The Wagons Are Coming

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. — Genesis 45:27

Jacob's love for Joseph aroused his ten older sons to jealousy, prompting them to sell Joseph into slavery and then to cover their deed with a lie. In the years that followed, Joseph rose from slavery to power in Egypt, while famine fell upon his family (Genesis 41:56-57).

As his sons journeyed to buy food in Egypt, Jacob looked around and saw his expectations for his sons and his land reduced to dry dust. But Jacob had God's Word. Day after day he reminded himself, "In blessing, I will bless thee and in multiplying, I will multiply thee" (Genesis 22:17).

When God Shows Up, Don’t Forget It

Sharon Jaynes 

 

“Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water,” (Genesis 21:19 NIV).

Yesterday we looked at Hagar and how God spoke to her in her deepest time of need. Let’s visit that one more time, because Hagar, like you and me, forgot about her encounter with God.

When Hagar encountered God the first time, she fell on her face and gave God the name El Roi, the God who Sees Me “I have now seen the One who sees me,” she cried. She had heard God. She had seen God. More importantly, God had seen Hagar. God had heard Hagar.

Hagar returned to her mistress, gave birth to a son, and placed him into Abram’s arms. But sixteen years later, God was true to His word, and Sarai gave birth to a son of her own. (God also changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s to Sarah). 

Answer Envy

Karen Ehman

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV)

Devotion:

Do you ever envy God's answers to someone else's prayers?

I remember almost choking on the words, "I am so happy for you!" in response to the breaking news that friends of ours from North Carolina had sold their house after it had been on the market for twenty days.

To them it had been a long twenty days. Houses were normally snatched up quickly in their area. In our shaky Michigan economy, however, it takes a bit longer. In fact, on the day she announced that her home now had a "sold" sign in the front yard, we turned another page on our calendar — marking how long our house had been for sale. Not twenty days, but twenty months to be exact.

Although I was genuinely thrilled for my friend, I was also a tad green with jealousy.

Like Ephraim and Manasseh

“He blessed them that day and said, ‘In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing: “May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.”’ So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.” — Genesis 48:20

This Torah portion for this week, Vayechi, is from Genesis 47:28–50:26 and 1 Kings 2:1–12.

Every Friday night, when Jewish families gather around the table to celebrate the Sabbath festive meal, parents bless their children. To the girls we say, “May God make you like Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Leah.” To the boys we say, “May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.” It’s easy to understand why we choose to bless our girls to be like the great Matriarchs. But why don’t we bless our sons to be like the holy Patriarchs? Why do we choose Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, instead?

Ephraim and Manasseh accomplished something that no one else in the covenantal family had. Isaac and Ishmael were brothers, but they weren’t able to live together. Ishmael was banned from Abraham’s home. Jacob and Esau were twins, and they, too, had their share of sibling rivalry. At one point, Esau wanted to kill his brother. Next came the twelve sons of Jacob, and as we know, their relationship with Joseph wasn’t perfect either. Their jealousy of Jacob’s favorite led them to sell Joseph into slavery.

INTERNET AND TEXTING RULES FOR COUPLES

The Internet can pose a significant threat to any relationship if misused. The Internet has led to a dramatic increase in use of pornography, which can become habitual, even addictive behavior that will have a negative impact on your own relationship with your partner. In addition, the Internet allows individuals to make contact with strangers and encourages inappropriate intimacy. It can lead to both emotional and physical infidelity.

Because some people view online relationships as harmless, they engage in behavior they would never consider in a face-to-face relationship. Many marriages and relationships have broken up when one member of a couple discovers that his/her partner has been involved in a relationship online or regularly visits pornographic or other inappropriate websites.

Here are a set of rules that will help each couple avoid the trauma that comes from discovering hidden relationships and porn use on the computer.

Motherhood Is Not a Competition

Three ways to confront and overcome the destructive nature of jealousy.

by Dr. Meg Meeker

Twenty-some years ago, I was driving down the highway very early in the morning. I was a senior pediatric resident at Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was trying to get to work early enough to check on the younger residents’ patients before I started morning rounds. It was spring and I was pregnant with our second child. I was driving about 60 mph in a 65mph zone when I saw, with my peripheral vision, a friend trying to pass me in the left-hand lane on her way to make rounds.

Glorious Times to Come : God's Jealousy For Jerusalem

(Daily Portion 10317)
Scripture Passage    :    Zechariah 8:1-12

God promises glorious times to come for Jerusalem. It will be called a city of truth and will have both the elderly and the young in its streets. The remnant of the Jews will be returned to the land and they will be prosperous. The Lord will be their God and they will be His people in truth and in righteousness.

What Does It Say?

1. When God blesses Jerusalem, the _________ of the city shall be full of boys and girls __________.
2. God will save His people from the ________ country and from the _________ country.
3. They shall be God’s people and He will be their God in truth and in _______________.
4. God gives words of strength to those that were in the day that the _____________ of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the ____________ might be built.
5. God will cause the remnant of this people to _____________ all these things.

What Does It Mean?

1. We normally think of jealousy as a negative trait; as something we should not have. However, in the Bible, jealousy is attributed to God more than to men and we can be certain that it is not wrong for God to be jealous. In our passage God states, “I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury” (v.2). Look up the word in a dictionary and consider the following verses where God is jealous: Exodus 34:14
   ; Deuteronomy 4:24
   ; Deuteronomy 32:16
   ; Deuteronomy 21; 1 Kings 14:22
   ; Psalm 78:58
   ; Ezekiel 39:25
   ; Joel 2:18
   ; Zechariah 1:14
   . Compare these verses with 2 Corinthians 11:2
    where Paul speaks of having “godly jealousy.” What is the basic meaning of jealousy? What does it mean when God is jealous? Why is it alright for God to be jealous? When can we have jealousy that is godly?
2. From verse 3, we can see that God has a future for Jerusalem. Compare this with Isaiah 2:1-4
   . What kind of city will Jerusalem be? When will this happen?
3. The Jews have just recently returned from captivity in Babylon. They found the city and the surrounding area in ruin. Zechariah promises that better times are coming. Verse 10 describes how things have been there. Tell in your own words what has been going on in the city as described in verse 10.

What Does It Mean to Me?

1. Zechariah realizes that his wondrous description of God’s future for Jerusalem may be far beyond the belief of his audience. They see a destroyed and ruined city. He describes a marvelous city. Verse 6 states, “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts.” That is, it may be marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of the Jews that are left, but it is not marvelous in the eyes of God. In a similar vein, Psalm 118:23 
   says, “This is the LORD'S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.” Why are some things marvelous in our eyes but not in the eyes of God? Name some of these things.
2. The Lord tells the Jews, “Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets” (v.9). The words of the prophets will give them strength. We know that words can hurt or they can help. The Lord can teach us “how to speak a word in season to him that is weary” (Isaiah 50:4
   ). What kinds of words give strength? What kinds of words hurt? How are you going to use your words today?

Suggested Memory Verses

Zechariah 8:3
, Zechariah 8:6

http://www.learnthebible.org/glorious-times-to-come-daily-portion-10317.html