JOSEPH TO MOSES

This morning, as I read the last ten chapters of Genesis and the first ten chapters of Exodus, I found so many wonderful things that I would have wondered "is this the first time I've read these chapters, or the 100th time"?? I have the chapters already marked up, but I'm sharing with you only a few that I just marked up today. Each day, I'm giving you not what I've found in Scripture before, but what I found this day. Not stale bread, but fresh bread out of Heaven's ovens. (not that any truth is stale, but I do love to share something God just showed me, or I just noticed out of the Bible.) So, here are a few things: 1) I REMEMBERED I FORGOT!! In Gen. 41:9 the butler of Pharaoh says: "I do remember my faults this day." What he remembered is that he forgot to speak of Joseph who was in prison for two more years after the butler was released and restored to his position with Pharaoh. Have you ever remembered that you forgot? I do all of the time. I remember that I forgot to send a thank you letter! I remember that I forgot to make that phone call to let someone know I'm praying for them. I remember that I forgot.... and the list goes on! HEY!! Why don't we TODAY remember somethings that we forgot and try to DO THEM. Today, let's write that note we remembered we forgot, do that deed we remember that we forgot, fix the project we remembered that we forgot. Today, let's remember and do something!! (What a thought!) 2) REUBEN AND JUDAH- In Gen. 42:37, Reuben said to his father: "Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again." BUT, Jacob did not even answer Reuben. But in Chapter 43:8, Judah speaks and Jacob listens. Reuben had great intentions, but Jacob knew of his son: "Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel."(49:4) Judah, he could trust. So, when Joseph said he would put Benjamin in prison and all else could go free, Reuben was silent...., but Judah spoke up and said: "Let thy servant abide instead of the lad" (vs. 33) Let us be like Judah.... we speak and then we act what we speak!! 3) BURIED LIKE ROYALTY- Yes, when Jacob passed away he was treated like a king!! Notice: In Gen. 50:2, they embalmed him; in vs. it took 40 days to embalm him properly; in vs. 3 they mourned him for 70 days!!; and in vs. 7 "And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, and all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house...vs.9..."and it was a very great company" A mass of people left Egypt to bury a man who died at 147 years of age.... all because he was JOSEPH's father!! 4) SAVED IN AN ARK- Moses was laid in the ark made out of bulrushes in Exodus chapter two. I thought of this contrast... Noah built an ark and it saved 8 people. Moses' mom built an ark and it saved 3 1/2 million from being slaves in Egypt!! The word Moses means "drawn out". He was "drawn out" of the water to "draw out" the Israelites from Egyptian bondage!! The little ark Moses laid in would be used to spare his life and millions of others!! Hey mothers.... what is in your ark?? 5) WE GROW!! In Exodus 3:6 it says: "Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God"...but, in Exodus 33:18-20 we see that Moses says: "Show me thy glory", and God says that no man can see His face and live! We grow! From being fearful to look at God to wanting to gaze upon Him!! We grow from wanting to hear about God to wanting to hear from Him! We grow from knowing about Him to knowing Him!! Are you growing??? 6) FREED TO SERVE- I read in Exodus 9:1 "Let my people go, that they may serve me." and when I read that phrase it caught my attention that I had already read that statement, so I had to go back and re read several chapters to see the phrase again, and I did! I read that same statement in: Ex. 7:16; Ex. 8:1, 8:20; Ex. 9:1, 9:13; and Ex. 10:7 Repetitive phrase are always something special that God is trying to tell us. Study the repetitive phrases you find as you read Scripture. If God says something ONCE that is important, but if God says something SEVERAL TIMES then that is super important!! God is saying we are SAVED TO SERVE!! God wants us freed to SERVE Him!! Well, I've got to go for now, it take so long to read and write each day, but I enjoy it and learn so much by sharing my thoughts with you. Hope you have been blessed with a few thoughts as well. May God bless you today!! Dr. Mike Mutchler, Pastor