Sharper Iron from KFUO Radio

David prays in joy for what the LORD has accomplished for him and through him as king. The LORD’s blessings have overflowed for David and for all Israel because of the LORD’s steadfast love. The LORD has given victory to Israel from their enemies, and He is exalted as the true King. In this way, David and all the kings of Israel point forward to the eternal reign of Jesus Christ.  Rev. Steve Andre...

The prayer of Psalm 13 sets the pattern for many other psalms and for our own prayers as Christians. David repeatedly cries out to the LORD, “How long,” protesting God’s seeming absence while David experiences the troubles of his soul and the attacks of his enemies. David then asks that the LORD answer him by granting him life and keeping the enemies from prevailing. Knowing the LORD’s faithfulnes...

Psalm 12 prays against the lying and flattering words that speak against the truth of God’s Word. Christians realize the battle against the Word of God and cry out honestly to the LORD to act decisively against those who set their words over His. In such an imprecatory prayer, we pray against our own sinful nature. As God speaks His Word, He acts, so that His Word is proved true and provides a tru...

Christians often see the prosperity of the wicked and wonder why the LORD seems hidden. The wicked are those whose faith is not founded in the LORD, and that unbelief shows itself in their evil intentions and actions toward others. Christians pray in confidence to the LORD that He does see and will act for the good of His people. He reigns as King so that the afflicted and the oppressed have refug...

David prays to the LORD as the One who sits on His heavenly throne. Knowing God in faith, David and all Christians receive the LORD’s coming in joy and praise, while the enemies of the LORD receive His coming in terror. David asks that the LORD would accomplish justice and righteousness for all His people, allowing the wicked to receive the evil that they have prepared for others. The LORD promise...

Although David’s enemies seek his harm, he cries out to the LORD as his refuge. The LORD is the Righteous One who arises to judge all people. While He brings the wicked to their end, He establishes the righteous through faith in Him. Those who refuse to repent encounter the LORD as the Divine Warrior who allows their wickedness to fall upon them. For these just judgments, David and all Christians...

David prays that the LORD’s discipline would be gracious rather than wrathful, so that the LORD would bring healing to his troubled body and soul. The LORD’s steadfast love is the foundation of such a prayer, even as tears flow due to the sin and suffering we experience. Yet the prayer of the Christian remains confident in the LORD’s answer and protection from all enemies.  Rev. David Appold, past...

Now that Jacob has died, Joseph’s brothers worry that Joseph’s forgiveness may vanish, even after so many years. They plead before Joseph, who weeps at their request. Joseph assures them that God has accomplished good even through their intended evil, and Joseph promises that he will care not only for his brothers, but for their children as well. The book of Genesis concludes by recounting Joseph’...

Jacob reiterates his command that he be buried in the Promised Land in the same place where his fathers are buried. When Jacob dies, Joseph grieves and provides for his father’s instructions to be followed. The funeral procession from Egypt to the Promised Land is filled with pomp and circumstance, but at its heart, Jacob’s burial confesses the reality of resurrection that the LORD promises to His...

Before he dies, Jacob gathers his twelve sons to him to bless them by speaking prophetically concerning the days to come for each of his sons and their descendants. He speaks first to the sons of Leah, then to the sons of the maidservants, and finally to the sons of Rachel. The first three sons of Jacob hear words that recount former sins. Through the fourth son, Judah, the line of the Christ will...

When Joseph learns that his father is near death, he takes his sons with him to receive a blessing from Jacob. In thanksgiving to what God has done for him, Jacob adopts Joseph’s two sons as his own. Although Joseph arranged his sons so that the older would be blessed at Jacob’s right and the younger at Jacob’s left, Jacob crossed his hands to bless the younger over the older. Jacob’s blessing is...

As the famine continues into the third year and beyond, even the residents of Egypt begin to run out of the food that they had stored for themselves. Through a series of stages, Joseph receives their livestock, their land, and their service into the possession of Pharaoh so that he can provide food for Egypt and keep the nation from death. Even as Egypt suffers during the famine, the family of Isr...

After twenty years apart, the reunion of Jacob and Joseph overflows with joy. Joseph prepares his family to go before Pharaoh’s court so that his family will receive the blessing of dwelling in the land of Goshen. Pharaoh welcomes the family of Israel into the land of Egypt, even granting to them the best of the land. As Jacob stands before Pharaoh, Jacob confesses the reality of life in this worl...

