Tag Archives: Jacob

Exodus Summary

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Bible Summary:

A new King of Egypt is even harder on the Hebrew slaves. A compassionate King’s daughter takes in baby Hebrew Moses and raises him. Moses grows up, fights against an injustice, and flees the city. God sends him back to free the Hebrews with multiple plagues on the Egyptians, finally killing all their first-born sons while saving the Hebrews during Passover. The grieving King releases all the Hebrews in the morning, and they are given all of Egypt’s valuables. Later, the King changes his mind and sends his army after them. Moses parts the Red Sea, leads the Hebrews to safety, and destroys the Egyptian army with the water. The Hebrews celebrate until they run out of water crossing the desert. They complain and God provides water and manna. The Amalekites attack the Hebrews, but Joshua’s army prevails with God’s help through Moses’ staff.

With 2.4 million people, the Hebrews are the size of metro Pittsburgh, the 22nd largest city in the United States. With his father-in-law’s advice, Moses appoints judges to handle disputes. God reminds them He freed them from the Egyptians and lays down The Ten Commandments plus many of the civic laws we live by today, like how to handle destruction of someone else’s property. Moses spends forty days with God on Mount Sinai and comes down with the Ten Commandments on two stone tablets, but returns to find the people worshiping a gold calf. He smashes the tablets and has the Levites kill 3,000 people.

Later, Moses convinces God, despite the Hebrews behavior, to come with them on their journey. God has Moses set up the priesthood, first synagogue, Ark of the Covenant to hold the new tablets, a menorah, anointing oils and incense.

My Thoughts:

Jacob’s descendants grow to 2.4 million slaves in Egypt after 430 years causing a concerned King to try to reduce their numbers. The harsh treatment leads to Moses’ rise and God’s wrath against the Egyptians until they release the Hebrews. After a while, the Hebrews forget the miracles God did for them and begin to complain. God provides for them, but they lose faith after Moses is gone forty days to carve the Ten Commandments in stone, and then begin to worship a gold calf. God wants to kill them all and restart with Moses’ descendants, but Moses convinces Him to give them another chance. They build the first worship center and establish the priesthood to honor Him. God is pleased.

God calls Moses to help release the Hebrews. Moses reluctantly agrees. Sometimes God calls people to do great things. We need to be ready to take that call.

God did amazing miracles to release the Hebrews from slavery, but, having grown up believing in a loving God, I had a very hard time relating to a vengeful God that wiped out so many Egyptians and was ready to kill all the Hebrews and start again with Moses.  Maybe this was man’s interpretation of an incredible natural disaster that freed the Hebrews.

The Hebrews lose faith in God even though he continues to provide for them.  Think how hard it is for us to believe when times are tough, then try to imagine what it was like to be a slave, chased by the greatest army of the time, and almost dying of starvation and thirst.  The best mantra to pull the Hebrews out of their slave-mentality was telling them they were the “chosen ones.”

It is also amazing that Moses created the priesthood and many of the laws we live by today, 3500 years later.

 

Passover (Ex 12)

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Bible Summary:

God instructs Moses and Aaron about the Passover Festival. The Israelites are to kill a young goat or lamb and mark their doors with the blood, roast the animal and eat all of it, and be ready to travel. No one is to leave their house until morning.

That night God sends the Angel of Death through Egypt to kill every first-born son, except in houses marked with blood that are past over without harm. The king and his officials awaken to loud cries throughout the land. He sends for Moses and demands the Israelites get out. The Egyptian people urge the Israelites to leave quickly before God does anything else.

The Israelites grab their unleavened dough and ask the Egyptians for jewelry and clothes, and so carry away the wealth of Egypt. About 600,000 men, not including women and children, set out on foot, free after 430 years of slavery in Egypt.

My Thoughts:

Worst Epidemic Ever: The description of Passover makes me believe an epidemic from dead animals contaminating the Nile River struck Egypt. God saved the Israelites by teaching them to roast their meat instead of eating it raw or boiled and marking healthy houses. The latter makes me believe the plague was worse than the Black Death that killed 30-60% of Europe’s population between 1348 and 1350 (See full Black Death story on Wikipedia). Normally citizens will mark unhealthy homes to stay away during an epidemic, but Egypt’s epidemic must have been so bad that the Israelites marked just the safe houses.

