Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 33 & 34 (Part 1)

Feb3

Day 33. Reading in Exodus 10 -1 2. 

Read the scripture for today. What do you learn about God? Share what you learn with others.

Exodus 10.

After the horrendous hail had stopped, Pharaoh changed his mind yet again. 

The LORD said to Moses, “I have hardened Pharaoh’s heart and the heart of his servants.” Say to Pharaoh, “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?  LET MY PEOPLE GO, THAT THEY MAY SERVE ME. If you refuse … I will bring locusts, such as you have never seen, to cover the face of the land. They will eat whatever is left from the hail. They will fill your houses.”

Then Moses turned and left the king’s presence.

Pharaoh’s servants begged him, “Let the men go that they may serve the LORD their God! Do you not yet understand that EGYPT IS RUINED??”

Moses and Aaron were called back in.  “Okay! Go! Serve the LORD your God. But who will go?” 

“We will go with our young and old, our daughters and sons, our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.”

“I will NEVER let you AND your little ones go! YOU HAVE SOME EVIL PURPOSE IN MIND!!” yelled Pharaoh. “No! Only you and the men will go. That’s what you asked for!” 

And he drove them out of his presence.

And God sent the locusts when Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt. The early East wind brought them. The sky was dark. The land was covered with the winged insects, chomping, chomping.

Quickly, Pharaoh called them back. “Oh, I’ve sinned against the LORD your God. Forgive my sin only this once!  PLEAD WITH THE LORD TO REMOVE THIS DEATH FROM ME!!!”

Moses prayed. The LORD heard. He blew every last one of them into the Red Sea.  And … “The LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart.”

Then, without warning, God told Moses to stretch out his hand toward heaven. A complete, deep darkness descended on Egypt for three days. A darkness that could be “felt.” They could not see each other or their hands in front of their faces. They all were confined to their beds. (Goshen had light!)

“GO! Serve the LORD; your little ones may go with you! Only not your flocks and herds.”

“Sorry,” said Moses. “Everything must go. Not a hoof must remain. We don’t know what we’ll need.”

But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart.

“NO! Go away! I never want to see your face again!“

Exodus 11.

“I have one more plague yet,” said the LORD.  “After that, he will let you go.  He will drive you away completely. Now tell your people that every man and woman shall ask their neighbor for gold and silver jewelry.”

“Here’s what will happen, Moses…

“About midnight, I will go out in the midst of EGYPT, and EVERY FIRSTBORN in the land of Egypt SHALL DIE of Pharaoh, his servants, and his cattle. There will be a great cry throughout the land of Egypt. But not a dog shall growl in Israel.  And all Pharaoh’s servants shall say to you, “GET OUT, YOU AND ALL THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW YOU!”

Exodus 12.

Earlier, God had told Moses about the glorious exodus and how it would go down for the Israelites. In fact, the exit from Egypt would signal a new calendar. This event would signal a new year – a new beginning as the “nation” of Israel.  It would be an event that should be remembered forever, told about to all generations to follow. It was to be “Passover.”

Moses had been instructed by God how to prepare the people.

  • They were to select a spotless lamb, watch him for 3 days to make sure he was perfect,
  • Then all of Israel would kill their lamb at one time and roast it whole. 
  • Its blood was to be caught and swiped on the doorposts and top bar of the door of their house. (VERY IMPORTANT TO DO THIS!!  Because when the Angel of the LORD came to kill all the firstborn of man and beast in Egypt … He would see that blood of the lamb and PASSOVER that house.) Everyone inside the “blood-stained” houses would live.
  • They were to have their things packed (including all the jewelry and clothing the Egyptians had given them) and to eat the lamb standing up in their travel clothes and sandals. 
  • They were not to wait for the bread to rise but bake/eat it without leaven.
  • None of them was to go outside until daybreak.

The people of Israel did all the LORD had commanded them through Moses. 

Midnight arrived.

Israel ate in silence. 

Then, they heard that great cry rise and echo through Egypt. Every house wailing for a loved one dead.

.Pharaoh summoned Moses. “GET OUT FROM AMONG MY PEOPLE!  GO!  Serve the LORD. Take your flocks and herds and everyone!  BE GONE!

All the Egyptians were URGENT with the people to send them out of the land in haste. “We shall all be dead!” they cried. 

So, after plundering Egypt, the promised children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob-Israel began to move out of Goshen toward the city of Ramses—and then home.  And Moses took the bones of Joseph with them. (13:19)

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There were 600K men, plus women and children, and livestock. A “mixed” multitude of non-Jews (other slaves?) also went with them.

It was 430 years to the very day they came down, that they went out from Egypt.

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 32

Feb1

Day 32. Reading Exodus 7 – 9.  (February)

Read the scripture for today. What do you learn about God? Share what you learn with others.

Exodus 7.

“Let the “plagues” begin!” 

God renews His commission to Moses to tell Pharaoh to “Let the people of Israel go out of his land.”  He warns Moses that Pharaoh will NOT allow it, but so that the Egyptians will know that He is the LORD, He will perform “great acts of judgment.” When Pharaoh asks Moses to perform a miracle, Moses is to tell Aaron to throw down his staff in front of the king so it will become a serpent.

(Aaron will speak for Moses. Aaron is much more at ease with the Egyptian language than Moses, who has been away for 40 years.)

It goes just like God said, except Pharaoh’s sorcerers were able to make their staffs become snakes as well.  Did that surprise/worry Moses?  However, the “rod of God” swallows their “serpents” before Aaron picks it up.

Pharaoh’s heart was hardened.

Next, God tells Moses to meet Pharaoh by the Nile River as he goes out to get water. Moses is to repeat the request (“Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.”)  To show that the LORD is God (and not their pagan river god), Moses will tell Aaron to strike the water with his staff. When he does, ALL the water in Egypt will turn to blood. Pharaoh ignores the warning, so Aaron hits the water.

All the water in the Nile turned to blood, the fish died, and the river stunk. All the connecting canals, ponds, and pools became blood, and all the pots, buckets, and pitchers of water also became blood. (Egyptians had to dig in the sand along the river to get fresh water, or they would have died of thirst.)

And Pharaoh’s sorcerers did the same. Huh? How? And why not REVERSE the plague instead of making it worse. They couldn’t.

Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened.

Exodus 8.

A whole week later, Moses goes to Pharaoh and repeats the request. “Let my people go, that they may serve me.” If he doesn’t respond, Moses (though Aaron with the staff) will call up frogs from the River. Millions of frogs will swarm over the land and into their houses, bedrooms, beds, cooking pots, ovens, and kneading bowls.  YUCK!! 

