Church Minute

God's Call of Moses

Moses was a Hebrew (also called Israelite) from the tribe of Levi. Moses was 40 years old when he left Egypt and married his wife, Zipporah, while living in Midian with his father-in-law Reuel, also known as Jethro. During his time in Midian, Moses became a shepherd, and he fathered two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. Moses lived in Midian for forty (40) years, and he was now eighty (80) years old, beginning at Exodus chapter 3. The people of Midian were descendants of Father Abraham, as Midian was Abraham’s younger son. Beginning with chapter 3, the book of Exodus devotes the events of chapters 3 through 40 to a single year, focusing on the main character, Moses.  
 
One day, Moses was watching and tending the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro when he came to Mount Sinai (Horeb), the mountain of the living God. At Mount Sinai, a mighty Angel of the LORD appeared to Moses from the midst of a burning bush with flames of fire. Moses saw with fear and amazement that the bush was on fire with many flames, but the bush was not burned up or consumed. Then from inside the burning bush, the living LORD God called and spoke with Moses, and He commanded Moses to take off his sandals from his feet because the place where he was standing was holy ground. The living LORD God is holy, and He has also called everyone to honor His holiness by following His holy living and moral character. Next, the living LORD God called Moses. The living LORD God said to Moses, “I am the God of your fathers - the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” but Moses hid his face from the living LORD God because he was afraid as he trembled with fear. The living LORD God said to Moses that He had seen and heard the cries, misery, sorrows, and oppression of His people Israel living in Egypt, and that He has come down from heaven for a visit to deliver and rescue Israel out of the Egyptian’s hands and bring Israel to the good land flowing with milk and honey that He promised their ancestors - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then, the living LORD God informed Moses that He had called and appointed him as ruler and deliverer by the hand of His mighty Angel, who appeared to Moses in the burning bush to lead and deliver His people Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land of Canaan (Israel-Palestine). The Promised Land of Israel is a significant region on earth that connects the continents of Africa and Europe. 
 
Moses was concerned and protested to the living LORD God that he was not worthy to speak to Pharaoh and lead Israel out of Egypt. Then, the living and faithful LORD God assured Moses that His Holy Presence would be with him and His divine sign would be Moses’ return to Mount Sinai (Horeb) with the Israelites to worship Him at this holy mountain of God. Then, the living God announced His eternal covenant Name to Moses to tell his fellow Israelites, saying, “I AM WHO I AM,” also translated “I WILL BE WHAT I WILL,” because He is the Most High God of heaven and earth. The Name “I AM WHO I AM” or “I AM” is the so-called tetragrammaton of YHWH or Yahweh, and the Name has been translated as “the LORD,” “Jehovah,” and “Adonai” in Hebrew. In Greek, Yahweh is translated as “Kyrios.” Once again, the living LORD God commanded Moses to assemble the Israel and their elder to tell them that the eternal God of their fathers - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who has seen their misery and sorrows and He has come down from heaven to rescue and deliver Israel from Egyptian slavery to give them the good land of Canaan (Israel-Palestine) that flows with milk and honey. Notably, Christ Jesus identified Himself as “I AM” or Yahweh in the New Testament as One with His Holy Father, who has once again come down from heaven to deliver and free His people with an exodus from bondage and slavery to Satan’s evil sin and wickedness. Christ Jesus is the eternal God who is One with His Holy Father and the Holy Spirit of God that has existed before Moses and at the beginning of creation. 
 
Then, the living LORD God announced to Moses that he and the elders of Israel must go to the king of Egypt and tell Pharaoh that the God of the Hebrews needs Israel to worship Him for three days in the wilderness with sacrifices and a great feast. However, the living LORD God, who is omniscient (all-knowing) knew that evil Pharaoh would reject Moses and the elders’ request, which would lead Him to stretch out His mighty hand to strike Egypt with His mighty signs and wonders so Israel could leave Egypt. In addition, the living LORD God informed Moses as He had previously promised Abraham that He would give His people Israel favor (grace) in Pharaoh’s sight so Israel would plunder Egypt and take Pharaoh’s great wealth and possessions of silver, gold, and fine clothing. 
 
Then, Moses was reluctant to accept the call and divine assignment from the living LORD God, and he questioned the living LORD God whether the people would even believe him and his calling to lead Israel. To prove Moses’s assignment was from heaven, the living LORD God assured Moses by performing incredible signs and wonders with Moses, including turning Moses’ staff (rod) into a snake, turning Moses’ hand leprous like snow, and then using Moses to turn water from the Nile into blood to show and prove to Moses and Israel that the living God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has come with His mighty power to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage and slavery. After these signs and wonders, Moses informed the living LORD God that he did not speak well, and he was slow of speech and slow of tongue. However, the living LORD God told Moses not to be afraid or worried because He is the living Sovereign LORD God of heaven and earth who controls humans’ mouths, tongues, eyes, and ears to speak, see, and listen. Eventually, the living Sovereign LORD God empowered Moses by His Spirit to become powerful in words and deeds. Notably, Christ Jesus our Lord, who is God, is the Righteous Servant of God with divine power to give sight to the blind, heal sickness and infirmities, and open ears so the deaf could hear and speak. Moses continued to contest his calling by the living LORD God, which angered God, although the living LORD God is slow to anger. So He informed Moses that his brother Aaron is a good speaker and that Aaron would be accompanying Moses on his mission to speak Moses’ words as Moses’ mouthpiece, which He gave Moses, so that Israel could be delivered from Egyptian slavery. 
 
After his appointment, Moses returned to his father-in-law Jethro (Reuel) in Midian, and he informed Jethro about the living LORD God’s command to return to his fellow Israelites living in Egypt. Jethro blessed Moses to go in peace, and the living LORD God assured Moses that the evil men who sought to harm him were all dead. Moses took the rod (staff) of God in his hand along with his wife, Zipporah, and their two sons, Gershom and Eliezer, to return to Egypt. 
 
