The Crow's Nest

Saturday, July 15, 2023

“The Brothers Return”

“And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.” (Genesis 42:36)

Israel has had a rough time. Some of it was well deserved, but he was doing his best to reform his family. His favorite son Joseph had been killed and now his son Simeon is a prisoner in the Pharaoh’s prison. To add to the problems now the Pharaoh’s governor wants the youngest child to be brought to him. His fear was more than he could bear. If his youngest child should die, Israel will die.

If you think Israel is afraid, his sons are terrified. The food they had brought from Egypt is about to run out. They would have to return to Egypt to buy more. If they do not bring the youngest brother, Benjamin, the Pharaoh’s governor will kill them. Add to that the fact if they returned with the money they used to buy the first supplies they would be sunk. The Pharaoh’s governor would accept that they were not spies when they brought Benjamin, but he would be even more angry to think they were thieves. To them this is as dangerous as sticking your head in an alligators mouth.

The sons of Israel were also full of guilt. They all knew what had been done to Joseph, and that was the sin that was held over them. The beauty of this story is God at work.

Genesis chapter 43 tells the story. Israel is stuck between famine or violence. The past actions of his sons have weighed heavy on him. Israel was doing his best to get food and his sons back. Israel has faith that God will provide.

Israel has his sons pack up all of the money they returned with, added money to buy supplies, and assembled a gift to the governor. His hope was that this will buy food and his sons safe return. Israel sends them off to Egypt.

The next meeting with Joseph is exceptional.

Stay tuned…

“Israel Goes Down to Egypt.” Part II

“And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.” (Gen 42:6)

Joseph has gone from an insignificant teenager to be only second to Pharaoh. Joseph did not go to any school, his intelligence in economics and politics came from God. God is with him.

Joseph had the power to sell food to traders from different lands. He also had the power to refuse. Then Joseph saw his brothers, he knew them but they did not recognize him. Joseph knew this and was going to use that to his advantage.

Joseph only spoke to his brothers through an interpreter. Joseph knew them and understood their language, he just didn’t want them to know that. His brothers had bowed down to show respect to the power of Joseph. It was the tradition of the time.

After the formalities Joseph asked them why are you here? His brothers said, we are from Canaan to buy food. Joseph changes the mood.

“And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.”(Gen 42:9)

Joseph knew that they were not spies, but he needed them to fear him. And they did.

“And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.

We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.” (Gen 42:10-11)

Joseph continued to accuse them of being spies. Through Joseph’s interpreter they said,” And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.”(Gen 42:13)

Joseph understood the truth the brothers had said, but he needed them to continue to fear him. Joseph tells the brothers that they will be held in an Egyptian prison until their youngest brother is brought to Egypt.

“17And he put them all together into ward three days.

18And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:

19If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses:

20But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so.” (Gen 42:17-20)

The brothers spoke to each other, all the while thinking Joseph did not know he understood them.

“21And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.

22And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required.” (Gen 42:21-22)

Joseph turned his back to his brothers and wept. Joseph returned to them and communed with them. Then he bound Simeon and had all of the men’s sacks filled with corn. He also had all of their money put into the sacks. Joseph had sent them to their father with the food they wanted and the money they had spent.

Stay tuned…

“Israel Goes Down to Egypt” Part I.

“Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?” (Genesis 42:1)

Egypt and all the surrounding tribes have entered a period of famine.

Everyone is starving, except Egypt. Under the guidance of Joseph they have put up stores of grain to not just feed Egyptians, but to also gain profit by selling grain to the tribes that are starving.

There are eleven son’s of Israel that still live with him. He sends ten of Joseph’s brothers to obtain food. He keeps Benjamin, the youngest, at home to keep him safe. (Gen 42:2-5)

Israel’s sons leave Canaan and travel to Egypt to buy Corn.

There are terms that are not what we in the modern world understand. Corn, as described in ancient Egypt is not the Corn we have come to know in the modern world. Grains, such as wheat and rye come from a grass that produces seeds at the top of the grain. Some people call them berries.

To grow wheat requires the right nutrients and the right amount of water. Before the advent of irrigation, wheat was sown in fields that were near a water source. Some of the wheat would grow quickly and strong. Some of the wheat would wither from lack of water, or drown because of too much water. The Nile region would go through cycles of flood or drought.