(BTW, frogs were considered sacred to Egyptians, so they wouldn’t try to kill them.)

Pharaoh does not respond, so Aaron stretches the “rod of God” over the waters, and Voila! Up come those masses of amphibians.  And guess what!  The sorcerers made MORE frogs.  Seriously?? 

“Moses, Moses! Plead with the LORD to take away these frogs!” says the Pharaoh, now stepping on and throwing off the creatures. “And…. I will let the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.”  Whoa! Really??

(I love this.) “Be pleased to command me WHEN I am to plead for you and our servants and your people that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile,” Moses (or Aaron) says. 

“TOMORROW!”   (Huh?  Why not this minute?)

“Okay, so you will know that there is no one like the LORD our God… tomorrow it is.“

Moses leaves and prays. God hears and answers. The frogs die and are gathered into piles. They stink, but they are no longer hopping into houses.

When Pharaoh saw there was a respite, he hardened his heart.

Then, without warning, Moses tells Aaron to strike the dust with his staff. He does, and the dust becomes gnats. (Think “no-see-ums,” you folks in the South.)  They swarmed and buzzed and landed on and bit man and beast. 

Ho, ho, ho! The sorcerers could NOT duplicate this one. “Pharaoh, this is the finger of God!” they cried.

But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened.

Next, Moses is told to meet Pharaoh again when he goes out to get water. “The LORD says, Let my people go, that they may serve me. Or else…flies will swarm everywhere! EXCEPT in Goshen where My people live.” And the next day, it happened. No “rod of God” this time. 

“Moses! Go, sacrifice to your God within the land!” Pharaoh cries, swatting at the awful insects.

“Nope. The offerings we shall sacrifice to the LORD are an abomination to the Egyptians. (They worshiped cattle.)  “We must go a three-day journey into the wilderness.”

“Okay, okay,” says the fly-covered Pharaoh. “I will let you go and sacrifice to the LORD in the wilderness, but you must not go very far away. PLEAD FOR ME!” 

“Okay, the flies will be gone tomorrow, but YOU’D BETTER NOT CHEAT AGAIN!”

And so, the LORD removed the flies so that not one remained.

But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also.

Genesis 9.

The LORD sends Moses again to Pharaoh. “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says, ‘Let my people go, that they may serve me.'” 

This time, it would be a very severe plague on the livestock in the field. Horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks will die.  BUT NOT IN GOSHEN. The animals belonging to the people of Israel would be safe.

The next day, it happened as the LORD said, and the animals of Egypt died. (Pharaoh even sent to check in Goshen and found the Israelite animals well and chomping grass in the fields.)

But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened.

Next, God told Moses and Aaron to take handfuls of soot from the kiln and let MOSES throw it in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. It will turn to fine dust, spread over Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast, says the LORD.  EEEK! 

So they did it before Pharaoh.  His sorcerers could not even stand on their feet because of the boils, as was true for all of Egypt.

But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh.

Next, Moses was to go before Pharaoh in the morning and say, “The LORD the God of the Hebrews says ‘Let my people go, that they may serve me.”  Furthermore, He said, “This time I will send all my plagues on YOU, YOURSELF, and the people, so that you may know that there is NONE LIKE ME in all the earth.“

God then explains why He continues to plague (and harden his heart). “For this purpose, I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that My Name may be proclaimed in all the earth. 

Then, through Moses, God proclaimed that the next day would bring hail like they had never seen, VERY HEAVY HAIL.  But, the merciful God warned all in Egypt who would listen to “Send and get any livestock you have in the field into a safe shelter. Every man and beast in the field will die when the hail falls on them.”

(Whoever feared the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into houses.)  Well done, you!

Moses then stretched out his hand toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth (lightning?). There was fire flashing continually in the hail, very heavy hail, not seen since Egypt became a nation.  And all in the fields; man, beast, plant, and tree were stuck down or broken.

But not in Goshen. 

Pharaoh sent for Moses. “This time I have sinned; the LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. PLEAD with Him, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.”  REALLY… Pharaoh?

“I’ll do it, O Pharaoh, but you do not yet fear the LORD God.”

And Moses was correct. As soon as the rain, hail, and thunder stopped, the king sinned again.

The heart of Pharaoh was hardened.

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Mass destruction and the final blow will come tomorrow for Pharaoh and Egypt. But deliverance for Israel, as God promised.

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 31

Jan31

Day 31. Reading in Exodus 4 – 6. 

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and meditate on it. What stood out to you?

Exodus 4.

From the burning bush, God told Moses that He was sending him back to Pharaoh to bring the children of Israel OUT OF EGYPT.

By now, Moses has twice told the LORD that he is “unable” to do it.  God has assured Moses that He would be with him all the way. God gave Moses His sacred Name by which he could persuade the people and even told him HOW He would rescue them. (Many times, Pharaoh would refuse, but God would plague Egypt until he agreed. )

“But the people won’t believe me,” Moses counters now.

Then, God gave Moses three signs to convince the people.  First, his staff turned into a snake and then back into a staff.  Next, his hand turned leprous, then back to clean. Finally, when Moses poured a little Nile River water onto the ground, it would turn to blood.  WOW!

“Oh, my Lord,” whines Moses, “I am not eloquent. I’m slow of speech and tongue.” (He’s spent the last 40 years with only sheep to talk to.)

God assures Moses that HE is God. He makes mouths (and ears and eyes with their deficiencies).  Moses is not to worry about that, but to “Go! I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”

“Oh, my Lord. Send someone else.”

Okay, that is enough!  God is angry.  “Ok, Moses, but this is the last concession. Your brother is coming to see you. Tell and show him all I’ve revealed.  He will be your spokesman.  I’ll tell you what to say, and you can whisper it in his ear.” 

  • Wow.  Indeed, God has been exasperated with me like this many times as I make excuses not to obey Him.  Oh, the patience and kindness of our God!  Forgive me!  What a wonderful example I have in Jesus when it was time for Him to become human and die for my sins. No hesitation. And God said of Him, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Moses asks permission from his father-in-law to go and is graciously relieved of his shepherding duties.  He packs up his wife and son on a donkey. At a rest stop, God threatens Moses’ life. Why? Because he did NOT follow through with the covenant commandment of circumcision, which he should have done to his son when he was 8 days old.  Does Moses want to be part of God’s family or not?

While Moses lies dying, Zipporah circumcises their son and flaunts the foreskin. “You are a bridegroom of blood to me!” she says.  

God relents, and Zipporah is left alone with the boy until he heals before they return home. Moses leaves on foot to meet Aaron at the Mountain of God. He tells his brother everything God said, and together, the two men go to the elders of the people of Israel in Egypt and do the signs.  The people believe, and there is great rejoicing and worship of the LORD. 

