Israel – Page 16 – Praying Pint

39.m. “And when the time drew near that Israel must die”

Genesis 47:27 Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years. And when the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh and promise to deal kindly and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt, but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place.” He answered, “I will do as you have said.” And he said, “Swear to me”; and he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed.

Death is not far from any of us. In the blink of an eye an accident, sickness, lightning strike, or murderous hands we are all in the sight line of death. It does not matter if we give it thought or not, it is still there, one second, one breath, or 50 years or a hundred million breaths. No one knows God’s allowed time for their life, and yet, we live as though death is something that happens to others or those of much older age. I don’t know how often I have heard someone say they hope they are good enough to go to heaven when they die. It does not matter if you tell them about Jesus Chris, belief, faith, forgiveness, trust, reliance, and hope are the only way to eternal assurance. They will still fall back into being good enough for heaven though. These are Satan’s lies and are an assurance into eternal hell. Let no one be led astray with this thinking, be warned, “It is not by good works a person is saved but through belief, faith, reliance, trust, and hope in Jesus Christ alone.” If we knew how close death’s door was before us, would we think about this differently? Would there be a sense of urgency? Would there be repentance and a search for salvation? Here today and gone tomorrow happen more frequently than we want to think about. Choosing to deny the need for Jesus Christ and believing you can be good enough on your own and rejecting how close death is to you, may give you comfort but rest assured it is false and your eternal destiny is Hell. God’s Word is clear just as His promises of heaven and hell are clear. Do not let another minute go by without humble surrender, trust, faith, hope, and reliance on Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation.

39.d. “And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”

Genesis 43:1 Now the famine was severe in the land. And when they had eaten the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.” But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. But if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.’” Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?” They replied, “The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ What we told him was in answer to these questions. Could we in any way know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” And Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice.” Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry a present down to the man, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. Take double the money with you. Carry back with you the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight. Take also your brother, and arise, go again to the man. May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”

Resigned submission to the will of God. How many days, weeks, months, etc… do we fight this submission and strive to overcome our circumstances within our own power, wisdom, and understanding? We come up with every clever plan, every reasoned plan of action, and try over and over again to overcome whatever it is that God is leading us toward.

When our walk by faith with God is neglected and we become complacent with the Word of God, our eyes become blind to His power, might, and wisdom. Our minds become dull to the Holy Spirit’s leading and we are left with our own thoughts to face life’s circumstances alone.

Do not be confused, busyness with this life and the care for what this world has to offer is no excuse and will leave your soul bankrupt. All of our thoughts, actions, and words are weighed and judged by God. We can come up with as many excuses as there are stars in the sky but until there is humble submission within our hearts and repentance, faith, trust, and reliance in Jesus Christ there will be no rest for our souls. Circumstances will come upon us and our storehouse of faith, reliance, and trust in God being bankrupt due to neglect and complacency, are empty and give no comfort, no peace, no hope.

Grow in His Word day by day. Feed on it. Hunger for it. Drink full of it. Most of all commit to the single purpose of honoring and glorifying, Jesus Christ in all that you think, say, and do every minute of your life this side of eternity.

39.a. “Why do you look at one another?”

Genesis 42:1 When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.” So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might happen to him. Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

Genesis 41:54 and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. There was famine

Joshua 7:10 The LORD said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face?

Jeremiah 8:14 Why do we sit still? Gather together; let us go into the fortified cities and perish there, for the LORD our God has doomed us to perish and has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.

How easy is it to become arrogant and complacent in times of plenty and prosperity? How easy is it to sit back and rest giving little thought to the opposite? How easy is it to forget God in times of prosperity?

If this famine occurred right now there would be shouts of global warming, climate change. and the need for man’s wisdom to put things back into order. Don’t get me wrong on this. We certainly need to be good stewards of God’s resources and mindful of waste and pollution but weather patterns, both short and long-term are in the Creator’s hands.

I am intrigued by Jacob’s question to his sons; “Why do you look at one another?” They have heard just like Jacob that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Their lack of making a decision to go and buy grain to survive baffled Jacob. He could see the answer to their immediate need but his sons were standing around looking at each other without any kind of action or plan of action. The famine had them stupefied. If you had a cow that no longer was giving milk and you needed milk, and your neighbor had more than enough milking cows to produce a surplus of milk, wouldn’t it seem like an easy enough decision to go buy some from them? Coming off 7 years of prosperity seems to have taken the creative thinking and problem-resolving ability from their brains concerning their current situation.