The living LORD God once again spoke to Moses, commanding him to perform all the mighty signs, wonders, and miracles that He had given and empowered him to do, but also to control and harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he would reject Moses. Significantly, the living LORD God commanded Moses to say to Pharaoh that Israel is His firstborn son and that Pharaoh must release His son Israel so that Israel could worship Him, and if not, that He would destroy and kill Pharaoh and Egypt's firstborn. As Moses and his family went to Egypt, Moses’ wife Zipporah circumcised Moses’ firstborn son as God Almighty originally commanded Abraham in the book of Genesis. Also, the living LORD God commended Aaron to meet Moses, and Moses told Aaron about all the living LORD God’s signs and wonders which He had commanded. In obedience to the living LORD God, Moses returned to Egypt with his brother Aaron, and they announced to the Israelite elders the living God’s message of His coming and visit to deliver and redeem Israel from their bitter bondage and slavery. Moses performed the signs and wonders before the Israelites, and they believed with worship that the living LORD God was coming to deliver them from their misery and sorrows. Israel would be free!

Beginnings of Moses

The opening chapters of Exodus continue the story of Genesis with the children of Israel (Jacob) now as a mighty nation with many descendants living in Egypt. The sons of Jacob are called Israelites, and the Israelite families living in Egypt included Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, and Joseph. Many years have passed, and a new Pharaoh ruled over Egypt. Joseph was a great and wise leader in Egypt, but after Joseph’s death, a new Pharaoh arose in Egypt who did not know Joseph nor honor Israel. 
While in Egypt, the people of Israel, also known as Hebrews, had grown from seventy members to a fruitful and abundant nation that multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty as the living Sovereign LORD God promised their forefathers - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The land of Egypt was filled with strong Israelites. Pharaoh became fearful and tried to destroy the Israelites by enslaving the people of Israel with hard and bitter labor, and he also tried to kill and murder the Hebrew boys who were born. However, the Hebrew midwives - Shiphrah and Puah - feared and trusted in the living God, and they refused to do such evil by killing the Hebrew boys and instead, the midwives honored God by allowing the Hebrew boys to live. Because of their faithfulness, the living Sovereign LORD God blessed Shiphrah and Puah. 
The Israelites built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pitham and Raamses, and the more the Egyptians inflicted and enslaved the Israelites, the more Israel multiplied and grew. The living Sovereign LORD God previously predicted to Father Abraham that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land and Abraham’s descendants would live in hard bondage, slavery, and oppression for four hundred years before being delivered into the Promised Land of Canaan (Israel-Palestine). 
Then, a man and his wife, named Jochebed, from the tribe of Levi, gave birth to a healthy and beautiful Hebrew son named Moses. Moses would become God’s deliverer of His people, the Israelites, as well as a champion of justice and goodness. Through faith in the living God, Moses’ parents hid their beautiful son for three months, knowing Moses was no ordinary child but a special child of God, and then they finally released Moses in an ark (basket) down the Egyptian Nile river to save Moses from death by the evil Pharaoh. The living Sovereign LORD God, through His divine providence, watched over and protected Moses in his ark, like Noah and his family, as Moses’s sister Miriam also watched over Moses going down the Nile river in the ark (basket). Eventually, the daughter of Pharaoh saw Moses, drew Moses out of the water, and adopted the Hebrew boy as her own son. As Moses grew, the living Sovereign LORD God, by His grace, allowed Moses’ birth mother, Jochebed, to nurse and nurture Moses. Pharaoh’s daughter named the Hebrew boy Moses, which means “Drawn Out.” Moses learned all the wisdom of Egypt, and he became mighty in words and deeds. Remarkably, the living Sovereign LORD God used women - the Hebrew midwives, Moses’s mother and sister, and then Pharaoh’s daughter - to save Moses’ life.
Now, Moses grew older while living in Egypt, and he was forty years old when he went out to see his fellow Hebrew brethren - the children of Israel. Moses looked upon the Hebrews’ burdens, bitterness, and bonds of Egyptian slavery, including the Egyptian taskmaster abusing and beating his fellow Hebrew brethren with hard labor. Then, Moses saw one of the Egyptian taskmasters abusing and beating his fellow Hebrew brethren, so Moses defended and avenged his Hebrew brethren by killing the Egyptian and then burying the Egyptian taskmaster in the sand. For Moses believed that his brethren would realize and understand that the living Sovereign LORD God would rescue and deliver his fellow Hebrews by his hand, but his fellow Hebrews did not understand. By faith in the living God, Moses, when he became an adult, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing instead to suffer affliction and pain with the people of God rather than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. Moses accepted disgrace for the sake of Christ Jesus as greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for Moses looked to the living God’s reward and promises that come by trusting in Him. 
The next day, Moses once again went to visit his fellow Hebrews, and he saw two Hebrews fighting. Moses tried to reconcile the two Hebrews by asking his fellow Hebrew why he was striking and hitting another Hebrew. Then, one of the Hebrews who had wronged his neighbor pushed Moses away and said to Moses, “Who made you ruler and judge over us?” Significantly, the Hebrew man made a prediction that would be fulfilled by Moses when the living God appointed Moses as the deliverer, ruler, and lawgiver of the Hebrew people. The Hebrew man accused Moses of killing an Egyptian, which made Moses very afraid. Then, Pharaoh heard of Moses’ killing an Egyptian, and he tried to kill Moses, so Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian. By faith, Moses left Egypt and went to live in Midian, persevering in his sight of the living God, who was invisible. The people of Midian were descendants of Father Abraham, as Midian was Abraham’s younger son.
While in Midian, Moses met a priest named Reuel (later known as Jethro), and Reuel had seven daughters. Moses, as a man of compassion and leadership, helped Reuel’s daughters to retrieve water from the well, and later Moses married one of Reuel’s daughters, named Zipporah. Zipporah gave birth to two sons, and Moses named his sons Gershom and Elizer.
After a long period of time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their bitter and harsh slavery, and they cried out for help, and their cries went up to heaven. The living Sovereign LORD God of heaven and earth heard and saw the Israelites’ pain and cry for help, and He remembered his eternal covenant promises with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to save and deliver the Israelites. The Holy Bible is clear that the living Sovereign LORD God is faithful, and He keeps His promises. Even more, the living Sovereign LORD God cares about our pains and problems, and that is why it is so important to take all our problems and pains to the living Sovereign LORD God in prayer and petition.