Exodus 5.

Buoyed up by this reaction, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, says ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness‘.”

“Um, no!” answers Pharaoh. “Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I don’t know him. I will not let Israel go.”

“Please let us go three days into the wilderness to worship our God, or He may send a pestilence on us.”

“No!  Get back to work!  You have too much idle time on your hands. Now you will have to find the straw for the bricks for yourselves instead of me supplying it.  AND YOUR QUOTA IS THE SAME!”

The elders of Israel go to Moses and complain. “You have made us stink in the eyes of Pharaoh! Things are worse than they were before!!!”

Moses goes to God. “Lord, why have You done evil to this people?  Why did You ever send me?  I have not delivered the people at all!”

Exodus 6.

“NOW, you will see what I will do to Pharaoh,” the LORD says. “For with a strong hand, he will send them out, and with a strong hand, he will DRIVE them out of his land.” (Just you wait and see!)

God speaks to Moses. “I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan. 

  • 1) I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians HOLD AS SLAVES. 
  • 2) I have remembered my covenant. 
  • 3) Say to the people, “I am the LORD, and I will DELIVER you from slavery, I will REDEEM you with an outstretched arm with GREAT ACTS OF JUDGMENT. 
  • 4) I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God.
  • 5) I will bring you into the land I swore to give to your fathers, and give it to you as a possession. I AM THE LORD.”

“Now, Moses, go in, tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to let the people of Israel go out of his land!” 

And so the contest begins. In the end, Israel will be free and wealthy. Egypt will be broken and without an army, a leader, or a son to take his place.

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As the writer of this book, Moses takes a moment to give us his and Aaron’s genealogy.  Jacob’s third son, Levi, had three sons (important regarding the duties of the Tabernacle and Temple worship). They are Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.  Moses and Aaron are descended from the line of Kohath through Amram and his wife, Jochebed.  (Levi lived 137 years, Kohath lived 133 years, and Amram lived 137 years.  At this time, Moses is 80, and Aaron is 83. Their sister Miriam is somewhere between 87-92 (sources differ).

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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 30

Jan30

Day 30. Reading in Exodus 1 – 3. 

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and meditate on it. What do you learn about God?

Exodus 1.

.And … the eleven sons of Jacob-Israel are named again (Joseph already has been in Egypt). They and all that generation die. And the children of Israel greatly increase, multiply, and grow strong so that the land is FILLED with them. 100 years after, the number of men, women and children had grown to TWO MILLION. They had become a nation, just as God had told Abraham.

Several Pharaohs had reigned since the one who elevated Joseph. The current king was ruthless and evil. He looked at the mass of strong Israelites, and fear gripped his heart. “If” war broke out, these “foreigners” might join the enemy army. So he gradually turned them into slaves with taskmasters to build store cities for him. When that didn’t slow the population growth, he worked them harder in the fields and in making bricks.

Then, this diabolical king (probably Thutmose 1) told the midwives to kill all boys being born to the Israelite women.  They refused and lied to him, so he made it a “national” law that everyone, seeing a Jewish baby boy, was to grab him and throw him into the Nile River to drown or to be food for the crocodiles.

How many were killed, we don’t know, but before we judge this wicked man, think of the hundreds of thousands of abortions our country has allowed (promoted) over the years.

Exodus 2.

During these atrocities, two descendants of Levi (Amram and Jochebed) marry and begin a family. They have a daughter (Miriam), then a son, a beautiful, healthy baby.  The mother keeps him as long as she can, but his cries will soon bring vengeful neighbors to take him to the Nile.  So, she does it herself, except her baby is wrapped up and placed into a watertight basket before going into the river. A gentle push and the baby’s amazing voyage begins. He is carefully watched by his older sister.

The baby floats into the reeds near the pool where Pharaoh’s daughter (and her ladies-in-waiting) are bathing. THEN it starts to cry. The ladies bring her the basket, and immediately, her heart goes out to the beautiful infant. She smiles and perhaps tickles the little one until it stops crying, then she takes it into her arms and cuddles it close. She opens the blankets and discovers that the baby is a boy … an Israelite boy. (He is circumcised.) But she already wants him for her own. 

Right then, Miriam steps up, bowing, and offers a wet nurse to feed the baby. Pharaoh’s daughter is not fooled, but she wants the boy and sees the practicality of having “his mother” feed him.  She promises to pay this “wet nurse” and expects the boy to be brought to her as soon as he is weaned. And so, for three to four years, Amram and Jochebed sing and speak the stories of their God and His promises to the little boy.

“God has chosen them. God is with them. God has promised to rescue them and bring them to their own land. God always keeps His promises.”  A lullaby and alphabet lesson of faith.

The time comes. and Jochebed presents her son to Pharaoh’s daughter. She’s done all she can to instill in the boy his Hebrew heritage. Now, she entrusts him to God. 

Your name is Moses (drawn out) because I drew you out of the water. “And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.” (Acts 7:21)

At forty, Moses was a man of stature, education, and importance. Raised an Egyptian, he nevertheless remembered that “his people” were Israel.  One day, as he watched how they were being treated, he saw a taskmaster mercilessly beating a Hebrew. Fury rose in him, and he struck the Egyptian down dead. Quickly, he buried him in the sand. (not a ‘smart’ move, as the wind would soon uncover the body).  

Moses felt good (if a bit scared) about his actions.  Surely, his people would recognize him as “their savior.”

NOT SO!  The next day, when he tried to break up a fight between two Hebrews, they reminded him of what he’d done to the Egyptian. “Who made you PRINCE and judge over us?”

Ah-oh!

Suddenly, Moses was afraid. Pharaoh would kill him if the stern man learned he’d murdered an Egyptian. So Moses ran.  He ran and ran, all the way across the desert he would one day lead God’s people.  He ran to Midian. (Midian was a descendant of Abraham by his second wife, Keturah.) 

At a well (where it seems all Hebrew men meet their wives), Moses met seven daughters of a priest of Midian.  When the man learned that a handsome, strong Egyptian had helped his daughters, he invited Moses to dinner.  The rest is history. Moses married Zipporah and they had a couple sons.

And he became a shepherd of sheep.  (This began the second 40-year phase of his education.  How do you lead, feed, run after, and care for a bunch of unruly, dumb sheep? Or people.)

Meanwhile, Pharaoh died. The slavery of Israel got tougher.  They groaned and cried out for help.  God heard the groaning and remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (For 400 years they’d serve another nation, then He’d bring them back to the land.)

“God saw the people of Israel, and God knew.”

