Genesis 44 - Exodus 7: Sobbing, righteous disobedience, & snakes

Sharing a few thoughts from each day's reading. Feel free to jump in and share your own!

Notes: If you do Twitter, Elena is tweeting on Bible Boot Camp at www.twitter.com/casmarele. Also, I'm doing Friday's reading early because I'll be gone all day tomorrow.

- Violent sobbing:  Joseph was de facto ruler of Egypt, yet he had a tender heart. When he finally identified himself to his brothers, he dismissed all of the Egyptians so they could have some privacy. But he wept so loudly that everyone heard anyway (the MSG version called it "violent sobbing.")
- Forgiveness:  I'm stunned at Joseph's authentic forgiveness for his brothers, who sold him into slavery and told his father that he'd been killed by wild animals. He kissed each one and wept over them. Could I have done this? I don't know.
- Deliverance:  God turned evildoing into deliverance and a blessing. "Don't you see, you planned evil against me," said Joseph. "But God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now--life for many people" (Exodus 50:19-21).
- Righteous Disobedience:  There is such a thing as righteous disobedience. The Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah defied the Egyptian Pharoah and refused to let the Hebrew babies die (the Pharoah was trying to reduce the Hebrew population through infanticide). God blessed them.
- God cared about the Egyptians, too:  The signs and wonders, the mighty acts of judgment such as the staff turning into a snake, and the water of the Nile turning into blood, were for the Egyptians: "The Egyptians will realize that I am God when I step in and take the Israelites out of their country."

Genesis 31-43: Wrestling, tattling, and selling out your brother

Sharing a few thoughts from each day's reading. Feel free to jump in and share your own!

- Family meeting:  Love how Jacob consulted with his wives, Rachel and Leah, before decided to pack up and move. Only when they agreed did he make his decision. And this is back when women were considered possessions!

- Wrestling with God:  Jacob wrestled with God, who was in the form of a man. This is how Jacob got his name Israel, or "God Wrestler." Wondering if the man who wrestled with him was Jesus, pre-incarnate. Also, didn't Jacob and Esau wrestle in Rebekah's womb?
- Love is in the air:  Esau married Canaanite women. His twin brother Jacob married Hebrew women. Significant? Yes. Esau's descendants were ungodly and destructive.
- Tattletale:  Joseph was his father's favorite and tattled on his brothers. As a result, they sold him to a caravan of Ishmaelites headed for Egypt. Those merchants were descendants of Ishmael, Abraham's son who was the father of the Arab tribes. Never noticed that connection before.
- The plot thickens:  The story of Joseph and his brothers is full of intricate detail and timing is everything. The idea of Providence, God working his plan out in the details of history, is so evident here.