I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day, or more. in advance. My work schedule has recently changed, meaning that I may not have time every day to complete these. As a result, I am trying to get several days ahead. I hope this does not negatively impact the quality of these posts (if that is possible). If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
In due time, Jacob died. When that happened, Joseph had the body embalmed according to the Egyptian practice. After a period of mourning in Egypt, Joseph and his brothers took Jacob’s body back to the land of Canaan and buried it there. They were accompanied by a large number of Egyptian officials. When they returned to Egypt, Joseph’s brothers feared that he would exact revenge on them now that their father was dead. Joseph reassured them with a response that we should all keep in mind when dealing with those who we believe have done us wrong. He asked them a rhetorical question about whether he was in the place of God. It is God’s place to punish those who have done wrong, not ours. Joseph also pointed out that while they intended him harm, God used their actions to bring about good. God used their actions in attempting to harm Joseph to put Joseph in a position where he could save the lives of many people. Can we see how God used the hurt others intended to cause us to lead us to a place where good happened? Are we willing to allow God to create good from the harm others inflict on us?
I always find this first part of Exodus fascinating for the hints it gives us about when it took place. First, after the death of Jacob’s sons, his descendants became numerous and powerful in Egypt. This has suggested to me a connection to the Hyksos “invasion” of Egypt since I first heard about it (the Hyksos were a Semitic people who occupied a portion of north-eastern Egypt for a few hundred years). Then the passage tells us that a new Pharaoh arose who did not know Joseph or his brothers. This Pharaoh felt threatened by the Israelites and enslaved them. Again, I see a potential for connecting this story to history here, as this seems like something that might have been recorded. The final interesting thing to me is the name which Pharaoh’s daughter gives to Moses, “Moses”. What is interesting about this is that vowels in ancient written Hebrew were often inferred. That means that “Moses” would have been written similar to the way in which the ending of the name “Ramses” would have been written. “Ramses” means, more or less, “the son of Ra”. Which suggests to me that “Moses” meant “the son of ___”. Considering that the Israelites had a long tradition of considering it blasphemy to speak the name of God suggests to me that perhaps part of the origin of the name “Moses” was from the daughter of Pharaoh naming him “the son of *god*”(where the god in question was a member of the Egyptian pantheon). This is just food for thought.
There is a lot of stuff in this passage, but in the middle Jesus says something that I want to emphasize today. Jesus tells us that if we want to be His followers, we must deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him. To those who heard Him say this it would have drawn a very clear picture. If you wanted to follow Jesus, you had to be prepared to suffer the most horrific death which anyone to date had been able to design. His listeners would all have known exactly what it meant to “take up your cross”. It meant something completely different from when we today say something like, “Well, that is just my cross to bear.”
Then Jesus gets to the part I really want to focus on. He tells us that if we focus our effort on saving our life, we will lose our very souls, but if we are willing to sacrifice our life in order to follow Jesus we will find it. He follows this up by asking us what good it does to gain the whole world if we sacrifice our very essence to gain it? When I read this it makes me think several thoughts. The first is rather obvious, Jesus was teaching us that in order to truly follow Him, we needed to be willing to surrender our very lives. This is the only route to the eternal happiness and life which God promises us. However, there is even more here. We cannot find peace or happiness if we spend every scrap of our energy fighting for those things. We can only gain life, peace, and happiness by being willing to surrender them in order to serve God.
I am not quite sure what to make of this psalm today. However, I will take this from the first verse. I will rejoice in God’s strength because my strength is insufficient for the tasks I face. And I will take joy in the victories which God gives me because the only victories which I have are those which are gifts from God. I recognize that I do not win through my skill or strength. I obtain victory only when God gives it to me.
Those who are immoral offer what seems sweet and delicious, but once it is consumed it becomes bitter and noxious. Following an immoral person will lead one straight to death. The pleasures received will be short-lived followed by pain and suffering. Those who are immoral live pointless lives that wander hither and yon. If you want to live a life with meaning that makes a difference, you must avoid them like the plague which they are.