Day 22
Genesis 43:1-44:34
(43 | 44)
I don't know how much grain Jacob's sons bought and took back to Canaan with them, but it soon runs out. When it does, Jacob tells his sons to go back to Egypt and buy more, Judah replies that the Egyptian official had told them that unless the nine brothers returned with their youngest brother, Benjamin, they would not see him, or their brother Simeon again. Jacob eventually agrees to send Benjamin along with the brothers to Egypt. He sends them with gifts and double the amount of silver, so they can give back the silver they worry was placed back in their bags by mistake.
When the ten of them arrive in Egypt, Joseph sees Benjamin is with them. So he gives an order for enough food to be prepared for them as they would all be eating in Joseph's household at lunch. It seems he neglects to mention that to his brothers, as all they know is they've been summoned to the house of an Egyptian official. They fear they're going to be jumped and taken as slaves for stealing. So they tell the steward that they found the silver in their bags, so they've come back with twice as much silver in order to pay for the food properly. The steward tells them not to worry; he had received the money, so it must have been by God's providence that their money was returned.
After lunch, the ten of them are sent away with as much grain as they could bear. Joseph again orders for the silver to be secretly placed back in their bags. He also decides to have a bit more fun with his brothers, as he orders an official to place his silver cup - one he uses for divination, as well as drinking - in Benjamin's bag. Not long after they've left, he gets his steward to catch up with the brothers and demand an explanation for the evil they've committed in response to Joseph's generosity by stealing his cup. The brothers reply that none of them has stolen anything, and tell the official to search their bags; if any of them is found to have the cup in their bags, they would die, and the rest would be taken as slaves. The steward says it's only necessary for the thief to become a slave. Of course, when the steward finds the cup in Benjamin's bag, their hearts sink.
The ten of them head back to Joseph, at a loss to explain how the cup ended up in Benjamin's bag. They tell Joseph all ten of them will become Joseph's slaves. Joseph's brothers still haven't recognised him, so Joseph continues to have fun with them; he tells them only the thief needs to stay, the rest are free to go. Judah then launches into an impassioned speech about how their father had already lost one of his two sons by Rachel. If Jacob were to lose the second, Benjamin, it would kill him. Judah says that he personally guaranteed Benjamin's safety to Jacob, and asks that Joseph take him as a slave instead of Benjamin as he couldn't face the prospect of returning to Jacob without Benjamin.
Matthew 15:10-39
(15:10-39)
Jesus explains to the crowd that it's what comes out of a man's mouth that makes a man unclean, not what goes in. The disciples inform Jesus that his statement to the crowd angered the Pharisees. Jesus doesn't seem too bothered, saying that because they misunderstand the law, they only lead others to misunderstand it. But this doesn't matter, as "every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots" - any falsehoods perpetuated will eventually be discontinued by the Father, and any incorrect interpretations will be rectified. After some probing from the disciples, he explains further that it is the matters of the heart and mind - the sinful thoughts and desires people have (though not necessarily vocalised) - that make them unclean. Therefore, disregarding tradition and not washing your hands before you eat doesn't make you unclean.
Jesus and the disciples head to Canaan. There they meet a Canaanite woman who asks Jesus to heal her demon-possessed daughter. Jesus completely ignores her. The disciples eventually become distressed because she won't leave them alone, and urge Jesus to get rid of her. Jesus tells them "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." Up to this point, the vast majority of people Jesus had dealt with were Israelites who needed God. When Jesus sent out his twelve disciples to practice what they had learned, he explicitly told them to avoid Gentiles (non Jews) and the area of Samaria. So what Jesus is saying here won't have been in any way surprising to the disciples. I suspect Jesus always cared for everyone else, really. But this event marks a shift away from dealing with just the Jewish people, and a move towards dealing with everyone else. The Canaanite woman is persistent, and Jesus eventually rewards her faith, healing her daughter that hour.
Jesus leaves Canaan and goes back to the Sea of Galilee. Thousands of people turn up, and Jesus sets about healing the sick. After three days, Jesus asks the disciples what food they have; people are probably hungry, and he doesn't want to send them away to get food in case they collapse on the journey. They produce seven loaves and several small fish. Jesus gives thanks for the food, and it begins to be circulated amongst the people. In all, about four thousand men, plus women and children, were fed and satisfied. Again there were leftovers.
It can be easy to gloss over Jesus' miracles. He did so many that they can be a bit normalised. It can be easy to think "well, Jesus fed at least five thousand people with four loaves and two fish - why shouldn't he be able to feed less people with more food?" Well it is for me anyway. I think it's important to let ourselves be reminded how astonishing these miracles were, and be amazed again at God's provision for his people. I also think it's important that Jesus asked the disciples to bring him what little food there was. We shouldn't expect God to do everything for needy people himself. The people in the crowd had a need. The disciples sacrificed what little they had, and God, through Jesus, multiplied it and used it to complete the task that needed to be done.
Psalm 13:1-6
(13)
David, again, cries out to the LORD for deliverance from suffering. He asks how much longer he must endure, but reiterates his trust in God. He knows God has come through for him before, and he knows God will do it again. I'm struck again by the fact that this was written as a song - it's so personal, so revealing of David's character, and that's incredibly powerful.
