CbC Mar. 16-22

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March 16, Sunday

Reading A75 — Genesis 37 — Joseph Sold to Egypt          Audio: Genesis 37 (ESV)

An audio recording of the following comments is available below:

Pain with Purpose — Although God is not mentioned in this chapter, His hand is seen as He worked to bring about His plan to get Joseph to Egypt for helping his family in the future.  Almost 40 years later, Joseph would tell his brothers, “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive” (50:20).  First, God gave Joseph two dreams to predict his future ruling supremacy over his family, then He used the resulting hatred and jealousy of the brothers to get him to Egypt.  The two oldest sons, Reuben and Judah, did show some mercy, however, by preventing Joseph’s murder (37:21, 26).  It is ironic that the way Jacob was deceived using Joseph’s robe and the slain goat’s blood (v. 33) was very similar to the way Jacob had deceived Isaac earlier, using the smell of his brother’s robe, and putting the hairy skin of a slain goat on his hands (27:15-16).  Sometimes God uses our being misunderstood, hated, and harmed, to accomplish His good purpose for us.  Amid the pain, we don’t see the plan.  Perhaps 40 years later, we will see how God was using an uncomfortable path to bring about something of far greater value and joy for us and others.  In the meantime, we need to continue to trust Him along the way.

March 17, Monday

Reading A76 — Genesis 38 — The Sins of Judah                Audio: Genesis 38 (ESV)

An audio recording of the following comments is available below:

Displeasing God — Judah was not a good example to his family.  First, he “went down from his brothers” (v. 1), which seems to imply that it may have involved more than physical separation.  Then, like Esau, he married a Canaanite woman (v. 2), which is always frowned upon or forbidden in the Old Testament.  Later, he had intercourse with what he thought was a prostitute (v. 18).  He also sinned by lying when he insincerely promised his third son to Tamar after he grew up (vv. 11, 26).  Finally, after freely sentencing Tamar to death for doing something that he had also done (v. 24), Judah subtly admitted his own sin, saying that Tamar was “more righteous” (v. 26—really “less evil”) than he was.  It is easy to assume that Judah’s sins influenced his sons, Er and Onan, in such a way that each one was “wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD put him to death” (v. 7; cf. v. 10).  Tamar also sinned by posing and then acting as a prostitute (v. 14).  Our own sins also affect others, influencing our children, grandchildren, fellow Christians, and sometimes providing excuses for our unbelieving friends to stay in their condition of separation from God.  As God often does, despite the many sins of Judah and Tamar, the Lord sent His Son through the descendants of the “firstborn” son of these parents, Perez.  Again, God was working good out of bad.

March 18, Tuesday

Reading A77 — Genesis 39-40 — Joseph in Prison          Audio: Genesis 39-40 (ESV)

An audio recording of the following comments is available below:

With Blessings and Temptations — Four times in chapter 39, the statement was made that “the LORD was with Joseph” in making him successful (vv. 1, 3, 21, 23).  God was “with” Joseph because He had a plan to use him in a future critical role.  It is important to notice that God was “with Joseph” when he was in prison (vv. 21, 23) just as much as when he was in relative freedom in Potipher’s house (vv. 1, 3).  Even in his earlier “freedom,” he was still a slave with no legal rights.  God can also bless us in the midst of positive or negative circumstances, so we need to lean on Him despite our restrictions.  Showing that God wants to bless us, it was “for Joseph’s sake” that the Lord blessed the house of Potipher (v. 5).  Another way that God was also “with Joseph” was in his times of temptation with Potipher’s wife.  Repeatedly, she asked Joseph, “Lie with me” (vv. 7, 10), but he had integrity that was centered around his relationship with God.  He asked, “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (v. 9).  Part of Joseph’s defense strategy was that “he would not listen to her … or to be with her” (v. 10)—another important word “with.”  He protected himself by avoiding her.  Sometimes we might want to stay in that kind of tantalizing atmosphere because something tempting is desirable.  It takes integrity and commitment to God to recognize sin’s danger and to avoid it.  There are two very different ways the word “with” is used here.  One is the positive “with” of God’s blessing, and the other is negative, refusing to be “with” sin’s attractions and invitations.

