flocks – Praying Pint

39.k. “For every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”

Genesis 46:31 Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. And the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ When Pharaoh calls you and says, What is your occupation?’ you shall say, Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,’ in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”

Genesis 47:1 So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in the land of Goshen.” And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were.”

“For every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians”. There are many comments and thoughts as to why this is so, but for whatever reason, the Egyptians looked down on shepherds with disgrace, aversion, disdain, disgust, contempt, etc…. Joseph knew this and also had to have been led by God in his thoughts. Joseph was not the least bit worried about telling Pharaoh that his family came from a line of shepherds. Joseph was not ashamed to say this was his family. He also may have had thoughts of trying to keep his family away from the Egyptian culture and their customs and to mark his family in such a way that the Egyptians would willingly stay away from them.

God has a plan for every life if they would but seek Him first in their hearts and minds. For some, this may result in high-profile positions with great influence and power, and responsibility. For others, it may result in occupations and positions less so. Learning to be content in God’s plan for our lives and occupations is not an easy thing. In the guise of contentment, some are just lazy misfits with no drive to succeed or be under the influence of God’s direction. Likewise, there are those who strive for wealth, power, status, and worldly recognition outside of God’s influence in their lives and they are never content. Both of these groups of people and everyone in between has a commonality, God is not in their lives. He is not first in their lives. They are influenced by worldly passions and what the world deems proper and important. Being content can only come to the hearts and minds of those who have learned to follow after God and seek Him first, and purposing to honor and glorify Him in all they think, say, and do. They will have been given discernment and be able to hear the quiet whispers of the Holy Spirits leading in their lives and being able to distinguish worldly from Godly. There is no God-ordained occupation below any of us.

Early in my career I had a garbage route and picked up garbage in a small town with a pickup truck. I also cleaned toilets in an administration building for a biological vaccine manufacturing company. I was also a master plumber. In all that I did God gave me purpose and contentment. At the end of my career, I was a CEO of a biological vaccine manufacturing company. I had no formal post-high school education. God will use and place those where He chooses and content are they who find their contentment in Him.

122. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight?

2 Samuel 12:1 And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.

Isaiah 57:17-18     Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.

Jeremiah 6:13     “For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.

Ezekiel 33:31    And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain.

Luke 12:15    And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Colossians 3:5     Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Jeremiah 5:3    O LORD, do not your eyes look for truth? You have struck them down, but they felt no anguish; you have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent.

Sin has a way of blinding us from what we are doing that is not right in the eyes of our God. When sin takes our heart and minds captive it does not let go. It hardens our heart and pridefully sets to convince our mind that what we have done or are doing is right even though God’s word says it is wrong.

How does sin find its way so easily into our Christian lives? Peter says it like this; “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.”

Keep your eyes on Him alone who is worthy. Live to bring honor and glory to His name. Stay in His presence and desire to follow and obey Him.

GOD, the Lord, is my strength

Exodus 15:2 The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him,

Psalms 18:2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalms 27:1   The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Habakkuk 3:17-19     Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,  yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.  GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places

Psalms 59:17     O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.

Jeremiah 31:33   I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Jeremiah 32:38    And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

We never have to go a problem or trial on our own. God is there always. Nothing can happen to us that God is not present, aware, or in control of. “I take refuge” – when trials come, “My strong hold” – when life situations are hard. “My deliverer” – when I am overwhelmed. “My Rock” – when bad things are all around. “My salvation” – when sin knocks at my heart. “My Fortress” – when my earthly strength is gone. “My strength” – when I feel weak. “My shield” – when being attacked with Satan’s lies.

We all face trails and uncertainty in our lives. They come on us with and without warning. It would be nice to have advanced notice but that is never going to happen. However, we have God, we are His children, we are His people, and He has given us precious promises for us to have hope and trust in.

In hope and trust we find joy and peace. When our heart, soul, and mind seek and desire God, trials that come our way can be faced with rejoicing and praising God.

Being truly thankful to God for whatever comes our way is something that must be cultivated in both peaceful times and hard times. If we are not seeking and desiring God in peaceful times, it will be very difficult to cultivate rejoicing in hard times. Commit to having Him present in and throughout all aspects of your day. Seek to hear Him speak to your heart and mind. Learn to see His hand at work in everyday life. Keep your ears and eyes open for His leading.

Waiting beside My doors

Psalms 95:4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

Psalms 135:6 Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.

Psalms 65:6 the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy. You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.

Genesis 1:9-10 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

Proverbs 8:29 when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man. “And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”

Jeremiah 5:22 Do you not fear me? declares the LORD. Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it.

Psalms 97:5 The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth.

Micah 1:4 And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire

Job 9:5 he who removes mountains, and they know it not, when he overturns them in his anger,

Nahum 1:5 The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it.

We take a piece of wood and make something out of it – our creation. God made the micro cellular seed structure for every tree species, the means for nutrients, the means for respiration, photosynthesis ( and while we think of this He made the sun and the earth too). We look at what we or others have put together as something creative and maybe inspiring. Some architects even go down in history as leaders of their time. Books are written about them. And yet we only need to open our eyes to God’s creation to see the awe inspiring magnitude of Him. We are a creation of His. He has given us life and free will to choose to praise, honor, serve, follow and obey Him. Those who choose this path, He gives life (eternal). Those that choose to reject Him, He gives death and torment eternal. “And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”