Sat.’s Devo - Return to Egypt

Read: Genesis 42:18-34; Matthew 13:47-14:12; Psalm 18:16-36; Proverbs 4:7-10 Instead of making all the brothers stay in prison and only send one home, Joseph chose Simeon to stay and sent all the rest home. He had told his men to secretly put every man’s money back in the top of their sack and give them provisions to make it back home safely. They were to bring Benjamin back and then he would release Simeon. When they returned home and told Jacob all that had happened, he was determined not to send Benjamin and was upset that they had told the man that they had another son. They explained how he had questioned him and they had no idea he would demand to see Benjamin. Then they found their money in their sacks and were even more afraid. Simeon stayed in jail until their grain was almost gone. They had to go back so Jacob finally allowed them to leave with Benjamin. When they arrived in Egypt and Joseph saw them he told his servants to kill a fattened calf and prepare a feast. They would be eating with him. The brothers were brought to Josephs own house and brought inside. They were petrified and tried to give the servant the money that had been returned in the sacks. He told them that God must have put it there because they had their money. When Joseph arrived they gave him the gifts their father had sent from the land of Canaan. Joseph asked if their father was still living and they said yes and presented Benjamin to him. Joseph had to leave the room because he was so overcome with emotion. When he had composed himself, he returned. The brothers were served from Josephs own table but seated at another table since the Egyptians didn’t eat with Hebrews. They were seated according to their age and Joseph filled their plates himself. He gave Benjamin five times as much as he gave the others. In Matthew, Jesus was still giving parables about the Kingdom of Heaven. At the end of the ages there will be a separating of the righteous ones from the wicked ones. The wicked ones will be thrown into hell. Jesus explained that if you are a teacher of the law who becomes a disciple of the Kingdom of Heaven, you will bring new truths as well as old from heaven to your students. That was who Jesus was and what he was doing. Jesus returned to Nazareth and taught in the synagogue but the people wondered where he got his information because they knew he was only one of them. They were offended by his authority and refused to believe in him so Jesus could do little miracles there. When Herod heard about his miracles he was afraid that John the Baptist had been raised from the dead. He had arrested John as a request from his new wife, Herodias. Herodias had been the wife of Herod’s brother Philip, but she divorced him to marry his brother who was more powerful. John had preached that it was against God’s law from him to marry her. Herod hadn’t had the courage to kill John but when Herodias’ daughter danced for him at a party he had publicly asked her what she wanted as a gift. Her mother instructed her to say she wanted John the Baptist’s head on a platter. To save face in front of all his guests he had him beheaded and his head presented to her. Lord, may we be those who bring the Kingdom of Heaven down to earth. May we enjoy the fruits of our labors and live in your blessings.

Fri.’s Devo - The Interpretation

Read: Genesis 41:17-42:17; Matthew 13:24-46; Psalm 18:1-15; Proverbs 4:1-6 Pharaoh shared his dream with Joseph about the cows and the grain. These were the two sources of Egypt’s food supply so Joseph knew by discernment that God was speaking about a famine in the land since the good was overwhelmed by the weak. When he told Pharaoh that God was entrusting him with the future of the known world, he did this to honor him and give him hope. Pharaoh could see that God favored Joseph with administrative gifts so he put him in charge of his court and all his people. He gave him the authority to make any decision he thought was right for his nation. Amazing, since Joseph was clearly not an Egyptian. Pharaoh also gave Jospeh a wife named Asenath and they had two sons Manasseh and Ephraim. Manasseh means “causing to forget”. He was a statement of what God had done in Joseph’s heart to cause him to forgive his brothers. Ephraim means “fruitfulness” because God had caused him to be fruitful where he was. Just as the dreams said, Egypt experienced its greatest harvests for seven years. Then a famine swept in and began the next seven years. Joseph had stored up grain during the seven years of plenty and began to sell it to the people during the beginning of the famine. This was a world-wide famine so it had spread to the land of Canaan also. Jacob heard that there was grain to buy in Egypt so he sent his sons, minus Benjamin, to Egypt to buy some grain. Joseph was in charge of the distribution of grain so he was the one to meet with his brothers. He recognized them at once but they didn’t recognize him because he was shaven and wearing the royal robes of Egypt. He played the role of the mean Egyptian ruler and interrogated them. He accused them of being spies and they spilled out the fact that they were all brothers and had another brother at home. To prove they were telling the truth and not spies, Joseph put them in jail for three days to decide who would go home and bring Benjamin back as proof that they were telling the truth. They would get some jail time, like they had given Joseph, to do some soul-searching. Yesterdays’ parable in Matthew was the catalyst for all of Jesus’ parables. The seed was the Word, the gospel of the Kingdom of God. In this next parable the farmer’s good field was infiltrated with the enemies’ seed. When the crops began to grow there was grain and weeds. The farmer instructed his workers to let them grow together and in the end they would separate the weeds from the grain. Jesus told his disciples later that the good seed was his seed that He planted on the earth and the bad seed was Satan’s seed that he planted on the earth. They were to grow together until the end of time when the angels would reap the world. Then the weeds would be separated from the grain and thrown into he fire of hell. Jesus told two other parables from his perspective. God had hidden his treasure in the world, his remnant. The Jews were the treasure and the Gentiles were the pearls. They are hidden all over his world. He gave his son to purchase the whole world just to get the treasure and the pearls. Lord, thank you that you didn’t give up on the world but you gave your only son to purchase us and restore us back to you. You are our rock and our fortress. You are our place of love and safety.