Final Days of Israel (Jacob)

Jacob (also known as Israel) had faithfully walked with the living Sovereign LORD God as He commanded Abraham, and God’s ministering Angel had protected Jacob from Satan’s harms and evil. Jacob had twelve sons and one daughter named Dinah, and the twelves sons were named as follows: Reuben (Jacob’s oldest), Simeon, Levi (priestly tribe), Judah (Jesus’s descendent), Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph (father of Ephraim and Manasseh), and Benjamin. Before his death, Jacob humbly instructed his son Joseph and then his other sons to carry him out of Egypt and bury him in the Promised Land of Canaan (Israel-Palestine), where his grandparents - Abraham and Sarah, his parents - Isaac and Rebekah, and his wife Leah were all buried. In his dying breath, Jacob had future hope, knowing that the living Sovereign LORD God would bless and be with his sons as He had promised, and He would bring Jacob and his twelve sons from Egypt back to the Promised Land of Canaan, which He had promised to Abraham and Isaac. 
 
As Jacob neared the end of his life, Jacob gave his twelve sons - the Twelve Tribes of Israel - his final blessings. Joseph heard his father Jacob was very sick and dying, so he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to see his father, Jacob. Then, Jacob informed Joseph and his two sons that God Almighty (El Shaddai) had appeared to him in Luz (Bethel) in the land of Canaan (present-day Israel-Palestine), and God Almighty had blessed him with the divine promises of Abraham and Isaac: the land of Canaan and numerous descendants. Jacob also said that God Almighty promised to make him fruitful and multiply his descendants into a great nation, and give him and his descendants the land of Canaan (Israel-Palestine) as an everlasting possession, as He had promised to Abraham and Isaac. 
 
Then, Jacob blessed and, importantly, adopted Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, as his descendants and co-heirs with his other sons, such as Reuben and Simeon. In other words, Manasseh and Ephraim were now Jacob’s sons, and Joseph now would receive double blessings from Israel through his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Significantly, Jacob blessed Ephraim with the divine and covenant blessings of his grandfather Abraham and father Isaac over Joseph’s firstborn and oldest son, Manasseh. Jacob blessed Ephraim, the younger son, with the primary blessings to be greater and to multiply with many descendants more than his older brother and firstborn son, Manasseh. Notably, Jacob was also the younger son of Isaac and Rebekah, and he received the blessings of the firstborn over his brother Esau. Many years later, Joseph’s sons Manasseh and Ephraim became large and powerful tribes in the Promised Land. Ephraim became the leading tribe in the northern kingdom of Israel, and the entire northern kingdom was occasionally referred to as Ephraim. 
 
After blessing and adopting Joseph’s sons, Jacob called and gathered his twelve sons so that he could provide final blessings and also some curses on each of his sons. Jacob trusted in the living Sovereign LORD God for hope and salvation that would come through his family. Notably, Jacob anticipated that his sons Judah and Joseph would be preeminent amongst his sons, and Judah and Joseph received Jacob’s important blessings. The firstborn son, Reuben, was stripped of his birthright as Israel’s firstborn son because Reuben could not control his desires and had sexual relations with his father’s concubine, Bilhah. Moreover, Simeon and Levi received Jacob’s curses to be scattered because of their uncontrolled anger, cruelty, and violence towards people and animals when Shechem harmed their sister Dinah. Judah largely absorbed Simeon’s land, and Levi, who eventually became the priestly tribe of Israel, never acquired their land; however, Levi’s land was scattered among his brothers in Canaan. 
 
Significantly, Jacob praised and blessed his fourth son, Judah, and Jacob promised that Judah’s brothers would also praise and bow down to him. Judah’s mother was named Leah. Moreover, Jacob predicted Judah would defeat all his enemies with his fierce, lion-like dominance. Likewise, Jacob predicted that Judah would be a strong lion’s whelp, and a ruler (king) would come from Judah’s family as previously promised to Abraham and Sarah. Finally, Jacob promised that a scepter and lawgiver shall not depart from Judah’s family to lead people to obey the living Sovereign LORD God. Judah became the leading tribe in southern Israel.  Reuben, Simeon, and Levi forfeited their rights of leadership, and Jacob assigned the leadership role to Judah. Later, Judah would become the leading tribe of Israel because of Ephraim and northern Israel’s sins and wrongdoing against the living Sovereign LORD God and violation of his commandments. From the tribe of Judah came the victorious King David, King Solomon, and most importantly, the promised Christ Jesus, who is our Lord and Savior forever. The prophet Isaiah promised that a Redeemer would come from the house of Jacob, who would save and bless the world, and that Redeemer is Christ Jesus. 
 
Importantly, Jacob gave the covenant blessings and the divine right of the firstborn upon his son, Joseph. Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son, and he was considered a prince amongst his brothers. Jacob predicted victory would come through Joseph’s two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh. Such Old Testament heroes and warriors as Joshua (Hoshea), Deborah, and Jephthah came from the family line of Ephraim, who descended from Joseph. As mentioned earlier, Joseph’s son Ephraim became the leading tribe in northern Israel, and his descendants became numerous and powerful.
 
Jacob lived in Egypt (the land of Ham) for seventeen (17) years, and he died at the full age of 147 in Egypt, bringing his life of struggle and sorrow to an end. As Jacob instructed, his sons returned his body to Canaan (present-day Israel-Palestine), along with his son, his wife Leah, and his family, including Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Rebekah. Jacob’s twelve sons and the Egyptians honored Jacob at his death, and Jacob was mourned for seventy days. After Jacob’s death, his sons all returned to Egypt.
 
