Exodus Chapter 8

19 The magicians said to Pharaoh, This is the finger of God. But Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the LORD had said.

There are three plagues in this chapter: frogs, lice or gnats (depends on which bible translation you use) and flies. During each plague, the Egyptians suffer dreadfully, and Pharaoh pleads with Moses to ask the Lord to remove the plague. But afterwards, Pharaoh hardens his heart and refuses to let the Israelites go, even when his own magicians fail to reproduce the same effect as the plague and tell Pharaoh that it is the hand of God. Moses here demonstrates such great faith, such trust in God, and it is evident to all watching (except Pharaoh, obviously) that the hand of God is at work. God may well be moving in the miraculous in our lives, but He may also be moving in the small things, the ones that are not so obvious.

Isn't Pharaoh like us today? Bad things happen, we are overwhelmed by cares and worries, and we cry out to God, but as soon as our burdens are lifted, we go back to our old ways, ignoring God, relying on our own abilities until the next time when we have need of God. It is doing exactly what Pharaoh tries to do here- compromise with God. Pharaoh wants the Israelites to go worship in Egypt, not three days away in the desert, but God wanted Pharaoh to let his people go. This meant sending them into the desert, away from the control of Pharaoh with the risk they would not return. In the same way, God can ask things of us that mean we have to give up something (sex, drugs, alcohol, gossiping, lying, cheating, watching porn and so on), or do something we haven't done before (getting up and speaking before people, helping out, giving our time, money, etc.). If we don't want to do this, often we try and compromise, agree only to watch tv for an hour, instead of three, play pc games instead of console games, have one glass of wine instead of a bottle.

But God calls for obedience, complete obedience, not just the parts we agree on. God can see the whole master plan and He knows what is in store for us, the choices we will make, the decisions we will face. He knows each one of us inside out, and He does not ask for half hearted obedience, like when I ask the children to help washing the dishes and they dry two pans and then disappear upstairs to their bedrooms because I am slow getting the clean dishes onto the draining board. God wants all of us, not just our Sunday mornings in church, but the mornings, afternoons and evenings, each day of the week, and He wants our hearts turned to Him, focusing on Him, seeking His kingdom not ours, and living for His glory.

Maybe if we did that, if I did that, we would see the finger of God moving in our lives, instead of lurching from one crisis to the next.

Exodus chapter 7

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.

I was reading up on this earlier, and one snippet of information I read was about the fact that the Egyptians worshipped the Nile, therefore by sending the plague of blood first, God was executing judgment on the gods of the Egyptians before He turned his attention to the people. It also put forward the idea that one of the reasons the Israelites left Egypt so wealthy was because the Egyptians had to buy water from them as there was no other way to get water that did not turn to blood.

Pharaoh was considered to be a god, and here, the Lord is telling Moses that he will make him as a god to Pharaoh. In that way, Pharaoh would see Moses as his equal, someone of the same standing with just as much power at his hands as Pharaoh had. Just as Aaron was the prophet for Moses, so the magicians were the prophets for Pharaoh.

The magicians of Pharaoh could do the same as Aaron, either by illusion and trickery or through satanic powers as they worshipped gods of the underworld as part of their religion. They too were able to turn their staffs into snakes (although Aaron's snake swallowed theirs!) and water into blood. They could not, however, turn the blood back into water and on reading this passage again, I realised that it doesn't actually say that the Nile turned back into water. It just says that seven days passed from when Aaron struck the Nile. Now when did the Nile, the other rivers, canals and so on turn back to water? I mean, we know they obviously did, but the bible doesn't, as far as I can see here, actually say. Also, the seven day period is significant, because seven is the number of completeness, so maybe the Nile turned back to water after seven days?

Either way, it is now a case of Moses trusting completely in God, obeying Him, and relying on Him in the battle with Pharaoh and the magicians for the lives of the Israelites.

Exodus Chapter 6

6 Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.

7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.

8 And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.'

9 Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage.

God spells out in no uncertain terms exactly what will happen when the Israelites trust in Him and obey. Yet when Moses reported this to them, they refused to listen, because they were worn down by the Egyptians, they were full of discouragement and could see no end to their slavery.

Isn’t this just as true of each one of us at times? We read the bib le, we hear the word of God and we know the plans He has for us, plans to give us a hope and a future, not to harm us, and yet we have trouble believing. We are weighed down by our circumstances, by our problems, ill health, death in the family, marital problems, financial problems, trouble at school or college, lack of friends and support, problems with the children, problems because we don't have children, and so on. We let the cares and worries of this world blind us to the glory of the next, and we choose to dwell in our misery, to let our burdens overwhelm us rather than trusting in God and turning to Him. Just like the Israelites who let the worry about the brick quota and the harsh treatment from the slave drivers and foreman blind them to God and all that He had promised. They were worn down by their circumstances.

But God's promises are just as true today for each one of believers as they were for the Israelites back then. We may not see our employer troubled by a plague of frogs, the water at work may not turn to blood, and the people who are picking on us may well not suffer from a plague of boils, but we can rest assured that no matter who we are, no matter what we have done, no matter how much or how little we have, God is with us, He has redeemed us by the blood of Jesus with his outstretched arm. He has taken us as his own people, and He is our God.

Exodus chapter 5

2 Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go."

"Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go."

