Sorry for the delay in these comments... I did listen to the chapters on audio that night, and I was not half-dead, only felt that way. :) Much better now. :) Anyway, Chapter 48 and 49 seemed to deal alot with blessings again, which I have to say I still don't fully understand. There appear to be rules about how they are to be done, as seen by Joseph's displeasure when Jacob put his opposite hands on the boys heads (Gen 48:13-20). What I do not understand is how the blesser knows what to give as a blessing... it seems like whatever they say, for the most part, becomes true, so do they get these words from God in advance, or??? It would be my guess that this is a traditional cultural thing, so not just Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are giving these blessings, that all the men of the time are giving them, so how do they know what to say, and how does the fulfillment of these come to be. I guess that nowadays, I think of a blessing, like when a man goes and asks for the father's blessing in the hand of the daughter, where he is just seeking an approval of the marriage, but these blessings seem way more than that, and appear very binding, so I just don't fully get it. I also thought it interesting that Jacob, who had been the younger of the two (Esau and Jacob), and had been given the better blessing, now repeated this to his grandsons, in giving the better blessing to the younger. In Chapter 49, I do not know enough about Isreal's history at this point to say if these blessings symbolize things to come, but my guess, from past experience, thus far, is that they do... so, does Benjamin's blessing refer to the division of Isreal, or some point when Isreal is very prosperous and later becomes overthrown by outsiders? I just wondered if the blessings were like a timeline for the future history of the nation of Isreal? I especially thought this because of verse 5-7, when Jacob is talking about Simeon and Levi, knowing the tribe of Levi becomes the line of priests, this blessing doesn't seem to be too priest-like in foretelling, so it made me think that maybe this blessing is more than just for the individual person. At the end of the chapter, I found it interesting that Joseph buried Leah in the family cave, but not Rachel... I wonder if it has anything to do with her taking the idols?
Chapter 50: I like how Joseph always showed respect to Pharoah dispite all he had done for the Egyptians and his obvious prestige... for example, in verse 4, he says, "if I have found favor"... he has obviously found favor, but is still showing respect and not being cocky about his position or assuming rights that he may have been given but would be rude to act upon without proper respect. I love that, and want to remember it, because all too often, I think we can find ourselves in a place of "good standing" and think that everyone owes us something or forget that we did not get to that point on our own. I still really love the idea of verse 19-21 (see Romans 8:28, as well). This reminds me to, of how I need to remember that I am not in the place of God and it is my place to love, and not to judge. I thought it was interesting that Joseph went through the embalming practice as was a custom in Egypt, not with the Hebrews... maybe there is a mummy of Joseph out there somewhere... that would be cool. :) Also, in verse 24, there is a New Testament reference to it in Hebrews 11:22.
Cool to note that most of the bible story characters that we learn about in Sunday School as kids come from Genesis... I guess that means that now we are all "certified" to teach Sunday School... we are blessed with the knowledge of God, not just for our own good, but to share it with others, so let's take every opportunity to do so. :) sandJ
-49 Jacob's blessing on his sons, interesting that they don't mince words, if it's not a great blessing, it's very apparent -49 Jacob's death was interesting that he was using his final moments to bless his offspring, being others-centered, instead of self-centered, what a legacy, and what a goal to attain to -50:20 love the verse, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." and he spoke kindly to them, what a godly man -50:25 Joseph at his death made them promise to carry his bones to the promised land. What faith that shows. -in Ch. 49:27, Benjamin's blessing, my Bible references the future events recorded in Judges Ch. 20, and specifically vs. 21 and 25
The IDEA: Romans 1:12-That we may be mutually strengthened, encouraged, and comforted by each others faith. Have you ever read the whole Bible before? We have never done it. We want to share God’s Word, but how can we if we do not know it.
The PLAN: Ecclesiastes 4:12-One person is easily overcome, but two can stand together and conquer. Three is even better, though, as a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. With each others help we can succeed-So, let us team up and read the Bible in a year.
The DATE: We will start Dec 26, 2009 - Dec 26, 2010.