Now that Jacob was dead, Joseph’s brothers became fearful and worried that Joseph would avenge and retaliate against them for all the wrongs and hurts they caused Joseph. So, Joseph’s brothers sent a message to Joseph pleading for his forgiveness for all the cruelty and sins they had caused him, and they also offered to become Joseph’s servants. When Joseph received his brothers’ message of forgiveness, Joseph wept, and then his brothers bowed down once again at Joseph’s feet seeking his forgiveness. Then, Joseph informed his brothers not to be fearful or sad because the living Sovereign LORD God in His divine plan and wisdom allowed Joseph’s mistreatment and sale into Egyptian slavery to save his entire family and the world from the severe famine. Despite his brothers’ previous wrongdoings and evil deeds against him, Joseph showed his fellow brothers kindness, forgiveness, mercy, goodness, and love. Amazingly, Joseph lived the teachings of Christ Jesus!
 
Joseph and his brothers, along with their families, lived in Egypt, and Joseph lived a long life of blessings, eventually seeing his great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. Before Joseph’s death, Joseph assured his brothers that the living Sovereign LORD God would come and lead his entire family out of Egypt, bringing all of Israel’s children back to the Promised Land of God—Canaan (Israel-Palestine) — as He had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then, Joseph made the sons of Israel (Jacob) promise to return his bones from Egypt to the Promised Land when the living Sovereign LORD God returns Israel’s family to the Promised Land. 
 
Joseph’s death marked the end of Genesis and the patriarchal period of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. However, the lives and teachings of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph have impacted the world forever because they reveal hope, trust,  and God’s eternal promises leading to the Messiah of God - Jesus the Savior of the world! The living Sovereign LORD God is faithful and a loving Good Shepherd, and He keeps His covenant promises and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love and keep His commandments. Therefore, the righteous must continue to live with faithful obedience and trust in the King of the Universe - the good and merciful Sovereign LORD God of heaven and earth until God’s glory covers the earth. 
 
For everything that was written in the past in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. Romans 15:4.

Israel's Family

The family of Israel is large, wide, and diverse. By way of background, the living Sovereign LORD God of heaven and earth restarted the whole world with a new heaven and new earth after the Great Flood, and He restarted all human life through Noah and Noah’s three sons - Shem (Mesopotamia and Arabia), Ham (Africa and Eastern Mediterranean), and Japheth (Europe and Asia). 
 
Beginning with Genesis chapter 12, the story of the Holy Bible starts the divine line of Abraham and Abraham’s family, who descended from Noah’s son Shem, which included modern-day Israel, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria. Abraham was both a prophet and a friend of God. The living Sovereign LORD God called Abraham (Abram) to leave his Babylonian family (present-day Iraq and Iran) and come to His good Promised Land in Canaan (present-day Israel-Palestine). The living LORD God of Glory called Abraham (Abram) to leave Ur and later Haran, located in ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iran and Iraq), and move to a new land in Canaan, the Promised Land of Israel-Palestine. Abraham’s wife Sarah (Sarai) accompanied Abraham from Ur to Haran to Canaan. Thus, Abraham and Sarah were probably born in Iraq or Iran. Abraham and Sarah are known as the father and mother of the nation of Israel. 
 
Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac became the father of Jacob (later renamed Israel), and Israel became the father of twelve sons (patriarchs), later known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel. As Isaac grew older, Abraham wanted Isaac to marry a righteous and virtuous woman from Abraham’s homeland of Mesopotamia, rather than from the wicked women of Canaan, who would likely make Isaac’s life miserable. Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, and the mother of Jacob (Israel), came from Paddan Aram, also known as Aram-Naharaim, located in parts of modern-day Syria and Iraq. After their marriage, Isaac and Rebekah gave birth to twin boys named Esau and Jacob (later renamed Israel). Thus, Jacob (Israel) is of Syrian and Iraqi descent. Rebekah and her sons, Esau and Jacob, were Arameans, and Jacob also lived in Aram for many years, which is today modern-day Syria, Turkey, and Iraq. The name “Jacob” became synonymous with the nation of Israel. 
 
Later, Rebekah sent Jacob to her brother Laban in Haran (present-day Turkey). Also, Isaac and Rebekah sent their son Jacob to Rebekah’s brother Laban in Padan Aram (Haran), located in Mesopotamia (modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Iraq), so he would not marry the wicked women of Canaan. Jacob married Leah and then Rachel along with Leah and Rachael’s attendants (servants), Bilhah and Zilpah, and these women were from Paddan Aram (modern day modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Iraq), and they became the mothers of Jacob’s twelve sons (Twelve Tribes of Israel), who were also born in Paddan Aram. These twelve sons of Jacob were Reuben (Jacob’s oldest), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, and Benjamin. Thus, Abraham and his children, Isaac and Jacob (also known as Israel), as well as their descendants, were of Syrian, Iranian, and Iraqi descent. 
 
The living Sovereign LORD God promised that a conquering ruler would come from Jacob’s descendants. Ultimately, the Descendant of Abraham who brings blessings and salvation to all nations and people came with Christ Jesus, our Lord. Through Christ Jesus, everyone receives salvation and becomes a member of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’s family, receiving God’s divine blessings through our faithful obedience to the living Sovereign LORD God, found in His Son, Christ Jesus. 
 
In the New Testament, the early Christian church regarded itself symbolically as the Israel of God and descendants of Abraham through their wholehearted faith and belief in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. Christ Jesus taught about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob during His public ministry on earth. In His teaching, Jesus, as well as His cousin John the Baptist, taught everyone the importance of repentance, turning from Satan’s evil deeds, and producing good fruits so that one can enter the narrow gate and enjoy eating at the Messianic banquet with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the Old Testament prophets. The foundation of New Jerusalem is the Twelve Tribes of Israel (Jacob). Christ Jesus and His Kingdom's message did not abolish the Old Testament Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms because God’s Word and teaching endure forever and points to Christ Jesus, salvation, and righteousness. Salvation of the world comes through the Jewish people - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel), and Jesus - the Savior of the World. 