How many times do you hear this, or the equivalent from people who do not know God and have no apparent desire to know Him? There is so much prejudice in the world, so much ill feeling, and a lot of it is directed towards Christians. I've been reading about the Christians in Orissa, and the persecution that thousands of them are currently undergoing from Hindu radicals. The Hindus are basically blaming the Christians for the death of one of their Swami, even though Maoists have repeatedly claimed responsibility and have killed many, forced thousands to flee to government camps or the forests, and are now trying to poison their water supply. I read some blogs and news reports on this, and the comments that people had left after each one were so biased, so prejudiced, even from Christian commentators. How can people of faith, who profess to know God, treat one another in this way?

Pharaoh was presumably a man of faith as the Egyptians had many gods, yet he did not know the one true living God. The Hindus in India are presumably men (and women) of faith, taking revenge for the murder of one of their leaders, and yet they do not know the one true living God either. It is heartbreaking to read of what is happening in India, of the murders, the persecution, just as it is heartbreaking to read of what happened to the Israelites when they asked for leave to go worship in the desert. I am sure Moses thought it would all be plain sailing. After all, with God on his side, what could possibly go wrong? Yet the straw was taken away and the daily quota of bricks remained unchanged, forcing the Israelites to work longer hours as they had to find the straw with which to make the bricks.

Just because God is on our side (or rather, we are on the side of God), does not mean we will necessarily have an easy time of it, quite the opposite in fact as we may be ridiculed for our faith, looked down on, and depending upon where we live, may even lose our jobs, our homes, our families, and be imprisoned (and possibly tortured) or killed.

Here, Moses and Aaron followed God's instructions, and as a result of going to see Pharaoh, the Israelites suffered. Sometimes, life is worse after you become a Christian then before. There are women in India who are treated little better than slaves, working for rich Moslems. They may be ill treated and raped, and then thrown out of their employer's house onto the streets, where many of them have no option but to become prostitutes in order to help support their family. How can life be better for them in those circumstances? Yet their faith is so deep, so strong, it puts me to shame. And I expect that the Moslems believe their faith is just as strong, just as deep.

Exodus chapter 4

1 Moses answered, What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The Lord did not appear to you'?

How many times do I tell myself that I am imagining things, that God really isn't speaking to me, that there is no way He would want me to do that because I am just not capable of it? Yet God does use each one of us, even when we think we can't do the job or have no confidence in our abilities.

Here, Moses is adamant that he can't go back and act on behalf of the Israelites and comes up with a number of reasons why.

Firstly, he says they won't believe him or listen to him, and even if they do, they won't believe God has spoken to him. So God gives him three signs, using Moses' shepherd's staff, his hand and water. Basic things that are on hand, ordinary things used for an extraordinary purpose.

Secondly, Moses says he isn't very good with words, he is "slow of speech and tongue" so God reminds him who has given him his mouth, his speech, his hearing and sight. If God has called us to do a job, then He will equip us (and I wonder if He would equip me with Photoshop CS4, lol, or am I being really cheeky in asking for a copy?!!).

Then finally, Moses comes right out and asks God to send someone else. And God gets angry. After telling Moses he is the man for the job, equipping him with the necessary tools and telling him He will be with him, speaking through him, He knows Moses can do the job but just lacks confidence. So he agrees to let Aaron speak for Moses, but Moses will tell Aaron what God has said.

Don't we all do this at times? Suffer from a lack of self confidence and belief in our own capabilities when God as called us to do something? It is easy to compare ourselves with others and see our shortcomings (just as it is easy to compare ourselves and find faults or sins in others that we would never do…..and yet what faults/sins do we have that are just as bad, or even worse?) yet if we have been asked by God to do something, asked by the One who created the Universe and all that is in it, that causes the sun to rise in the morning and set in the evening, who knows us inside out, warts and all, knows our strengths, our weakness, our faults and flaws, our skills, our sins, if He has asked us to do something, then He must have a reason for picking us. It may not seem like it to us, but nothing God does is without reason, and He knows the master plan, can see the results of what we have been asked to do, and He has the confidence in us, the faith, so why do we not trust in Him likewise?

Exodus Chapter 3

5 Do not come any closer, God said. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.

6 Then he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

11 But Moses said to God, Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?

12 And God said, I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.

Moses is out tending his father in law's sheep when he sees a burning bush and goes over to investigate. The bush is not burning up, but continues to burn and as Moses approaches, he hears God calling his name. Moses is told to take off his sandals, because he is standing on holy ground, and he hides his face because he is afraid to look at God. Reverence and awe is shown here. Moses shows God reverence, respect, by taking off his sandals, and awe because he knows just how unworthy he is, how small, in comparison to God.

It is easy to go to church on Sunday with a very casual attitude, to go, chat with people, sing a few songs, listen to someone preaching, maybe have a cup of coffee afterwards and then go home. But what about God? Do we show the reverence and awe, the praise and the worship that it is due? God is not some airy fairy being who will grant all our wishes, a Mr Fixit guaranteed to sort everything out for us, someone we can blame when things go wrong, when bad things happen. He is the one who created the universe and all that is in it. There was nothing, and then God created the heavens and the earth. He could destroy each and everyone of us without even blinking, He has the world at his fingertips. He knew before He created the world exactly what would happen, and Jesus knew even as He was speaking the world into existence that he would ended up on the cross. What kind of love is that, that knew even before there was anything there, just how much pain and suffering they would go through but still went ahead anyway?

