The scriptures read are Genesis 46-48, Psalm 16 and Matthew 16.
Genesis 46. The journey to Egypt begins and God appears to Israel again and promises that his descendants will become a great nation and return to the land of Canaan. And that Joseph will be with him when he dies.
A list of all the kids and grandkids--well, the male ones. Girls are mentioned and the numbers indicate they may have outnumbered their brothers.
Finally Joseph and Jacob are reunited. It's brief but touching. Men were not ashamed to cry back then.
Genesis 47. The family gets settled in Goshen. The famine worsens with the result that people run out of money and end up trading everything to Pharoah--cattle, land, themselves--for food. In the end everyone in Egypt ends up a slave to Pharoah--thanks to Joseph! Sounds troubling to the modern person. Of course, if the alternative is to starve...
Israel is about to die at the ripe old age of 147. Meaning he had 17 years with Joseph in Egypt, about as many years as he had with him before his brothers sold him into slavery.
Genesis 48. Israel blesses Joseph's 2 sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. He deliberately puts his right hand on Ephraim the younger, though this bothers Joseph. It goes against Middle Eastern custom, which gave preference to the older son. But Israel knows what he's doing. God is once again going against human cultural norms.
Psalm 16. A song of confidence in God. The psalmist's body thrills to God's presence. Love the last verse: "You will teach me the path of life. In your presence is perfect joy; delights are ever in your right hand."
Matthew 16. After some talk about yeast, Jesus asked the Big Question: Who do you think I am? Peter gets it right: You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. But when Jesus starts talking about how he has to be arrested and killed and rise again, Peter opens his big mouth again and gets it all wrong. So wrong his words might as well be Satan's. Jesus says that anyone following him must sign away all personal rights and be ready to die if need be. The alternative is to sell out your soul in a bid to gain all the world offers. And that's no bargain.
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