Word Surprises

Matthew 1:1 - 2:23. My seven year reading plan now switches to the New Testament and the book of Matthew. Again, the impact of reading slowly has allowed me to see surprising things that I've missed over the years. In this case it is Joseph who was Jesus' earthly step-father. There are just 14 verses about Joseph but these few verses paint an amazing picture of what a faithful man is like. Matthew 1:19-20 - a just man:  these verses describe how Joseph, who was betrothed to Mary, has just found out that she is pregnant. She would have told him about the visitation of the angel but it is still a big shock to Joseph and he considers secretly breaking the betrothal because he wouldn't want to make a public example of her. Although Joseph is troubled by what is happening, verse 19 gives a clue as to why Joseph was carefully thinking about things. It was because he was a just man. He wasn't a man who would burst into a tirade of anger and accusation but a man who could cont...

Although Exodus 33 is primarily about God's meeting with Moses to reestablish the covenant between God and Israel there is, hidden within it, a description of how God relates to us.   Exodus 33:12  Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” 14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth...

Exodus 31  is a chapter about a very special person called Bezalel. He was called by God to lead a team of artisans to build the Tabernacle so God could display His presence amongst His people. While reading this chapter about Bezalel's calling I did wonder why God would want the Israelites to build the Tabernacle and not just create one Himself?  Bezalel by Paul Tissot To a certain degree God did all of the ground work to bring the Tabernacle into existence anyway: He planned what He wanted and spoke the detail to Moses, He provided the resources and building materials via His creation, He made special rare and precious materials available from the gifts that the Egyptians gave to the Israelites as they fled Egypt ( Exodus 12:35-36 ),  He provided specialist artisans to lead this task, and  He provided the remaining work-force from His people. However, he didn't just "zap" the Tabernacle into being as this would mean the relationship with His people would be one-sid...

I've now finished reading Genesis and Exodus and it took nearly a year! Like so much of Genesis, Exodus is amazing and contains little gems of truth that show, from the Fall of Adam and Eve, how God has been constantly speaking about the Savior to come. The life of the main character in Exodus is Moses who was called by God to lead the Israelites out of bondage and into freedom. What is surprising to see is how Moses' life was a harbinger of the ministry of Jesus and the parallels between their lives. Moses with Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration * The Parallels of Moses' and Jesus' Lives Both were divinely saved from death as a baby:   Moses was saved from death at a time when the Pharaoh of Egypt had declared all Hebrew baby boys were to be killed at birth. ( Exodus 1:15-22 ).  Ironically, Moses was rescued by the daughter of Pharaoh and was part of her household until Moses was 40 years of age ( Exodus 2:1-11 ). Jesus was saved from being killed by King Herod as a...

The First Encounter:  The narrative of Genesis 42:1-45:28 describes how Israel's sons sold their brother Joseph into slavery and lied to their father about had happened to him. They did this because of their jealousy of Joseph's close relationship with their father.  After many years they were forced to go to Egypt to beg for food from Joseph, the second-in-command of all Egypt, who they didn't recognize. Joseph does recognize them but does not reveal himself and questions their reasons for visiting Egypt and accuses them of being spies which they strongly deny. Consequently, Joseph has their brother Simeon held as surety until the other brothers bring their youngest brother  Benjamin (Joseph's other blood-brother) down to Egypt to prove their story. The brothers are allowed to purchase grain and they return to their father Jacob who is extremely unhappy how things have turned out. They have food but another son is lost from the family and the youngest brother Benjamin ...

Return to Genesis 23 .  After our  two month diversion into Malachi, we now come back to Genesis and to the times just before the falling-out between Jacob and Esau that initially took us to the book of Malachi. While reading about the the death of Sarah I noted that this chapter is 20 verses long but only 4 are about Sarah and the rest is about Abraham haggling over the price of the land near Hebron where she was to be buried! I found this slightly insulting and perplexing and I realized I did not really understand the importance of this chapter at all. Consequently, I looked at what others have written on this topic and found some very interesting thoughts in Ana B Contreras ' " Divine Seasons " blog which I encourage you to read. The following comments below area based on some of her content in combination with my own thoughts.  Sarah's death When Sarah died at 127 years of age while in Hebron (Kirjath Arba), Abraham traveled up from Beersheba ( Gen 22:19 ) to mou...