January 20- The Weird Dream

January 20, 2011

Scripture Reading:
Genesis 41:17-42:17; Matthew 13:24-46;
Psalm 18:1-15; Proverbs 4:1-6

Genesis 41:17-42:17

When I was a kid there was a period of time during my childhood when I had a recurring bad dream.  In my dream I saw a young girl from behind walking down a side walk. The grey of the cement was very stark, the green grass next to the sidewalk was very intense, and the silence of the air was thick.  All of a sudden in my dream there is an atomic explosion and the world ends.  I would always get up after my dream and run into my parents' bedroom and jump into their bed.  My poor parents! This happened repeatedly during one year.  The only thing scarier than my dream was my dad's hairy legs once I jumped into their bed.

Today in our reading Pharaoh has a repeated dream.  Joseph, through God's power, is able to interpret the dream and predict seven years of abundance for Egypt and seven years of severe famine for the region.  It is decided that they should have a national program to collect 20% of all crops during the good years to store so that food will be available during the years of famine. Joseph tells the Pharaoh to put the wisest man in charge of the program.  Guess what...  Pharaoh decides to put Joe in charge!! 

Joseph is made the governor of Egypt and is second only to the Pharaoh.  Pharaoh gives Joseph an Egyptian wife and renames Joseph, Zaphenath-paneah.  Boy, that's a mouth full, but it speaks volumes to how Joseph's life has been a witness to the One True God.  This long name means "God speaks and lives."
What a huge statement from the Pharaoh of Egypt!

Lesson: My life should testify to the greatness of the One Who created me.  People should know that God speaks and lives because of how I live my life.

How are you proving that God speaks and lives with your life?

Joseph has two sons from his wife and those boys names reflect both the suffering and comfort that God has brought into Joseph's life.  Manasseh means "to forget." Joseph says, "God has made me forget all my troubles and the family of my father."  Ephraim means "fruitful." Joseph explains, "God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering."

Lesson:  God takes us through pain and suffering.  He does not necessarily prevent it or stop it. God uses suffering to develop our character. 

Are you humble enough to let God shape you through trials?

The famine in the land occurs and Jacob and his sons hear that there is grain that can be bought in Egypt.  Jacob sends his sons to purchase grain and they come before the governor of Egypt to bow low before him.  The governor, of course, is their brother Joseph.  They do not recognize him and have no idea that his childhood dream that his family would bow down to him has now been fulfilled.  Joseph recognizes them, asks about his younger brother, and throws the group in jail for three days.

Joseph is beginning to see the hand of God in his life in a new way.  God is slowly revealing to Joseph the reason for his suffering.

Lesson:  God has a broad plan for my life, too. I cannot know all the purposes at this time, but I can trust that God loves me and has a good purpose in all things.

How can you trust that God is using even the hard things in your life for a good purpose?  This takes faith.

Matthew 13:24-46

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States of America.  Most children in America learn about honest Abe in school. Legend has it that he was mostly self-taught and learned to read by pouring over the Bible by firelight in a one room log cabin. Abe was known as a fabulous story teller.  Perhaps he picked up this talent from reading the words of Christ.

Today we see that Jesus was a tremendous story teller.  As a matter of fact, he spoke ONLY in parables in front of the crowds.  Matthew explains that this is a fulfillment of the OT prophecy from Psalm 78:2 that says, "I will speak to you in parables. I will explain mysteries hidden since the creation of the world."  (NLT)

Let's take a look at the mysteries revealed by Jesus in his stories today.

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

• Jesus (the farmer) sows the good seeds that create the Church/all believers (good wheat) in the world (field).
• Meanwhile, the Devil (the enemy) sows tares/weeds (unbelievers and all who do evil) in the world (field).
• The righteous (good wheat) and the unrighteous (tares/weeds) are meant to coexist here on earth during all of history.
• At the end of time (harvest) the angels (harvesters) will separate the righteous (good wheat) from the unrighteous (weeds) and the righteous will be with God forever.
• The unrighteous (tares/weeds) will be separated, burned, and thrown into a place with weeping and gnashing of teeth forever.