Exodus 3.

One day, the 80-year old-shepherd Moses, was out with his sheep on the west side of the desert near Horeb (Sinai), the “mountain of God.” He was watching the white wooly backs serenely, when suddenly the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush, that didn’t itself burn. 

“Whoa. What’s going on here?”

“Moses, Moses!”

“What?  Here I am.”

“Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground.”

And Moses quickly untied and took off his sandals.

“I AM the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look AT GOD.

“I have SEEN the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have HEARD their cry because of their taskmasters. I KNOW their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and bring them up to that good and broad land, flowing with milk and honey.

“Come,  I will send YOU to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

“WHAT??? I can’t do that!! Who am I to deliver Israel out of Egypt???”

“I will be with you, and this is a sign for you, that I’ve sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God ON THIS VERY MOUNTAIN.”

“Who shall I tell the people sent me? (A bush?)

“I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel. The LORD the God of your fathers… has send me. This is His name forever. Go, Moses, gather the elders of Israel and say that the LORD, the God of their fathers has appeared to you and promised to bring them up out of affliction.

Then, go to the king and ask that the people go a three-day journey into the desert to sacrifice to their God. He won’t let you go, so I will strike Egypt with plagues, and then he WILL let you go. And when you ask them, all the Egyptians will give you silver and gold jewelry, and clothing. AND YOU WILL PLUNDER THE EGYPTIANS!

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Tomorrow, we will see Moses’ response.

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 29

Jan29

Day 29. Reading in Genesis 48 – 50. 

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and meditate on it. Then, share your thoughts in the comments.

Genesis 48.

It’s been a glorious seventeen years for Jacob-Israel, living with his family in Egypt and seeing his beloved Joseph alive.  But he knows the time of his death is near, and he has some important things to accomplish. He’s already made Joseph promise to have him buried in the family tomb.

Next on the agenda is the passing down of the patriarchal blessings. Jacob-Israel does a very unusual (but understandable) thing.  He adopts Joseph’s sons as his own, giving his grandsons equal rights of the tribal Promises with his other sons.  This gives Joseph the birthright “double portion” in the land when they return. 

Joseph brings his sons to his father and puts his father’s right hand on his oldest son, Manasseh, and his left hand on the second-born, Ephraim, because Jacob had become blind like his father Isaac.  But Jacob crossed his arms, giving the top blessing to the younger son. Joseph tries to correct him, but it is as if God has made another choice to bypass the firstborn. 

  • “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, the angel (of God) who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys, and in THEM let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

Ephraim and Manasseh will become two of the twelve “tribes” of Israel.

  • As Jacob chose to adopt and include Manasseh and Ephraim into his immediate family, so have WE been adopted into God’s family by His choice because of his love for His Son, Jesus Christ. Now, we are known by his name. Not a tribe of Israel, but a child of God.  Praise Him!

Genesis 49.

And now, Jacob-Israel calls all his sons together to speak a prophetic blessing. (“…that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come.”)  (Jacob doesn’t list his sons in exact birth order, but according to their mothers.)

Reuben, Simeon, and Levi all forfeit their birthright position because of their sin (incest and cruelty/violence). “I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.” The tribe of Simeon eventually became assimilated into Judah’s territory.  The tribe of Levi, chosen as priests of God after showing loyalty to Him, was “scattered” throughout Israel.

It’s the fourth son, Judah, through whom kings (like David, Hezekiah, and Joash) will come, as well as the eternal King of Kings. 

The personalities of the others are briefly stated, and their locations in the land for some. Dan would be unfaithful, give up their land, migrate far north, and host one of the worshiped golden calves. (2 Kings 10:29)  Dan is not mentioned in the list of tribes in Revelation 7:4-8.

Joseph’s blessing (applicable to his two sons, as tribes) is glowing and prosperous and points to God’s care. (Both Samuel and Gideon come from Joseph’s sons). 

Benjamin was a small but warlike tribe known later for their left-handed fighters. Both King Saul and the Apostle Saul/Paul were from this tribe. 

Then, after reminding them all that he was to be buried in the family tomb in Canaan, Jacob-Israel laid back and died.

  • This list of Jacob’s sons reminds me of the twelve disciples and how Jesus hand-picked each of them, knowing their personalities, strengths, and weaknesses.  The Lord knows ME, too – my tendencies to sin,  pride, and selfishness. But, by His Spirit, He’s graciously given me gifts to bless others and bring glory to Him.  He sees me from before I was born to my very last breath. 

Genesis 50.

After weeping loudly, Joseph made arrangements for his father to be embalmed (as was the Egyptian custom and very practical if his body was to be transported a great distance).  And after long days of mourning, the bier with a vast caravan made its slow way north. Joseph and all his brothers went along (not their children or flocks), all the elders of Joseph’s household and the elders of the land, complete with chariots and armed horsemen. “It was a very great company” that honored Israel’s last journey.

The inhabitants of Canaan were aghast at the massive company. There was “very great and grievous lamentation and mourning” as they laid Jacob’s body to rest in the tomb. (The last body to be buried there and the first instance of grouping the three patriarchs together.)  Then they all returned to Egypt.

(I wonder if Joseph looked around Canaan in recognition, remembering the places of his childhood… or if his eyes were only for his father’s coffin.)

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Back in Egypt, Joseph’s brothers began to worry.  (Remember, it had been almost 20 years that they had lived with the generosity and care of their important brother.)  Now that Dad was dead, would Joseph “get even” for what they’d done to him?  (Oh, the lingering guilt.) They make up a story about Jacob asking Joseph to forgive them.

Joseph wept out of frustration to hear this.  “What??  Why would you believe I would “pay you back” like that??  I have totally forgiven you.  Yes, you meant what you did for EVIL, but God meant it for GOOD.  You all would have died of starvation if God had not arranged this way to bring you to Egypt.”

“Do not fear. I will provide for you and your little ones.”

Later, when Joseph himself was nearing death, he made his brother’s families PROMISE that when God led them out of Egypt to return to “the promised land,” they would also carry his bones up from Egypt to the land God would give them. 

Joseph died at 110 years. They embalmed him and put him in a coffin in Egypt.  He would remain there for 400 years. But when Moses led that “great nation” of Israel out of Egypt, they remembered the promise and took Joseph’s bones along with them. (See Exodus 13:19.)  Eventually, they buried them in the land Jacob had bought from Hamor near Shechem. (See Joshua 24:32.) 

The book of Exodus begins about 280 years after Joseph’s death.

