Quick Note – Genesis 48:15 – Shepherd All My Life

Genesis 48:15 – And he blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day…”

God was Jacob’s Shepherd.  God was with Jacob when he fled from his brother Esau, who was seeking to kill him.  God was with Jacob when he was being cheated by Laban as he cared for his father-in-law’s sheep.  God was with Jacob when he returned to the land of Canaan after living exiled for almost two decades.  God was with Jacob when he brought him into the land of Egypt to save his family from famine.  God was Jacob’s shepherd throughout his life. 

I relate to what Jacob says in this verse, because as with Jacob, God has been a Shepherd to me all my life.  He has been my shepherd from the day I was born until today, almost thirty-four years later.  He placed me in a good family, where I grew up hearing about the Word of God and growing in the knowledge of Him.  He placed me in a good elementary and high school, where I gained a foundation in the Bible and was supported by friends and family.  He gave me success in college so that I could be an honor student when I graduated.  And He opened up opportunities in research internships that have put me on the career path in science I am on today.  And even as I struggle in graduate school now, I know that He is here leading and guiding me, preparing a plan for the future.  He has been my Shepherd since the day I was born and will continue to lead me till the day that I die. 

Now, it may sound like I am boasting about God being my shepherd because good things have happened in my life.  But even in the trouble, God is still my Shepherd, and He is yours as well.  You may doubt it because of the trouble you are experiencing, but look at Joseph’s life.  He was solid into slavery.  He was wrongly accused by Potiphar’s wife and thrown into prison.  He was forgotten by the cupbearer whose dream he interpreted.  And only after suffering for years did he get placed into a position of power.  But God was his Shepherd even in that trouble.  God was leading and guiding Joseph’s life so that He would one day provide for Egypt and Israel during seven years of famine.  Wickedness was planned by others, but God was using it for good.  God was a Shepherd even in the Valleys of Shadow that Joseph was experiencing. 

God is our Shepherd.  He is watching over us from the day we are born until the day we die.  It is our choice whether we will follow and obey Him or continue to run away from His calling.  Let Him lead and guide you today.  He will take you through the valleys of shadow and death, protecting and helping you.  He will lead you to the greenest pastures and the stillest waters, so that you can experience His blessings.  God is a loving Shepherd, and He loves you.  Trust in Him today.  

Quick Note – Genesis 41:15-16 – Credit to Whom Credit Is Due

Genesis 41:15-16, 39 – 15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” 16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”… 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are.”

In science, one of the most important things a scientist must do is publish.  The more scientific papers that are submitted and accepted with them as authors leads to more success.  It determines whether a scientist will get grants, will be promoted in position, and even get hired at universities.  That is why a common phrase quoted in science is “Publish or perish.” 

Because of this need for publications, authorship on papers is a hotly debated topic.  Some labs like to put every lab member onto a paper regardless of the work they did.  Other labs like to limit the authorship to just a few people who came up with the scientific ideas.  And some labs try to distribute out the authorship as appropriately as possible, giving credit to those who deserve it.  I personally prefer the last way of doing it, in that those who deserve credit receive it.  The person who writes the paper and does most of the work is the first author, those who assist can be additional authors, and the principal investigator is the last author.  Then everyone gets credit where they deserve.  But even this can be confusing, because who determines whether someone contributed enough to be put on a paper?  So as you can see in science it is hard to assign appropriate credit. 

However, it was not difficult for Joseph to give the right person credit in Genesis 41.  In this chapter, Pharaoh dreamed about cows and grain.  In his dreams there were seven fat and good cows and seven fat and good ears of grain that were eaten up by seven thin and ugly cows and seven thin and beaten ears of grain.  This dream shocked Pharoah so much that he looked for someone to interpret it.  Unfortunately, he couldn’t find anyone even amongst his wise men until he was told about Joseph.  One of Pharoah’s cupbearers had a dream interpreted by Joseph before, so he told Pharoah that Joseph could do it.  Immediately, Joseph was called out of prison to meet with Pharoah. 

When Pharoah met Joseph, he attributed the ability to interpret dreams to him.  But Joseph corrected him stating, “It is not in me; God will give Pharoah a favorable answer.”  Joseph recognized that his ability to interpret dreams did not come from his own strength but was a blessing given to him by God.  So rather than taking credit for it, Joseph gave credit to God.  For this reason, after Joseph interpreted Pharoah’s dream to him, Pharoah recognized God.  He told Joseph, “God has shown you all this…”  By giving credit to whom credit was due, Joseph was a witness for the almighty God to Pharoah and likely all of Egypt.  

In our lives, it is easy for us to take credit for the things we do.  But we must remember that the ability to work, to think, to act – all comes from God.  When we have a success, it is because God helped us achieve it.  When we finish a goal, it is because God gave us the strength to do so.  When we share the Gospel, and someone gets saved, it is because the Holy Spirit worked in that person’s heart.  It is as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”  We are simply the hands in God’s great work.  Let us always remember to give credit to the One who deserves all our worship and praise, for when we do, we are witnesses for Him to this world.  

