LogosWalk Word Journal » 01: Genesis

Archive for the '01: Genesis' Category

Genesis 50:14-15 • The Stress of Death

Saturday, October 18th, 2008

“After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all who had gone up with him to bury his father. When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, ‘What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!'”
—Genesis 50:14-15 (NASB)

There are things I come across in the Bible which confirm beyond any doubt that this is the inspired Word of God because there are things which I’m not sure a forger or inventor of fairy tales would include in a made-up account. One of them is this reaction by Joseph’s brothers upon their father’s death. If you’ve never been personally through it, then give praise to God, because whereas conventional wisdom might predict that such things bring a family closer together, the reality is that it often brings pressure on existing cracks to the point of breaking everything wide open.
(more…)

Posted in 01: Genesis | No Comments »

Genesis 49:8-10 • Knowing What It Means

Thursday, October 16th, 2008

“‘Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.
Judah is a lion’s whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He couches, he lies down as a lion,
And as a lion, who dares rouse him up?
The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes,
And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.'”
—Genesis 49:8-10 (NASB)

To a Christian it seems fairly obvious that many of Israel’s blessings upon Judah are speaking to the work of the Messiah to come through him. But a fair question can be asked if this isn’t something that only Christians read into the text. In others words, how do we know that these verses contain numerous allusions to the work of the Messiah? First and foremost because of other Scripture which confirms and elaborates on many of these things, but also because of extra-biblical Jewish writings. In other words, when we examine the commentary of Hebrew scholars themselves in their most revered writings, it’s actually Jews themselves who confirm that the things written here apply to the Messiah!
(more…)

Posted in 01: Genesis | No Comments »

Genesis 46:1-4 • I Will Surely Bring You Up Again

Tuesday, October 14th, 2008

“So Israel set out with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, ‘Jacob, Jacob.’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will close your eyes.'”
—Genesis 46:1-4 (NASB)

“Beersheba” — “the well of the oath”, has quite a history. It’s where Abraham sealed a covenant of mutual assistance with Abimelech, where Hagar encountered God and learned of His promises for her while fleeing from Sarah, where God confirmed His covenant with Isaac, and it will be the future scene of a famous spiritual encounter between a fleeing Elijah and God. ^[1] It’s a place associated with personal commitment to God especially by those who seem to be fleeing away or pursuing personal interests as was the case of Jacob, who was on his way out of the land of Canaan in pursuit of what appeared to be the answer to his current problems in Egypt.
(more…)

Linknotes:

1 Kings 19:1-8 ‡

Posted in 01: Genesis | No Comments »

Genesis 45:1 • THE Sign of the Times

Monday, October 13th, 2008

“Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried, ‘Have everyone go out from me.’ So there was no man with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.”
—Genesis 45:1 (NASB)

Joseph is what theologians call a “type” of Christ, meaning that whenever we study Joseph the Holy Spirit is teaching us something about the Messiah. The events and actions which Joseph literally and historically did prefigure or foreshadow somehow actual events and actions the Messiah will Himself engage. (A list of at least 30 of these parallel traits between Joseph and Jesus can be downloaded here.) Nearly all of the things associated with Joseph are fulfilled at Christ’s First Coming — nearly; a few are still outstanding. And we see one of the outstanding ones in chapters 43-45 of Genesis, that His brothers don’t recognize Joaseph at his first coming, but only at his second.
(more…)

Posted in 01: Genesis | No Comments »

Genesis 42:21-22 • Distress for Distress

Sunday, October 12th, 2008

“Then they said to one another, ‘Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us.’ Reuben answered them, saying, ‘Did I not tell you, “Do not sin against the boy”; and you would not listen? Now comes the reckoning for his blood.'”
—Genesis 42:21-22 (NASB)

It’s been at least twenty-five years, perhaps more, since Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery and allowed their father to believe he’d been killed by a wild animal. And during that entire time they were waiting, so to speak, for the other sandal to drop. They knew there was going to come a time that they would be held accountable for what they’d done and now they were sure this was it. And it was all topped off with Reuben’s big “I told you so”. They were sure of two things: they’d committed sin and there would be a penalty for it.
(more…)

Posted in 01: Genesis | No Comments »

Genesis 41:50-52 • Forgetfulness and Fruitfulness

Saturday, October 11th, 2008

“Now before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him. Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, ‘For,’ he said, ‘God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.’ He named the second Ephraim, ‘For,’ he said, ‘God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.'”
—Genesis 41:50-52 (NASB)

Names are very important in the Bible, nearly always revealing some kind of additional insight into what is going on whether it’s a name of a person, place, or thing. And the way biblical figures go about naming their children in particular reveals even more of what is transpiring within them spiritually and emotionally. Joseph basically names his children “forgetfulness” and “fruitfulness” to reveal the healing process that’s taken place addressing the injustices experienced and how God has used them to provide something greater.
(more…)

Posted in 01: Genesis | No Comments »

Genesis 41:15-16 • It Is Not In Me

Friday, October 10th, 2008

“Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I have had a dream, but no one can interpret it; and I have heard it said about you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.’ Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, ‘It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.'”
—Genesis 41:15-16 (NASB)

There have been those who, without my prior inquiry have volunteered what they believed was a personal message for me from God. Rather than desiring to hold me accountable specifically to the standards of God’s Word, they seemed eager to establish some kind of dominance over me by presenting “new” information they received supernaturally through a dream or a “word”. So of course I find it interesting that Pharaoh was seeking an answer to begin with and Joseph was not predisposed to jump in and share what he felt it all meant. It highlights that the difference between a true and false messenger of God is whether they’re more concerned for their personal position or God’s.
(more…)