 

  • Genesis begins with a sinless Adam in the beautiful garden of Eden and ends with Joseph in a coffin in Egypt.  Sin does indeed bring death. But God has initiated the “seed line” of the Savior who will defeat death and give all who receive Him eternal life.

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 28

Jan28

Day 28. Reading in Genesis 46 – 47. 

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and meditate on it. Then, share your thoughts in the comments.

Genesis 46.

So Jacob-Israel, with hope in his heart to see his beloved Joseph again after so many years, gathers all his “stuff” and his family and begins the trek south. They stop in Beersheba and he worships God. God meets him there in visions, telling him not to be afraid to go to Egypt.

God promises to 1) make a great nation of them in Egypt, 2) go down with them, 3) bring them all back to the promised land, and 4) Joseph would be there with him until he dies.

Sixty-six of Jacob’s direct family journeyed to Egypt. (with Joseph and his family, that made seventy “Jews” in Egypt. Vs. 27) Their genealogy is listed in this chapter.

Judah is sent ahead to locate and lead them to Goshen. After they arrive, Joseph comes to them in his chariot. He “presents himself” to his father, and they fall into a long-lasting hug with much weeping. 

Joseph tells them he’s going to inform the Pharaoh that they’ve arrived and warns them when they see the king, they are to tell him that they are “keepers of livestock.”  The Egyptians hate shepherds and in this way, Joseph assured them of a good, fertile place to live by themselves.  God directed this, for He didn’t want them assimilated into the Egyptian culture of multi-gods.

Genesis 47.

After he announced to Pharaoh that his family had arrived, Joseph took five of his brothers to see the “lord of the land.”  They said they were shepherds as Joseph had instructed and needed a place to pasture their flocks. Would Goshen be okay?  The king agreed, and then asked Joseph if he could find able men in his family to be put in charge of the royal livestock.  

Then Joseph, with quiet grandeur, brought in his father to meet the Pharaoh.  This Pharaoh could have been younger than Joseph (see Genesis 45:8), so the 130-year-old, weathered and robed, long, white-bearded Jacob must have been truly impressive. Solemnly, Jacob blesses Pharaoh. 

In Goshen, Jacob and his family and flocks are well provided for by Joseph as the famine continues. 

Joseph continued his high-power position in Egypt, meting out and selling the stored grain to the people of Egypt and surrounding nations.  He took a fifth of all the people had for Pharaoh and he made Egypt rich.

Meanwhile, the family of Israel settled in Goshen, gained possessions, became fruitful, and multiplied greatly. Jacob lived 17 more years (12 after the famine ended) in the land.  When he knew his time to die was getting near he made Joseph promise NOT to bury him in Egypt, but to carry his body out and bury it in the family tomb in the promised land.  And although Joseph was Vice-king of all Egypt, he was still a son.  He promised his father to “do as you have said.”  “Swear to me!” Jacob said, and Joseph took the oath.

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 26 – 27

Jan27

Days 26 – 27. Reading in Genesis 41 – 42 and 43 – 45.

Sunday and Monday’s studies are posted together on Monday. 

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and meditate on it. What stood out to you?

Genesis 41.

Today’s and tomorrow’s readings are fun, almost like reading a novel. Joseph is clever, his brothers are convicted, and Jacob is first in agony and then in ecstasy. And our promise-keeping God is sovereign over it all.

Two years after Joseph correctly interpreted the dreams of the baker and butler, Pharaoh had a dream. He knew it meant something ominous, but he couldn’t figure it out and neither could all his court soothsayers and wise men. 

A light bulb flashes on in the butler’s mind! “Oh, I remember my offenses today,” he cried, two years late for Joseph but in God’s perfect time. “When I and the baker were in prison, a young Hebrew man perfectly told us the meaning of our dreams.”

“Call the young man here!” ordered Pharaoh.  

Joseph is quickly brought out of prison, bathed, shaved, dressed in new “appropriate” clothes, and brought to the king.  Immediately, Pharaoh says that he’s heard Joseph can interpret dreams.  Of course, like Daniel many years later, Joseph says it is not he, who can interpret them, but God.

Pharaoh tells his repeated dream about the seven fat cows and plump corn ears eaten by the seven skinny cows and thin ears of corn.  Easy-peasy for Joseph (and God). Pharaoh’s fat and plump sevens pictured seven years of unequaled plenty in Egypt. The ravenous, skinny, ugly sevens pictured the following seven years of unequaled famine in the entire area (Egypt and beyond). Since the dream was repeated, it meant that God would shortly do it.

Then, without permission, Joseph, who had managed Potiphar’s estate and the entire prison so well, recommended a way to mitigate the years of famine to Pharaoh. 

“Good idea!” Pharaoh cried. “And who better to do it than YOU.  What did you say your name was?”

So Joseph was given wealth, authority, and honor in Egypt, second only to the Pharaoh.  He was also given an Egyptian name and an Egyptian wife (who bore him Manasseh and Ephraim). And Joseph did what he had suggested. He managed Egypt’s years of plenty wisely, so a great abundance of grain (like the sand of the sea) was stored up for the famine years.  And when those years came, and the people cried out in hunger, Joseph opened the storehouses and sold them the grain. And, when the surrounding peoples also suffered in famine and came to Joseph, he sold grain to THEM. 

And Egypt became “filthy rich.” How proud and pleased Pharaoh must have been with his prodigy. But it was God who orchestrated it all, and His reasons were many.

Genesis 42.

Back in Canaan, the famine hit hard. Jacob-Israel learned grain was for sale in Egypt, so he sent his ten older sons with donkeys and sacks of money to buy grain for them all. Little Bennie (about 33) stayed home with Papa.

In Egypt, Joseph recognized his brothers. As they bowed before him, he remembered his long-ago dreams (oh, wow!) and knew God was in all that had happened. Quickly, he counted only ten men and feared that perhaps they had also gotten rid of his little brother. He would test them.

“SPIES!” he yelled at them through an interpreter.  “You are SPIES, coming to see Egypt’s nakedness!”

“No, my lord,” the ten cried in terror. “We are the sons of one man. We have never been spies!”

“You are SPIES!” Joseph repeated. 

The brothers explain how they were twelve sons born to one man. “One is no more (Joseph), and the youngest is with our father.”

“No, you are SPIES.”  To test the veracity of their story, he tells them they can’t leave Egypt until the youngest brother comes as proof they are innocent. Then, he puts them all into custody for three days. 

Of course, guilt over what they had done to Joseph was still heavy on their consciences twenty years afterward.  “We SAW how Joseph begged us not to kill or sell him, and we didn’t listen. That is why THIS is happening.”  Reuben pipes up, defending himself. “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy???”

