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Providence: devotion

Dr. Andrew C S Koh

An image of Pharaoh

Setting

Jacob died at the age of 147 years. Joseph embalmed his body, took him back to Canaan, and buried him in the cave of Machpelah in Hebron.

Genesis 50:15-21

15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully pay us back for all the evil which we did to him.” 16 They sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father commanded before he died, saying, 17 ‘You shall tell Joseph, “Now please forgive the disobedience of your brothers, and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ Now, please forgive the disobedience of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 His brothers also went and fell down before his face; and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to save many people alive, as is happening today. 21 Now, therefore, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones.” He comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

Genesis 50:15-21

Reflection

After Jacob’s death, Joseph’s brothers were afraid that Joseph might take revenge on them. They sent a message to Joseph to ask him to forgive them. Joseph wept and replied that he would never do such a thing because he was not in the place of God. Although their plan was to harm him, God’s plan was to preserve him and use him to save lives including their lives. If they had not sold him to Egypt, he would not have become prime minister and they would have died of famine. 

Joseph comforted his brothers and took care of them and their families. Joseph lived up to the ripe old age of 110 years and saw his son’s children up to the third generation. At his deathbed, he commanded his brothers and to bring his bones back to Canaan in the future. Joseph’s brothers buried him in Egypt. Four hundred years later, Moses took Joseph’s bones out of Egypt during the Exodus, Exodus 13:19. Many years later, Joshua buried Joseph’s bones in Shechem, Joshua 24:32.

Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the children of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones away from here with you”.

Exodus 13:19

They buried the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of silver. They became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

Joshua 24:32

Application

Joseph’s story is a story of God’s providence. Even though Joseph’s brothers intended to harm him, God had the plan to save him and his family. If not for Joseph, his father, mother, brothers, sister, and others would not have survived the famine. God’s prophesy of taking Jacob’s family out of Canaan into Egypt for 400 years would not have been fulfilled. This is a beautiful illustration of Romans 8:28 right out of the pages of scripture. Today, you can claim the promise of Romans 8:28. God works all things together, synergistically, and comprehensively to get the best outcome for you eventually. 

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for walking with us through the life of Joseph verse-by-verse, paragraph-by-paragraph, and chapter-by-chapter. We claim the promise of 2 Timothy 3:16 that all scripture is inspired by You and is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. Thank You for this wonderful experience, adventure, and spiritual journey, in Jesus’ name, Amen.  

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bible study devotion

I dreamed a dream: devotion

Devotion

a photo entitled big dreams

Setting

Genesis 37 begins a new section on the narrative of the Patriarch Joseph. The baton of faith had been passed from Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to Jacob’s eleventh son, Joseph, The narrative ended in Genesis 50 with the death of Joseph. 

Jacob had 12 sons. Joseph was his eleventh and Benjamin was his twelfth son.  The seventeen-year-old Joseph was feeding his father’s flock with his brothers in the field. He came home with a bad report about his 10 half-brothers to his father. Now, Jacob loved Joseph and Benjamin more than the rest because they were his favourite wife Rachel’s sons. To add more salt to the injury, Jacob made a multi-coloured tunic for Joseph and his half-brothers hated him for this.

Genesis 37:5-11

Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves came around, and bowed down to my sheaf.” His brothers asked him, “Will you indeed reign over us? Will you indeed have dominion over us?” They hated him all the more for his dreams and for his words. He dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, “Behold, I have dreamed yet another dream: and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me.” He told it to his father and to his brothers. His father rebuked him, and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Will I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves down to the earth before you?” His brothers envied him, but his father kept this saying in mind.

Reflection

The LORD gave Joseph two dreams. In the first dream, he saw his brothers, represented by eleven sheaves of wheat, bowing down to him. In the second dream, he saw his father, mother, and eleven brothers, represented by the sun, moon, and eleven stars, bowing down to him. 