March 19, Wednesday

Reading A78 — Genesis 41 — Egypt’s Feast and Famine      Audio: Genesis 41 (ESV)

An audio recording of the following comments is available below:

Where Credit is Due — The story of the life of Joseph is incredible.  Even Hollywood recognized it with the 1999 animated film, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”  What title would you give to a film made about the story of chapter 41?  How about, “Joseph the Predicter and Provider”?  As amazingly gifted as he was, he was careful to give all the credit to God.  When Pharaoh praised him with, “You can interpret it” (v. 15), Joseph immediately responded with, “It is not in me” (v. 16), giving credit to God.  Notice Joseph’s faith that God would provide the interpretation of the king’s dreams even before he heard about their content.  Because he had experience of what God had revealed in the past, he had faith for what God would reveal in the future.  That is how faith can grow for us also: remember the past ways God has worked and trust Him for the future.  When Joseph heard the dreams, he provided the interpretation without any hesitation (v. 25).  Then, immediately after providing the divine interpretation, Joseph offered a plan for how Pharaoh ought to proceed.  It was perfect, and the king recognized it and made this prisoner the second ruler of the nation.  Joseph was incredibly gifted and used, but it was God behind it all.  This young Hebrew recognized that, and he did not hesitate to give credit where it was due.  Like Joseph, we need to look for what God has done, give praise to Him, and promote Him to others.

March 20, Thursday

Reading A79 — Genesis 42 — Simeon Exchanged for Grain  Audio: Genesis 42 (ESV)

An audio recording of the following comments is available below:

Moving Experiences — Much emotion was expressed in this chapter’s story.  First, there was fear.  Jacob was afraid to send Benjamin with his brothers (v. 4).  The brothers showed fear as they bowed down to this threatening “governor … the lord of the land” (vv. 6, 30), fulfilling Joseph’s earlier dreams.  In a positive way, Joseph feared God (v. 18).  The whole family feared Joseph when their money was found in their bags of grain (v. 35).  Second, there was the emotion of guilt felt by all the brothers (v. 21).  The oldest son, Reuben, considered their current circumstances to be a punishing “reckoning for his [Joseph’s] blood” (v. 22), with all of them seeing it as something “God has done to us” (v. 28).  Despite this acknowledgement, they dared to call themselves “honest men” (v. 11).  Several different emotions were experienced by Joseph, as Reuben remembered his brother’s distress and begging for mercy when they threw him in the pit and then sold him as a slave (v. 21).  After hearing this, Joseph had to turn aside to weep (v. 24) with a mixture of emotions.  Finally, there was the emotion of Jacob’s sorrow as he considered the perceived “loss” of his sons, Joseph and Simeon (v. 36), and the potential loss of Benjamin (v. 38).  We all have emotional times, some of them good and some painful.  What should we do with them?  For the good ones, we should thank God as the source of all joy.  For the painful ones, we should search our hearts for unrecognized and unconfessed sin.  Rather than living with guilt, we should confess it and leave it.  We probably won’t forget it, but we can know that God has forgiven it.

March 21, Friday

Reading A80 — Genesis 43 — Benjamin Goes to Egypt           Audio: Genesis 43 (ESV)

An audio recording of the following comments is available below:

Trying and Trusting — At the end of yesterday’s chapter, Jacob refused to allow Benjamin to go to Egypt, although Reuben pledged his protection for his young brother to the extent that he said that his own two sons could be killed if he failed (42:37).  In today’s chapter, when the family’s food was again running out, Judah assumed the leadership in trying to convince his father to allow Benjamin to accompany them to Egypt.  He refused to go there without Benjamin, and he also made a pledge regarding his brother’s safety, bearing “the blame forever” if he failed (v. 9).  Feeling trapped, their father prepared a present to send (v. 11), prayed for God’s mercy (v. 14), and left the results in God’s hands, saying, “If I am bereaved … I am bereaved” (v. 14).  Sometimes we come to that point in our lives as well.  We do all that we can do, but after that, we turn our problem over to the Lord for Him to work out the best solution for us.  That involves both our effort and faith.

March 22, Saturday

Reading A81 — Genesis 44 — Benjamin’s Silver Cup            Audio: Genesis 44 (ESV)

An audio recording of the following comments is available below:

Change for the Better — We see more evidence in today’s reading that Judah was changing.  In chapter 37, he argued with his brothers that killing Joseph would not “profit” them anything, so they should sell him as a slave to the passing Ishmaelites (37:26-27).  He showed himself to be even worse in the next chapter as he married a Canaanite woman (38:2), cheated his daughter-in-law, Tamar, by failing his promise to her, and sinfully got her pregnant (v. 26).  In yesterday’s reading, Judah seemed to have taken a more positive leadership role with his brothers.  Today, we read that he deepened the quality of his leadership by admitting their sin, saying that “God has found out the guilt of your servants” (v. 16).  In pleading with Joseph, he showed great concern about Jacob’s reaction of grief if they would not bring Benjamin back with them, saying, “he will die” (v. 31).  On the other hand, he hadn’t shown any concern earlier when he suggested to Jacob that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal.  Finally, Judah volunteered to take Benjamin’s place, becoming a slave to Joseph.  It seems that God was making a positive change in Judah’s attitude about what was right in the Lord’s sight.  What do you see as you look back over the years of your own spiritual journey?  How has He changed your heart since you came to know Christ?  In what ways have you changed in your attitudes, words, and actions as you have matured as a Christian?  This would be a good time to reflect on that and thank God for working to change you for the better.