Thurs.’s Devo - From the Prison to the Palace

Read: Genesis 39:41-16; Matthew 12:46-13:23; Psalm 17:1-15; Proves 3:33-35 Everywhere Joseph went he had the favor of man and God. He had been his father’s favorite, Potiphar’s favorite and soon became Pharoah’s favorite. No doubt he was a favorite in jail for people to open up and share their dreams with him. Satan hates God’s favorites and does everything he can to discourage and depress what God wants to do in them. God turned all the efforts of Satan for good for Joseph. Joseph got wrongly accused of raping Potiphar’s wife and thrown in prison. He was elevated to head person in the king’s royal prison. Two of Pharaoh’s closest men got thrown in prison for attempting a coup on the king. The cup bearer and the baker must have been accused of trying to poison the king because both had access to the king’s food and drink. Their dreams ratted them out. The baker was guilty while the cup bearer was innocent. In three days, just like Daniel had predicted, their judgment day came and the baker was impaled and the cupbearer was restored to his position. He was suppose to remember Joseph and get him out of jail but instead forgot all about him. God was preserving Joseph for a special moment when he would need him to save a nation. That moment came when the Pharaoh had a dream. Then the cup-bearer remembered Joseph and he was brought before the king. Every time Joseph was questioned about dreams he was sure to give God the credit for his interpretation. The world has their dream interpretation but God’s is the right one. In Matthew Jesus gave a parable we have come to know as the Seed and the Sower. In the parable there was a sower of seed who scattered his seed along the highway, on stony places, among thorns and in good ground. The seed scattered in the first three places were devoured, scorched and choked by their environment. The third seed scattered in good ground brought forth fruit at different degrees. Jesus explained the parable to his disciples later. He reminded them of Isaiah’s prophecy about this generation, “By hearing they will not hear, and will not understand, and seeing they will see but not perceive.” This prophecy summed up the people of Jesus’ time. Because their hearts were hard and closed, it affected the way they heard and saw things. The parable exposed four types of people. They received his teachings with varying degrees of understanding and belief. The only ones who could keep his teachings were the last ones whose hearts were ready and hungry enough to receive it. They were the ones who would bring forth fruit for the kingdom of God. May our hearts be fertile and ready to receive all the seed you scatter our way today. Open our hearts, eyes, ears and understanding to perceive your presence, your voice and your heart.