Quick Note : Genesis 40:5-8 – A Present Opportunity

Genesis 40:5-8 – “5 And one night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation. 6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” 8 They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

We have all had times in which we missed an opportunity to do something great, because we did not have the foresight to see what a great opportunity it was at the time.  It happens all the time in investing; just look at Apple.  About ten to fifteen years ago, the company was about to go bankrupt with its shares selling at almost dirt-cheap prices, and now, it is at the top of its game in the hundreds of dollars a share.  If we had had the foresight to jump in back then, we could be millionaires today.  That is just with investing; in actuality, opportunities can be missed in every part of our life.  People have missed the chance to date and eventually marry wonderful people because of fear or a lack of being able to interpret the “signals.”  People have missed the chance to be in various careers, because they were not able to see the opportunity in education or work that was right in front of them.  People have even missed chances to do once in a lifetime things on vacations, because they could not tell how special that opportunity was.  But the worst opportunity to miss is the one to share the Gospel with a person, for losing the chance to be part of a person’s testimony is tragic.  That is why it is so important for Christians to learn to observe a situation and see the opportunities he has to be a witness for Christ in every moment of every day, for without expectation, there might just be a chance to be a witness for God.

In our passage today, Joseph became a witness of God’s power to two of Pharaoh’s servants just by being observant.  In Genesis 40, we find that Pharaoh threw two of his staff members into prison – his cupbearer and his baker, for reasons unknown to us.  Nonetheless, while in prison, both the cupbearer and the baker had a dream of which they had no interpretation; because of this, they were quite distraught and downtrodden.  Although nobody else might have noticed or cared, Joseph, realizing their trouble in vs. 6, asked them to share their dreams with him.  By observing their need and taking the time to address it, Joseph was able with God’s guidance and grace to interpret their dreams, acting as a witness of the One True God’s power (vs. 8).  This one event in which he was observant and caring eventually opened the chance for him to interpret Pharaoh’s dream and become the ruler of Egypt, acting as a witness of God’s mercy and power to all of Egypt (Gen. 41).  One choice to be observant and act on that observation resulted in a powerful witness of God’s power and love to a whole nation and quite possibly the world.

We need to be like Joseph and seize the harvest full of spiritual opportunities right in front of us.  Christ mentions in Matthew 9:37 that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.  So why aren’t we harvesting?  There are thousands of people everywhere who are downtrodden, broken-hearted, and are searching for the Savior; all they need is somebody to share the Gospel with them.  Yet too often, we miss these opportunities because our heads are in the clouds looking for the “bigger” opportunities or buried in our phones building “relationships.”  If we would just take the time to look, we will find that opportunities to share Christ with others abound, even if it may not be through physical talking.  Let us always live the life of Christ in our lives, acting as silent witnesses, but let us also take the initiative to show Christ through our actions and speech.  Let us study and be prepared to share the Gospel at any time, as 1 Peter 3:15 states, “…always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…”  If we want to share the Gospel, all we have to do is 1) Be observant, 2) Be caring, and 3) Be active.  Throughout today, look around you for those who may need Christ and go out and share the Gospel with them through your words and actions.  You will be surprised at what God will do.

Quick Note: Genesis 37:3 – A Seal of Approval and Condemnation

Genesis 37:3 – “Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age.  And he made him a robe of many colors.”

Ephesians 1:13-14 – “In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory.”

When you go to a special party or convention or anything of that sort, if you are one of the exclusive VIP guests, they usually give you something special to wear like a wristband or a pin that will indicate that you are one of the “select.”  I know that when I attended a comic convention a while back, I was given a shirt to wear during my work to indicate that I was a volunteer.  That one shirt set me apart from others and let me into places the regular attendees could not go.  It was like a badge that indicated my affiliation and the perks and responsibilities that came with it.

In our first passage today in Genesis, Jacob gave his favorite son, a robe of many colors, so that all who saw him wear it would know that he was considered the favorite.  It was like a badge of approval and love and acceptance.  Although this robe was a symbol of great honor to Joseph, it was also a symbol of disregard and unappreciation to his brothers, for they did not receive that “favorite son” robe.  It was a symbol of acceptance but also condemnation to the others.  Our second passage in Ephesians reminds us as Christians that we have also been given a “seal of approval, acceptance, and honor” in that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit.  Every believer, once they have given their lives to Christ, receives the Holy Spirit into their lives to guide and lead them and most importantly mark them for salvation.  But at the same time, this great seal is also a seal of condemnation to those who do not have it, for they who do not have that mark will eventually be condemned in the judgment.  Like Joseph’s robe, the Holy Spirit is a mark of acceptance for Christians but also a mark of condemnation to unbelievers.  But unlike Joseph’s robe, this seal is open for everyone to receive.  All one needs to do is place their faith and trust in Him.

If you are already wearing the robe of the Holy Spirit, then take joy and pride in the beautiful robe you are wearing.  Live it out and show that you have been given such a beautiful and gracious gift.  And remember that that robe you wear comes with the responsibility of living your life for Him.  If you have not yet put that robe on, then today, make the decision to give your life to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and the Holy Spirit will be given to you too.