God's Holy Presence

Joseph of the Old Testament is a good example of God’s Presence with His faithful people who obey Him. Sadly, Joseph experienced some hard times and mistreatment by others. First, Joseph was thrown into a deep well (cistern, pit) by his brothers at the age of seventeen (17) and eventually sold to Ishmaelite and Midianite merchants, who sold Joseph into Egyptian slavery. Later, Joseph was falsely accused of sexual assault by an adulterous and lying woman, although Joseph was innocent of any wrongdoing, and then Joseph was unjustly imprisoned in the king’s prison (another pit) for a crime he did not commit. While imprisoned, the Sovereign LORD God promoted Joseph and continued to show Joseph His eternal love and grace, elevating Joseph to a high rank within the Egyptian king’s prison. 
 
One day, Joseph met two senior royal attendants of the Pharaoh, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, who were both imprisoned for angering and offending the Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Both prisoners had a dream one night, and the cupbearer and baker presented their dreams to Joseph as God’s Holy Spirit living inside Joseph gave Joseph the spiritual gift of dream interpretation. Joseph correctly interpreted the cupbearer and baker’s dreams, in which the cupbearer was restored to his royal position by Pharaoh’s side, while the baker was eventually put to death by Pharaoh. However, Joseph remained unjustly imprisoned for two more years, even after his correct dream interpretation. 
 
Eventually, the Pharaoh of Egypt had two strange but divine dreams that confused Pharaoh and his wise men (magicians), but only Joseph, with his divine wisdom from God’s Holy Spirit, could correctly interpret and explain Pharaoh’s dream.  With God’s divine help through His Holy Spirit, Joseph announced to Pharaoh that Egypt and the world would experience seven years of abundance, followed by seven years of severe famine, hunger, and scarcity. Joseph then recommended that Pharaoh implement a plan to save the people. Pharaoh saw Joseph’s divine wisdom, intelligence, administrative planning skills, and excellent discernment, which Joseph attributed to the Holy Spirit’s empowerment. Consequently, Pharaoh released Joseph from prison and promoted Joseph to be ruler (governor, chief administrator) over all of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. 
 
Joseph was thirty years (30) old when he entered the service of Pharaoh as ruler (governor, chief administrator). Pharaoh gave Joseph a new name, Zaphenath-panel, an Egyptian wife who gave birth to two healthy sons. Joseph gave his two sons Hebrew names, Manasseh and Ephraim. As ruler of Egypt, Joseph implemented a wise and trustworthy plan to store grain during times of abundance, which would eventually save his father, Jacob (also known as Israel), and his brothers from hunger and starvation in Canaan (present-day Israel-Palestine) during times of famine. 
 
The book of Genesis notes that Joseph was a loyal and hardworking man of integrity, living a blameless life of faithful obedience to the Sovereign Lord God, even during times of trials and testing. Joseph was a well-built and handsome Hebrew man of integrity filled with the Holy Spirit’s gifts of intelligence, divine discernment, prudence, understanding, and wisdom. Despite his mistreatment, Joseph never abused God’s grace by living a wicked and evil life that sinned against God, but he lived a faithful life that feared and honored God, and God graciously filled Joseph with divine wisdom and abundant favor (grace). Joseph honored the sanctity of marriage and never yielded to adultery and sexual temptation, unlike his brothers Reuben and Judah, who both yielded to sexual sins and temptation. All sins are against the Sovereign LORD God of heaven and earth. 
 
The living Sovereign LORD God and His Holy Presence continued to be with Joseph, and He favored and promoted Joseph, making him prosper and succeed in everything he did, even during his time in Egyptian slavery and later imprisonment as God’s providential care and blessings governed Joseph’s life. Even the people around Joseph became blessed because of God’s Presence, with His holy blessings and favor (grace) upon Joseph’s life, just as it was with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Queen Esther, and King David. Notably, the Sovereign LORD God gives His Holy Spirit with blessings and peace to those who faithfully walk with love and obedience to Him, but He sends an evil, troubling, tormenting, and depressing spirit to those who rebel, disobey, and dishonor Him. 
 
The all-wise Sovereign LORD God planned and allowed Joseph’s imprisonment from the age of seventeen (17) to thirty (30) to prepare him for his divine leadership role in Egypt, which would ultimately lead to the salvation of his father, Jacob (Israel), and his brothers, who would become the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The good Sovereign LORD God of heaven and earth, who is the only great and all-wise everlasting God, sees and knows everything from beginning to the end for the salvation and good of all people, and He keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and keeps His holy commandments. 
Joseph lived a God-honoring life, never losing faith and hope in the Sovereign Lord God. All believers of Christ Jesus are called to follow Joseph’s life of humility, patience, obedience, goodness, and faithfulness to the living Sovereign LORD God.