Jacob’s Numerous Descendants: The seventy Hebrews that entered Egypt with Jacob grew to about 2.4 million descendants freed by Moses, assuming the 600,000 men were pared with a like number of women and children made up half the total number. This seems incredibly high, but a little estimation shows that roughly six children per family over 21 generations grew to the large number of Hebrews.

See what an impact you can have through your children!  Be sure love them dearly so they carry it on for generations to come.

Israelites Grow Numerous in Egypt (Ex 1)

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Bible Summary:

Eventually the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel, Jacob’s sons, all die in Egypt. The Israelites continue to grow in number and Egypt becomes filled with them.

Years later, a new king of Egypt that knows nothing of Joseph comes to power. He forces more cruel slavery on the Israelites for his building projects and in the fields, but they still grow more numerous. He tells the midwives to kill the Hebrew boys but, fearing God, they disobey. Finally, the king commands that all newborn boys are to be thrown into the Nile River to die.

My Thoughts:

Catalyst: Sometimes bad things or bad people are catalysts for good things to happen. Without this new king, the Israelites may have lived in their excepted slavery, which was more like the serfdom of Europe during the Middle Ages until he arrived, for many more years.

Look for the potential good that could come from your bad situation, hang in there, and pray.  God bless!

Genesis Summary

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One Family: Genesis is the story of one family, the family of Abraham. It explains how Abraham was related back to Adam and Eve, the first people God created 19 generations earlier, and then continues the story of his descendants, son Isaac, grandson Jacob and the twelve tribes of Israel.

This focus on lineage has given me new perspective on how important family is – for generations to come. Give your children a strong foundation. Teach them that God has a plan for them, maybe not saving a whole country from famine like Joseph, but a plan to make a difference in this world through love and appreciation of others – and most of all through their children, grandchildren, and all of their descendants.

Last Days of Jacob and Joseph (Gen 49: 29-33, 50)

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Bible Summary:

On his deathbed, Jacob asks to be buried in Canaan next to his grandparents Abraham and Sarah and parents Isaac and Rebecca. Joseph orders Jacob’s body to be embalmed which takes 40-days. After 70-days of mourning, Joseph asks the king to allow him to bury Jacob in Canaan. The king agrees and a huge entourage ceremoniously transports Jacob’s body to Canaan and then buries him.

Joseph’s brothers are worried what he will do after the burial. They send a message seeking forgiveness for their crimes against him. Joseph reassures them not to be afraid since God orchestrated everything so he could save many lives. He tells them he will care for them and their children.

Joseph lives in Egypt with his sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons until he is 110 years old. He tells his brothers God will care for them and lead them out of Egypt back to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He asks them to bring his body back with them, so they embalmed it and put it in a coffin.

My Thoughts:

Faith, Forgiveness, & Love: Joseph has had complete faith in God’s plan for him. He forgave his brothers for their awful crime and believes it was God’s Will all along. He feeds everyone so they might live and makes sure each family has an allowance even in slavery. He is emotional, cries and shows his love to his family.

Joseph sounds a lot like how Jesus taught us to be.

Jacob’s Farewell to His Sons (Gen 49: 1-28)

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Bible Summary:

In a farewell speech, Jacob tells the future of each son:

  • Reuben, though first-born, is not to be the most important because he slept with Jacob’s concubine.
  • Simeon and Levi are cursed for their fury of killing the Shechem men after their sister Dinah was raped. Their descendants will disperse throughout Israel.
  • Judah is like a lion and his descendants will always rule.
  • Zebulun will live by the sea.
  • Issachar will remain a slave.
  • Dan will be ruler of his people, but a snake that knocks a rider off his horse.
  • Gad will be attacked by robbers, but pursue them.
  • Asher will produce food from his lands fit for a king.
  • Naphtali will bear lovely fawns.
  • Joseph is a wild colt attacked fiercely by his enemies, but is protected by the Mighty God of Jacob. He is surely blessed.
  • Benjamin is a vicious wolf that kills morning and night.

My Thoughts:

Twelve Tribes: These are the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel. I get the feeling this farewell evolved over many years of verbal retelling until it was actually quite accurate, like Zebulun living by the sea. I was surprised what Jacob said about Benjamin who he protected for so many years. Of course, some of these “blessings” could be metaphorical with different meanings than the direct translation. Like today, some people refer to attorneys as sharks. It is bad if you are against one, but good if you have one on your side.