Do we approach him with the right attitude, with respect, with love, adoration, worship and praise? Are our minds and hearts focused on God, on all that He is, all that He has done, or are we busy thinking about what we are going to have for Sunday lunch, things that have happened during the week, who we want to talk to after the service, what we are doing in the coming week?

And what about trust, about believing in God when He asks us to do something? I mean, like Moses, I often ask myself who am I that I should be doing this, that or the other. What does God see in me that is so special and how come He thinks I can do those things? Yet there are tings happening in my life, things that have changed this year that I never thought possible or even dreamt about. Yes, I kind of fell into them by chance, but maybe, this is all something that God has planned, designed, and He has given me the ability to do these things. I may work in the background, behind the scenes, but I know that what I do gives people cause to think, and getting people to think about God can never be a bad thing.

Like Moses, I may question God about why me and what can I possibly do, but if God has called us to do something, then he will equip us for the task. We are not alone, and we are not helpless. After all, we have the creator of the universe giving us the resources we need to do the job He has asked us to do, we just need to have faith and to trust in Him.

Exodus chapter 2

3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.

14 The man said, Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian? Then Moses was afraid and thought, What I did must have become known.

15 When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.

23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.

24 God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.

25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.

This chapter covers a number of years and there is so much going on in it. The one thing that strikes me above all, though , is about having faith and trusting in God.

Firstly, Moses' mother. She can't do anything about Pharaoh and what he has decreed, but she can try and do the best she can for her son to ensure his safety. You would think that leaving a three month baby in a basket in the river would be sure to lead to the boy's death. But no, she trusts in God to protect her son, and he ends up being taken in by Pharaoh's daughter and the mother becomes the wet nurse. As a result of this, Moses grows up in the palace, having the best of everything, good clothes, fine wine, food, and the best education he possibly could.

And then Moses sees the Hebrews being mistreated and kills an Egyptian when he thinks no one is looking. Now the bible doesn't go into detail here, but I get the impression that Moses didn't kill the Egyptian whilst he was beating up a Hebrew but he waited until the Egyptian was alone. Otherwise, Moses would have known that at least one other person was watching him (the Hebrew who was being beaten up). Moses took matters into his own hands, thought he could save his fellow Hebrews by committing murder. He did not wait on God, trust in God for rescue, but took the action he thought appropriate.

But murder is wrong, and someone did see Moses. He did not act in the dark with no one else around, but someone saw what he did and it must have become common knowledge amongst the Hebrews. As a result, Moses had to flee to Midian to escape punishment from Pharaoh. Maybe if he had not committed murder, God would have used him in some other way. Maybe Moses needed the time in Midian to grow, to become the man that God could use in such a marvellous way. Who knows?

When Moses gets to Midian, he is able to use his superior fighting skills to rescue the seven daughters of Reuel from the shepherds, and so ends up becoming a member of Reuel's family.

Then the chapter ends with the Israelites groaning under the treatment of the Egyptians and crying out to God for help. And God looked down on them and remembered his covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and was concerned about them. Some 40 years have passed since Moses fled to Midian. The Israelites would have been crying out to God in each of those 40 years, probably everyday of each year, and yet only now does God act. Sometimes, it just seems unbelievable that God doesn't do something, we end up feeling so alone, as if no one cares and we are the one having to do everything, yet again. But God is there, just as he was there everyday of those 40 years with the Israelites. We may not feel his presence, we may feel totally abandoned, lost, alone, deprived. But God is there with us, He is crying with us, holding us, laughing with us, watching over us and nothing we do escapes his attention. He knows the number of the hairs on his head, and even we don't know that.

Like the Israelites, we just have to keep calling out to God, to trust in Him no matter what and to wait on His timing, not ours.

Exodus Chapter 1

1 Moses answered, What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The Lord did not appear to you'?

How many times do I tell myself that I am imagining things, that God really isn't speaking to me, that there is no way He would want me to do that because I am just not capable of it? Yet God does use each one of us, even when we think we can't do the job or have no confidence in our abilities.

Here, Moses is adamant that he can't go back and act on behalf of the Israelites and comes up with a number of reasons why.

Firstly, he says they won't believe him or listen to him, and even if they do, they won't believe God has spoken to him. So God gives him three signs, using Moses' shepherd's staff, his hand and water. Basic things that are on hand, ordinary things used for an extraordinary purpose.

Secondly, Moses says he isn't very good with words, he is "slow of speech and tongue" so God reminds him who has given him his mouth, his speech, his hearing and sight. If God has called us to do a job, then He will equip us (and I wonder if He would equip me with Photoshop CS4, lol, or am I being really cheeky in asking for a copy?!!).

Then finally, Moses comes right out and asks God to send someone else. And God gets angry. After telling Moses he is the man for the job, equipping him with the necessary tools and telling him He will be with him, speaking through him, He knows Moses can do the job but just lacks confidence. So he agrees to let Aaron speak for Moses, but Moses will tell Aaron what God has said.

Don't we all do this at times? Suffer from a lack of self confidence and belief in our own capabilities when God as called us to do something? It is easy to compare ourselves with others and see our shortcomings (just as it is easy to compare ourselves and find faults or sins in others that we would never do…..and yet what faults/sins do we have that are just as bad, or even worse?) yet if we have been asked by God to do something, asked by the One who created the Universe and all that is in it, that causes the sun to rise in the morning and set in the evening, who knows us inside out, warts and all, knows our strengths, our weakness, our faults and flaws, our skills, our sins, if He has asked us to do something, then He must have a reason for picking us. It may not seem like it to us, but nothing God does is without reason, and He knows the master plan, can see the results of what we have been asked to do, and He has the confidence in us, the faith, so why do we not trust in Him likewise?