They don’t know Joseph overhears them and understands what they’re saying. At one point, he has to turn away and weep. (But he did learn that Reuben had stood up for him. Perhaps that’s why he held back the second oldest brother in prison.)

Joseph keeps Simeon in prison and sends back the nine with their paid-for grain and a warning. “Don’t bother returning for more grain without your young brother.” (He also has his steward put their money sacks back into their grain bags.)

At one point, one of them opens a bag of grain to feed the donkeys on the return trip and discovers the money pouch. YIKES, he yells. They all find the same when they open the other sacks.  “What has God done to us?” they cry. (By now, they know this is a just repayment for their long-ago deeds.)

At home, they recount all that’s happened to their father, Jacob.  They show him their returned money pouches.  and Jacob goes into mourning. 

“You have bereaved me of my children. Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now, you would take BENJAMIN??  All this has come against me. My son shall NOT go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If harm should happen to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.” 

To be continued…..

 

Day 27 – Genesis 43 – 45

Genesis 43.

Another year has passed. The grain they purchased in Egypt is about gone, and Jacob asks his sons why they delayed. “Go back to Egypt and buy some grain.”

Judah speaks up. “Um, Dad, did you forget what the man said? Unless you send Benjamin with us, we won’t go.”

“Oh, why did you tell him you had another brother?”

“Because he ASKED us if we had one. We didn’t know he’d demand we brought him with us.”

Then Judah (whose idea it was 20+ years earlier to KILL Joseph) steps up and offers his own life in place of Benjamin’s.  He adds a plea for urgency. “If we hadn’t delayed, we could have been there and back two times.”

Jacob-Israel finally relents and, with a heavy heart sends ALL his remaining sons to Egypt, adding some good things from Canaan as a gift. “May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man.”  (Oh, Jacob, if you only knew!)

Joseph saw immediately that his brothers had brought Benjamin. How his heart must have swelled. He ordered a lunch at his home to be prepared.  Of course, the brothers were terrified about the returned money last time, so they approached the steward right away and assured him they’d brought double the money. 

“Nah, your God must have blessed you. I received your money before.” 

They are confused but very glad to see Simeon alive and well again. 

Joseph inquires about their father and is relieved to hear Jacob is alive.  Then he looked at Benjamin – a young teen when he left, and now a man – and his heart swelled.  He has to run to his room where he cries for joy. Afterward, he orders lunch.

After a wash-up the brothers are all seated in Joseph’s dining hall in order of their birth. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun (perhaps a space here for the “missing” Joseph), and Benjamin.  The brothers are shocked. HOW could this Egyptian lord know their birth order???

Joseph sends portions of delicacies from his own table, with five times more to Benjamin.  Was it just for the love of his full brother, or was he testing the others to see how they reacted to the preferential treatment of the youngest?

Genesis 44.

After lunch, Joseph orders all their sacks to be filled with grain, their TWO pouches of money, and, in Benjamin’s sack, Joseph’s own silver chalice.  The following morning, all eleven of Jacob’s sons left Egypt.  They are joyful to get away with all the grain and all the brothers. They are eager to return to their father with both Simeon and Benjamin.

Then, a dust cloud appears behind them. A chariot roars up and slides to a stop. The stern-faced steward gets out and accuses one of them of stealing the prized silver chalice from the Viceroy of Egypt. Immediately, the brother’s joy turns to terror. They deny it, open all their sacks, and proclaim their innocence. In whoever’s sack it’s found, that one will die, and we’ll all become your servants.

“I’ll only arrest the thief,” says the steward, “and all the rest of you will go free.”  

OF COURSE (as planned), the chalice is found in Benjamin’s sack, just where the steward put it. The brothers’ hearts stop. NOT BENJAMIN!!!  They ALL load up the donkeys and return to Egypt. Will this nightmare ever end? 

(Hey, Bros, how do you think your young brother felt being thrown into a pit, then sold to traders, taken as a slave into an Egyptian household, falsely accused, and put into prison for years??)

At Joseph’s palace, the brothers stood before the powerful man. “What is this that you have done?” 

A confession begins to tumble out. “What shall we say to my lord?  What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants. Behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we and he also in whose hand the chalice was found.”

“No, no, no,” says Joseph. “ONLY the man in whose hand the chalice was found shall be my servant.  You all can return to your father in peace.”

And now Judah shines. The one who said his daughter-in-law was “more righteous than he.”  The one who pledged to his father HIS own life forfeited for Benjamin’s sake.  This broken man (whose descendant would one day step into the punishment for OUR sake.) went to Joseph and pled for mercy for his little brother.

“My lord asked his servants if we had a father or a brother, We said our father was an old man, and we have a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him. We told you how we couldn’t bring the boy because our father would die if he lost this one. His life is bound up in the boy’s life. If he isn’t with us, our father will die. 

But you insisted and we finally convinced our father because I became a pledge of safety for him. I will bear the blame if he does not return. PLEASE, let me remain as servant, and let the boy go back with his brothers. For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father.”

Genesis 45.

At this change of heart and confession, Joseph can no longer control himself. He sends all his Egyptian staff out. and he wept aloud.

“I AM JOSEPH!” he cried in Hebrew.

They all are stunned to silence, mouths agape.

“Come near me. I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. But don’t be distressed or angry with yourselves. God sent me before you to preserve life.  There are five more years of famine. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to keep alive for you many survivors. It was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me a father to the Pharaoh, lord over his house, and ruler over all of Egypt.

“Hurry now. Go get my father. Tell him God has made me ruler in Egypt. Come down to me.  Hurry!”

After telling them he’s prepared a place in Goshen for them all to live and reminding them that it’s him (Isn’t he speaking in Hebrew to them?), he grabs Benjamin, hugs him tight, and kisses him.  Then the other brothers too.

Later, Joseph sent their grain with them and wagons filled with provisions for the journey for ALL of Jacob-Israel’s extended family, plus his flocks and herds. He also sent many gifts to his father, new clothes to the brothers, and to Benjamin, he gave 300 silver shekels.

“Don’t quarrel on the way!” he calls after them. (Oh, how he knows his brothers!)

.

Jacob-Israel sees the wagons. He counts all eleven of his sons.  Even before they stop, the brothers call out, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!”

Jacob is faint. He gasps.  “What? Joseph, still alive?  OHHHHHH GOD!!! It is enough! Joseph, my son, is still alive. I will go and see him before I die!”

.

What a glorious story, but it’s not over yet. The relieved brothers now have to tell their father the truth about Joseph’s disappearance.  They have to confess their wicked sin and deception. How will he respond? 

Stay tuned.

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 25

Jan25

Day 25. Reading in Genesis 38 – 40. 