There are times in our lives that require action and there are times that require waiting. How can a person discerns when to apply constraints and wait, or take action and move on? For those who are believers, this can still be a time of indecision. Do I wait or do I move on? When we look to God in Faith the answer will come. In fact, it might be totally the opposite for two believers. God can move one to stay and another to move on. The key is by faith, reliance, and trust in and on God to speak to your heart and mind through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Faith is built on hope, trust, and reliance in and on God. Taking action while others are waiting or waiting while others are taking action is very hard to understand, but to those who have their hearts and minds reliant on God and ever-seeking to hear His quiet whispers leading them in their decisions will find a peace that passes all understanding in these times.

Too often times of prosperity result in neglect and complacency to things of God so that when times of famine, trials, and troubles arrive at your doorstep you are void of the ability to rely and trust in and on God. It is so sad this is the way of many who proclaim to be believers. If your life’s purpose is void of honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ in all you think, say, and do in times of prosperity it surely will be void in times of famine, trials, and troubles.

Now is the time to change the way you live. No longer live for self, but rather by the renewing of your mind and intentionally choosing to live in such a way that all you think, say, and do honors and glorifies Jesus Christ. Now is the time for in this purpose we find our faith, hope, trust, and reliance will grow and mature into that which honors and glorifies Jesus Christ.

38.m. “Here comes this dreamer”

Genesis 37:12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”

You have to wonder if Jacob sent Joseph to find his brothers because of where they had indicated they were tending the flock, in Shechem. Remember this is the place where the sons of Jacob killed the men and plundered their homes. Maybe Jacob feared retaliation from them, or maybe he thought his sons would be influenced by them into some worldly idolatry. Whatever the reason he sent Joseph to bring report back to him on how things were going. Why was Joseph not out tending the flock with his brothers? Was he so favored by Jacob that he was not treated the same and to the same work? Was it because Jacob worried about what his brothers would do to him if Joseph had more dreams and spoke of them? Whatever the reason Joseph was more than willing to go find them and see how they were doing. His brothers and flock were not at Shechem, they were at Dothan.

His brothers see Joseph coming and it is very evident they did not like Joseph at all. They conspired to kill him. Their sin was in their heart before they acted it out. The heart holds on to many things and far too often it holds onto sin like it is a precious gold nugget. They called him the dreamer, and by this, we know they harbored ill in their hearts about the dream he spoke to them about. They gave no thought to the fact that this dream could be a revelation from God. If they did they were going to do their best to thwart God’s plans.

If we are to take anything from this account in scripture, let it be to be mindful of what is in our hearts and minds, take inventory of what is there that is not pleasing to God, and cast it out, repenting of having let it reside there.

38.j. “And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father”

Genesis 37:1 Jacob lived in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

Joseph was loved and hated, favored and abused, tempted and trusted, exalted and abased. Yet at no point in the one-hundred-and-ten-year life of Joseph did he ever seem to get his eyes off God or cease to trust him. Adversity did not harden his character. Prosperity did not ruin him. He was the same in private as in public. He was a truly great man.” (Boice)

We all have ideas and dreams about what a perfect family should be. By anyone’s measure, Joseph’s family had a lot of problems. Jacob married two of his cousins, and took two more concubines. Between them all, they had twelve sons and one daughter. There most assuredly been constant competition and conflict among all the children and all the mothers. It was one great big messed-up family; still, it brought forth Joseph, and furthered God’s great plan of the ages. (Guzik)

There are some differences between Joseph and his brothers. They appear to be given into temptations and Joseph saw them as bad and reported it to his father, Jacob (Israel). It takes a strong mind to withstand the influences of others and a stronger one to withstand those of older siblings. Joseph at the age of 17 was able to discern right from wrong and chose to follow what was right.

There are many things that a group will determine it is ok and right to do by the mere fact of them agreeing on it. It has nothing to do with it being right with God and God-honoring. Cultures and societies do the same. They determine what is right in their own eyes without giving any thought to their creator and the purpose for which they were created. Obviously, Joseph’s brothers had the sense that because they were outside of Jacob’s view they could get away with whatever they wanted to do. This is no new thought in mankind. Many men think their actions, thoughts, and words are hidden from God and they will not be held accountable for them. Nothing is hidden from God. He knows our thoughts before words are spoken, He knows our actions from before they are given birth in a thought of defiance.