Joseph the Dreamer

Genesis first introduces Joseph as a seventeen-year-old young man who gives a bad report to his father, Jacob, about his other brothers. Jacob (Israel) had twelve sons, and these twelve sons would later become known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Joseph was Jacob’s eleventh son, and Joseph became Israel’s favorite son, whom Israel loved more than all of his other sons. At an early age, Joseph flaunted his father’s favoritism. Favoritism and rivalry have a sad history in the book of Genesis, leading to family jealousy, anger, and resentment, as Isaac favored Esau, Rebekah favored Jacob, and Jacob favored his wife, Rachel, over Leah. Israel made his son Joseph a colorful robe (coat of many colors or ornate robe), revealing Joseph’s privileged status within the family, and Joseph’s brothers became angry and jealous of Joseph’s colorful robe and their father’s favoritism toward Joseph. One night, Joseph had a divine dream of his future, which only made his brothers hate him all the more. In the Holy Bible, dreams and visions were a frequent method of divine revelation from God. Joseph informed his brothers of his dream, in which they were bundling grain (sheaves) from the field, and all the bundles of grain (sheaves) bowed down to his bundle of grain (sheaf). Joseph’s dream angered his other brothers, and they developed a jealous hatred of Joseph because his dream showed him reigning over them with dominion and authority. Then, Joseph had another dream from God about his future. In this second divine dream, Joseph informed his brothers and his father, Israel (also known as Jacob), that this time, even the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to him. Upon hearing the divine dream, Israel rebuked Joseph, asking him if his dream meant that he would reign and his family would bow down to him. Joseph’s brother became even more angry, bitter, and envious towards Joseph, but Israel kept the matter in mind. Joseph revealing his dreams to his brothers when he was seventeen was partly a matter of faith but also partly a result of youthful foolishness and pride, but Joseph would later grow into a wise and prudent leader. 
Sometime later, Israel’s other sons went to Shechem to tend and feed their sheep, and Israel sent Joseph to find his brothers in Shechem and later into Dothan. When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they hard-heartedly devised an evil plan and plot to kill their own brother Joseph out of envy and then lie to their father about Joseph’s death at the hands of a ferocious animal. However, the oldest brother, Reuben, heard of the plan, and he tried to save and rescue Joseph from his brothers’ evil scheme. Eventually, Joseph’s brothers took Joseph's coat of many colors and threw Joseph into a deep, dry well (cistern) despite Joseph’s plea not to be thrown into the cistern. Later, Judah and the other brothers sold Joseph to Ishmaelite and Midianite traders heading to Egypt for twenty shekels, and these traders sold Joseph into Egyptian slavery away from the Promised Land of God (Canaan). After selling Joseph into slavery, Joseph’s brother devised another evil scheme, and they lied to their father, Israel, saying that a wild animal had killed Joseph. 
Despite Joseph’s betrayal and slavery in Egypt, the Sovereign LORD God continued to be with Joseph with His divine mercy and favor (grace), and He blessed Joseph with His providential care, like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Sovereign LORD God allowed Joseph’s sale into slavery and later imprisonment to test and build Joseph’s character - patience, faith, and perseverance, and God always brings good out of evil. Joseph’s visionary dreams would come true when he was appointed governor over Egypt by Pharaoh and was responsible for the grain of Egypt, causing his brothers to bow down to him. Additionally, Joseph would become the prince and crown among his brothers, and Joseph received the rights of the firstborn, as Jacob had adopted Joseph’s two children, Ephraim and Manasseh. Royal rulers would come through Joseph’s youngest son, Ephraim, who would rule Israel’s northern kingdom, and also through Judah, who would become the ancestor of Christ Jesus, the Ruler and King of the world. Joseph’s name means “may He add,” and Joseph is the last of the Genesis patriarchs, following Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (also known as Israel).
 

Fighting God

One night, Jacob had another encounter with the Sovereign LORD God that would forever change his life. Jacob met a mysterious man while alone as he returned to the Promised Land of God (Canaan), and Jacob wrestled and struggled with this mysterious man in the dark until the breaking of dawn - a new day. Later, Jacob would acknowledge meeting the living God (Theophany), but Hosea 12:2-4 states that this mysterious man who met Jacob was the Angel of God. Now, the mysterious man wrestling Jacob could not overpower Jacob, so the mysterious man touched Jacob’s hip (thigh or sciatic muscle) and wrenched Jacob’s hip out of its socket. The socket of Jacob’s hip became dislocated, disabled, and crippled - a thorn of Jacob’s flesh as the mighty mysterious man wrestled with Jacob. Then, the mysterious man demanded Jacob release Him as the dawn broke. As they struggled, Jacob requested God’s favor (grace) and blessings with faith and persistence, as all good gifts come from God. Next, the mysterious man asked Jacob his name, and Jacob gave the mysterious man his name. However, the mysterious man announced to Jacob that his name would no longer be Jacob but Israel to transform Jacob’s life and identity. The name Israel means “Prince with God,” “God fights,” “God strives,” or “struggled with God” because Jacob struggled and strived with God and with humans and he prevailed in victory.  Then, Jacob asked the mysterious man for his name, but God blessed Jacob instead of giving His name. After receiving the divine blessing and new name, Jacob called the name of the place Peniel (Penuel), which means “Face of God,” for Jacob proclaimed he had seen God face to face, and the living God graciously spared and delivered his life. Then, the sun rose, and Jacob (Israel) walked with a limp on his hip, stopping Jacob’s proud self-sufficiency, natural strength, and self-reliance so Jacob (Israel) could rely only upon the living God by faith. The author of Genesis noted that the people of Israel do not eat the muscle (tendon) attached to the hip socket because God touched and dislocated the socket of Jacob’s hip in the muscle (tendon). Before Jacob struggled with God, Jacob was known and acted as a trickster, deceiver, and supplanter for grasping Esau’s heel at birth and also deceptively taking Esau’s birthright and their father Isaac’s blessings as the firstborn son. Jacob fled Canaan (Israel-Palestine) and went to Haran (Paddan Aram in Mesopotamia - the land of East) to run from his brother Esau and also to look for a wife. While away from Canaan, the Sovereign LORD God graciously blessed Jacob like Abraham and Isaac, and He multiplied Jacob with many possessions, servants, and wealth, as well as a large family, including a daughter named Dinah and many sons, which would later become known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Then, the Sovereign LORD God commanded Jacob to return to his father Isaac and the Promised Land of Canaan, and He promised to continue to be with Jacob, and Jacob obeyed God’s command. Jacob lived away from the Promised Land for twenty (20) years with his uncle Laban (his mother Rebekah’s brother) before returning to Canaan, and the holy angels of God were with Jacob as a ministering presence during his journeys. Eventually, Jacob returned to Bethel (Luz) in Canaan, where the Sovereign LORD God once again appeared to Jacob as before in Bethel, where God and His holy angels first met Jacob with Jacob’s vision of God and the stairway to heaven. Jacob (Israel) worshiped the Sovereign LORD God, and he commanded his household to have wholehearted allegiance and faithfulness to the Sovereign LORD God and no other idols. Then, the Sovereign LORD God appeared to Jacob and announced to Jacob that He is God Almighty (El Shaddai), and He promised to be with Jacob and bless Jacob with a family of kings and the land of Canaan like Abraham and Isaac, and He once again changed Jacob’s name to Israel. Notably, the Sovereign LORD God also blessed Ishmael and Esau (Edom) with a large family, possessions, wealth, and rulers (kings) as descendants of Father Abraham. The Messiah of God (Christ) who would bless the world would come through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and King David’s family line.
 