Genesis Chapter 50

16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, Your father left these instructions before he died:
17 'This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father. When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. We are your slaves, they said.
19 But Joseph said to them, Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God?
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
21 So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children. And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

Even though Joseph had forgiven his brothers and told them this, they were worried that after Jacob's death, he would take revenge. They had been worrying about this all their lives, expecting some form of divine retribution and found it hard to believe that Joseph would actually tell them he forgave them and really mean it.

One of the hardest thing of all, perhaps, is to not only to accept forgiveness from others but to forgive ourselves. It is one thing to forgive others, to accept what they have done and turn the other cheek, but how do you forgive yourself for some of the mean and rotten things you have done? It is easy to think of yourself as worthless, unlovable, unwanted, too sinful to be forgiven. And far easier to forgive the things others have done to hurt you. How can you accept forgiveness when you know how selfish, how hurtful, how wrong you have been?

But each and every one of us is important to God, from the tramps sleeping rough in the streets, to the most powerful men in each country. I, my children, my husband and parents, brothers, their families, are no less important in God's eyes than the men running the country, government officials, doctors, dentists, teachers, ministers, soldiers, sailors, airmen, our neighbours, the man across the street, the woman serving behind the counter in Asda, we are all important to God, each and every one of us. No matter who we are, what we have done, God loves us more than words could ever express, and he demonstrated this love when he sent his one and only son to die on the cross for our sins, that we might spend eternity with him.

And just as Joseph wept when he heard what his brothers had to say, how they did not believe he had forgiven them, so God weeps when he hears how we distrust him, how we can't believe we have been forgiven and how we cannot forgive ourselves.

Genesis chapter 49

8 Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you.

9 You are a lion's cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness— who dares to rouse him?

10 The sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.

11 He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.

12 His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.

Jacob is dying and calls together all his sons, so he can tell them what will happen to them in the days to come. These are prophetic words to each son, and I love the words he speaks to Judah, foretelling of the coming of Jesus.

Judah has changed so much from the man who came up with the idea of selling his own brother into slavery, the man who slept with a his own daughter in law thinking she was a prostitute, into a man who is prepared to sacrifice everything to avoid hurting his father, one who outs others first not last.

When God is at work in our lives, we can experience changes like these too. It is a case of allowing the Holy Spirit to change us from within, to make us more Christ like. This can be something that literally happens overnight, or can take days, weeks, months, even years. But it will only happen if we allow it as God has given us free will and will not enforce change on us.

Judah took years to be the man he is here, the one who offers his own life as a slave in place of his younger brother, Benjamin. And the fact that he is the one that had Joseph sold into slavery is forgotten by God (Psalm 103:12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us) which I think is just wonderful. To know that when we accept Jesus as our Saviour, God puts out of his mind all the bad things we have done and turns us into the people we were always meant to be.

Genesis Chapter 48

15 Then he blessed Joseph and said,
May the God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my shepherd
all my life to this day,
16 the Angel who has delivered me from all harm
— may he bless these boys.
May they be called by my name
and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,
and may they increase greatly
upon the earth.

This is the blessing given by Jacob to Manasseh and Ephraim, Joseph's sons. In this, he refers to God as his shepherd through all his life. This is a change from the man he once was, the man who relied on his wits to get by, being tricky and scheming, and always trying to get one over on everyone else. It took years for Jacob to recognise God's hand in his life, for him to give the praise and thanks to God, to know that He was the one watching over Jacob.

Sometimes it can take years for us to recognise God's hand in our lives. We can go through life regardless of God, never giving Him a thought, doing what we want, when we want, without regard to the "rightness" of what we are doing. Yet God is there with us regardless, He sees everything we do, knows the troubles we go through, the pain, the hopes, the joys, and He has counted our tears and placed each and every single one of them in a bottle and recorded every one of them.

What kind of God is this, who takes such care over each and every one of us, even when we totally ignore Him and go our own way? When we refuse to even acknowledge that there is a God, He is there by our side, keeping track of all that we do, and He is there crying with us, laughing with us, caring for us no matter where we are, or what we are doing.

He is the good shepherd, the one looking after his flock no matter who they are, where they are whether they know there is a shepherd there or not, or even if they don't care whether there is a shepherd. And I thank God that He does.

Genesis Chapter 47

5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, Your father and your brothers have come to you,
6 and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock.

Joseph's brothers try to kill him, then sell him into slavery. Joseph goes to work for Potiphar, is falsely accused by his wife, and ends up in prison. He is ignored and forgotten by the chief cup-bearer, who's dream Joseph interprets, and it takes many years before he becomes Pharaoh's right hand man. Yet all this time, God is with Joseph, because what the brothers intended for harm, God used for good, to save an entire nation from death.

Sometimes, life is hard, bad things happen no matter who we are or what we believe in. Yet God is there with each one of us, and ass it says in Psalm 56:8 You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.