Apostle John saw a vision of a woman, wearing a crown of 12 stars, clothed in the sun, and standing on the moon, Revelation 12:1. The woman represents Israel and the 12 stars represent the 12 sons of Jacob. Joseph’s brothers hated him because of his dreams. Even Jacob, his father, rebuked him.

Joseph’s brother sold him to Ismaelites and Midianites human traffickers who took him to Egypt as a slave. Against all odds, Joseph rose from rags to riches, from prison to palace, and from a prisoner to the prime minister of Egypt. Years later, his eleven brothers did bowed down to him, Genesis 42:6. 

Revelation 12:1, A great sign was seen in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars

Genesis 42:6, Joseph was the governor over the land. It was he who sold to all the people of the land. Joseph’s brothers came, and bowed themselves down to him with their faces to the earth.

Application

Jacob’s family was a dysfunctional, blended, family, headed by a passive father who had poor leadership and played favouritism. He loved Joseph and Benjamin more than the other ten sons. Sibling rivalry, strife, hatred, and jealousy were the order of the day. 

Joseph’s brothers took the law into their own hands and sold him to human traffickers. They then lied to their father that wild animals had eaten Joseph.

Are you a father? Do you a strong leadership? Do you practice favouritism among your children? To be a father required a strong leadership and playing favouritism is a definite no-no. 

You reaped what you sowed, Galatians 6:7. Jacob deceived his father Isaac, and now his own sons deceived him. 

Joseph was a type of Jesus Christ. Jacob loved Joseph. God the Father loved Jesus Christ. Joseph’s brother hated him. The Jews hated Jesus Christ. The list goes on and on and on.

Galatians 6:7, Don’t be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us an opportunity to study the life of Joseph in the book of Genesis. As we journey along, we pray for open eyes, open ears, open hearts, open minds, and open spirits to receive the revelation of Your word. We pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit who is our teacher, truth revealer, helper, and counsellor, in Jesus’ name, Amen. 

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Book: Life of Jacob

Genesis 26-36

by Dr. Andrew C S Koh

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https://bestbookmonkey.com/books/life-story-of-jacob-genesis-26-36/

https://drandrewcskoh.dashnexpages.net/life-story-of-jacob/

A Christ-centred, Biblical-based, Holy Spirit-enabled, Life-changing commentary, bible study, and devotion

https://awesomegang.com/life-story-of-jacob-genesis-26-36-by-dr-andrew-c-s-koh/

What people are saying

“A Christ-centred, Daily Devotion, and Bible Study Guide, on Genesis chapter 26 to 36 on Jacob’s life, adventures, travels, and faith journey. Dr. Andrew C S Koh takes the biblical passages and compares them to his life story. His writing brings the Bible to life and the reading contemporary. As he makes comparisons to his life, we are able in turn look inside our own souls. I have read several books by Dr, Koh and I enjoy each and every one of them”

— Pamela Anne Reinert, Goodreads, 5 out of 5 stars

“This is a good book to take you on Jacob’s journey during your daily life. Jacob’s story is such an interesting tale and Dr.Andrew C. S. Koh brings it to life in a modern world for the reader to enjoy and understand”

— Rowan E Creech, Goodreads, 5 out of 5 stars.

What people are saying

“The author continues to amaze me with Bible scripture and accuracy. He really knows his Bible -which is portrayed in his commentaries. Dr. Andrew C. S. Koh has become one of my favorite authors, The best thing about the book is its accuracy. The book is based on scripture alone. Throughout the book, the author does NOT give opinions. If you are curious about Jacob and want to read it accurately-read this book”

— Tiffany Townsend, Amazon, 5 out of 5 stars

“A great Bible study of Genesis chapters 26 to 36 on the life and travels of Jacob. An easy to understand and great study material for all ages. A valuable book to help in the growth of faith. Beautiful prayers accompany each chapter. A well-written book on Genesis and the life journey of Jacob. A great book to read and study and helps readers of all ages to grow in faith. I am on the ARC team and I leave an honest review. I recommend this book to other readers”

— Sharmani Jeyaram, Goodreads and Bookbub, 5 out of 5 stars

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