Wed.’s Devo - The War of the Kingdoms

Read: Genesis 37:1-38:30; Matthew 12:22-45; Psalm 16:1-11; Proverbs 3:27-32 Jacob had settled in Canaan where he was the foreigner in his own God-given land. His son, Joseph was seventeen and worked with the sons of his father’s concubines Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher. They hated him because he tattled on them for all the bad things they did and it was obvious he was his father’s favorite, and because of his dreams. They were very mean to him. Joseph shared his dreams with his brothers. In his first dream, he saw their bundles of grain all bowing down to his. In his next dream, he saw the sun, moon, and stars bowing down to him. He told this one to his father who understood the dream. Jacob, his wife and his sons would bow down to him. (Joseph’s mother was dead so I speculate the wife would be Leah although we don’t hear anything else about her alive.) Later, Jacob sent Joseph to Shechem to check on his brothers who were suppose to be pasturing his sheep. He found out they had gone to Dothan. When his brothers saw him from afar off, they conspired to kill him and hide him in a pit. Reuben heard their plans and planned to stop them from killing him. They did put Joseph in a pit then sat down to eat planning to attend to him later. In the meantime, God prepared a company of Ishmaelites from Gilead on their way to trade in Egypt. The brothers decided it would be more advantageous to profit from Joseph so they sold him. They took his coat his father had given him. Reuben found out Joseph wasn’t in the pit and was upset. They took Joseph’s coat and smeared it in the blood of a goat and took it to their father. He surmised that Joseph had been attacked by wild animals and died. He mourned for years. Meanwhile, God was with Joseph and he was sold to Potiphar in Egypt. Potiphar was Pharaoh’s captain of the guard. Our story shifts to Judah, one of Leah’s sons. Judah traveled to Adullah and married a woman named Hirah. They had three sons named Er, Onan and later Shelah. Judah arranged for Er to marry Tamar. Er was so wicked, God killed him. Judah made Onan marry Tamar to have a son in Er’s name. Onan didn’t want to do that so he made sure she didn’t get pregnant. God killed him also. Judah promised Tamar that she would be given Shelah when he grew up but he didn’t keep his promise. When Tamar realized Judah wasn’t going to give her Shelah, she took matters into her own hands and set up a prostitute’s stand on Judah’s way home. Judah had lost his wife so he would be lonely. Tamar disguised herself and enticed Judah to come into her tent. He had no money to pay for sex so he gave her his staff, his bracelets, and his signet ring. He would send a kid from his flock and get his things back. True to his word, Judah sent a kid to the prostitute but no one around there knew of a shrine prostitute so Judah kept his mouth shut. Tamar became pregnant and when Judah was told she had played the prostitute, he wanted to burn her to death. She sent him his things and told him that she was pregnant by this person. There was no way he was going to kill his own offspring so she was allowed to live. Tamar had twins. In childbirth, an arm came out first so the mid-wife put a scarlet thread on it. Then the other baby came out first. She called the one who came out first Perez since he broke through to be first and she named the one with the scarlet thread Zerah meaning “scarlet or brightness”. The first born in the Old Testament was a picture of our first birth in the natural. The second born is a picture of our “born again” experience, thus the scarlet thread. In Matthew, when Jesus healed the blind, deaf and dumb man who was also demon-possessed, the Pharisees gave credit to Satan. Jesus nailed them. They accused him of being Beezebub (Satan) and now he was casting demons out of a man. If he was from Satan’s kingdom, why would he be casting himself out. But if he was casting out Satan’s kingdom by the power of God’s kingdom then God’s kingdom had arrived. Only someone stronger than Satan could cast out Satan and so far no-one had been able to do that. They could blaspheme him and be forgiven but to blaspheme the power in him would not be forgiven. Demons had to occupy a person’s body because they have no body of their own. If a demon is cast out of one body he will search for another body to occupy. If he doesn’t find one, he will return to the one he was cast out of and if it is not occupied by the spirit of God, he will bring seven other spirits more evil than itself and occupy that person making him worse than before. Jesus said that that would be the case in their generation. Lord, we honor your power over all of Satan’s kingdom. We thank you that we carry your kingdom in us and have been given authority over Satan’s kingdom. May we use this power to bring your kingdom nearer.

