[NOTE: For those who are continuing the 1-year Bible reading plan we started on April 1, 2018, just go to the end of this entry and you will find the Day 288-Matthew 1-4; John 13 summary!]
As we continue Joseph’s story in Genesis 45-47, we see the ultimate fulfillment of Joseph’s teenaged dreams: his whole family bows before him. Joseph’s leadership in Egypt saved the Egyptians and then the entire people of Israel, which at that time numbered only 70 people. As Jacob travelled to Egypt, he stopped in Beersheba to offer sacrifices to God. God spoke to Jacob and promised his family would “multiply” in Egypt. How true that promise was! When the Israelites left Egypt 400 years later the people of Israel numbered 600,000 men, most of whom had wives and families. We can assume the total number of Israelites must have been at least two million people. God’s promise to Abraham was fulfilled generation by generation, and it was Joseph’s hardships that led to the open door for the Israelites to travel to Egypt, where that promise would be multiplied.
One of the most challenging tasks we face in life is to determine when we are being blessed and when we are being cursed. The reason it’s a challenge is God often takes the tests, trials, and temptations we face and uses them for good. In Romans 8:28 we read: In all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. It doesn’t say all things are good. It wasn’t good that Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, or that he became a slave in Potiphar’s house, or that he was falsely imprisoned. None of those realities were good, and Joseph could easily have seen them as curses from God. Instead, Joseph saw God’s goodness remaining with him in each situation. Ultimately, they led to Joseph becoming the second in command in all of Egypt. We would certainly consider that a blessing.
As Jacob and his family travelled to Egypt, they must have been overwhelmed by God’s blessing in their lives. Rather than living through a horrible famine in a land without resources, they were moving to the best land in Egypt. Best of all for Jacob, he was being reunited with his favorite son, Joseph. It was a blessing for Jacob and his family. Yet, hundreds of years later the blessing turned into a curse, as a king came to power in Egypt who forgot about Joseph. He enslaved the Israelites and they would suffer under harsh conditions for many decades. During that time the people multiplied. So, even in the time of slavery, God was with His people.
We do well to learn from these examples, because each of us face times of “blessing” and “cursing” in our lives. How we respond to the times will be determined by how we view God’s presence in our lives. Jesus promised He would never leave us nor forsake us. In Mark 13, He told us what it will be like as the time of His return draws near. Many read Mark 13 and think, “All the signs are taking place!” That is true. The signs have been taking place throughout history. What I take away from Mark 13 is Jesus is with us, and Jesus will return to be with us in all His fullness one day. In the meantime, we are to rely on His promises to be with us always, and to never leave us nor forsake us. We are also to be ready when He returns! While many invest (spend?) most of their time trying to determine when Jesus will return, our time is better invested by living in the power of His Spirit through the blessings and challenges, and even the curses of life, with a constant readiness for His return, and a focus on helping others come to know and serve Jesus so they can be ready, too.
If Jesus comes back today, the best thing for us will be for Him to find us living faithfully in His presence and being ready. That way, whether He returns today or not, we will live today to the fullest. Joseph could have moaned and groaned day after day from the moment his brothers turned him over to the Ishmaelite traders. Instead, he lived each day with the expectant hope that God’s promises are true, and God was with him. He never lost the dream God gave Him, and thirteen years and many hardships later it came true. God is faithful whatever experiences we may be facing right now, so let’s live in His presence and to His glory every moment!
Day 288 – Matthew 1-4; John 13
Today we finally make it to the New Testament! We have been reading one of the four gospels each of our days along the way, but from now through the end of our 365-day Bible Reading Plan we will be reading in the New Testament. For the next week, we will be reading in two gospels at the same time: Matthew and John. That is because we’re going to finish out John, which we started a couple weeks ago. When we complete John (for the fourth time!), we will move forward through the New Testament reading only one book at a time. Wewill read Matthew and Luke one more time for good measure as we read through the New Testament. It is so important for us to understand the life, teachings, crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. He is the central “actor” in the drama of life, so we want to know what Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John recorded about Him. My commentary through the four gospels will be brief, because we have been through each one at least a couple of times already. As you read Matthew focus more on what you haven’t seen before, or on what the LORD impresses on your heart as vital. While every word of every author in the Bible is true, in each of our lives, when we’re listening to God’s voice through the Holy Spirit, He speaks some words more deeply to us. As always, the key is not merely to read the words, or even to read them and reflect on them, but to live them out in the power of the Holy Spirit. Only as we apply the words does the Lord use them to transform us.
Matthew 1 offers us the genealogy of Jesus, tracing His line back to Abraham, the “father” of the Jewish people. As we have noted, Luke’s genealogy goes all the way back to Adam, because he wrote from a Gentile perspective. The end of Matthew 1 tells about the birth of Jesus.
Matthew 2 offers us the record of the wise men’s visit to Jesus, along with Jesus and His family moving to Egypt for protection from Herod’s massacre of the innocents. At the end of the chapter, the family moves back to Israel and settles in Nazareth.
Matthew 3 records the ministry of John the Baptist, and having just read Malachi, we see how he fit the role prophesied for him. We also read of Jesus’ baptism, which marked the official start of His ministry.
Matthew 4 tells us the first act of Jesus’ ministry was to be tempted for 40 days by Satan. Before Jesus went public with His offensive against Satan, and bringing the Kingdom of God here among us, He battled privately. As we read the three major temptations Jesus faced from Satan, we see Jesus offering Scriptural rebuffs to Satan’s offers. How important it is for us to know God’s word, so we will also be prepared to respond to Satan’s lies and deceptions. At the end of the chapter Jesus proclaims the message of repentance, because God’s Kingdom is coming, which was also John’s message. Jesus calls His first four disciples: Peter, Andrew, James, and John as the chapter closes. We’re told Jesus ministered to great crowds of people, teaching them, healing them, and casting demons from them.
As we return to John 13, we’re reminded of the servant heart, and servant action of Jesus. As Jesus washes the disciples’ feet, an action reserved for slaves, He showed them no act of service is beneath His followers. When He finished, He told them if they knew “these things” which are His commandments, they would be blessed if they did them. Knowing Jesus’ words is good, but they don’t bring blessing until we do them. Jesus then told the disciples one of them would betray Him. He gave them a new commandment for the new covenant He would establish the next day through His crucifixion: Love one another as I have loved you. The chapter ends with Jesus telling Peter he is going to deny ever knowing Him three times that night. Peter denies the prediction of his denial, but Jesus is always right, and as we’ve seen through our reading of the four gospels, Peter did deny Jesus, as all of us do in various ways in our lives. Thankfully, Jesus forgives us when we repent, and the cross shows us He paid the penalty for our sins before we committed them!