Pastor Gary's OYB Devotion Archive for January 18

BETRAYED BY HIS BROTHERS

From: January 18, 2024

“Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt” (Genesis 37:28 ESV).

Jacob’s sons were jealous of their brother, Joseph. He was the favored son of Jacob’s favorite wife, Rachel, who had died giving birth to Benjamin, the youngest of Jacob’s twelve sons. Joseph had made things worse with his brothers by sharing his dreams of them someday bowing down to him.

One day Jacob sent 17 year-old Joseph to check on his older brothers who were out pasturing his flocks. When they saw Joseph coming towards them wearing the robe of many colors that their father had given him, they plotted to murder their brother. They stripped him of his clothes and threw him in a pit. When they saw a band of traders passing by, one of the older brothers, Judah, convinced them that it would be better to sell him into slavery rather than murder him. They agreed and sold their brother for 20 shekels of silver.

Joseph is a Christological type, which means his life foreshadows the coming Christ. Notice the similarities between Joseph and Jesus. He was rejected by his brethren. Betrayed. Stripped naked. Thrown into a pit (Jesus was put in a tomb). Sold for 20 pieces of silver (Jesus was betrayed for 30). Yet years later, when famine struck the entire land, Joseph would be their savior. For he was eventually raised up from the pit to the palace of Egypt, where he fed and forgave his starving brothers.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus to us. He was betrayed and sold by his brethren, crucified and buried for our sins. Yet, He has risen and ascended to Your right hand, where He intercedes for us. We have believed in Him as our Savior and Redeemer. Now we are Your children by grace through faith. Thank You Lord! In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

WHAT’S IN YOUR HEART TODAY?

From: January 18, 2023

“For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart” (Matthew 12:34-35 NLT).

Jesus responded to the words of the Pharisees who had accused him of healing by the power of Satan, with a parable about a tree and its fruit. He said that just as you can tell a tree by its fruit, you can tell someone’s heart by their words. He described the human heart as the seat of the will, the place that “determines what you say.” And although the Bible teaches that only God can truly see the motives and attitudes of the heart (1 Sam.16:7), Jesus taught that words are like the fruit of heart, revealing something about its nature.

Let us listen to our own words today. What do they reveal about our hearts? Are our words full of thankfulness and praise? Then the fruit of our lips shows the same state of the heart. Are our words full of bitterness and complaint? Then surely it reveals that our hearts are suffering from the same condition.

Let us take a moment to consider our words. And in doing so, let us ask the Lord to help us consider the source of those words, namely, our hearts. Let us pray this psalm of David to the Lord:

PRAYER: Dear Father, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psa. 139:23-24). In Jesus’ name, amen.

“So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt” (Genesis 37:28 NLT).

From: January 18, 2022

BETRAYED BY HIS BROTHERS

Jacob’s sons were jealous of their brother, Joseph. He was the favored son of Jacob’s favorite wife, Rachel, who had died giving birth to Benjamin, the youngest of Jacob’s twelve sons. Joseph had made things worse with his brothers by sharing his dreams of them someday bowing down to him.

One day Jacob sent 17 year-old Joseph to check on his older brothers who were feeding his flock at Shechem. When they saw Joseph coming towards them wearing the tunic of many colors that their father had given him, they plotted to murder their brother. They stripped him of his clothes and threw him in a dry cistern. When they saw a band of traders passing by, one of the older brothers, Judah, convinced them that it would be better to sell him into slavery rather than murder him. They agreed and sold their brother for 20 shekels of silver.

