LivethruJesus

Jacob dies and is buried in Hebron. Joseph's brothers begin to worry that he will punish them for selling him into slavery, so they beg for his forgiveness. Are they truly sorry or just afraid? Does it matter? Does God want us to forgive even if the other person isn't repentant? Can we trust God with that person's intentions and move forward?

Joseph continues as governor over Egypt. The people begin paying a 20% tax. Jacob is about to die so he gathers his sons & some of his grandsons, telling each of them what will happen in the coming years. Joseph gets double the inheritance & his younger son will be greater than his older. This a very informative episode about the Israelite nation.

Joseph and Jacob are finally reunited. Joseph settles his family in Goshen. This is how God keeps them one nation under Him while also allowing them to grow. Jacob describes his life as short but evil. We contrast his life with that of his fathers and of Joseph. Then we reflect on our own lives and how we can be thankful for the life that the Lord has given us.

Joseph finally tells his brothers who he is. He then explains that their part in sending him there was wrong but that God had a plan. The Lord worked everything together for the good of their family and the surrounding country. We spend the rest of our time talking about the Providence of God. He is in control. He has a plan & a purpose. He is perfect & powerful. We look at several verses revealin...

Joseph's brothers continue to prove their loyalty & devotion to Benjamin. They do all they can to keep their promise to their father proving their love & unselfishness towards him. Judah presents himself before Joseph as Benjamin's substitute. This reminds us of Jesus who is our substitutionary sacrifice. We also are asked to give our lives to Him in return and love others with a sacrificial love.

I can't but He can. Simeon has been put in prison until they bring Benjamin back to Egypt. But Jacob is afraid and will not let him go. It isn't until he has no other choice that he finally gives in. When he is helpless and powerless, he gives up control, and trusts God with his family. Sometimes God has to bring us to a place of helplessness so that we will turn to Him for help. Sometimes He has...

Joseph's brothers go to Egypt to get food & they don't recognize him. So he tests them to see their character 20 years after they sold him. We talk about being decisive & proactive, not allowing ourselves to be too overwhelmed or fearful to make good decisions. Also we talk a little about jealousy but the main focus is on the guilty conscience of his brothers. How do we handle it when we have seem...

Joseph and Pharaoh. This one is a little long because it is a combination of two lessons but it is so good. After 13 years of suffering, 13 years of ups and downs, Joseph gets out of prison and begins to see God's plan for his future. We look back at his life and see that God had his hand in Joseph's life the whole time. He was preparing him for what was to come. How do we deal with times of suffe...

When life gets Better. Joseph interprets 2 prisoners dreams. One of them is supposed to help him get out of prison after he is set free himself, but he doesn't. Was he too ashamed to mention his imprisonment? Did he just get busy with his life? Was he trying to put the bad times out of his mind? When you get to the other side of your struggles, do you forget the people that helped you? Do you try...

Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. He must have felt so betrayed and afraid. But he was bought by an important man and God gave him favor towards Joseph. He was soon put in charge of his master's entire household. But his wife also had favor towards Joseph and since Joseph continued to turn her down, she decided to get rid of him. She made up false rape accusations and Joseph was thrown...

Judah and Tamar. Judah's two oldest sons were wicked and God killed them both before they were able to have any children. Then Judah puts his daughter in law in a bad position and ends up with a situation he never bargained for. His hypocrisy is quickly revealed but he does take responsibility and God redeems him. How hypocritical are we at times? Do you put things off that you should be doing or...

Joseph Sold by Brothers. Jacob didn't hide that Joseph was his favorite son. This made the rest of his sons very jealous. Then Joseph had 2 dreams that insinuated that he would one day rule over them all. That was more than his brothers could take! So when given the opportunity, they conspired to get rid of him. Jacob, Joseph, & the brothers all respond badly to their feelings. When we allow our f...

As Jacob and his family travel from Shechem, God protects them. Even though his sons have done wrong, God keeps His promises and reassures Jacob of that. Rachel dies in childbirth and Jacob has another son. God divinely moves Esau out and Jacob in to the promised land. We wrap up the lives of Isaac, Rebekah, Rachel, Leah, and Esau.