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and meditate on it. What stood out to you?

 

Genesis 38.

What a chapter. It shows that God can use the vilest of us for His glory when He changes our hearts. 

Judah, Jacob’s fourth son to his wife Leah, is the next in line for inheritance. (We’ll learn that Rueben, Simeon, and Levi were all disqualified through their actions. See Genesis 49:3-8) 

Judah takes a wife and has three sons. When they grow up, he gets a wife for the eldest, but Er is wicked, and God kills him before he can father children.  As customary in those days, Judah gives his second son to Tamar to fulfill his duty and make an inheritance for his dead brother. Onan is wicked as well and does NOT do his duty, so God kills him. Judah’s third son is still a boy. (And besides, Judah doesn’t want HIM to die too.)

Widow Tamar goes back home to wait for Shelah to grow up.  He does, but no word is sent. So she takes things into her own hands, plays a prostitute, and lures Judah into her tent (his own wife has died). He leaves his signet with the cord, and his staff for surety for the goat he promises to send her. But she disappears back home, keeping the three items. 

When it’s discovered, and Judah is told that she’s pregnant, he is outraged and says she should be burned. (Seriously, Judah?? Who’s at fault here?) Anyway, when she produces HIS three identifying items, he gulps, admits she is “more righteous than he,” rescinds the death sentence, and never touches her again.  But, his seed line, through the youngest of their twin sons, later produces King David and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Genesis 39.

This chapter contrasts sharply with the previous one. Against Judah and his family’s immorality, we see Joseph’s righteousness. 

He has become a man of importance in Potiphar’s household. The Captain has given Joseph control of his entire estate. He trusts his Hebrew slave completely, and Joseph honors God by being trustworthy. However, Potiphar’s wife is NOT so inclined. Spoiled and bored, she lusts after the handsome Hebrew slave. While her husband is away, she tries to seduce him, but Joseph wants no part of it.

One day, when no one is around, she grabs him and demands he sleep with her.  Joseph does what we all should do when tempted. He flees the scene as quick as lightning.  The problem is the shunned woman keeps hold of his garment. A woman scorned is a horrible thing, and soon the whole household hears her screams, “Rape! He tried to rape me!”

When Potiphar comes home, looking forward to his pipe and a chair by the fire, he’s confronted by his wife’s accusations. “This is what YOUR Hebrew slave tried to do to me … and here’s the proof.”

Of course, Potiphar had to act. He sent Joseph to the prison where the king’s prisoners were kept.  But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him His steadfast love and mercy.  He gave Joseph favor in the eyes of the keeper.  Soon, Joseph was in charge of all the prisoners. Like Potiphar had been, the keeper now laid back and let Joseph do his managing thing. 

Meanwhile, Potiphar had to go back to running his own estate.  Grrrr.

Genesis 40.

Joseph the young dreamer becomes a more mature interpreter of dreams. God gives him this gift, much like He will give to His man, Daniel one day in Babylon. 

The cupbearer and the baker in the king of Egypt’s palace both came into disfavor and were cast into “Joseph’s prison.”  Of the two, the cupbearer (butler) had the more crucial job. He tasted whatever was served in the king’s cup FIRST, to make sure it held no poison. Every time the king drank something, this cupbearer put his life on the line.

Anyway, there they sat in a jail cell.  Joseph comes by on his rounds, sees these important men and “attends to them.”  After a while he sees they are very troubled. He asks and discovers that they both have had very scary dreams. They are sure they mean something, but don’t know what.

Joseph pulls up a stool and asks that they tell him the dreams.  They do, and God gives Joseph understanding.  One is good news, the other foretells very bad news.  The cupbearer will be soon reinstated to his former position, but the baker will be soon executed.  And it happens as God showed Joseph. As the cupbearer is leaving the prison, Joseph pleads with the man to mention him when he goes back to the king, to get him out of prison.

The baker dies, and the cupbearer forgets Joseph … for two whole years.

  • God is faithful to His Word and to His own servants. There is no shadow of turning with Him. As I live my life day by day, His eye and hand are on me, whether I feel it or not. He sees my sin and hears my confession. He sees both mistreatment and honor and how I deal with each. He has a plan for me – maybe a far, far reaching plan – and nothing changes it. Thank You, Lord.

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 24

Jan24

Day 24. Reading in Genesis 35 – 37. 

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and meditate on it. What stood out to you in today’s reading?

 

Genesis 35.

After that huge faux pas by Simeon and Levi in Shechem, Jacob feared for his life.  God – in His kindness – spoke to Jacob and told him to go south to Bethel (House of God), where he first encountered God when he ran away. So Jacob had everyone give him their idols and gold earrings, and he buried them under a tree. Then he made them all cleanse themselves before they journeyed away.  And GOD caused a supernatural terror to fall on all the people and towns they passed as a wall of protection. When they arrived at Bethel, Jacob-Israel built an altar and worshiped God.

  • So, where did all those foreign idols Jacob collected come from? Rachel stole her father’s “household idols,” which caused a curse on her (Genesis 31:32), but these seem like different ones.  Then I remembered that when Simeon & Levi killed all the men of Shechem and plundered the town, they brought away all the wives of the men as their servants (and possible spouses).  These had brought their Canaanite gods along.  
  • Are there things I hold like idols too dear to my heart? Lord, help me to identify and “bury” them away from me. “Cleanse me, O Lord, wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”

Rachel, pregnant again (Wow!), goes into labor. She has a hard time and dies as the baby boy is born. She breathes out his name with her last breath, Benoni, “Son of my sorrow.”  But Jacob names him Benjamin, “Son of my right hand.” 

  • They bury Rachel along the road near Bethlehem and set up a gravestone. (Remember after Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem how Herod killed all the baby boys, trying to get ride of the “new king.” Matthew 2:18 speaks about “weeping and lamentations… Rachel weeping for her children…”)

Jacob-Israel and all those with him finally make it to Hebron, where he spends just a little time with his father before Isaac dies. Esau returns, and together, they bury Isaac in the tomb where their mother and grandparents are buried.  And so now Jacob inhabits the promised land (and the blessings) of Abraham and Isaac. God has renewed his promises through Israel.

Genesis 36.

This chapter gives the lineage of Isaac and Rebekah’s first son, Esau. He became the nation of Edom and lived in Seif, south and east of the Dead Sea, in the high hill country. It’s interesting that the Amalekites (who will become Israel’s deadly enemies) were Esau’s descendants, and possibly also the Midianites.

Genesis 37.

