Call me Mara

Good evening friends,
Some great discussion at South Presbyterian tonight about collaborative ministry. There will be some cool things cooking in Rochester in the coming months. We'll talk more about some of that at the annual meeting, but truly a blessing to be dreaming together.

We read yesterday about Naomi and her husband immigrating to Moab in search of food and about how her husband and sons died in Moab. Not long after that, Naomi heard that the famine in Israel was over, so she got ready to return, but wants to send her daughters in law back to their homes so they can get started making a new life. The heartbreak in the story is powerful, but one thing we learn in scripture is that God can bring beauty out of pain. A big part of the beauty in this story is the relationship among the women.

God bless,
Sam

Ruth 1:10-22

¹⁰They said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” ¹¹But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? ¹²Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, ¹³would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.” ¹⁴Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

¹⁵So she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” ¹⁶But Ruth said, “Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. ¹⁷Where you die, I will die— there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!” ¹⁸When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.

¹⁹So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them; and the women said, “Is this Naomi?” ²⁰She said to them, “Call me no longer Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me. ²¹I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty; why call me Naomi when the Lord has dealt harshly with me, and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” ²²So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

famine and family

Good evening friends,
I'm sorry these readings have been so inconsistent the last month or so. Our reading for today is a big jump forward. On Sunday we talked about God calling Abram to leave his home and go to a land God would give to his descendants. As always, God kept his promise: Abraham and Sarah had a son named Isaac, who married and had twins, Jacob and Esau. God changed Jacob's name to Israel and Israel had 12 sons, who became the 12 tribes of Israel. In jealousy the sons sold their brother Joseph into slavery in Egypt, but God's wisdom enabled Joseph to become Pharaoh's right hand man. With God's wisdom, Joseph administered Egypt's agricultural policy during seven years of abundant harvest to prepare for seven years of famine that God told him were coming. Because of this wise planning, Egypt survived the famine and Pharaoh consolidated power.

Our story picks up from there with Jacob/Israel hearing that there is grain in Egypt while the famine raged in Canaan. All these years he has believed his son Joseph was dead. We're poised for a dramatic reunion that eventually leads Jacob's whole family to take refuge in Egypt as Pharaoh's honored guests. Blessings on your evening,
Sam

Genesis 42:1-8

When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you keep looking at one another? ²I have heard,” he said, “that there is grain in Egypt; go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.” ³So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. ⁴But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he feared that harm might come to him. ⁵Thus the sons of Israel were among the other people who came to buy grain, for the famine had reached the land of Canaan. ⁶Now Joseph was governor over the land; it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground.

⁷When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” ⁸Although Joseph had recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.

 

into Egypt

Good morning friends,
Pharaoh joins with Joseph in welcoming Joseph's brothers and extended family to Egypt, showing how honored Joseph really is. I have a hard time imagining how his brothers must have felt as they returned home to get their father to travel to Egypt. It must have been a strange mixture of guilt and joy and nervousness. No wonder Joseph tells them not to quarrel during their journey. The stage is set for Jacob (Israel) and his family to move to Egypt as favorite guests of Pharaoh himself.

Blessings,
Sam

Genesis: 45:16-28

16When the report was heard in Pharaoh’s house, “Joseph’s brothers have come,” Pharaoh and his servants were pleased. 17Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your animals and go back to the land of Canaan. 18Take your father and your households and come to me, so that I may give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you may enjoy the fat of the land.’ 19You are further charged to say, ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 20Give no thought to your possessions, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’“



21The sons of Israel did so. Joseph gave them wagons according to the instruction of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the journey. 22To each one of them he gave a set of garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five sets of garments. 23To his father he sent the following: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey. 24Then he sent his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving he said to them, “Do not quarrel along the way.”



25So they went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 26And they told him, “Joseph is still alive! He is even ruler over all the land of Egypt.” He was stunned; he could not believe them. 27But when they told him all the words of Joseph that he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28Israel said, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I must go and see him before I die.”

family reunion

Good morning friends,
I've been remiss in sharing some sad news with you. This past weekend Graham Andrus, a counselor at Camp Whitman, died while swimming in the lake. Obviously this has been very hard on the rest of the camp staff and I ask you to keep the staff (including our own Nate DelleFave) and campers of Camp Whitman in your prayers as well as Graham's family, friends and the Bath Presbyterian Church.

In yesterday's reading Joseph's brothers arrived in Egypt to buy grain during the famine. Joseph recognized them but they didn't recognize him. He tested them in several ways before today's passage, when he finally reveals himself. Notice that instead of being angry with them he sees God's hand at work in his presence in Egypt. I don't believe that God causes evil or disaster, but God does work with us to bring healing out of trouble.

God bless,
Sam

Genesis 45:1-15

1Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.



4Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.



9Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. 10You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11I will provide for you there —: since there are five more years of famine to come — so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.’



12And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. 13You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” 14Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.

family ties

Good morning brothers and sisters,
We've followed Joseph's rise to power, now the camera turns back to his father and brothers in Canaan. The famine has spread there too, so Jacob sends his sons to buy grain in Egypt. When they arrive, Joseph recognizes them but decides to test them. Maybe he does this to figure out if they have changed for the better. As the passage points out, it seems that Joseph's dreams of his brothers bowing down to him, the dream that made them so jealous they sold him into slaver, has come true.

As we talk about dreams, please pray for the choir and music director search team as we interview candidates tonight.

Blessings on your day,
Sam

Genesis 42:1-15

When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you keep looking at one another? 2I have heard,” he said, “that there is grain in Egypt; go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.” 3So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. 4But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he feared that harm might come to him. 5Thus the sons of Israel were among the other people who came to buy grain, for the famine had reached the land of Canaan. 6Now Joseph was governor over the land; it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground.



7When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” 8Although Joseph had recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. 9Joseph also remembered the dreams that he had dreamed about them. He said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land!” 10They said to him, “No, my lord; your servants have come to buy food. 11We are all sons of one man; we are honest men; your servants have never been spies.” 12But he said to them, “No, you have come to see the nakedness of the land!” 13They said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of a certain man in the land of Canaan; the youngest, however, is now with our father, and one is no more.” 14But Joseph said to them, “It is just as I have said to you; you are spies! 15Here is how you shall be tested: as Pharaoh lives, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here!

interpreter of dreams

Good morning brothers and sisters,
We read how Joseph's master had him imprisoned because his wife accused Joseph of making a sexual advance toward her. Even in prison God blessed Joseph. After some time had passed Pharaoh had a dream that puzzled him, and no one could explain it to him. Pharoah's cup bearer had been in prison with Joseph and remembered Joseph's gift for interpreting dreams. He brought Joseph to Pharoah's attention and we will see where the story goes from there.

God bless,
Sam

Genesis 41:15-32

15And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” 16Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not I; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”



17Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile; 18and seven cows, fat and sleek, came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass. 19Then seven other cows came up after them, poor, very ugly, and thin. Never had I seen such ugly ones in all the land of Egypt. 20The thin and ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows, 21but when they had eaten them no one would have known that they had done so, for they were still as ugly as before. Then I awoke. 22I fell asleep a second time and I saw in my dream seven ears of grain, full and good, growing on one stalk, 23and seven ears, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprouting after them; 24and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears. But when I told it to the magicians, there was no one who could explain it to me.”



25Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one. 27The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, as are the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind. They are seven years of famine. 28It is as I told Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt. 30After them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; the famine will consume the land. 31The plenty will no longer be known in the land because of the famine that will follow, for it will be very grievous. 32And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about.