Joseph is a Christological type, which means his life foreshadows the coming Christ. Notice the similarities between Joseph and Jesus. He was rejected by his brethren. Betrayed. Stripped naked. Thrown into a pit (Jesus was put in a tomb). Sold for 20 pieces of silver (Jesus was betrayed for 30). Yet years later, when famine struck the entire land, Joseph would be their savior. For he was eventually raised up from the pit to the palace of Egypt, where he fed and forgave his starving brothers.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus to us. He was betrayed and sold by his brethren, crucified and buried for our sins. Yet, He has risen and ascended to Your right hand, where He intercedes for us. We have believed in Him as our Savior and Redeemer. Now we are Your children by grace through faith. Thank You Lord! In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

“When Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for 20 pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took Joseph to Egypt.” (Genesis 37:28).

From: January 18, 2021

JOSEPH WAS A CHRISTOLOGICAL TYPE

The life of Joseph was a foreshadowing of Christ. Like Christ, he was obedient to his father, rejected by his brethren and even betrayed for pieces of silver. Later, when God raised Joseph up from slavery and imprisonment to rule in Egypt, he even forgave his brethren and saved them from famine.

God gave Israel many Christological types to prepare them for Jesus, so they would recognize Him when He came. Yet, as the apostle John wrote, when Christ came, “the world did not recognize Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:10-12).

How about you? Have you understood the many ways that the Lord has led you to recognize and follow Jesus? Have you received and believed in Him?

PRAYER: Dear Father, when we look closely, we see Christ on every page of Scripture. For it was written that we might believe in Him. And we do believe. We trust the One who was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. We love the One who took our sin, separation and death on the cross. We look to the One who was raised for our justification. Jesus Christ is our Lord and our Savior. May we know Him better and better as we follow Him. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt” (Genesis 37:28 NKJV).

From: January 18, 2020

JOSEPH IS A CHRISTOLOGICAL TYPE

Jacob’s sons were jealous of their brother, Joseph. He was the favored son of Jacob’s favorite wife, Rachel, who had died giving birth to Benjamin, the youngest. Joseph had made things worse with his brothers by giving their father a bad report of their shepherding. He also had shared his dreams of them someday bowing down to him.

One day Jacob sent 17 year-old Joseph to check on his brothers who were feeding his flock at Shechem. When they saw Joseph coming towards them wearing the tunic of many colors that their father had given him, they plotted to murder their brother. They stripped him of his clothes and threw him in a dry cistern. When they saw a band of traders passing by, one of the older brothers, Judah, convinced them that it would be better to sell him into slavery rather than murder him. They agreed and sold their brother for 20 shekels of silver. The traders sold him on the slave market in Egypt.

Joseph is a Christological type, which means his life was similar in some aspect, so that it pointed to the coming Christ. Notice the similarities between Joseph and Jesus. He was rejected by his brethren. Betrayed. Stripped naked. Thrown into a pit (Jesus was put in a tomb). Sold for 20 pieces of silver (Jesus was betrayed for 30). Yet years later, when famine struck the entire land, Joseph would be their savior. For he was eventually elevated from the pit to the palace of Egypt, where he fed and forgave his starving brothers.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus to us. He was betrayed and sold by his brethren, crucified and buried for our sins. Yet, He has risen and ascended to Your right hand, where He intercedes for us. We have believed in Him as our Savior and Redeemer. Now we are Your children by grace through faith. Thank You Lord! In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

“For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights” (Matthew 12:40 NLT).

From: January 18, 2019

WHICH IS HARDER TO BELIEVE?

Jesus affirmed two miraculous events in one verse. First, what many call fable, Jesus treated as fact. Jesus not only affirmed the Jonah story in Scripture, but saw it as a Messianic sign. Second, He prophesies His own death and resurrection. Modern man may discount the stories of the Bible as myth, but Jesus did not. He not only believed Scripture, He fulfilled it.

Many have a hard time believing that the Jonah story is true. But which is harder to believe? That Jonah survived three days in the belly of a fish? Or that Jesus was raised from the dead after three days in a tomb? Jesus believed both. And I believe in Jesus. This is not blind faith. It is simple trust in the One that has saved us.