Having discernment between what is God honoring and glorifying and that which is not is a great gift to be desired in the life of every believer.

38.i. “Do not fear, for you have another son.”

Genesis 35:16 Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for you have another son.” And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day. Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.

Jacob is finally on track with God and following His lead back to his homeland. He has been visited by God and finally is wanting to obey Him. On the way, Rachel gives birth to Benjamin and dies. The woman he loves gives birth and dies. When we get right with God and turn away from that which is not in line with God’s leading, it doesn’t mean there will not be challenges or that life becomes easy and comfortable. Many times it does become a life of continual blessing with both physical and mental peace and joy, however, let us not forget God’s will, God’s plans, and God’s purposes. These will always be right, just, and holy. Even as I write this it is hard to put this into words that make sense. The joy of a son’s birth and your wife’s death does not seem like there is any comfort, peace, or joy. The emotions of both contradict each other. I can’t imagine these events on the same day. Life, this side of eternity, will be filled with deep valleys and high mountain tops. Both of these are under the loving hands of God. All I can truly say is that whether we are in a valley or on a mountain top our eyes need to continually rely on and trust in God. I find no other way to find peace for our souls.

38.h. “I am God Almighty”

Genesis 35:9 God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.” Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him. And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

When Jacob finally arrived at the place God told him to go, he immediately found great blessing. God appeared to him, God blessed him, and God called him by his new name (Israel). God granted Jacob a precious reminder of his place in God’s great covenant, begun with his grandfather Abraham. In this, Jacob did not need to hear anything new from God. He just needed to be reminded of what was true, and be encouraged to cling to it all. (Guzik)

Faith, obedience, trust, and reliance in Jesus Christ blesses the heart, soul, and mind. When we walk the lonely paths of self-directed, self-pleasing, and in self-reliance living, we will not find blessings, joy, peace, rest, refuge, firm-hope, courage, or power that is only rightly found in humble obedience following God’s leading each moment of every day.

38.e. “Because he had defiled their sister Dinah”

Genesis 34:1 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her………..Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing must not be done……….The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah……..On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered.

We remember that Jacob brought his family to a region in the Promised Land that God didn’t really want them to be in. It seems God directed him to return to Bethel (Genesis 31:13), and his time spent in the city of Shechem did much harm to his family. The Canaanite’s proposal to marry the daughter of Jacob after she was raped was a dangerous challenge to the covenant family. Irresponsible intermarriage with the Canaanites could prove especially harmful for this family with such an important destiny in God’s redemptive plan. Worse yet was the retribution of Simeon and Levi using deceit to carry out their plan of killing all of the men, taking captive the women and children, and plundering their livestock and homes. Their outrage is understood but their sense of what is just is not.

When we are led in a specific direction by God, we do well to follow that lead. Though we may feel safe and secure in our decision we can never know the full impact of that decision and the harm it will bring in the future. It is common for us to rely on ourselves for plans that seem right and for our good. Would it not be better to seek the counsel of God and rely on His leading, protection, wisdom, and leading us in doing what is best for His honor and glory? Nothing good comes from rejecting God’s leading or neglecting seeking His leading.

38.a. “He strove with the angel and prevailed”

Genesis 32:24 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.

Hosea 12:3-5 In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his manhood he strove with God. He strove with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought his favor. He met God at Bethel, and there God spoke with us— the LORD, the God of hosts, the LORD is his memorial name

Many think that as the narrative makes no mention in express terms either of sleep, or dream, or vision, it was a real transaction; while others, considering the bodily exhaustion of Jacob, his great mental anxiety, the kind of aid he supplicated, as well as the analogy of former manifestations with which he was favored—such as the ladder—have concluded that it was a vision [Calvin, Hessenberg, Hengstenberg]. The moral design of it was to revive the sinking spirit of the patriarch and to arm him with confidence in God, while anticipating the dreaded scenes of the morrow. To us it is highly instructive; showing that, to encourage us valiantly to meet the trials to which we are subjected, God allows us to ascribe to the efficacy of our faith and prayers, the victories which His grace alone enables us to make. (Jamison-Fausset=Brown)

This wrestling was real and corporeal in its nature, though it was also mystical and spiritual in its signfification, as we shall see, and it was accompanied with an inward wrestling by ardent prayers joined with tears. (Poole)