When Jacob’s sons arrive back in Canaan, his heart is understandably numb and unbelieving to hear that Joseph is still alive. Yet the repentant testimony of his sons revives his spirit, and Jacob rejoices that he will go to Egypt to see Joseph before he dies. God Himself comes to Jacob to encourage him in this course of action. God renews His promise to make Jacob into a great nation, to be with J...

Joseph’s emotions overcome him upon seeing his brothers’ repentance. He sends the Egyptians out of the room as he reveals his true identity to his brothers. In an account that anticipates Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances, Joseph tells his brothers that God has been at work to send him to Egypt ahead of time to preserve life. After the initial shock, the joy of reconciliation and reunion overfl...

Once Joseph’s brothers have departed homeward, he sends his steward after them to confront them about the silver cup he has placed in Benjamin’s sack. The brothers’ ignorance quickly turns to grief upon realizing that Benjamin has been implicated. Where they had once abandoned Joseph to slavery, they now turn back to Egypt with Benjamin. Judah’s confession before Joseph reveals true repentance, as...

When Joseph’s brothers return to Egypt with Benjamin, Joseph invites them to his house. In their guilty conscience over Joseph, they are afraid and plead with Joseph’s steward that they are innocent regarding the money in their sacks. The steward comforts them with good news of their God, and Joseph comes into the house for the feast. His emotion overcomes him upon seeing his brother Benjamin, who...

When the nine sons of Jacob return to Canaan, they present a softened account of the events in Egypt, omitting the fact that Simeon remains behind. Upon discovering that all the money has been returned to their sacks, Jacob notes that all his sons have been taken away from him. Reuben makes a misguided offer to give his sons in place of Benjamin, and Jacob puts the matter to rest until the issue o...

The worldwide famine affects the family of Jacob in Canaan, so he sends nine of his sons to Egypt to buy grain. When they arrive, they bow before Joseph in fulfillment of Joseph’s dreams. Although they do not recognize their brother, Joseph does recognize them. He begins to put them to the test, accusing them of spying out the land. They reveal their guilty consciences concerning Joseph, who under...

Even pagan Pharaoh recognizes divine blessing upon Joseph, so Pharaoh commands that Joseph be placed as second over all the land of Egypt to implement his plan for the coming plenty and famine. At the age of thirty, Joseph receives an Egyptian name and an Egyptian wife. The seven years of agricultural abundance are also a time of family abundance for Joseph, to whom is born two sons. The seven yea...

Pharaoh dreams twice in a row. First, he sees seven well-fed cows devoured by seven starving cows. Second, he sees seven plump ears of grain swallowed by seven blighted ears of grain. When no one can interpret the dreams for troubled Pharaoh, the cupbearer finally remembers Joseph. Joseph is brought out of prison to come before Pharaoh. In humility, Joseph acknowledges that God is the One to provi...

While in prison, Joseph gains two fellow cellmates, Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer and baker. Joseph takes seriously his vocation of caring for these men, particularly after they each have dreams that trouble them. Joseph tells the men that the interpretations belong to God and listens to each man in turn. The cupbearer’s dream reveals that he will be restored to his position, while the baker’s dream r...

Even as Joseph serves as a slave in the house of an Egyptian official, the LORD remains with him and brings him success. Joseph’s faithfulness to the LORD blesses Potiphar, who puts Joseph in charge of the household. Joseph remains faithful to God even when Potiphar’s wife tempts him to adultery. Her jealousy leads her to deceive her husband, who believes her false accusation against Joseph. Even...

Although the end of Genesis largely tells the story of Joseph, the line of the Christ goes through a different son of Jacob: Judah. When his first two sons are put to death by the LORD without having any children, Judah does not give his third son in marriage to his daughter-in-law Tamar. Undeterred by Judah’s inaction, Tamar accomplishes her plan to conceive a child in cunning fashion. Her father...

When Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers in Shechem, Joseph eventually found them in a different place. The brothers saw Joseph well before he arrived, and so they plotted to kill him. Reuben, seeking to get back into his father’s good graces, convinced his other brothers only to throw Joseph into a pit. As traveling traders passed by, Judah suggested that they sell their own brother into s...