Exodus 4:18-6:30 Let’s review just a bit. Genesis finishes with Jacob’s family all living in Egypt. Exodus opens about 280 years later, with a greatly expanded populace of Israelites now enslaved by the Egyptians. We are introduced to Moses as a baby, rescued from Pharaoh’s edict of infanticide, and drawn from the Nile by Pharaoh’s …
Author Archives: John S.
January 17 / Exodus 1-4:17
Exodus 1-4:17 Picture, in your mind’s eye, Moses before Pharaoh. What do you see? My guess is that for most of us, it’s Charlton Heston and Yul Brenner. Congratulations to Cecil B. DeMille, the Hollywood machine, and decades of reruns of The Ten Commandments. Thanks to such movies we know the story — or we …
January 16 / Genesis 47-50
Genesis 47-50 If you have ever wondered why the name “Joseph” is not generally listed as one of the “Twelve Tribes of Israel”, your answer is here in Genesis 48, where Jacob/Israel adopts Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, as his own (Gen. 48:5), in effect giving Joseph a double portion of the inheritance. (And …
January 15 / Genesis 43:16-46:34
Genesis 43:16-46:34 [Joseph’s steward] replied, “Peace to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has put treasure in your sacks for you…” Genesis 43:23 This line, spoken by an Egyptian, expresses far more truth than he yet knows — indeed more truth than the brothers yet know! Joseph, however, …
January 14 / Genesis 41-43:15
Genesis 41-43:15 For those of us who grew up going to Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, the story of Pharaoh’s dreams of seven fat cows followed by seven emaciated cows and of seven plump ears of grain swallowed up by seven thin ears of grain is likely to be very familiar territory. We know …
January 13 / Genesis 37-40
Genesis 37-40 Let’s recall a bit about Jacob’s family. First he has four wives: Leah and Rachel (his cousins) and their two maidservants, Zilpah and Bilhah. These four women bear him 12 sons and a daughter: Leah Rachel Bilhah Zilpah 1 – Reuben2 – Simeon3 – Levi4 – Judah9 – Issachar10 – ZebulunDinah 11 – …
January 12 / Genesis 34-36
Genesis 34-36 Today we again see family traits pass from generation to generation, both good and bad. Abraham passes along faith in the LORD to Isaac, and Isaac somehow passes it along to Jacob. But another family characteristic is similarly passed along: deceit. Abraham deceives both Pharaoh and Abimelech with regard to Sarah’s status as …
January 11 / Genesis 31-33
Genesis 31-33 After 20 years away from the land of his birth, Jacob is a changed man. At the outset he profoundly encounters the Living God in his “Ladder” dream at Bethel. Then he spends years dealing with Uncle Laban, where he learns what it is to be on the receiving end of trickery, theft, …
January 10 / Genesis 28-30
Genesis 28-30 We know that Jacob, the schemer, does not deserve the blessing, but he gets it anyway. Before sending him off to Uncle Laban in search of a wife, Isaac conveys the blessing of Abraham, that his descendants would be multiplied and that they would possess the land. And on the way, in the …
January 9 / Genesis 25-27
Genesis 25-27 If I were to sit down and make up stories of my family origins, I would make all the main characters excellent heroes — always honest and upstanding, good-hearted and courageous, faithful and strong. If I knew of any flaws, I would either leave them out entirely or make excuses for them. I …