Peter 2:12, nkjv). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1997). Be authentic (pp. 138–139). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Pub)
47:9 my sojourning … few and unpleasant. Since neither Jacob nor his fathers had actually possessed the land of Canaan, describing life as a sojourning was a fitting evaluation to give. In addition, his years seemed few in contrast to those of the two who had visited Egypt long before him, Abraham and Isaac (175 and 180 years respectively). And still overshadowed with pessimism, the days were “unpleasant,” in the sense of toil and trouble, of many sorrows, distresses, and crises. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ge 47:9). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Ver. 9. Jacob said unto Pharaoh, the days of the years of my pilgrimage are 130 years, &c.] He calls his life a pilgrimage, as every good man’s is; they are not at home in their own country, they are seeking a better, even an heavenly one: Jacob’s life was very emphatically and literally a pilgrimage; he first dwelt in Canaan, from thence he removed to Padan-arain, and sojourned there awhile, and then came to Canaan again; for some time he dwelt at Succoth, and then at Shechem, and after that at Hebron, and now he was come down to Egypt, and he had spent 130 years of his life in this way: and with this perfectly agrees the account of Polyhistor from Demetrius, an Heathen writer, who makes the age of Jacob when he came into Egypt 130, and that year to be the 3d year of the famine, agreeably to ch. 45:6 few and evil have the days of the years of my life been; he calls his days but few, in comparison of the long lives of the patriarchs in former times, and especially in comparison of the days of eternity: and evil, because of the many afflictions he had met with; as from Esau, from whose face he was obliged to fly lest he should kill him; and in Laban’s house, where he served for a wife 14 years, and endured great hardships; and at Shechem, where his laughter was ravished, and his sons made that slaughter of the Shechemites, which he feared would cause his name to stink; and at Ephvath, where he buried his beloved Rachel; and at Hebron, where his sons brought him such an account as if they believed his beloved son Joseph was destroyed by a wild beast, see Job. 14:1 and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage; his grandfather Abraham lived to be 175 years of age, ch. 25:7 and his father Isaac lived to the age of 180, ch. 35:28. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 1, p. 292). London: Mathews and Leigh.
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
The first usage of hoq is in Gen. 47:22: “Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion [choq] assigned them of Pharaoh.…” This word is frequent in Deuteronomy and Psalms and rare in the historical books and in the prophets.
The meaning of choq in the first occurrence (Gen. 47:22) differs from the basic meaning of “statute.” It has the sense of something allotted or apportioned. A proverb speaks about “the food that is my portion” (Prov. 30:8, nasb; KlV, “food convenient for me”; literally, “food of my prescription or portion”). Job recognized in his suffering that God does what is appointed for him: “For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me [literally, “he will perform my Law”] …” (23:14). The “portion” may be something that is due to a person as an allowance or payment. The Egyptian priests received their income from Pharaoh (Gen. 47:22), even as God permitted a part of the sacrifice to be enjoyed by the priests: “And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’ [as their portion] for ever from the children of Israel: for it is a heave offering …” (Exod. 29:28).
The word choq also signifies “law,” or “statute.” In a general sense it refers to the “laws” of nature like rain: “When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder” (Job 28:26; cf. Jer. 5:22); and the celestial bodies: “He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass” (Ps. 148:6 cf). “Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever” (Jer. 31:35-36). Moreover, the word choq denotes a “law” promulgated in a country: “And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh’s” (Gen. 47:26).
Finally, and most important, the “law” given by God is also referred to as a choq: “When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes [choq] of God, and his laws [torah]” (Exod. 18:16). The word’s synonyms are mitswah, “commandment”; mishpat, “judgment”; berit, “covenant”; torah, “law”; and ˓edut, “testimony.” It is not easy to distinguish between these synonyms, as they are often found in conjunction with each other: “Ye shall diligently keep the commandments [mitswah] of the Lord your God, and his testimonies [˓edah], and his statutes [choq], which he hath. (Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson.)