The FYI: We will read 3-4 chapters each day, starting in Genesis, and post thoughts daily. If you do not have a Bible, you can access many translations at www.biblegateway.com. You can also download an audio for each chapter at: http://www.audiotreasure.com/webindex.htm
Read it half dead. Will comment later. Today is a sick day.
ReplyDeletePlease pray for all the sick ones in the house including myself.
sandJ
Read Exodus 1-3 Next.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the delay in these comments... I did listen to the chapters on audio that night, and I was not half-dead, only felt that way. :) Much better now. :) Anyway, Chapter 48 and 49 seemed to deal alot with blessings again, which I have to say I still don't fully understand. There appear to be rules about how they are to be done, as seen by Joseph's displeasure when Jacob put his opposite hands on the boys heads (Gen 48:13-20). What I do not understand is how the blesser knows what to give as a blessing... it seems like whatever they say, for the most part, becomes true, so do they get these words from God in advance, or??? It would be my guess that this is a traditional cultural thing, so not just Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are giving these blessings, that all the men of the time are giving them, so how do they know what to say, and how does the fulfillment of these come to be. I guess that nowadays, I think of a blessing, like when a man goes and asks for the father's blessing in the hand of the daughter, where he is just seeking an approval of the marriage, but these blessings seem way more than that, and appear very binding, so I just don't fully get it. I also thought it interesting that Jacob, who had been the younger of the two (Esau and Jacob), and had been given the better blessing, now repeated this to his grandsons, in giving the better blessing to the younger.
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 49, I do not know enough about Isreal's history at this point to say if these blessings symbolize things to come, but my guess, from past experience, thus far, is that they do... so, does Benjamin's blessing refer to the division of Isreal, or some point when Isreal is very prosperous and later becomes overthrown by outsiders? I just wondered if the blessings were like a timeline for the future history of the nation of Isreal? I especially thought this because of verse 5-7, when Jacob is talking about Simeon and Levi, knowing the tribe of Levi becomes the line of priests, this blessing doesn't seem to be too priest-like in foretelling, so it made me think that maybe this blessing is more than just for the individual person. At the end of the chapter, I found it interesting that Joseph buried Leah in the family cave, but not Rachel... I wonder if it has anything to do with her taking the idols?
Chapter 50: I like how Joseph always showed respect to Pharoah dispite all he had done for the Egyptians and his obvious prestige... for example, in verse 4, he says, "if I have found favor"... he has obviously found favor, but is still showing respect and not being cocky about his position or assuming rights that he may have been given but would be rude to act upon without proper respect. I love that, and want to remember it, because all too often, I think we can find ourselves in a place of "good standing" and think that everyone owes us something or forget that we did not get to that point on our own.
I still really love the idea of verse 19-21 (see Romans 8:28, as well). This reminds me to, of how I need to remember that I am not in the place of God and it is my place to love, and not to judge.
I thought it was interesting that Joseph went through the embalming practice as was a custom in Egypt, not with the Hebrews... maybe there is a mummy of Joseph out there somewhere... that would be cool. :) Also, in verse 24, there is a New Testament reference to it in Hebrews 11:22.
Cool to note that most of the bible story characters that we learn about in Sunday School as kids come from Genesis... I guess that means that now we are all "certified" to teach Sunday School... we are blessed with the knowledge of God, not just for our own good, but to share it with others, so let's take every opportunity to do so. :)
sandJ
-49 Jacob's blessing on his sons, interesting that they don't mince words, if it's not a great blessing, it's very apparent
ReplyDelete-49 Jacob's death was interesting that he was using his final moments to bless his offspring, being others-centered, instead of self-centered, what a legacy, and what a goal to attain to
-50:20 love the verse, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." and he spoke kindly to them, what a godly man
-50:25 Joseph at his death made them promise to carry his bones to the promised land. What faith that shows.
-in Ch. 49:27, Benjamin's blessing, my Bible references the future events recorded in Judges Ch. 20, and specifically vs. 21 and 25