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| Vayigash - And Came Near Torah - Gen. 44:18 - 47:27 Haftarah - Ezekiel 37:15 - 28 Apostolic - Matt. 23 - 25 |
| Ministry of Gates of Praise Ministries, Inc. © Copyright Gates of Praise Ministries 2007/2008 |
In this sidra Joseph presents his father Jacob to Paraoh and Jacob blesses the
Paraoh.
The years could be seen on Jacob's face. For twenty years he had served his
father-in-law Laban as a shepherd in the fields. Facing the elements of the heat
by day and the cold by night. He had ended up with four wives when he just
wanted the one he loved, and he lost her to an early grave. He spent more than
twenty more years grieving the loss of his beloved son Joseph whom he thought
was dead.
When he appears before Pharaoh he is 130 years old. I'm sure Pharaoh was
amazed at how old this man looked. When asked how old he was, he replies that
he has sojourned 130 years. All of his life Jacob has lived as a stranger and
sojourner in other people's lands. Born in Canaan, he lived as a stranger in hope
of the Abrahamic inheritance. He states his life is short. Abraham had lived to 175
and Isaac to 180. Jacob may have been the oldest person the Pharaoh had ever
met. Jacob lived to the age of 147. To a certain extent, our words create our own
reality. Our words and attitudes form the reality we must live in. The Scriptures
tell us there is life and death in the tongue. Life is like a bowl full of cherries into
which the pits must come. How we choose to respond to these pits will determine
how much of a hardship and toll they will take on us.
Paraoh.
The years could be seen on Jacob's face. For twenty years he had served his
father-in-law Laban as a shepherd in the fields. Facing the elements of the heat
by day and the cold by night. He had ended up with four wives when he just
wanted the one he loved, and he lost her to an early grave. He spent more than
twenty more years grieving the loss of his beloved son Joseph whom he thought
was dead.
When he appears before Pharaoh he is 130 years old. I'm sure Pharaoh was
amazed at how old this man looked. When asked how old he was, he replies that
he has sojourned 130 years. All of his life Jacob has lived as a stranger and
sojourner in other people's lands. Born in Canaan, he lived as a stranger in hope
of the Abrahamic inheritance. He states his life is short. Abraham had lived to 175
and Isaac to 180. Jacob may have been the oldest person the Pharaoh had ever
met. Jacob lived to the age of 147. To a certain extent, our words create our own
reality. Our words and attitudes form the reality we must live in. The Scriptures
tell us there is life and death in the tongue. Life is like a bowl full of cherries into
which the pits must come. How we choose to respond to these pits will determine
how much of a hardship and toll they will take on us.