Tues.’s Devo - Jacob’s Return

Read: Genesis 35:1-36:43; Matthew 12:1-21; Psalm 15:1-5; Proverbs 3:21-26 God told Jacob to move to Bethel where he had built an altar to the Lord when he was fleeing from Esau. Jacob had everyone in his household get rid of all their pagan idols and changed their clothes to purify themselves. (I wonder if Rachel got rid of hers?) Jacob took the idols and buried them under a tree near Shechem. God put fear in the nations around them so they didn’t harm Jacob. Rebekah’s nurse Deborah died and was buried in the valley below Bethel. They mourned greatly for her. Jacob went on to Bethel and was met by God again. God changed his name to Israel and blessed him. He told him that His name was El-Shaddai which means “God Almighty”. Jacob would become a mighty nation - even nations would come from him. He was giving him the land he gave to Abraham and Isaac and to his descendants after him. Jacob set up a stone pillar to mark the place where God spoke to him. He poured wine over it and anointed the pillar with oil. He called the place “God’s house”. They moved on toward Ephrath. On the way, Rachel went into labor and was dying. The midwife told her it was a son and she named him Ben-anoi which means “son of my sorrow”. Jacob changed his name to Benjamin which means “son of my right hand.” Jacob returned to his father, Isaac and was there to bury him when he died. He was buried in the same burying ground that Abraham and Sarah were buried in. Esau had three wives who had children. When Jacob moved back home, Esau left and moved to the hill country of Seir. Esau’s sons became kings of nations. They were called the Edomites. In Matthew, the Pharisees watched every thing Jesus and his disciples did to find fault in them. When the Pharisees saw the disciples break off some heads of grain and eat them on the Sabbath, they accused them of harvesting on the Sabbath. When Jesus healed on the Sabbath, they accused him of work on the Sabbath. Jesus gave them examples of great men like David who broke the Sabbath for good reasons. He told them that God wants us to show mercy over sacrifices. Jesus was the lord of the Sabbath and what he said goes. Jesus explained that people were more valuable than law. Isaiah had prophesied that Jesus would cause justice to win and his name would be the hope of all the world. Lord may we be those who lead blameless lives, speak the truth from sincere hearts, refuse to gossip, honor the faithful and cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent. May we stand firm forever.

Mon.’s Devo -Jacob Becomes Israel

Read: Genesis 32:13-34:31; Matthew 11:7-30: Psalm 14:1-7; Proverbs 3:19-20 In Genesis 28:22 Jacob had set a pillar and worshiped the Lord. He had pledged to give a tenth of all he had to the Lord. I wonder if this was not Jacob’s tithe that he set apart to give to his older brother Esau. Jacob took out a set number of all he had and put them in charge of the servants that would be in the first group. They were to be a peace offering to Esau. Jacob sent the second group over the Jabbock River and spent the night alone. That night an angel came down and wrestled with Jacob all night long. The only way the angel could get free was to touch Jacob’s hip and wrench it out of its socket. He begged Jacob to let him go before the day dawned but Jacob wouldn’t let him go until he blessed him. The angel asked Jacob what his name was and he changed it to Israel because as a prince, he had fought with God and with men and had prevailed. Israel means “he will rule asa prince of God.” Jacob named the place Peniel which means “face of God”. He limped from that day and Israelites don’t eat the meat around the hip socked to honor his victory. When Jacob saw Esau coming, he placed the children of his concubines first and Rachel and Joseph last. Jacob went ahead of them and bowed down before Esau. Esau ran to hug and kiss Jacob and they both wept. Esau asked about the people with him and Jacob intruded them. He asked about all the animals that he met first and Jacob told him they were a gift of friendship. Esau said it was unnecessary but Jacob insisted. Esau wanted to escort him to Seir but Jacob insisted on staying behind and moving slowly for the sake of his flocks. Instead of going to Seir, Jacob stopped in Succoth in Canaan, where he bought some land from Hamor the prince of the country and set up booths for his cattle. He erected an altar and called it El-elohe-Israel which means “the mighty god of Israel.” Leah’s daughter Dinah went out to make some friends and was met by Shechem, the son of Hamor. He took her and raped her. Shechem asked his father to get Dinah for him to marry. Hamor went to Jacob and told him that Shechem wanted to marry Dinah and asked that they make a covenant and intermarry with one another. It would be financially a win for both of them. He asked Jacob to name his price for Dinah. Dinah’s brothers had a confrontation with Shechem and schemed to get back at him for defiling Dinah. They told them that if they would circumcise themselves as they were then they would intermarry. Hamor and his son Shechem and all the men in the city agreed to do that. Then all that Jacob owned would be theirs too. When they had all circumcised each man, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s blood brothers took swords and came to the city and killed all the men who were too sore to fight. They slew Hamor and Shechem and took Dinah back. They also spoiled the city of all its wealth. They took the children and wives captive and all their cattle. Jacob was not happy with what they had done and was afraid that the other nations in Canaan would seek revenge on him. Their response was, “Should he deal with our sister as with a harlot?” I have to agree with their statement but maybe not the way it was done. I think God saved them from making a very unwise covenant with the people of the land. In Matthew, Jesus commended John the Baptist as being the greatest prophet. He was the one who prepared the way for him to come. He chastised the people for not eating and drinking and said he was demon-possessed yet the chastised Jesus for eating and drinking. Nothing satisfied them. He condemned the cities where he did most of his miracles: Korazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. They loved the miracles but rejected him. It would be better for Sodom and Tyre and Sidon on judgement day than them. Jesus calle for all who were weary and tired of the yoke of the Pharisees. His requirements were light and his way was easy and in him they would find rest for their souls. Our only burden is to carry his light. Lord, may we courageously carry the light of Jesus and rest in him. May we be satisfied in Christ.