Genesis 43:1-44:34
(43 | 44)
I don't know how much grain Jacob's sons bought and took back to Canaan with them, but it soon runs out. When it does, Jacob tells his sons to go back to Egypt and buy more, Judah replies that the Egyptian official had told them that unless the nine brothers returned with their youngest brother, Benjamin, they would not see him, or their brother Simeon again. Jacob eventually agrees to send Benjamin along with the brothers to Egypt. He sends them with gifts and double the amount of silver, so they can give back the silver they worry was placed back in their bags by mistake.
When the ten of them arrive in Egypt, Joseph sees Benjamin is with them. So he gives an order for enough food to be prepared for them as they would all be eating in Joseph's household at lunch. It seems he neglects to mention that to his brothers, as all they know is they've been summoned to the house of an Egyptian official. They fear they're going to be jumped and taken as slaves for stealing. So they tell the steward that they found the silver in their bags, so they've come back with twice as much silver in order to pay for the food properly. The steward tells them not to worry; he had received the money, so it must have been by God's providence that their money was returned.
After lunch, the ten of them are sent away with as much grain as they could bear. Joseph again orders for the silver to be secretly placed back in their bags. He also decides to have a bit more fun with his brothers, as he orders an official to place his silver cup - one he uses for divination, as well as drinking - in Benjamin's bag. Not long after they've left, he gets his steward to catch up with the brothers and demand an explanation for the evil they've committed in response to Joseph's generosity by stealing his cup. The brothers reply that none of them has stolen anything, and tell the official to search their bags; if any of them is found to have the cup in their bags, they would die, and the rest would be taken as slaves. The steward says it's only necessary for the thief to become a slave. Of course, when the steward finds the cup in Benjamin's bag, their hearts sink.
The ten of them head back to Joseph, at a loss to explain how the cup ended up in Benjamin's bag. They tell Joseph all ten of them will become Joseph's slaves. Joseph's brothers still haven't recognised him, so Joseph continues to have fun with them; he tells them only the thief needs to stay, the rest are free to go. Judah then launches into an impassioned speech about how their father had already lost one of his two sons by Rachel. If Jacob were to lose the second, Benjamin, it would kill him. Judah says that he personally guaranteed Benjamin's safety to Jacob, and asks that Joseph take him as a slave instead of Benjamin as he couldn't face the prospect of returning to Jacob without Benjamin.
Matthew 15:10-39
(15:10-39)
Jesus explains to the crowd that it's what comes out of a man's mouth that makes a man unclean, not what goes in. The disciples inform Jesus that his statement to the crowd angered the Pharisees. Jesus doesn't seem too bothered, saying that because they misunderstand the law, they only lead others to misunderstand it. But this doesn't matter, as "every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots" - any falsehoods perpetuated will eventually be discontinued by the Father, and any incorrect interpretations will be rectified. After some probing from the disciples, he explains further that it is the matters of the heart and mind - the sinful thoughts and desires people have (though not necessarily vocalised) - that make them unclean. Therefore, disregarding tradition and not washing your hands before you eat doesn't make you unclean.
Jesus and the disciples head to Canaan. There they meet a Canaanite woman who asks Jesus to heal her demon-possessed daughter. Jesus completely ignores her. The disciples eventually become distressed because she won't leave them alone, and urge Jesus to get rid of her. Jesus tells them "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." Up to this point, the vast majority of people Jesus had dealt with were Israelites who needed God. When Jesus sent out his twelve disciples to practice what they had learned, he explicitly told them to avoid Gentiles (non Jews) and the area of Samaria. So what Jesus is saying here won't have been in any way surprising to the disciples. I suspect Jesus always cared for everyone else, really. But this event marks a shift away from dealing with just the Jewish people, and a move towards dealing with everyone else. The Canaanite woman is persistent, and Jesus eventually rewards her faith, healing her daughter that hour.
Jesus leaves Canaan and goes back to the Sea of Galilee. Thousands of people turn up, and Jesus sets about healing the sick. After three days, Jesus asks the disciples what food they have; people are probably hungry, and he doesn't want to send them away to get food in case they collapse on the journey. They produce seven loaves and several small fish. Jesus gives thanks for the food, and it begins to be circulated amongst the people. In all, about four thousand men, plus women and children, were fed and satisfied. Again there were leftovers.
It can be easy to gloss over Jesus' miracles. He did so many that they can be a bit normalised. It can be easy to think "well, Jesus fed at least five thousand people with four loaves and two fish - why shouldn't he be able to feed less people with more food?" Well it is for me anyway. I think it's important to let ourselves be reminded how astonishing these miracles were, and be amazed again at God's provision for his people. I also think it's important that Jesus asked the disciples to bring him what little food there was. We shouldn't expect God to do everything for needy people himself. The people in the crowd had a need. The disciples sacrificed what little they had, and God, through Jesus, multiplied it and used it to complete the task that needed to be done.
Psalm 13:1-6
(13)
David, again, cries out to the LORD for deliverance from suffering. He asks how much longer he must endure, but reiterates his trust in God. He knows God has come through for him before, and he knows God will do it again. I'm struck again by the fact that this was written as a song - it's so personal, so revealing of David's character, and that's incredibly powerful.
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