Jacob Blesses Joseph’s Sons (Gen 48)

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Bible Summary:

Joseph brings his sons Manasseh and Ephraim to his ill father Jacob for a blessing. Jacob tells him the two boys will receive the family inheritance but no others born to him after. During the blessing, Joseph places his oldest son Ephraim on Jacob’s right, but his father crosses his arms and gives the birth-right blessing to the younger son Manasseh. Joseph tries to correct his father but he says Manasseh will be the greater son. Jacob also gives Joseph the fertile lands in Canaan instead of to his brothers.

My Thoughts:

Blessing: Joseph, the favorite son, receives the family blessing for his sons. Of course, it helped that he saved the extended family and all the people around Egypt.

A blessing is God’s favor and protection or prayer for one. Right now, I pray that God will bless you.

Hebrews Become Slaves (Gen 47)

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Bible Summary:

The famine becomes so severe that the Egyptians and Jacob’s family give all their money to Joseph, the governor of Egypt, for food. The next year they offer livestock for food. And, the following year they offer their land and finally themselves as slaves to the king so that they might live. Only the lands of the priests did not become owned by the king.

Joseph makes slaves of the people all across Egypt. He gives them seed and declares a law that one-fifth of the harvest goes to the king. The rest is to be food for their families and seed for the following year.

After 17 years in Egypt, Jacob makes Joseph vow that he will bury him in the land of his fathers when he dies.

My Thoughts:

Slavery: Wow! I knew of the story of Moses freeing the Hebrews from slavery but I never knew how they became slaves in the first place. They, and the rest of the people in Egypt and the surrounding areas, freely gave themselves into slavery to survive the seven year famine. This is the only case I know of where the people were willing to become enslaved.

Strike that. Many people today willingly accept what might be called psychological slavery. They drone on for years in a job they don’t like just to “pay the bills.” There are dancers, singers, artists, inventors and yes even writers trapped in what they consider a meaningless job. They try to eek out a couple hours a week to enjoy their passion, but most of the time they just work.

I say, “Break out!” Take time off or reduce your hours and find a way to live your dream. Start your own business, tryout for that local play, write your novel. You will be surprised how your passion will carry you to success and maybe, just maybe enough money that you can leave that job altogether. Carpe Diem! Seize the day! Live your life instead of someone else’s.

NOTE: this message is for people trapped in a boring job. If you like your job or are already living your dream, please disregard this message.

Love and happiness to all!

Jacob Moves to Egypt (Gen 46)

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Bible Summary:

God tells Jacob not to fear, to take his family of seventy to Egypt and He will bring them back to Canaan. After more than twenty years apart, Jacob and Joseph hug and cry upon meeting. Jacob says he can die now he has seen Joseph alive.

Joseph tells his brothers to tell the king of Egypt they care for livestock, but they say they are shepherds instead. The king offers them the best pastures of Goshen and says they can help care for his livestock. Joseph then presents his 130-year-old father Jacob to the king. Jacob gives the king a blessing.

My Thoughts:

Miracles Can Happen: I am sure Jacob believes in miracles as soon as he glimpses Joseph after grieving his death for so many years. Miracles happen across the globe every day. Feel free to share yours.

Joseph Helps His Family (Gen 44-45)

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Bible Summary:

Joseph sends his brothers away with full sacks of grain and secretly all their money plus a silver cup in Benjamin’s sack. His servant follows to question the brothers about stealing the cup. They all deny it, but the cup is found and Benjamin is ordered to stay. The brothers return to Joseph and Judah tries to negotiate Benjamin’s release because their father Jacob has already lost one son and would just die without Benjamin.

Joseph can no longer control his feelings so he sends his servants from the room and confesses his true identity. The brothers are so terrified they are speechless. Joseph calms them by saying God really sent him ahead to become ruler of Egypt to save people’s lives from the famine, including their family. He embraces each of them and cries for joy with Benjamin.

The news reaches the king and he tells Joseph to move his family from Canaan to Egypt to survive the last five years of the famine. He gives them wagons to move everyone. The brothers arrive back in Canaan with the stunning news of Joseph. When he can finally speak, Jacob tells them the only thing he would like before he dies is to see Joseph.

My Thoughts:

Forgiveness: Joseph tries to trick his brothers into leaving Benjamin but is overwhelmed by the possibility of his father dying over it. He does an incredible thing and forgives his brothers for selling him into slavery over twenty years prior. His forgiveness is possible from his everlasting faith in God having a plan for him, even though it took many years to fulfill. God has a plan for you. Be purposeful in all you do.