Sometimes, Christ teaches hard truths.  Do you have ears to hear?

Lesson:  Good and evil are going to coexist on this earth and even in the Church.  Only God knows the human heart.  He will separate out good and evil in the end. This is not my job. This is God's job.  There is an eternity of punishment for those who hate God. I can try not to believe this, but this does not change the reality.

The Mustard Seed

• The Church starts on a simple premise (very small seed), the sacrificial death of Christ (you bury a seed) for the sins of the world.
• Christ's resurrection results in the growth of the Church/invisible body of believers (largest herb in the garden/like a tree).
• This Church (tree-like plant) will grow so large that evil (birds) will be able to nest in it. 

Lesson:  God will grow His Church on earth, but false teachers and false teaching will be part of the experience.  This is a warning by Christ for the people to realize.

Christ is no Polly Anna.  Do you have eyes to see false teaching in the Church?

The Leaven in the Dough

• The Church (batch of dough) has evil (leaven/yeast) added to it by a woman (false prophet). 
• The evil (yeast) causes the whole Church (batch of dough) to bubble up with sin.

Christ is predicting apostacy in the Church in the end times.

Each parable told by Christ is a warning to the apostles and anyone who has ears to hear that the Church on earth is going to always struggle with evil in its midst.  Believers will cope with false teachers, false teaching, and false believers right up to the end of all history. This is a new teaching, unique to Christ. These lessons are not found in the Old Testament.

How do Christ's stories affect you?  Are you able to discern false teaching when you hear it?  How about New Age Philosophy?  Do you think that fits into a false teaching category?

The Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price

• The Church is formed by two precious things to God. The hidden treasure in the land are believers from the nation of Israel (the Jews). In the parable, the man finds a treasure hidden in a field. It is so precious to him that he sells everything he owns to buy the land that contains the treasure.  The nation of Israel is always symbolically tied to the land in the Bible. Here is a beautiful picture of those who believe in Jesus Christ from the nation of Israel may not be easily seen from the outside world. They are hidden from view within the land. Jesus is saying that among the Israelites, his true followers are like a hidden treasure. Jesus will sacrifice everything for "true Israel," those who follow their Messiah. His blood will purchase the land that contains the treasure.
• The Gentiles will also be part of Christ's universal church on earth and the Gentiles are symbolically tied to the sea in Scripture.  In the parable a merchant is seeking beautiful pearls in the vast see. He finds one and then sells everything he has to buy the great pearl. Just as the land contains a small, hidden treasure, the vast sea contains one small pearl of great price. As part of Christ's Church, the tiny group of people from the Gentile nations who follow Christ are of great value to him. Christ gives up everything to purchase our salvation. Notice that a pearl is formed through trials when sand irritates the oyster causing a secretion to cover the irritation. It is the abrasion that forms the pearl. Trials also result in the beautiful character of Christ seen in His Church on earth.
• Christ (the merchant) is seeking Gentiles to be part of His Church (choice pearl), as well as true believers from the nation of Israel. This is a beautiful parable.

We have been bought with a price, people.  We have been paid for with his blood.  Do you see yourself as a precious pearl in God's eyes?  You are. If you are Jewish by birth, do you see yourself as the hidden treasure in God's land?  If you believe in Jesus as your Messiah, you are, indeed, the treasure for which he gave his life.

Psalm 18:1-15

The Lord is our rock when our whole world is an earthquake. Lean on Him for stability.

Proverbs 4:1-6

Don't turn your back on wisdom. She will protect you. By the way, it is God's Holy Spirit who is wisdom.  Do you turn your back on relying on the Holy Spirit to guide your life?

What did you notice in the Scriptures today?

Blessings,

Jubilee Gal
Kathy Fullerton