“this wrestling” was real and corporeal on the part of both; the man took hold of Jacob, and he took hold of the man, and they strove and struggled together for victory as wrestlers do; and on Jacob’s part it was also mental and spiritual, and signified his fervent and importunate striving with God in prayer; or at least it was attended with earnest and importunate supplications. (Gill)

When we come nearest to God, we must have a deep sense of our own personal weakness; it must never be supposed, if our suit prevails with heaven, that there is anything in us, or anything in our prayers, to account for our prevalence. Whatever power we have, must come from God’s grace alone; and hence, usually, when we pray so as to prevail with the Lord there is at the same time a shrinking of the sinew, a consciousness of weakness, a sense of pain; yet it is just then that we are prevailing, and therefore we may rest assured that our prayer will be answered. (Spurgeon)

Notice that we are told that “a man wrestled with Jacob;” not Jacob challenged the man. God took the initiative! God started it!!! And it lasted all night long. At this point in time, Jacob represents the fleshy nature of man – our old sinful nature that is constantly fighting against the Lord. Our old natures are stubborn, unyielding, fighting and self-sufficient. That is everything the saint of God should not be. The fact is, many of us are just like Jacob! We fight the Lord at every turn in our lives. God will tell us something is wrong and the old nature rebels against the Lord’s truth. (Johnson)

He will wrestle with us to break down our stubbornness; He will touch the sinew of our strength till we can hold out no more; He will withdraw from us till we insist that we cannot let Him go; He will awaken a mysterious longing and urgency within us, which He alone can satisfy. And as the memorable interview ends, He will have taught us that we prevail best when we are at our weakest, and will have whispered in our ear, in response to our entreaty, His own sublime Name, Shiloh, the Giver of Eternal Peace! (Meyer)

I have to confess I find this passage hard to understand and though there are some varying thoughts on it from very godly men, there is common agreement or alignment of the struggle’s significance. When we get alone with God and our heart is filled with worry, fear, and confusion over what tomorrow will bring, we have a struggle with it until we come to grips with who God is, and finally (we may need to be hindered in some physical way) surrender all trust and reliance in one’s self to the power, refuge, peace, and comfort in giving it over into God’s perfect plan and purpose for His honor and glory.

37.y. “You have known the distress of my soul”

Genesis 31:42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.”

Psalms 124:1-3 If it had not been the LORD who was on our side— let Israel now say—  if it had not been the LORD who was on our side when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us;

1 Chronicles 12:17    David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come to me in friendship to help me, my heart will be joined to you; but if to betray me to my adversaries, although there is no wrong in my hands, then may the God of our fathers see and rebuke you.”

Psalms 31:7    I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul,

Proverbs 20:22 Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!” Wait for the LORD, and he will avenge you.

Romans 12:17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes.

1 Thessalonians 5:15 See to it that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.

6 years Jacob endured hardship of the elements and ever-changing terms of his wages (ten times). Laban sought to change Jacobs’s wages in his favor. God was blessing Jacob and when Laban saw this blessing he would try to capitalize on it by changing Jacobs’s wages toward himself to how God was blessing Jacob. Is this any way to treat your nephew? Is this any way to fulfill and live up to a mutually agreed wage contract? Laban wanted what God had blessed Jacob with and was willing to set Jacob’s wages just opposite. He did this 10 times in 6 years.

I have to imagine that the first time God blessed the work of Jacob’s hands, Jacob was in awe of God’s provision and blessing. Can you imagine the feeling Jacob must have had at the first alteration of his wages by Laban? The wages change but the blessings did not. No matter how Laban changed the wages, God’s blessing of the work of Jacob’s hands did not change. Jacob having witnessed this cheating 10 times and the attitude of Laban deteriorating toward him and he is told by an angel of God to return to his homeland, he determines to go back taking his rightful wages. Jacob, Leah, Rachel, Laban, and certainly anyone living here would have seen the blessings of God on Jacob.

We can tell from scripture that Jacob was fully aware of Laban cheating him. Being cheated or trying to be cheated upon never feels good and can affect the heart and mind of the person being cheated, and yet, Jacob continued without recorded complaint. There was no tit for tat on Jacob’s part. This easily could have consumed him and developed into evil intents, bad work ethic, retaliation, etc…. Jacob did not.

We do well to trust God in all things, honor and glorify Him in all things, and give careful thought to how we serve Him in regards to these.