Today's Readings and Stuff -- 21 January 2012

Well, it is Saturday. I was supposed to work tonight, but the Word went out earlier that there has been a MAJOR problem at the plant, the 1st shift left at the half-way point and the night turn (meaning me) was cancelled. Make it up next week, I guess. So I actually get to spend the evening with Dear Wife.
The HR Manager's call that was promised for yesterday did not happen, but the headhunter did, and we have a phone interview set for Monday or Tuesday. A long road is ahead of us, but it's nice to be thought well of. Hasn't happened much over the last few years.

The Old Testament reading is chapters 49 and 50 of the Genesis. There is a whole lot here. But first, recall where we've been so far. We began before the beginning of the world. Indeed, we see here the Lord God at the beginning of Time, as He will be at Time's end. We have come from those ringing words, "In the beginning, GOD!..." and all the way to established civilizations in places like Egypt. And He has kept His eye on His people, all the way to now. And to our day as well. So recall that.
But also note Joseph's words to his brothers in verse 20. Joseph had every right to be furious with his brothers, and had the power to exact vengeance. Who would not be tempted? But he was wise enough to see the Lord's working in this. All this was to get the Children of Israel into a place of safe refuge in Egypt. It buys them time to grow. For a time. Beginning tomorrow, we will see His plan to get them back out as we look at the Exodus.

Genesis 49

1	And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
2	Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
3	Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
4	Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
5	Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
6	O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall.
7	Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
8	Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
9	Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
10	The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
11	Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
12	His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
13	Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
14	Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
15	And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
16	Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
17	Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
18	I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
19	Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
20	Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
21	Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
22	Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:
23	The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
24	But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
25	Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
26	The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
27	Benjamin shall raven as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
28	All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
29	And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
30	In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.
31	There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.
32	The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.
33	And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

Genesis 50

1	And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.
2	And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.
3	And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.
4	And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,
5	My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.
6	And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.
7	And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,
8	And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
9	And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
10	And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.
11	And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan.
12	And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them:
13	For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.
14	And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.
15	And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
16	And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
17	So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
18	And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
19	And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
20	But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
21	Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
22	And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.
23	And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's knees.
24	And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
25	And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.
26	So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

This evening's reading is verses 1-20 of chapter 15 of the Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 15:1-20

1	Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
2	Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
3	But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
4	For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
5	But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
6	And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
7	Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
8	This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9	But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
10	And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:
11	Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
12	Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
13	But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
14	Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
15	Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
16	And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
17	Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
18	But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
19	For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
20	These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- 20 January 2012

Gaaa!! Another long night is behind me. Still have two more, tonight and Saturday as well. Weary, I am. This is wearing me down. I was contacted yesterday by a recruiter who advised me that I should be getting a call this afternoon from the HR manager at a manufacturer in NE Arkansas, wanting to talk about a job that would be more along the lines of my experience, and not incidentally would pay roughly twice my current income. A tempting potential, certainly. But we shall see, I've had too many hopes dashed. Perhaps we are where the Lord wants us to remain. His call, I am not driving this bus.

This morning's reading is chapters 46, 47, and 48 of the Genesis. Jacob, now named Israel, is reunited with his long-lost son.

Genesis 46

1	And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.
2	And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.
3	And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:
4	I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.
5	And Jacob rose up from Beersheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.
6	And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him:
7	His sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt.
8	And these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn.
9	And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi.
10	And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman.
11	And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12	And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zarah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.
13	And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron.
14	And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel.
15	These be the sons of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob in Padanaram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.
16	And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli.
17	And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel.
18	These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.
19	The sons of Rachel Jacob's wife; Joseph, and Benjamin.
20	And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him.
21	And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard.
22	These are the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen.
23	And the sons of Dan; Hushim.
24	And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem.
25	These are the sons of Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were seven.
26	All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were threescore and six;
27	And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.
28	And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.
29	And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.
30	And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.
31	And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto his father's house, I will go up, and show Pharaoh, and say unto him, My brethren, and my father's house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come unto me;
32	And the men are shepherds, for their trade hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.
33	And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation?
34	That ye shall say, Thy servants' trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.

Genesis 47

1	Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.
2	And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
3	And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.
4	They said moreover unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.
5	And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee:
6	The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell: and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.
7	And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8	And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old art thou?
9	And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.
10	And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
11	And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
12	And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according to their families.
13	And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.
14	And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.
15	And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth.
16	And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail.
17	And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year.
18	When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands:
19	Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate.
20	And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's.
21	And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.
22	Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands.
23	Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.
24	And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.
25	And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.
26	And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part, except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's.
27	And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.
28	And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.
29	And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt:
30	But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.
31	And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.

Genesis 48

1	And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
2	And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
3	And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
4	And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.
5	And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
6	And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.
7	And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.
8	And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?
9	And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.
10	Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.
11	And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath showed me also thy seed.
12	And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.
13	And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him.
14	And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.
15	And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,
16	The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.
17	And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.
18	And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
19	And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.
20	And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
21	And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.
22	Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

This evening's reading is verses 22-36 of John 4. Yes, you are better off in a storm with Jesus in the boat, than on shore without Him. Ask me how I know.

Matthew 14:22-36

22	And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.
23	And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
24	But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
25	And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
26	And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
27	But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
28	And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29	And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30	But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31	And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
32	And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
33	Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
34	And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret.
35	And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that were diseased;
36	And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- 19 January 2012

Back from a long night. Try to get some sleep in just a bit. Still in a sleep-deprivation mode, so perhaps a bit might be recovered. Perhaps.