When a man in the new land defiles their sister, the brothers conspire against him. Their reaction is one of deceit, vengeance, & injustice. How do we react when others do us harm? It is hard to do what is right and leave the rest to God but it is the right way. We are called to truth, fairness, & peace.

Meeting Esau. As Jacob prepares to meet his bother Esau he is very afraid. We examine 2 encounters he has with God before his meeting & how they are a model for us in our prayer lives. Just a few things we hit on: Going to God first, reminding ourselves of who He is, what He says, & what He's already done, being authentic, wrestling with God, allowing Him to make us new.

Jacob & Laban. Jacob had served Laban 14 years for his wives & had 11 sons & he was ready to go home. But it was not in God's timing, so he made a deal with Laban to stay with him in exchange for a flock of his own. Jacob trusted God to bless his flock & He made him very prosperous. After 6 years, the Lord told him it was time to leave. But instead of telling Laban, he just left because he assumed...

For Jacob, it is love at first sight with Rachel. He works for 7 years so that she can be his wife. But deception comes for him this time, and he is given her sister Leah instead Rachel also becomes his wife a week later when he agrees to work 7 more years. So he has two wives one that he wanted and another that he didn't. God evens the playing field for Leah and allows her to have his children, w...

Esau was devastated when he found out that Jacob had taken his blessing. But his priorities were not where they should have been from the beginning. When we say something is important to us but we do not place it in a position of importance, we are at risk of losing it. Esau was so angry that he wanted to kill Jacob so his mother sent him away. On his journey, God found him and extended the Abraha...

Jacob steals Esau's Blessing. Jacob and Rebekah go to great lengths to deceive Isaac and cheat Esau out of the blessing. Is Isaac wrong to try to give the blessing to Esau in the first place? Why does Rebekah take it into her own hands to bring about God's plan? Has Esau already forfeited his right? Is Jacob's only concern getting caught? Despite the whole family looking after their own interests,...

Isaac lies. God sent Isaac to another city and just like his father, out of fear, he lied saying that Rebekah was his sister. Even after God told him that He would be with him, he was still afraid. Are we ever afraid, even when we know we are in God's will? Do we Trust him enough to obey fully? Do we follow Him or base our actions off of our perceived circumstances? Assumptions and fear can be dan...

Esau and Jacob. Waiting for an answer from the Lord can be difficult. What can we conclude from His silence. With the answered prayer comes many struggles. These two brothers couldn't be more different. The parents play favorites putting further dissention between them. Jacob covets what he does not have and Esau is not jealous enough to protect it. Is jealousy wrong? How important is status & pos...

The Father of Faith. After Sarah died, Abraham had children with his concubine. He died at the age of 175 and was buried in Hebron with Sarah. Today Hebron is in the West Bank and the area is a large source of contention for the 3 major religions, Jews, Christians, & Muslims, who all claim Abraham as their descendant. We talk about modern day Israel some & then summarize Abraham's life & the lesso...

A Wife for Isaac. Sarah dies when she's 127. Abraham send his servant to get a wife for Isaac from his homeland. Abraham tells him that God will send His angel before him to prepare the way & the servant prays a very specific prayer for guidance. This prayer is a great example to us as to how to pray when we are tying to discern the will of God. God quickly gives him a definitive answer. The respo...

Jesus as our Sacrifice. God tests His people at times. Abraham has incredible faith in the Lord and it continues to grow. When we exhibit our faith to those around us, as Abraham did for Isaac, it grows their faith too. There are many parallels between Abraham and God, and Isaac and Jesus.

Ishmael and Isaac. After Isaac is born, Sarah no longer wants Ishmael around. God reassures Abraham that He will care for Ishmael, but he does need to be sent away. We look at the symbolism behind Ishmael and Isaac. One son being born of the plans of Abraham and Sarah to a slave woman, forever symbolizing slavery to the law that must be cast away to make way for the promised son born in freedom fo...