New Beginnings with Faith

In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul (Sha’ul) and his ministry focused on proclaiming the Good News (Gospel) message of God’s forgiveness, salvation, grace, righteousness, and peace with a new spiritual life and new beginnings that come to all wholehearted believers in Jesus the Messiah (Christ) as Lord and Savior. This newness of divine spiritual life comes to everyone by God’s grace and mercy through repentance with faithful and dependent obedience, belief, and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, believers of Jesus get a reset button with a fresh start and a new heart, where we are reborn from heaven and adopted into God’s Kingdom as His children. The Sovereign LORD God of heaven and earth sent His Holy Son, Jesus the Messiah so His Son could give His sinless life and precious blood as a ransom and the final sacrificial Passover Lamb of God for our sins (propitiation) to deliver (redeem) us from Satans’ dark and wicked living and bring everyone back (reconciliation) together united as one people (Jews and non-Jews) into God’s Kingdom. According to the Apostle Paul, the Gospel message that brings heaven’s righteousness (justification) and new spiritual life only requires wholehearted repentance (turning from Satan’s evildoing) with faithful and dependent obedience, belief, and trust to Christ Jesus (Yeshua) as Lord and does not require Gentiles (non-Jews) coming to Christ Jesus first to become Jewish, circumcised, nor converted to Judaism. The Apostle Paul bases his Good News message of salvation by God’s grace and not our works on the Old Testament Scriptures and God’s promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Old Testament book of Genesis before the Law of God given to Moses at Mount Sinai (Torah or Oracles of God). Nevertheless, the Apostle Paul and the other New Testament writers do not ignore nor disregard the importance of the Old Testament Law of God, the holy prophets, godly and good living, nor the command of circumcision given by the Sovereign LORD God to Abraham for his descendants. The Apostle Matthew specifically wrote through his Gospel message proclaiming that Jesus, who is Jewish, is the Promised Messiah (Christ, Chosen, Anointed One) and Immanuel (“God is with us”) predicted in the Old Testament (Hebrew) Scriptures and that Jesus continued the Old Testament storyline of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, as well as the teachings of Moses and the holy prophets of God.  Since the Old Testament into the New Testament, the Sovereign LORD God has called ALL PEOPLE (Jews and non-Jews) to circumcision of the heart, which is walking blamelessly with wholehearted and loyal love, trust, and obedient faithfulness to Him and His commands as the only one and only true God of heaven and earth. The Sovereign LORD God is goodness and light, and He wants EVERYONE to turn from Satan’s dark deeds and faithfully walk with Him and His Son Jesus in dependent love and produce His good and holy fruit of righteousness - love, mercy, fairness, humility, truth, forgiveness, and peace. Jesus is LORD!

Meeting God

Jacob is the father of Israel. At an early age, Jacob was known as a deceiver, trickster, and supplanter after scamming and scheming to take away his brother Esau’s inheritance and covenant blessings of Abraham and Isaac. The Sovereign LORD God had already promised and ordained these divine blessings to Jacob before Jacob’s birth. Eventually, Jacob left his home in Canaan (the Promised Land of God, also known as Israel-Palestine) and traveled many miles in the desert, going to Haran (Paddan Aram in Mesopotamia). On his journey, the Sovereign LORD God of heaven and earth came to Jacob full of promises, protections, and blessings by His grace with mercy and not blame, disapproval, and shame that Jacob deserved. Jacob was not looking for God, but God looked for him on his journey. At sundown, Jacob took a stone pillow to sleep, and as he was sleeping, he had a wonderful dream from heaven. Jacob dreamed of a stairway (ladder) that reached from the earth to heaven, and the holy angels of God walked up and down this divine stairway (ladder). At the top of the stairway, the Sovereign LORD God came to Jacob and announced to him that He was the same God of his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac, and He promised that someday the land of Canaan (Israel-Palestine) would belong to him and his descendants (family). As with Abraham and Isaac, the Sovereign LORD God promised Jacob that his family would be as numerous as the dust on the earth, spreading throughout the four corners of the world, and through him and his descendants God would bless all people of the earth as they walked blamelessly with faithful obedience to the LORD like Abraham. The Sovereign LORD God promised to be forever present with Jacob with His love, abundant blessings, and protection, just like Abraham and Isaac. Thus, Jacob inherited Abraham and Isaac’s entire covenant blessings of God Almighty (El Shaddai). After his dream, Jacob woke up with joy, excitement, and reverential fear in God’s Presence. Jacob declared that the LORD (Adonai) was in this holy place, and he called this location the house of God, the very gateway to heaven. Jacob got up early the following day, took his stone pillow, and set up a memorial pillar. Then, Jacob poured olive oil over the monument pillar and named that place Bethel, which means “house of God,” although it was previously named Luz. Next, Jacob made a vow of devotion to the LORD as his God if the LORD would be present with him on his journeys with His divine protection and provision of safety. Jacob worshiped and devoted his life to the LORD God (Adonai), and he promised to give God a tenth (tithe) of everything the LORD graciously gives him, as ALL truly belongs to God.Notably, Abraham and Isaac also worshiped the Eternal God of heaven and earth and presented a tenth (tithe) from God’s abundant blessings and provisions like Jacob. After his encounter with God, Jacob’s life changed from a previous deceiver and trickster to a godfearing man of integrity! Jacob’s vision and dream of the Sovereign LORD God and his vision of a stairway to heaven looked forward to Christ Jesus our Savior. Christ Jesus is our stairway, ladder, and great vine between heaven and earth that mediates and gives everyone access to the Sovereign LORD God. Even more, Christ Jesus brings the fullness of Abraham’s covenant blessings and God’s abundant grace, salvation, and forgiveness to ALL PEOPLE through repentance with faithful obedience in Him as our Lord and Savior. Christ Jesus is the new Bethel (House and Temple of God) as the fullness of God lives inside Him. Jesus is the LORD!