Sun.’s Devo - Jacob Returns

Read: Genesis 31:17-32:12; Matthew 10:24-11:6; Psalm 13:1-6; Proverbs 3:16-18 Jacob left Laban’s house secretly while Laban was out shearing his sheep. Unbeknown to Jacob, Rachel stole her father’s household gods. This would cost her her life. After Jacob had been gone for three days, Laban realized his gods and Jacob were gone with all Jacob owned. Laban took off after him and caught up with him in seven days in the area of mount Gilead. Laban had been warned in a dream not to harm Jacob so he asked him why he snuck away and why he took his gods. Jacob told him he fled because he was afraid Laban would not let him take his wives with him. He knew nothing about the gods but pronounced a curse of death over whoever took them. Laban’s men searched all of Jacob’s stuff but couldn’t find the idols. Rachel was sitting on them and told them she was in her period so she couldn’t get up. Jacob was irate at Laban because he had worked for 20 years for him: 14 for his daughters and 6 for his cattle. His wages had been change 10 times. Laban answered that all Jacob had had been his but there was nothing he could do about that so he wanted to make a covenant with Jacob. Jacob set up a pillar and a stone. They had a meal and called the place “Heap of witness”. It would be a dividing line that neither of them would pass to do harm to the other. Jacob offered a sacrifice and they all ate together. Laban got up early the next morning kissed his family and left to return home. Jacob went the other way to his home. Angels met him and Jacob realized he was in a camp of angels. Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to Esau. He told Esau of his prosperity and his hope that their reunion would be friendly. Esau was already on his way to meet Jacob with 400 men. Jacob was terrified so he divided his household into two groups. He reasoned that if Esau attacked the first group, the second could escape. Jacob then reminded God of his promise that one day he would bring him back to his own land and that he would multiply his descendants too many to count. Jacob did what we need to do when we are faced with fear. We need to remember the promises of God for us and repeat them back to God. This is spiritual warfare - claiming what is ours. In Matthew, Jesus said that students were not above their masters but should want to be like their masters. They had said that Jesus was the master of the house of Beelzebub which was a name for Satan and meant “the dung-god”. If they called him this, what would they call his disciples. He told the disciples not to fear their enemies because all that was being done in darkness would one day be brought to the light. Nothing would stay hidden. They were to bring to the light everything he told them in secret. It works both ways. He also told them don’t be afraid of the people who threaten to take your life because they can never have your soul. God watches every soul that is taken and rewards them in heaven. Whoever denies the Lord on earth, will be denied in heaven. There will always be conflict on earth, even in families. Jesus came to bring a sword which is truth. It divides people. We are to take up our cross and follow Jesus. If we receive a prophet as a prophet, we will receive what he says. If we receive a righteous person as a righteous person, we will receive a righteous man’s reward. This means that if we see the gifting in another person and honor that, we will receive the same reward as them. Their gift came from God so to honor it is to honor God. Lord, may we honor the giftings we see in others instead of being jealous or feeling less than them. May we see you in others and be blessed by their gifts. May we bless others with our gifts. Thank you that you are the gift and the giver.