PRAYER: Lord, thank You for overcoming sin, death and the grave, so that we might be saved. We serve a risen Savior! Help us to trust Your written Word as we trust in You, the Living Word. Your Word is life to us. In Jesus name, Amen.

“Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.” (Matthew 12:32 NLT).

From: January 18, 2018

IS THERE AN UNFORGIVABLE SIN?

Yes. But it’s not what most people think. It’s not mass murder or some heinous crime. The blood of Christ is sufficient to cover any sin. But it cannot cover the continual, willful rejection of the Holy Spirit’s testimony concerning Jesus Christ. The Pharisees had witnessed Jesus setting a demon-possessed man free, restoring his sight and speech, yet they attributed the miracle to Satan. Even though they had knowledge of the Scriptures, which spoke of Christ, they had evidence of His miraculous power, they had the Spirit bearing witness to His identity… They willfully rejected Jesus. How can God forgive the one who will not recognize and receive Jesus as Savior and Lord? They have rejected the very One who would forgive them by rejecting and even speaking against the Holy Spirit who testifies of Jesus.

“O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup” (Psalms 16:5 NKJV).

From: January 18, 2017

David called the Lord his “portion, inheritance and cup.” This seems a clear allusion to the portion appointed to the Levitical priests who served in the Temple. David declared that he was satisfied not with lands, titles, or riches, but in the Lord Himself. The Lord was his delight and joy. The Lord was the source of any goodness and blessing that he had, therefore he would rather have the Lord than any blessing that the Lord bestowed. David sought the Lord’s face rather than His hand. Might we pray today: “Lord, I am Yours and You are mine. You are the One I long for, You are my inheritance and my great reward.”

‘Then Judah identified them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again’ (Genesis 38:26 ESV)

From: January 18, 2016

In the middle of the Joseph story, the Bible takes a detour to offer details about Judah and his twin boys, Perez and Zerah, born to his daughter-in-law, Tamar. This story is disturbing, not only because of the sudden change of topic, but because it seems so immoral and foreign to modern ears. The tradition of the brother providing a son to his deceased brother’s wife is foreign to us, but it was a way of preserving the family line and inheritance, and also a provision for the widow. Yet, the way that Tamar tricked Judah into fulfilling this tradition, after he withheld his third son from her, seems even more strange. What’s the moral of such a story? Why does the Bible include this story filled with deceit, masturbation, fornication, prostitution, and hypocrisy? Perhaps the Gospel of Matthew provides the answer. In his genealogy of Jesus, he says, “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar” (Matthew 1:1-3). You see, the Bible is not so much a story about humanity. It is a story about God, specifically, God’s Son. Tamar is the first of five women mentioned in Christ’s lineage. Perhaps the Bible included her story in Genesis because of its connection to the promised Messiah, who came into this messy, sin-filled world to save sinners like us. Tamar needed a son to rescue her. The Son born into her family line would rescue not only her, but all those willing to receive Him.

“For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption” (Psalm 16:10 NKJV)

From: January 18, 2015

Both the apostles Peter and Paul quoted this Psalm to make a case for Christ’s resurrection. Peter quoted this verse from King David in his sermon on the day of Pentecost describing him as a prophet who foresaw the resurrection of the Christ. Peter told the great crowd of Jews gathered in Jerusalem that they knew that David was dead and buried, so this verse must be predicting the Messiah’s death and resurrection. When he finished preaching, the people believed and three thousand were saved that day (Acts 2:14-41). Paul preached the gospel at Antioch using this same Psalm to support that the Bible had predicted the resurrection of the Messiah (Acts 13:16-41). This verse is an example of the three-stage fulfillment of prophecy: immediate, ongoing, and ultimate; and also its “both/and” nature. The truth is that God has not left David’s soul in Sheol and ultimately, God will raise his body from the grave. It predicts both David’s resurrection and God’s “Holy One” too. Christ, the Son of David, has already been raised. And someday soon, David will be raised along with all of the rest of God’s saints.