January 20

Scripture and Observation:

Genesis 49-50

Israel calls his sons before he dies to tell them what will become of them.   Judah is blessed, as is Joseph.  the other boys receive words according to what was appropriate.

Jacob dies and is embalmed.  The whole of Egypt mourns his loss for 70 days and a whole slew of people take his body to be buried alongside his parents, grandparents and wife Leah.  After his death, the brothers fear Joseph will exact revenge.  Joseph cries and reassures them that he will not take the role of God in judging them.

Later, Joseph also dies and asks that his bones be carried out when the family leaves Egypt.

Psalm 8

Psalm 8 is a pouring our of praise to God, the majestic Creator of all.  We may wonder why He even things of us, but He elevates us to a level just a little lower than Himself.  Whatever worth we may have is found only in the ones who rules heaven, earth and everything in them.

Luke 20

This chapter is also divided into four parts.  In the first, the chief priests, scribes and elders confronted him asking from where his authority comes.  Jesus asks first if the baptism of John was from heaven or from men.  They refuse to answer, knowing they will either be asked why they didn’t believe or be mobbed for denying that John was a prophet.  Jesus also refuses to answer.

Jesus tells the parable of the vine grower in the next section.  A man owns a vineyard and hands it to workers to cultivate.  When he sends a slave to collect his due, the workers beat up the servant and send him away.  This happens twice more.  Finally the master decides to send his beloved son, whom the workers kill, hoping to gain full ownership of the vineyard.  What will the owner do now?  He will destroy the workers and give it to others.

In the third section, the scribes and priests know this parable was about themselves, so they want to grab Jesus.  They do not have an opportunity, so send spies to collect evidence against Him.  One asks, in order to trap Him, if they should be paying taxes.  Jesus knows their motivation and asks who picture is on a coin.  The answer was Caesar’s.  So Jesus says to give to him what is his and to God what is His.  The spies were licked.

The last bit of the chapter has Jesus’ opponents, the Sadducees, this time, posing a scenario of ridiculous proportions to mock the idea of resurrection.  Jesus addresses the heart of their question: God is a God of the living, so resurrection is a Truth.

Application and Prayer:

Genesis 49 goes well with the application from yesterday’s Psalm.  Reuben had sex with on of Joseph’s servants/concubines.  It is only mentioned in brief earlier, but now the fruit of his acts is spoken at Jacob’s deathbed.  Similarly, Simeon and Levi are denied unity for their murderous rampage on Shechem.