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7 April 2012
Blessed is the man who trust in God -Extracted from Jeremiah, Chapter 17:
5 Yahweh says this, 'Accursed be anyone who trusts in human beings, who relies on human strength and whose heart turns from Yahweh.
6 Such a person is like scrub in the wastelands: when good comes, it does not affect him since he lives in the parched places of the desert, uninhabited, salt land.
7 'Blessed is anyone who trusts in Yahweh, with Yahweh to rely on.
8 Such a person is like a tree by the waterside that thrusts its roots to the stream: when the heat comes it has nothing to fear, its foliage stays green; untroubled in a year of drought, it never stops bearing fruit.
9 'The heart is more devious than any other thing, and is depraved; who can pierce its secrets?
10 I, Yahweh, search the heart, test the motives, to give each person what his conduct and his actions deserve.
11 'The partridge will hatch eggs it has not laid. No different is the person who gets riches unjustly: his days half done, they will desert him and he prove a fool after all.'
12 A glorious throne, sublime from the beginning, such is our Holy Place.
13 Yahweh, hope of Israel, all who abandon you will be put to shame, those who turn from you will be registered in the underworld, since they have abandoned Yahweh, the fountain of living water.
14 Heal me, Yahweh, and I shall be healed, save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.
15 Look, they keep saying to me, 'Where is Yahweh's word? Let it come true then!'
16 Yet I have never urged you to send disaster, I never desired the fatal day, this you know; what came from my lips was not concealed from you.
17 Do not be a terror to me, you, my refuge in time of disaster.
18 Let my persecutors be confounded, not me, let them, not me, be terrified. On them bring the day of disaster, destroy them, destroy them twice over!
The good & just man is like a tree planted near streams - Extracted from Psalms 1:
1 How blessed is anyone who rejects the advice of the wicked and does not take a stand in the path that sinners tread, nor a seat in company with cynics,
2 but who delights in the law of Yahweh and murmurs his law day and night.
3 Such a one is like a tree planted near streams; it bears fruit in season and its leaves never wither, and every project succeeds.
4 How different the wicked, how different! Just like chaff blown around by the wind
5 the wicked will not stand firm at the Judgement nor sinners in the gathering of the upright.
6 For Yahweh watches over the path of the upright, but the path of the wicked is doomed.
Sharing: Want to listen to “Come to the River of Life” @ http://www.youtube.com ? 8-) |
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2 June 2012
The Lord remembers His covenant forever– The wonderful history of Israel – Extracted from Psalm 105:
1 Alleluia! Give thanks to Yahweh, call on his name, proclaim his deeds to the peoples!
2 Sing to him, make music for him, recount all his wonders!
3 Glory in his holy name, let the hearts that seek Yahweh rejoice!
4 Seek Yahweh and his strength, tirelessly seek his presence!
5 Remember the marvels he has done, his wonders, the judgements he has spoken.
6 Stock of Abraham, his servant, children of Jacob whom he chose!
7 He is Yahweh our God, his judgements touch the whole world.
8 He remembers his covenant for ever, the promise he laid down for a thousand generations,
9 which he concluded with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.
10 He established it as a statute for Jacob, an everlasting covenant with Israel,
11 saying, 'To you I give a land, Canaan, your allotted birthright.'
12 When they were insignificant in numbers, a handful of strangers in the land,
13 wandering from country to country, from one kingdom and nation to another,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them; for their sake he instructed kings,
15 'Do not touch my anointed ones, to my prophets you may do no harm.'
16 He called down famine on the land, he took away their food supply;
17 he sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, sold as a slave.
18 So his feet were weighed down with shackles, his neck was put in irons.
19 In due time his prophecy was fulfilled, the word of Yahweh proved him true.
20 The king sent orders to release him, the ruler of nations set him free;
21 he put him in charge of his household, the ruler of all he possessed,
22 to instruct his princes as he saw fit, to teach his counselors wisdom.
23 Then Israel migrated to Egypt, Jacob settled in the country of Ham.
24 He made his people increase in numbers, he gave them more strength than their enemies,
25 whose heart he turned to hate his own people, to double-cross his servants.