Joseph became the man he was because of the things that he went through. He started off as a proud, boastful boy, and ended up a strong devout man, giving God the thanks and praise for all that had happened to Him, and acknowledging that God had been with him at every point in his life, when he was down the pit before being sold into slavery, when he was taken as a slave to Potiphar's house, when he was given charge of everything by Potiphar, when he was falsely accused by Potiphar's wife, when he was thrown into prison and then forgotten about , when he was given authority by the gaoler, when he interpreted Pharaoh's dream and became one of the most powerful men in the country. At no time was God absent in his life, and I reckon that the bottle with Joseph's tears in it must be full as he went through some difficult times.

But God is with each one of us too, holding us when we cry, when things get tough, when times are hard, and He is also with us when times are good, when we are happy. He rejoices and cries with us. He feels our pain, knows our hurts and experiences our joy. It is just that our tears and hurts blind us to His presence, and our joy takes our thoughts away from Him.

We need to focus on God through the good as well as the bad. To turn to Him when times are hard and to rejoice with Him when times are good. Because only with God in our lives can we make sense of all that happens to us, and get the right perspective on life.

Genesis Chapter 46

2 And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, Jacob! Jacob! Here I am, he replied.
    3 I am God, the God of your father, he said. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.
    4 I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph's own hand will close your eyes.

God appears to Jacob in a vision and tells him that it is all right to go to Egypt, that He will be with Jacob and his family, and that Jacob will see his son, Joseph, again.

Sometimes, it is hard to know what to do when faced with choices, whether to do A, or B, or C. And yes, we may pray about it, ask God for guidance, but we don't all get the visions, the pictures. Life would be so much easier if we did, to be honest. If every time we needed to make an important decision, we had vision. But knowing the will of God is something that I think comes over time, that gradually develops as we deepen our walk with God. After all, if we are regularly spending time with Him, in prayer, bible study and just talking to Him, then we will get to know Him. And when we know God, He will talk to us about what He would have us do.

It may be a nudge, a reminder about something that keeps popping into our mind, it may be something someone has said to us, or something we have read in the bible or heard in a sermon, but sooner or later we will hear from God. It may not be in a full colour vision with stereophonic sound accompanied by thunder and lightening, it may well be in the still of the night, in the words of advice from a friend, a bible verse that we keep getting pointed to. It can be in any of umpteen different ways, but we need to have patience and wait on God. To trust in Him no matter what we are gong through, and just keep our heart, our eyes and our ears ever listening, looking and watching out for God.

Genesis chapter 45

7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
    8 So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.


Being a Christian doesn't mean that life will be a bed of roses. We won't necessarily have the BMW, the big house, the designer clothes, the high powered job and plenty of money in the bank. Yes, God may bless us with these things, but if we don't have them, it is not a sign that we don't have enough faith, or that God is not with us.

Sometimes, bad things happen, even to Christians. And here, Joseph is telling his brothers that even though they were the ones who sold him into slavery, God was using that to bring Joseph to Egypt to save the nation of Israel. Like it says in Romans 8:28, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Joseph was called to save the nation and God used his brothers' actions to bring this about.

God will use the actions of the wicked and change the intended result for the better. I mean, who would have thought that being sold into slavery would save your family from death many years later?

And what is even more interesting here I find, is that Joseph bears no grudge against either his brothers or God. It would be easy to remember what his brothers had done, to let a root of bitterness and anger develop and change him into a hard, cruel man, unforgiving uncaring. Then again, he could easily have blamed God for allowing all this to happen, for sending him into slavery. Just as we can allow bitterness to take root when we are hurt, to hold a grudge against those who have maligned us, and to blame God for not stepping in, for not protecting us from harm, from danger, from hurt.

It is how we deal with the challenges and obstacles we face that shows our faith, how much we believe and trust in God. Like the believers in a church in one country where Christians are persecuted, when two armed soldiers rushed in, waving their guns around and told them that anyone who was not prepared to die for their faith should leave. Several left and then the soldiers announced they too were believers, and had been looking for others to worship with but only wanted to worship with those who were prepared to die for their faith. The ones who had stayed in the church demonstrated by their actions that they believed in Jesus.

I have to wonder whether my actions demonstrate a belief in God, in Jesus , in the Holy Spirit. Would someone be able to look at me and know I am a Christian by my behaviour, or do I just act the same as everyone else? Would I be a Joseph, willing to forgive others and trust in God, or would I harbour grudges, be selfish and self centred and always looking out for myself?

Genesis chapter 44

34 How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come upon my father.

What a change has been wrought in Judah. From a man who suggested selling hi brother to the Ishmaelites, married a Canaanite woman and then ended up sleeping with his daughter in law, thinking she was a prostitute, you have here a man who is prepared to accept responsibility. A man who stands before his brothers and freely offers his own life as a slave in the place of his younger brother. He was more concerned about his brother and his father than he was about himself.

It shows how God was at work in Judah all those years. The changes in him were not something that happened overnight. After all, Judah had had two of his sons marry and die. But here he is, willing to accept a life of slavery to save his father's favoured son, with no thought for himself . He stepped out to face Joseph, who presumably could have had him killed just for speaking out, and offered himself as a slave instead of Benjamin.

Sometimes, God changes us immediately, and the change is apparent to everyone. Like the drug taker who on converting to Christianity, immediately stops taking drugs, or the man who swears with every other word whose stops swearing immediately. Other times, it takes longer, as we are changed over months, years. We become less hard, less selfish, are more considerate of others. Gradually, the Holy spirit changes us form within and we become filled with the fruits of the spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.

