(NASB) Proverbs 10:12 “Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers a multitude of sins.” Ten Brothers of Joseph They were shepherding flocks and herds in pastures far from home. They saw Joseph in the distance, wearing his many colored coat. When they saw him, they plotted right then to take his life. They were jealous […]
Joseph was 17, yet trusted by his father, Jacob. One day, Jacob asked Joseph to go and see how his brothers were doing as they shepherded the flocks and herds. He willingly said he would, so he left to find his ten older brothers. They had taken the flocks to pasture in Shechem. When he […]
How have you learned some hard lessons? Did the Lord use your circumstances and/or individuals to teach you His truths? Are you turning to God more often and with a growing understanding of what He is teaching you? Joseph had a lot to learn and so did his eleven brothers. Boastfulness is pride. Arrogance also […]
Joseph was young, seventeen, and a favorite of his father. He was filled with pride and boasted of his elevated status. Not a good combination! He was envied and hated by his brothers for a lot of reasons, one being he tattled on them to his father. Another reason, his father loved him more than […]
Jacob had a favorite among his twelve sons, Joseph. Joseph was given a special, beautiful gift of a many colored coat. Joseph wore it everywhere, showing it off to everyone. How this must have irked his eleven brothers. (Genesis 37:3) What if … Jacob had treated his sons equally? What if … Joseph’s brothers had […]
Consequences for the “favorite”: Becomes selfish and self-centered, “bratty,” smug, “spoiled,” arrogant, insolent, a tattle-tale, a tale bearer. This is a description of Joseph as a teen-ager. He was his father’s favorite son out of twelve sons. He received a special gift of a many-colored coat from his father; his eleven brothers received no special […]
Life is filled with births and deaths. God’s unchanging promises are for all who turn to Him in trust. He is to be leaned on in the joys of births and He is to be leaned on in the sorrows of deaths. Jacob knew sorrows – his mother’s nurse died and he buried her. (Genesis […]
The Lord called Jacob – again – to go to Bethel. Finally, finally, Jacob obeyed. (NASB) Genesis 35:1 “THEN GOD said to Jacob, ‘Arise, go up to Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.’” (Genesis 27:4-45) Jacob then had his […]
Jacob learned that to truly worship God he needed to be where God wanted him. Because Jacob did not immediately obey God, but took his willful way of living among pagans, his daughter was raped and his sons murdered many men. When we know what God wants us to do, according to His word, are […]
God is faithful, He is merciful and His grace is not dependent on anything anyone does, thinks or says. It is His grace – His gift to all who turn to Him… and it is for anyone. We need to receive God’s gift that He freely offers. If we refuse His gift of salvation, we […]