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. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.

     Word came to Joseph that his father had fallen ill. Joseph went to see his father and took his two sons with him. Jacob tells Joseph that Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh will be counted as Jacob’s sons. It gave Jacob great joy that after believing he would never see his son Joseph again he now saw not only Joseph but Joseph’s sons. Jacob then asked Joseph to bring his boys close so that he could bless them. Joseph directed Ephraim, the younger of the two, to Jacob’s left hand and Manasseh, the elder, to Jacob’s right. Jacob, however, crossed his arms to place his right hand on Ephraim and his left on Manasseh. When Joseph “corrected” him by telling him that Ephraim was the younger, Jacob told Joseph that he was aware of which boy was which, but, while Manasseh’s descendants would become a great people, the descendants of Ephraim would be even greater. After this Jacob calls together all of his sons and makes predictions about their futures, and that of their descendants, based on their behaviors. After making these prophecies, Jacob tells his sons that he will soon die. He instructed his sons to bury him in the cave where Abraham had buried Sarah and was himself buried.

     At one point Jesus was teaching on a mountainside. Great crowds came to Him bringing those suffering from many afflictions and laid them at His feet. Jesus healed them all. The people were amazed and praised God. After three days, Jesus called his disciples to Him and said that He did not want to send the crowds away hungry. The disciples questioned where they could find enough bread to feed that many people in such a remote location. Jesus then asked them how much food they had. They replied that they had seven loaves and a few fish. Jesus had the crowd sit down and then took the loaves and the fish. He blessed the food and broke it up and gave it to the disciples to distribute to the people. Everyone ate and was satisfied. Afterward, the disciples gathered seven baskets of leftovers. The number of those who ate was 4,000 men, plus women and children.
     There are a couple of factors about this story that strike me. The first is that it was not very long before this that Jesus had fed 5,000 men plus women and children from just a few loaves and a few fish, now the disciples once again cannot perceive how they could feed all of these people. The second thing has to do with something I mentioned on Tuesday. The idea that in first century Palestine the relationship between a disciple and a rabbi was one where the disciple strove to learn how to be like the rabbi and do the things the rabbi did, while the rabbi strove to teach the disciple how to accomplish those goals. So, when I read this story I see Jesus offering His disciples the opportunity to do what He had done. In the feeding of the 5,000 Jesus offered the disciples the opportunity to call on the power of God to feed the people, but they did not understand what He was getting at, so He demonstrated what power was theirs to command. I think that He expected them to not understand on that occasion. However, this time I think that Jesus was hoping that the disciples would understand what He was asking of them and that they, or at least one of them, would take the initiative. I think that we often disappoint Jesus in exactly the same way. I know that I do. Do we really believe that we can be like Jesus? And do the things that He did (and does)? I believe that God will perform miracles through me, but I do not have faith that God will perform miracles through me. I fervently pray to God that He help my unbelief.
     At some point the Pharisees and the Sadducees came to Jesus and asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. Jesus replied to them that they knew how to interpret the signs of the weather, but were unable to read the signs of the times. He then calls them a wicked and adulterous generation and tells them that the only sign they will be given is the sign of Jonah. He then left them and went away. As they were crossing the lake the disciples had forgotten to bring bread with them. Jesus warned the disciples to be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The disciples thought He said that because they forgot to bring bread. Jesus berated them for being caught up in worry about forgetting to bring bread. He reminded them of feeding the 5,000 with five loaves of bread and feeding the 4,000 with seven loaves of bread and how in both cases there was more left over than what they started with. It was only then that they realized that He was not talking about bread when He warned against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. This is a reminder how a seemingly minor error can spread through our whole belief system to corrupt the entire thing. It is also interesting that Jesus referred to the yeast of both the Pharisees (who were the legalistic religious conservatives) and of the Sadducees (who were the tolerant religious liberals) as the same thing.

     I will echo the psalmist’s heartfelt wish that God rescue you in your times of distress. I pray that God will send you help and grant you the desires of your heart. I will celebrate your victory with you. I love the way NIV words the beginning of verse 6, “Now this I know”. Such an emphatic statement. There are things I hope for and that I think are true. But, this I know. God does give victory to those He has chosen, who follow His ways. Some may trust in strength, weapons and training, but I will trust in the name of God.

     The writer warns us to be careful what we allow into our hearts, because everything we do flows from what we value. Further we should watch our language because how we choose to express our thoughts shapes the way we think. Plan our actions carefully so as not to succumb to the temptation to deal with obstacles by doing wrong and thus be sidetracked off of the path of righteousness.