Genesis Chapter 43

23 It's all right, he said. Don't be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver. Then he brought Simeon out to them.


You know, you have to feel sorry for Simeon in this chapter. Very little mention is made of him, yet he is the one stuck in prison, whilst his brothers go home and spend so much time there that they could have been to Egypt and back twice. It would have been easy for Simeon to become bitter. After all, he had practically been abandoned by his family, he knew the terms of his release and it would have been evident to him that his father would rather lose him than Benjamin.

But no mention is made of this in the bible, and I am pretty sure that if Simeon had come out of prison full of bitterness and hatred, it would tell us this. Maybe, just maybe, the time alone (I'm assuming he was in his own cell in prison here, although I am sure that the prison was as comfortable as Joseph could arrange it) gave him pause for thought, gave him the chance to reflect on what had gone on over the years, how he had treated his younger brother Joseph and how he and his brothers had spent the intervening years worrying about this and regretting what they had done. Maybe this time in prison when he didn't have to tend the flocks, see to the herds, and do all the million and one other things he was always doing when at home meant he could spend time with God, reflecting, meditating, repenting.

I think we all need time like this, time when we are not in a rush to get to work, do the school run, sort out the children, finish that piece of work, and anything and everything that fills our lives in this busy world. We live in such a fast paced world, where there is always something to be done and the "to do" list just keeps getting longer and longer. I often wish I had the time to just take some time out, to spend time in prayer and meditation instead of getting up ever earlier to make sure I have enough time to do everything. Everything always seems so rushed, and I always seem to be in such a hurry that I never truly appreciate those moments when I can just sit and be still.

I reckon we could all do with some time on our own like Simeon, not that I am advocating going to prison here mind! But just allocating part of our day to just sit and be with God, to take time out, even if it is only a few minutes, and just spend it with God, in quiet, and just listening for what God has to say to each one of us.

Genesis Chapter 42

21 They said to one another, Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that's why this distress has come upon us.
37 Then Reuben said to his father, You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back.


Firstly, the one thing that the brothers think of when Joseph accuses them of being spies is that they are being punished for what they did to Joseph. Years have passed since they sold Joseph into slavery and yet this is the first thing that springs to mind. They were consumed by their guilt and had probably spent all the intervening years with that nagging sense of having done something wrong, always worrying about what they had done, whether Jacob would find out and so on. They had had no peace in all those years.

But what a change had been wrought in the brothers. Here, Reuben accepts responsibility, stands up to his father and promises to bring Benjamin back safely or else Jacob can kill Reuben's two sons. Whereas all those years ago, he went along with the scheme to kill Joseph and did nothing to prevent harm coming to his brother. Just as God had been working on Joseph, changing him from the proud young man to a man who knew that God was in control, a man of responsibility, of status, working to keep nations alive through a severe famine, God had also been working on the brothers, making them appreciate the wrong they had done and turning them from jealous, insecure men to men who could be relied upon and trusted, men who would do the right thing no matter what the cost. They could have become even more hardened, have continued to close their hearts and minds to God. I mean, men who would do this to their brother are capable of anything, and it would have been so easy so slip down the road of always trying to get their own way, being self centred and using their strength to get what they wanted.

In the same way, God is working on each one of us believers making us more like Jesus each and every day. For some, this may be something that takes place very quickly, for others it takes years. It can be a quick process or a gradual one. What matters is that we are prepared to accept God working on us, that we allow the Holy Spirit to change us from within, and that we have the patience to wait and see what God does.

Genesis Chapter 41

16 I cannot do it, Joseph replied to Pharaoh, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.
38 So Pharaoh asked them, Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?
    39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, Since God has made all this known to you, there is no-one so discerning and wise as you.
    40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.

Yet again Joseph defers to God and gives him the praise. It would have been so easy to tell Pharaoh that yes, he could interpret dreams and then to take the reward for himself. Instead, Joseph puts God first, makes a suggestion about putting a wise man in charge of the problem and does not push himself forward at all.

This is difficult to imagine in this day and age, when it seems that it is every man for himself, that you have to always be pushing yourself forward, presenting yourself in the best possible light to get on, get moving, get rich. Imagine what a better place the workplace would be if everyone took this attitude? If instead of stabbing in the back a colleague, trying to outdo others all the time, get the promotion, the favour of the boss, you actually took the time and the trouble to give the glory to God, because after all, isn't he the one who has given you the ability to do that job? Yes you may have studied and gained the qualifications, you may have applied for the job and had the experience they were looking for, were prepared to work for that pay and do those hours, but God is the one who gave you the experience, the intelligence to pass the exams, the patience to do those hours, and so on.

Joseph could have literally have written his own blank cheque there and had Pharaoh sign it, but instead, he gave the glory to God and was rewarded accordingly.

Genesis Chapter 40

8 We both had dreams, they answered, but there is no-one to interpret them. Then Joseph said to them, Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.


After all he has been through, when he could have ranted and railed against God or spent his days bemoaning his lot, Joseph keeps God at the centre of his life. He knows his own limitations and that God is the one who has all the answers, to whom all the praise is due, no matter what the situation.

How often do I do that? Turn to God no matter what is happening around me and look to him for the answer, the solution the help and guidance? All too readily I always try and sort things out on my own, focus on what I can do, how I can solve the problem instead of asking God.