This morning's reading is chapters 44 and 45 of the Genesis. Here we see this part of God's plan working out as Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers. In the middle of all that has gone on, we now see that the Lord has provided a place of refuge for His people. He works like that some times, I can personally testify to that. He has moved us from one place to another, and through those moments has allowed some things to take place that absolutely could not have happened in any other way. I've seen it.

Genesis 44

1	And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth.
2	And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.
3	As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses.
4	And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good?
5	Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing.
6	And he overtook them, and he spake unto them these same words.
7	And they said unto him, Wherefore saith my lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing:
8	Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold?
9	With whomsoever of thy servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondmen.
10	And he said, Now also let it be according unto your words: he with whom it is found shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless.
11	Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack.
12	And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
13	Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the city.
14	And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.
15	And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?
16	And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found.
17	And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.
18	Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh.
19	My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother?
20	And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him.
21	And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.
22	And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die.
23	And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.
24	And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.
25	And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food.
26	And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down: for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us.
27	And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons:
28	And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I saw him not since:
29	And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
30	Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life;
31	It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave.
32	For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever.
33	Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren.
34	For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.

Genesis 45

1	Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.
2	And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
3	And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.
4	And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
5	Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
6	For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
7	And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8	So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
9	Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:
10	And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:
11	And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.
12	And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.
13	And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.
14	And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
15	Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
16	And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
17	And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;
18	And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.
19	Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.
20	Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.
21	And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.
22	To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.
23	And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.
24	So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.
25	And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,
26	And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not.
27	And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived:
28	And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.

This evening, verses 1-21 of the 14th chapter in the Gospel of Matthew. Two big things here in particular. The second, the one we rightly pay attention to, is Jesus feeding the 5,000 men (and women and children as well) from the "seed" of five loaves and two fish. God's miraculous provision, and worth recalling.
But before that, the death of the Lord's faithful servant (and Jesus' cousin), John the Baptist. There are those who will teach and preach the line that the Lord's people will not know pain, or loss, or indeed anything but happiness and prosperity. It's a lie. The Lord's people should indeed know JOY, but JOY and Happiness are not the same thing. I am sure that John was not real eager to be put to death, yet I am also sure that he knows joy right now. Makes a difference. I can not help reflecting on the "coincidence" that both accounts occur within a few lines of each other.

Matthew 14:1-21

1	At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus,
2	And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
3	For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife.
4	For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.
5	And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.
6	But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.
7	Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.
8	And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.
9	And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.
10	And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.
11	And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.
12	And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.
13	When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.
14	And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.
15	And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.
16	But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.
17	And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.
18	He said, Bring them hither to me.
19	And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
20	And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.
21	And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.

Today's Readings, and stuff too -- 18 January 2012

Ugghh! Wednesday now, mid-week for most people, barely begun for yours truly.
Yesterday's meeting went semi-OK. I finally got to meet with the newest engineering manager. Topic was intra-departmental communications and his determination to improve it. Fine by me. So I communicated. Told him that I was 45 months into a two or three month short term assignment, in my 27th month of a "short stint" on nights, and greatly desiring opportunities within the organization, preferably at another location. I think that there is quite a lot that he had never been told. Since he's been in the position since around August and this is our first meeting, I have to regard much of that as being his responsibility. Anyway, I am still employed, but at this point that is a day-to-day thing.

The Old Testament reading for the day is chapters 42 and 43 of the Genesis. We start to see God's plan working out. Joseph, once sold into slavery by his own brothers, is uniquely placed to support his family, which he is starting to realize even if they don't know it. Yet.

Genesis 42

1	Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?
2	And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.
3	And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.
4	But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.
5	And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
6	And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.
7	And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.
8	And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.
9	And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
10	And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
11	We are all one man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.
12	And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
13	And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.
14	And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies:
15	Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither.
16	Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies.
17	And he put them all together into ward three days.
18	And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:
19	If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:
20	But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.
21	And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
22	And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.
23	And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.
24	And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.
25	Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them.
26	And they laded their asses with the corn, and departed thence.
27	And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for, behold, it was in his sack's mouth.
28	And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us?
29	And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying,
30	The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.
31	And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies:
32	We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.
33	And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone:
34	And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffic in the land.
35	And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.
36	And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.
37	And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.
38	And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.

Genesis 43

1	And the famine was sore in the land.
2	And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food.
3	And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.
4	If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food:
5	But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.
6	And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?
7	And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down?
8	And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones.
9	I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever:
10	For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.
11	And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds:
12	And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight:
13	Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man:
14	And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.
15	And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.
16	And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon.
17	And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.
18	And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses.
19	And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they communed with him at the door of the house,
20	And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food:
21	And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand.
22	And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks.
23	And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them.
24	And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender.
25	And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there.
26	And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth.
27	And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?
28	And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.
29	And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.
30	And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.
31	And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread.
32	And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.
33	And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marveled one at another.
34	And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.

The New Testament reading is verses 33-58 of the 13th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 13:33-58

33	Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
34	All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
35	That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
36	Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
37	He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38	The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39	The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40	As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41	The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42	And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43	Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
44	Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
45	Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
46	Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
47	Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
48	Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
49	So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
50	And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
51	Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
52	Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
53	And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.
54	And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55	Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56	And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
57	And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
58	And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.