The next generation begins. Jacob-Israel now has twelve sons. His favorite is the one he considers the “birthright son” because Joseph was the firstborn son of Rachel, whom Jacob considers his first wife. He lavishes attention and gifts on the young man, including one gorgeous coat that signifies Joseph as Jacob’s birthright heir. Of course, this causes a lot of jealousy and bad feelings toward the teenager. 

Also, Joseph has a series of dreams that (I think) God gave to him to keep to himself as a hope for those long days of slavery that were coming to him in Egypt. But the cherished boy openly shares his dreams with his brothers and parents. The dreams show him as chief among them, and the others bowing to him. (You can see how annoying this would be.)

So one day, when Joseph was on an errand for his father – wearing that fabulous coat – his brothers plot to get rid of him. Most of them want to kill him outright, but Rueben and Judah’s conscience (or perhaps concern for their father) keeps them from outright killing Joseph.  Reuben said to put him into a pit to die, but he planned later to rescue him and restore the boy to his father.

While Reuben is away, Judah suggests they sell Joseph to some passing Ishmaelites and get rid of the boy that way. His blood wouldn’t be on their hands, but they’d never see him again. (ho-ho, Judah! don’t you wish)  Plus, they’d get some money. 

This plan pleases the men, and they sell Joseph to the merchants, although he cries and pleads for them not to. “Ahhhhh. Sweet revenge!” they think.   Of course, Rueben is beside himself when he sees Joseph gone. (Maybe as the firstborn he feels some responsibility towards him or his father.)

They devise a cruel, wicked plan to deceive Jacob. This plan will get revenge on THEIR FATHER for his preferential treatment of Joseph. They take that despised coat that shows Joseph is better than them, tear it, smear it with goat’s blood, stomp it in the dirt, and…. present it to their father.  With false concern on their faces, they say, “Is this our brother’s coat?  It looks like a wild animal may have killed him.” 

AAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!  Jacob wails. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!  His beloved wife Rachel is gone, and now their beloved, highly-favored, and adored first son is gone. OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHAAAAAA!  He can’t bear it. He wants to die.  He is NOT consoled even when his whole family tries to comfort him.  He weeps and cannot eat. Joseph, his beloved Joseph, is DEAD!

Down in Egypt, the boy is re-sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.

 

  • “Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.”  This truth came to mind as I thought about Jacob – that old deceiver – now experiencing MORE deception. And it’s still not over yet.
  • Lord, I know what James says is true in James 1:14-15. We are tempted by our OWN desires, and when desire has conceived, it gives birth to SIN, and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death.  Thank You, Father, that I know the end of the story, and after Jacob and all his sons experience the just rewards for their deceptions and they confess, your kindness will be revealed. 
  • Psalm 130:3-4. “If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with You, there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.”

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 23

Jan23

Day 23. Reading in Genesis 32 – 34. 

I invite you to read the scripture for the day and meditate on it. Then, share your thoughts in the comments.

 

Genesis 32.

Jacob is returning home. He has a whole lot more than he left with: wives, children, servants, and animals to spare. He knows he has to meet his brother sooner or later. He remembers the situation 20 years earlier when he escaped. Esau had vowed to kill him as soon as their father died. Had their father died?

Jacob sends messengers to see Esau. Does he still seethe? Or has he forgotten his vow?  The messengers return, saying that Esau is coming with an army of 400 men. Gulp!  It seems he has NOT forgiven nor forgotten.  Jacob divides his family and flocks into two camps, saying if Esau gets one, perhaps the other will escape.  Jacob spends the night alone, praying and reminding God of all His promises.

The next day, Jacob sends Esau wave after wave of gifts, thinking they will appease his brother before they meet.  He spends the night alone … until God visits him.  The “man” (whether in dream or in person) wrestles with Jacob all night and puts his hip out of joint when he sees how Jacob persists. Jacob demands he bless him.  The “man” asks for his name (Jacob, the grabber, cheater, deceiver) and gives him a new name – Israel (champion with God), then leaves. Ever afterward, Jacob/Israel has that limp as a reminder.

Genesis 33.

Then … Esau arrives. 

Jacob had again split his camp up, putting those he least valued in front, with Rachel and Joseph at the very back. Then, approaching Esau, he bowed to him seven times like the lowest slave. 

BUT!!!!  Esau ran to Jacob, embraced him, and kissed him. They wept together in reunion, for God (not the 500 animals) had changed Esau’s heart.  After all the introductions and explanations about the waves of animals, Esau says they should journey together and that his men would protect Jacob.

But Jacob declines, saying he has to go slow because of the flocks and children. He even refuses to have Esau’s men accompany them as a guard. So, in peace, they depart.

Jacob had told Esau, “I’ll meet you later in Seir (in the south where Esau lived), but he had no intention of going there. As soon as his brother left, Jacob and his family turned westward, first to Succoth to rest everyone, then across the Jordan River to Shechem, where he bought a piece of land to settle. There, he set up an altar and worshipped God.  He had returned to the land promised to his family. 

Genesis 33.

Next is a very dark scene in Jacob’s family.  Dinah, his only daughter, seems to have a rebellious streak. She goes out (alone?) to check out the nearby town. Shechem (the city was perhaps named after him) saw her, lusted after her beauty, and raped her. 

When Jacob and sons heard about this, they were infuriated. Shechem’s father came to Jacob to make a deal for Dinah since his boy was “in love” with her. “Hey, let’s be friends. We can exchange daughters, and all be happy. What will be your bride price?”

Simeon and Levi (Jacob’s #2 and #3 sons) devised a wicked plan.  They said that the men of Shechem all had to be circumcised first. (This was supposed to be a sign of the relationship between God and His people, like baptism, not a bribing piece.)  Shechem’s father agreed on behalf of all the men in town (after all, he saw how richly God had blessed Jacob with flocks and herds and hoped to get some of them in the deal), and the deed was done.

On the third day, when the men were the most sore, Simeon and Levi attacked them and killed Shechem, his father, and ALL the men in the town before taking back their sister.  They also plundered the town taking all the animals, all the wealth, all the little children, and all the women. WHOA!!

Jacob was aghast!  “What have you done??? You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land. My days are numbered if they all get together and attack. We shall be destroyed!!”

“Should they treat our sister like a prostitute?” answered the unrepentant Simeon and Levi.

.

  • There are lots of lessons here for me. Although the meeting with Esau went well because God intervened, Jacob/Israel still seems to go his own way. Beginning with a deception about meeting Esau in Seir, he buys land in Shechem. Doesn’t he want to go see if Isaac is still alive? He obviously can’t control his children. And he has a lot of fears.  
  • Will I ever get over my proneness to sin?  And sin in the same ways?  Praise God, He forgives and helps me. Oh, to have a true heart for him.