Joseph has grown so much whilst in slavery - he has changed from a boy who proudly tells his brothers his dreams in which they come off worse, and gladly tells his father what his brothers have been up to, to a man to whom others turn to for help and guidance, a man who trust in God and knows that all he has and all he can do comes from God alone.

This is such an example of faith, of trust in God despite all the circumstances being against him, and one day, maybe I will have a fraction of the faith Joseph had.

Genesis Chapter 39

2 The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.
21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favour in the eyes of the prison warder.


The Lord was with Joseph both when he was a slave in the house of Potiphar and also when he was falsely accused and imprisoned.

Sometimes, bad things happen to Christians - we or a loved one gets sick, we have marital problems, financial problems, problems with the children (or maybe we don't have children but long to have a child), job problems and so on as well as spiritual attack from the enemy (which may also take the form of illness, financial problems and so on). We may also be persecuted for our faith, depending upon where we live in the world.

Being a Christian is not necessarily easy. I can't imagine for one minute that Joseph felt good being shoved down a well by his brothers, sold into slavery, working for Potiphar, being falsely accused and then thrown into prison. Yet the bible doesn't tell us that Joseph moaned and groaned. What it does tell us is that The Lord was with Joseph. When he was dragged off to slavery, probably beaten and starved on the way, the Lord was with him. When he was made to work for Potiphar, probably starting off with the lowliest, dirtiest and most unpleasant jobs, the Lord was with him. When Potiphar's wife accused him of rape, the Lord was with him, and when he was thrown into prison, the Lord was with him. At no time was God absent from Joseph's life, even when Joseph was having a hard time.

I reckon this is the same for each one of us. When we get ill, when people close to us are in pain, when we have problems paying the bills, when the children get into trouble, when we have problems with college/school/work, when people mock and ridicule us because of our faith, the Lord is with us. In the darkest hours, our deepest needs, even when we feel so lost and alone and as if no one cares, the Lord is with us, just as he was with Joseph.

We may not have the miraculous healings, the abundance of blessings in our bank account, the promotion or job we so desperately want, top marks for that exam or homework, we may still be ridiculed despite all our prayers, but we are never, ever alone and the Lord is always, but always, with us.

Genesis Chapter 38

26 Judah recognised them and said, She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah. And he did not sleep with her again.


I read Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers and one of the stories in that is about Tamar. Having read that story, it certainly explains, to me, the motives here and made this whole episode far more understandable.

Judah moves to Canaan, as Adullam was one of the royal cities of Canaan and was near Gath. He married a Canaanite woman, just as Esau did, and she gave him three sons. The first one was wicked and God took his life. The second one refused to give his brother's widow a child, so God took his life too, and the third one was still a child at the start of this chapter. In those times, it was tradition that when a man died, his brother would marry the widow and that the first born child would be the heir of the deceased brother. This is to ensure that the childless widow would have a son who would receive her late husband's inheritance. By refusing to give Tamar a child, Onan was depriving her of her rights. Then in not allowing her to marry his third son, Shelah, Judah was doing exactly the same thing.
So Tamar took things into her own hands and dressed as a prostitute and seduced Judah. She became pregnant, and when accused of prostitution, confronted Judah with his act and he acknowledged that she had acted more rightly than he had in this situation.

Judah is clearly demonstrating double standards here by making use of a prostitute himself and then saying she had to be burned when accused of acting like a prostitute. One rule for him, and another for a woman. It was only when confronted with evidence that he was the father, that he realised what had happened. A lot of people show double standards and it is so easy to criticise someone for doing, for instance, as Tamar did, yet not criticising Judah for making use of a prostitute.

It is easy to find fault with someone for gossiping, when you actually tell another person the news of what someone has been up to, just passing on news, definitely not gossiping yourself, no way….What about when someone close to you acts very selfishly, demanding their own way all the time, and then you go and get cross when someone pushes in front of you in a traffic jam, or in a queue at a shop? Isn't that the same thing? It’s far easier to spot the sin in someone else's life than it is to see it in ourselves.

Interestingly, Jesus is descended from Judah through Tamar, so it shows God used this even though prostitution is condemned as a serious sin. Judah did a turn around in later chapters, and became the son Jacob must surely have been proud of through his later behaviour.

Genesis chapter 37

2 This is the account of Jacob.
Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him.
4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

Joseph was his father's favourite and his brothers knew it. Joseph also reported everything they did to their father, and because he told Jacob all the bad things they did, they held a grudge against Joseph. The thing is, though, that if they had not been doing anything bad, then Joseph would only have had good things to report. They obviously perceived Joseph as a tell tale, a goodie two shoes doing everything their father asked and were jealous of his favourite son status.

It is difficult if you love one child more than another to remain impartial, but it is essential to try and do this so as to be fair to each child. I always try to make sure that we treat all our children the same, and I know they watch to make sure one is not getting a better, more expensive birthday present than another, for instance. They keep track of things like this as I know from a discussion they had yesterday….

Joseph here seems to have taken great pride in telling his brothers all about his dreams, a complete difference from later on in Genesis when he gives God the glory. He has the gift of being able to interpret dreams from God, but here, he uses it to score against his brothers, to make himself look good. It is not until he has suffered imprisonment, false accusation and all sorts that he finally learns to trust n God, to give Him the glory. It took suffering for God to be able to use Joseph and it all started with Joseph's brothers selling him into slavery. God then turned this wicked act into something that saved an entire nation.