26 He sent his servant Moses, and Aaron, the man of his choice.
27 They worked there the wonders he commanded, marvels in the country of Ham.
28 Darkness he sent, and darkness fell, but that nation defied his orders.
29 He turned their rivers to blood, and killed all the fish in them.
30 Their country was overrun with frogs, even in the royal apartments;
31 at his word came flies, and mosquitoes throughout the country.
32 He gave them hail as their rain, flames of fire in their land;
33 he blasted their vine and their fig tree, and shattered the trees of the country.
34 At his word came locusts, hoppers beyond all counting;
35 they devoured every green thing in the land, devoured all the produce of the soil.
36 He struck all the first-born in their land, the flower of all their manhood;
37 he led Israel out with silver and gold; in their tribes there was none who stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad at their leaving, for terror of Israel had seized them.
39 He spread out a cloud to cover them, and fire to light up the night.
40 They asked and he brought them quails, food from heaven to their hearts' content;
41 he opened a rock, the waters gushed out, and flowed in dry ground as a river.
42 Faithful to his sacred promise, given to his servant Abraham,
43 he led out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy.
44 He gave them the territories of nations, they reaped the fruit of other people's labours,
45 on condition that they kept his statutes, and remained obedient to his laws.
Sharing:
This Joseph who appeared in the Old Testament, is not the foster father of Jesus Christ. He is the 11th son of Jacob (son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham). Joseph’s brother, Judah (the 4th son of Jacob) is the Ancestor of Jesus Christ.
To Jacob, Joseph is a special son in his old age, born of his beloved wife Rachel, the only love in his life- who died early, and he loved Joseph more than all his other brothers. When Joseph was 17 years old, Jacob made him a long robe with sleeves, his brothers were envious of him and they refused to talk to him. Joseph was a dreamer, whenever he had a dream, he would tell his father Jacob and his brothers, his dreams had implications that he would lord over his father Jacob and all his brothers in the future, and this made the brothers hated him even more. Eventually, they plotted to kill him when he came to visit them when they were herding the flocks.
However, Judah in his eagerness to save Joseph, suggested to his brothers to have Joseph sold to the Ishmaelites (the descendants of Ishmael, Elder Brother of Isaac, son of Abraham born of the Egyptian Slave Girl of Sarah). And there Joseph was sold for 20 pieces of silver to become a slave to be brought to Egypt. They then told their father Jacob that Joseph was dead as an animal had devoured him, Jacob grieved and refused to be comforted… See Genesis, Chapter 37.
Joseph was a clever, bright and handsome man; he feared God and faithfully kept His Commandments. He was harshly treated when he was in Egypt, and was being unjustly thrown in prison as he was framed by his master’s wife when he refused to succumb to her seduction… (Genesis, Chapter 39). In all his sorrow and in the midst of great injustice, he prayed to God and trusted Him, who eventually blessed him and have him become the most powerful man in Egypt when he was 30 years old, subjected only to Pharaoh. He helped Pharaoh to rule his country, to ensure that all of the Egyptians were well fed in the 7-year famine. See Genesis, Chapters 40-41.
In this severe famine, Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt to buy grain, they could not recognise the governor was Joseph... Joseph tested them and after knowing that they had repented, he eventually forgave his brothers and arranged for his father Jacob, all his brothers and all other family members shifted to Egypt. See Genesis, Chapters 42-50.
After Joseph’s death, a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph, he was threatened by the huge number of the Israelites (their population grew rapidly from 70 to around 1,600,000 within a period of around 500 years), he then oppressed them and killed their baby boys… Yahweh God then instructed Moses to lead them out … See Exodus, Chapters 3-15 .
In my humble opinion, the life of Joseph could be summarized with Romans 8:28 :
We are well aware that God works with those who love him, those who have been called in accordance with his purpose, and turns everything to their good.
Listen to the Joseph’s songs “He Will Carry You”, “You Know Better Than I” & “More than You Take” from “Joseph King of Dreams” @ http://www.youtube.com . 8-)
2 June 2012 |