Predicting when an area would flood or be dry was impossible in ancient times. In fact, predicting it today suffers the same problem. People in ancient times had to sow the wheat where the water would most likely be. When they did it right they had plenty. When they did it wrong they had nothing.

Grains were not just for people to eat directly. Grains and grasses were important to keep their livestock alive. When a primary source of food is scarce, all of the sources of food become scarce.

Pharaoh’s dream from God and interpreted by Joseph through God predicted exactly when there would be plenty and when their would be famine. Joseph, through the guidance of God, created a means to put up excess food for the times of famine. It would allow Egypt to become rich in lean times.

This is what happens to us. When our lives are easy and there is plenty, we lose sight of God. Praising God’s grace is ignored when things are good. When things go bad it is often people blaming God for what they don’t have.

Israel is starving as Egypt grows stronger in times of famine. When we pray God always provides us with what we need. Israels prayers will be heard.

Stay tuned for part II…

Sunday, July 9, 2023

“The Pharaoh’s Dream”

“And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed:…” (Genesis 41:1)

The Pharaoh stood by a river and saw seven large fat cattle come out of the river and stand in a meadow.

Then Pharaoh saw seven small skinny cattle come out of the river behind the first.

The skinny cattle ate up all of the fat cattle. Pharaoh was disturbed by this so he awoke.

He went back to sleep and this time he saw seven ears of corn come up on one stalk. It was tall and good.

Then seven thin shriveled ears of corn came up after the first.

The seven shriveled ears ate up the seven good ears.

The Pharaoh woke up and realized it was a dream, but he was troubled by this dream the whole day. He called all of his magicians and wise men, but none of them could interpret his dream.

The Chief Butler remembers Joseph and tells the Pharaoh how Joseph had interpreted his dream.

Pharaoh tells Joseph that he had heard Joseph can interpret dreams. Joseph said, “It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”(Gen 41:16)

The Pharaoh tells Joseph his dream. God interprets the dream, “25And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.

26The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.

27And the seven thin and ill favoured kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine.

28This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: What God is about to do he sheweth unto Pharaoh.

29Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:

30And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land;

31And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous.

32And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.” (Gen 41:25-32)

Joseph followed the direction of God at to what the pharaoh should do. Joseph told the Pharaoh to put officers in charge of putting a fifth of the grain into storage for when famine hit. Joseph’s abilities in economics were evident to the Pharaoh and all his servants.

Pharaoh appointed Joseph as the second in command of all Egypt. At 30 years old Joseph was the second most powerful person in Egypt.

Joseph had been humbled by his brothers and was delivered from a pit into slavery. Again he was elevated in the house of the Captain of the Guard. By the deception of the Captain’s wife he was again humbled into the dungeon. Then through the grace of God he was elevated to the second most powerful man in all of Egypt.

The seven plentiful years Joseph put up the grain for the lean times. And a famine hit Egypt and all of the land around it. People from outside Egypt comes to buy grain.

Stay tuned…

“The Basic Concept of History”

My education consisted of lots of math. Before math resulted in a Computer Science (CS) degree, history has been a primary interest.

My advisor in school saw that I had more than enough credits for the CS degree, but I also had more than enough for a History degree. My focus was on Chinese, Mid-East, Roman, Britain, North and South America, and of course the United States.

The study of anything is not a single level of thinking. You can not understand physics until you understand arithmetic. You can not understand Chinese history until you have the context of the whole world. For instance, Marco Polo didn’t discover China…he plotted a trade route to and from China.

When you study history, pick a time. Time is what you will understand best. Time periods depend on what you want to study. There are geologic periods, social periods, etc… Although there are hundreds of social periods, the most common have to do with building materials.

The Stone Age, Copper Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age are just a few. To put this in perspective, when Spanish Explorers were in the midst of the Middle Ages when they arrived in South America. South America included Stone, Copper, and Iron ages. All North American people were in the Stone and Copper Age at that time.

The basic concept of what people were doing at a time and place, requires you to understand what other people near them were doing at the same time and place. This will allow a much greater understanding of the sphere of influence history has.

In today’s world, there is a movement of people who have no interest in history. The live for today alone. How lonely they must be.