Sometimes, when we are going through trials, when there is illness, death, financial problems, marital problems, job difficulties, trouble at school/college, it seems like God is far away, that He doesn't care and is leaving us to fend for ourselves. I am sure there were times when Joseph thought about that as he was taken away into slavery and captivity. I know the things that I have been through have made me a more sympathetic person, kinder, more accepting, although I often wanted the things I was going through to magically disappear. God used the troubles we go through to refine us, to make us more like Christ and to turn us into the people he has always designed us to be.

Genesis Chapter 36

This is about Esau and how took wives from the Canaanite women, then married a cousin, and moved away from Jacob so they could both have enough land to support them.

They say you can choose your friends but not your relatives, and this is a classic example of two brothers who did not get along. Esau was his father's favourite and Jacob the favourite of his mother. Jacob, who seems to have been a real schemer, took Esau's birthright in exchange for a bowl of stew and ended up having to flee for his life to Laban.

You would think being family, they would trust one another, respect one another, but not so in this case. Jacob tricked Esau and Esau's descendants became some of the fiercest enemies of Israel and even today, thousands of years later, Esau's descendants surround Israel and are causing trouble and friction to say the least.

Genesis Chapter 35

1 Then God said to Jacob, Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.

2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes.

3 Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.

How can we worship the one true living God when we have idols in our hearts? People, possessions, things that take the place of God in our hearts and put him in second place? Like Jacob and his family, we need to take a good long hard look at ourselves, at our hopes and dreams, our lifestyle, our priorities.

Is there anything in our lives that takes us away from God? That we put above God in our lives? Is work our priority and God second place? Is getting that new job or promotion the thing that occupies our mind to the exclusion of all else? Are we so wrapped up in the lives of our spouses and children that we cannot see God? Are we always worrying about finances, about the bills coming in, the expenses we have to meet? What about church - do we spend more time daydreaming in church, looking around at what people are wearing, who is or isn't there, than in worship and praise? Is our worship half hearted as we keep thinking of the things we have done or need to do, or remembering past hurts and grudges?

We need to get rid of anything like that which is in our hearts, to focus our attention on God and God alone, and take the worries, the cares, the problems to Him.

Genesis Chapter 34

This is the sort of story that is made into a film. There is love (well, passion at any rate), pride, sex, deceit, betrayal, lies, violence, greed, murder - all the hallmarks of what apparently describes a good film or makes for excellent newspaper headlines in the tabloids.

Dinah is raped and Jacob's sons, especially Simeon and Levi, are really upset about this, understandably. They feel that their sister has been defiled and that because they have been set aside by God, they are special, holy, a cut above the others, better than the townspeople of Shechem. So they trick the men of Shechem into getting circumcised - the thought of getting their hands on the flocks and herds of Jacob and his sons persuades the townsmen to undergo this painful procedure. Then when they are still recovering, Simeon and Levi walk into town and kill all the men. The rest of the brothers then follow on, taking the little children and wives captive, looting and plundering everything they could lay their hands on. Jacob is appalled, saying that his name would now be mud and all the inhabitants of the land would join together to destroy him and his household.

It’s a case of two wrongs do not make a right. Repaying evil with evil is not the right thing to do. How can theft and murder be the right response to rape? Yes, it is easy to sit here and take the moral high ground, and if I had a sister , or if it had been my daughter, I may well think differently. I was hearing last night about Christians in Pakistan who are 2.5% of the population. Women believers there are often raped, young girls and women may be kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam and then married to a much older man. If Christian women work as servants in a rich Muslim's house, they are treated like dirt and often beaten, maltreated, raped. Many are raped and then thrown onto the streets where they have no choice but to turn to prostitution. It is truly heartbreaking to hear of God's people being treated this way, His sons and daughters being persecuted and I just sit here warm and cosy in my nice house, in front of my computer when their faith, their lack of hatred against their oppressors, their warmth, their courage, their smiles in the face of persecution, puts me to shame.

And what about Dinah? She is mentioned only briefly in the bible, firstly to tell us she has been born (Genesis 30:21) and then here where she is raped, given to Shechem and then nothing more is heard of her. Imagine her reaction when after being raped her own brothers agree to give her in marriage to the man who attacked her! She is actually in Shechem's house when the men of the town are killed, and her brothers then take her back to the camp. And Jacob? He is more concerned about what will happen to him and his household than about what has happened to Dinah.

Evil is never the right response. The consequences of this action followed Simeon and Levi and their descendants ended up losing that part of the Promised Land that they had been given. We are told to keep the peace as far as possible though (1 Peter 3:11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it - KJV) and whilst this doesn't mean being a doormat and letting others attack us without taking any steps to defend ourselves, it certainly doesn't mean taking revenge in such a brutal and deceitful way.

I'm back!

I have really been neglecting posting here, so am about to finish Genesis, then move onto Exodus. I have actually already finished these books and am part way through reading the bible in year, so will post my thoughts on those later books (starting with 1 Kings) after Exodus.

Apologies for missing out the books in between Exodus and 1 Kings but real life hit hard earlier in the year when work became impossible (tax return filing deadline in the UK!) and I was just reading, not journaling.

I hope if you do read my comments, you find them thought provoking, even though you may not agree with what I say.