Reading for Today:
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Genesis 39:1
Chapter 39 1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hand of the Ishmaelites, that had brought him down thither.
–40:23
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Psalms 10:1-11
Chapter 10 1 Why standest thou afar off, O Jehovah? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? 2 In the pride of the wicked the poor is hotly pursued; Let them be taken in the devices that they have conceived. 3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, And the covetous renounceth, `yea', contemneth Jehovah. 4 The wicked, in the pride of his countenance, `saith', He will not require `it'. All his thoughts are, There is no God. 5 His ways are firm at all times; Thy judgments are far above out of his sight: As for all his adversaries, he puffeth at them. 6 He saith in his heart, I shall not be moved; To all generations I shall not be in adversity. 7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression: Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity. 8 He sitteth in the lurking-places of the villages; In the secret places doth he murder the innocent; His eyes are privily set against the helpless. 9 He lurketh in secret as a lion in his covert; He lieth in wait to catch the poor: He doth catch the poor, when he draweth him in his net. 10 He croucheth, he boweth down, And the helpless fall by his strong ones. 11 He saith in his heart, God hath forgotten; He hideth his face; he will never see it.
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Proverbs 4:1-6
Chapter 4 1 Hear, `my' sons, the instruction of a father, And attend to know understanding: 2 For I give you good doctrine; Forsake ye not my law. 3 For I was a son unto my father, Tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. 4 And he taught me, and said unto me: Let thy heart retain my words; Keep my commandments, and live; 5 Get wisdom, get understanding; Forget not, neither decline from the words of my mouth; 6 Forsake her not, and she will preserve thee; Love her, and she will keep thee.
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Matthew 13:31-58
31 Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32 which indeed is less than all seeds; but when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the heaven come and lodge in the branches thereof. 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 it was all leavened. 34 All these things spake Jesus in parables unto the multitudes; and without a parable spake he nothing unto them: 35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world. 36 Then he left the multitudes, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Explain unto us the parable of the tares of the field. 37 And he answered and said, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; 38 and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil `one'; 39 and the enemy that sowed them is the devil: and the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are angels. 40 As therefore the tares are gathered up and burned with fire; so shall it be in the end of the world. 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity, 42 and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears, let him hear. 44 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in the field; which a man found, and hid; and in his joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. 45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a merchant seeking goodly pearls: 46 and having found one pearl of great price, he 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 filled, they drew up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but the bad they cast away. 49 So shall it be in the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. 51 Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea. 52 And he said unto them, Therefore every scribe who hath been made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old. 53 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. 54 And coming 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 Joseph, 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 honor, save in his own country, and in his own house. 58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Notes:
Genesis 39:2 The LORD was with Joseph. Any and all ideas that Joseph, twice a victim of injustice, had been abandoned by the Lord are summarily banished by the employment of phrases highlighting God’s oversight of his circumstances, e.g. “with him”(vv. 3,21),“made all he did to prosper” (vv. 3, 23), “found/gave him favor” (vv. 4, 21), “blessed/ blessing” (v. 5), and “showed him mercy” (v. 21). Neither being unjustly sold into slavery and forcibly removed from the Land (37:28), nor being unjustly accused of sexual harassment and imprisoned (vv. 13–18) were events signaling even a temporary loss of divine superintendence of Joseph’s life and God’s purpose for His people, Israel.
Proverbs 4:2 good doctrine…my law. There is no wisdom but that which is linked to good doctrine, which should be the focal point of all instruction (see 1 Tim. 1:10; 4:13, 16; 5:17; 2 Tim. 3:10, 16; 4:2;
Titus 1:9
9 holding to the faithful word which is according to the teaching, that he may be able to exhort in the sound doctrine, and to convict the gainsayers.
; 2:1, 10).
Matthew 13:37 He who sows. The true sower of salvation seed is the Lord Himself. He alone can give the power in the heart to transform. He is the One who saves sinners, even through the preaching and witnessing of believers (Rom. 10:14).
Matthew 13:57 A prophet…in his own country. This is an ancient proverb paralleling the modern saying “Familiarity breeds contempt.” They knew Jesus too well as a boy and a young man from their own town—and they concluded that He was nothing special. Verse 58 gives the sad result (see
Mark 6:4
4 And Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
).
DAY 20: What did Joseph understand about the interpretation of dreams?
Oneiromancy, the science or practice of interpreting dreams, flourished in ancient Egypt because dreams were thought to determine the future. Both Egypt and Babylon developed a professional class of dream interpreters.
Deuteronomy 13:1
Chapter 13 1 If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder,
–5 shows that such dream interpreters were part of ancient false religion and to be avoided by God’s people. By some 500 years later, a detailed manual of dream interpretation had been compiled. Unlike Joseph, neither butler nor baker understood the significance of their dreams (see Gen. 37:5–11), and the sadness they project in
Genesis 40:5
5 And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream, in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were bound in the prison.
expresses their belief that the dreams required an interpretation.
Joseph believed that when it came to dreams that the “interpretations belong to God” (v. 8). He was careful to give credit to his Lord (see 41:16). Daniel, the only other Hebrew whom God allowed to accurately interpret revelatory dreams, was just as careful to do so (Dan. 2:28). Significantly, God chose both men to play an important role for Israel while serving pagan monarchs and stepping forward at the critical moment to interpret their dreams and reveal their futures.
From The MacArthur Daily Bible Copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson Bibles, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc, Nashville, TN 37214, www.thomasnelson.com.
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