IMPOSSIBLE PEOPLE by Os Guinness
The result is a stress on change at the expense of continuity, innovation at the expense of tradition, the emergent at the expense of the historic, and the relevant at the expense of the reliable and proven. Needless to say, from the vantage point of the future, all we who are alive today are the past and therefore irrelevant by definition. (p.181)
On one of my first trips to China as an adult, an old gentleman said to me with a wry smile, “You have made a bad mistake. You grew up in China where they only respected age, and now you will grow old in America where they only respect youth. You should have done it the other way around.” (p. 184)
Not even the best of governments can compensate for a broken society with broken families will produce the government it deserves, which will not be the best of governments. (p. 187)
Revenge does not resolve injustice, it recycles it and binds the generations together in iron links of resentment and hatred. (p. 188)
Hudson Taylor, the great missionary pioneer in China, was famous for stressing both Ebenezer (to this point God has helped us) and Jehovah Jireh (the Lord will see to it and provide in the future). (p. 191)
WHY DOES GOD ALLOW WAR?
From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? (James 4:1)
As I contemplate human nature and human life, what astonishes me is not that God allows and permits war, but the patience and the long-suffering of God. “He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). He suffered the evil, perverse ways of the children of Israel for centuries; and now for nearly two thousand years He has patiently borne with a world that in the main rejects and refuses His loving offer, even in the Person of His only-begotten Son. The question that needs to be asked is not, “Why does God allow war?” but rather, “Why does God not allow the world to destroy itself entirely in its iniquity and its sin?” Why does He in His restraining grace set a limit to evil and to sin, and a bound beyond which they cannot pass?
Oh, the amazing patience of God with this sinful world! How wondrous is His love! He has sent the Son of His love to our world to die for us and to save us; and because men cannot and will not see this, God permits and allows such things as war to chastise and to punish us, to teach us and to convict us of our sins, and above all to call us to repentance and acceptance of His gracious offer. The vital question for us therefore is not to ask, “Why does God allow war?” The question for us is to make sure that we are learning the lesson and repenting before God for the sin in our own hearts and in the entire human race that leads to such results. May God grant us understanding and the true spirit of repentance, for His name’s sake.
A Thought to Ponder: As I contemplate human nature and human life, what astonishes me is not that God allows and permits war, but the patience and the long-suffering of God. (From Why Does God Allow War? pp. 100-101, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Psalms 19
The works of God are declared in the heavens, and the words of God lead to righteousness.
INSIGHT
A creator is known by his creation; an artist is known by his art; a musician by his music; and a sculptor by his sculpture. God can be known by the universe that He has created. Psalm 19:1 says: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.” Romans 1:20 says: “since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen.” Judging from nature, God exists and has power, intelligence, and a flair for beauty! (Quiet Walk)
God loves to use people the world might overlook. William Carey was raised in a tiny village in the 1700s and had little formal education. He had limited success in his chosen trade and lived in poverty. But God gave him a passion for sharing the good news and called him to be a missionary. Carey learned Greek, Hebrew, and Latin and eventually translated the first New Testament into the Bengali language. Today he is regarded as a “father of modern missions,” but in a letter to his nephew he offered this humble assessment of his abilities: “I can plod. I can persevere.”
When God calls us to a task, He also gives us strength to accomplish it regardless of our limitations. In Judges 6:12 the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” The angel then told him to rescue Israel from the Midianites who were raiding their towns and crops. But Gideon, who hadn’t earned the title of “mighty warrior,” humbly responded, “How can I save Israel? . . . I am the least in my family” (v. 15). Still, God used Gideon to set His people free.
The key to Gideon’s success was in the words, “the Lord is with you” (v. 12). As we humbly walk with our Savior and rely on His strength, He will empower us to accomplish what’s only possible through Him. (By James Banks Daily Bread)
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