Brothers Esau and Jacob

Isaac and his wife Rebekah wanted to begin a family. Isaac pleaded and prayed with faith to the LORD for his wife Rebekah because she was barren like Sarah, and the LORD answered Isaac’s plea, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant with two twin boys. Rebekah’s twin boys struggled within her womb, and Rebekah sought the LORD in prayer for answers and guidance. The Sovereign LORD God of heaven and earth, announced to Rebekah that she had two rival nations and two separate people living within her womb, and the older son would serve the younger son. Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, gave birth to her twin sons, Esau (Edom) and Jacob (Israel). Jacob had smooth skin, but Esau came out red, like a hairy fur garment and eventually, Esau became the father of Edom (Seir), which means red. Then Esau’s brother was born, and his hand grasped at Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob, which means supplanter, cheater, or deceiver. Esau and Jacob grew, and Esau became a skillful hunter, outdoorsman, and man of the fields while Jacob was a mild man, dwelling with his mother Rebekah at home (within the tent). Isaac and Rebekah mistakenly practiced favoritism with their children, which would result in poisonous fruit. Isaac favored Esau because he ate Esau’s food from the fields of the earth, which the LORD had blessed, but Rebekah favored Jacob, who stayed inside the tent (home). One day, Esau was weary and tired from the fields and demanded the red stew Jacob had prepared. Jacob demanded Esau surrender his birthright in exchange for the red stew. Driven by the natural flesh (appetite) during a moment of weakness, Esau impulsively traded his divine birthright (inheritance) as Isaac’s firstborn son for Jacob’s red stew (a meal). Sadly, Esau despised as godless his birthright (bekorah), which was God’s covenant promise and blessings (berakah) of Abraham. The Holy Bible states that Esau never sought the LORD nor repented with sorrow for his godless behavior of rejecting God’s blessings and covenant birthright as Isaac’s firstborn son. Later, the Sovereign LORD God appeared to Isaac with His promise to be present with Isaac by His Holy Spirit and bless Isaac with Abraham's covenant blessing of prosperity, strength, and many multiple descendants, including Isaac’s Seed (Christ Jesus) and the land of Canaan (Israel-Palestine). The Holy Bible notes Abraham’s faithful obedience to the Sovereign LORD God’s voice and His commandments, statutes, and laws, and He commanded Abraham to teach his descendants the same faithful obedience to God. Abraham and Isaac faithfully called upon the Name of the Eternal God (El-Olam) and worshiped Him. As Isaac aged, Isaac’s eyes became weak and dim, and he requested a savory meal from his eldest son Esau and his game animal so he could bless Esau before his death. Rebekah listened when Isaac spoke to Esau about Esau receiving his birthright (bekorah) and Isaac’s blessings (berakah) before Isaac’s death. So, with her favoritism for Jacob, Rebekah commanded Jacob to obtain two goats from their flock so she could prepare a tasty meal for his father, and so Jacob could receive Isaac’s blessings instead of Esau. Rebekah and Jacob schemed and deceived Isaac by disguising Jacob with Esau’s clothes and hairy animal skins like Esau, and Rebekah had Jacob bring the meal she prepared to Isaac so Jacob could receive Isaac’s covenant blessings of Abraham.
Jacob brought the food to his father Isaac, who tricked and lied to his father, who was old and had weak eyesight, so that he would receive Esau’s birthright and covenant blessing as the firstborn son. Isaac blessed Jacob with the dew of the heavens, the fatness of the earth, plenty of grain and wine, and the honor of people, along with blessings to those who bless him and curses for those who curse him. After Jacob received the covenant blessing, Esau came to his father Isaac with a tasty meal from the game of the field, but Isaac announced to Esau that Jacob had come to him with trickery deceit and took Esau’s blessings as the firstborn son. Jacob would later reap his scheming trickery and lies by being exiled from his family for twenty years and being deceived by his future father-in-law Laban regarding his two daughters, Leah and Rachel. Esau wept bitterly to his father Isaac to receive the covenant blessing, and then Esau realized that Jacob had supplanted and deceived him twice to take away the birthright of Abraham and Isaac’s covenant blessings. Isaac informed Esau that he had made Jacob his master and blessed Jacob with servants, grain, and wine to sustain him, but he blessed Esau with a lesser blessing of scarcity, restlessness, and servitude. Esau became bitter and hated his brother Jacob with a desire to kill Jacob. Rebekah sent Jacob away from Esau to her brother Laban in Haran (Mesopotamia) until Esau’s anger eased. Also, Isaac and Rebekah sent Jacob to Mesopotamia so he would not marry the wicked women of Canaan, like his brother Esau, and Jacob obeyed his father and mother. Before leaving, Isaac once again gave Jacob the blessings God Almighty (El-Shaddai) had given to Abraham and him regarding spiritual and physical prosperity, multiplication of descendants, and the inheritance of Canaan (Promised Land of God) so Jacob (Israel) would be a channel of God’s blessings to the nations leading to the sinless Christ Jesus our Savior. The Holy Bible teaches that the Sovereign LORD God by grace chose and elected flawed Jacob (Israel) with love over Esau even before Esau and Jacob’s births. In His sovereignty, the LORD God uses all kinds of actions (good and bad) for the good of His people. Despite Esau’s action, the Sovereign LORD God commanded Jacob to love Esau (Edom) and, by God’s grace, multiplied Esau and his offspring into a great nation with land under God’s protection just like Cain, Canaan (Ham), Ishmael, Reuben, and Manasseh. Esau would later forgive and reconcile with Jacob, which answered Jacob’s prayer. Here is more Good News: everyone receives God’s righteousness, adoption into His family, and the spiritual blessings of Abraham as Abraham’s descendants by repentance with faithful obedience to Christ Jesus as Lord. The Genesis stories teach that the Sovereign LORD God makes good and divine promises for His faithful people. Still, these stories also teach everyone that we must patiently wait with obedience and prayer to God for His empowering Holy Spirit and His timing, and not by our selfish methods and sinful schemes. Let EVERYONE come with faithful obedience and love to the Sovereign LORD God and His Son Christ Jesus, for His Holy Spirit’s power and blessings and ALWAYS worship the Eternal God. Jesus is the LORD!