Today our passages are Genesis 39:1–41:16;
Matthew 12:46–13:23; Psalm 17:1-15; and Proverbs 3:33-35. The readings are from
the The Message by Eugene H.
Peterson. If you find these readings
helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian
Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal.
Genesis 39-41:16 (The Message)
Genesis 39
1
After Joseph had been taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelites, Potiphar an Egyptian,
one of Pharaoh's officials and the manager of his household, bought him from
them.
2-6
As it turned out, God was with
Joseph and things went very well with him. He ended up living in the home of his
Egyptian master. His master recognized that God was with him, saw that God was working for good in everything
he did. He became very fond of Joseph and made him his personal aide. He put him
in charge of all his personal affairs, turning everything over to him. From that
moment on, God blessed the home of
the Egyptian—all because of Joseph. The blessing of God spread over everything he owned, at
home and in the fields, and all Potiphar had to concern himself with was eating
three meals a day.
6-7
Joseph was a strikingly handsome man. As time went on, his master's wife became
infatuated with Joseph and one day said, "Sleep with me."
8-9
He wouldn't do it. He said to his master's wife, "Look, with me here, my master
doesn't give a second thought to anything that goes on here—he's put me in
charge of everything he owns. He treats me as an equal. The only thing he hasn't
turned over to me is you. You're his wife, after all! How could I violate his
trust and sin against God?"
10
She pestered him day after day after day, but he stood his ground. He refused to
go to bed with her.
11-15
On one of these days he came to the house to do his work and none of the
household servants happened to be there. She grabbed him by his cloak, saying,
"Sleep with me!" He left his coat in her hand and ran out of the house. When she
realized that he had left his coat in her hand and run outside, she called to
her house servants: "Look—this Hebrew shows up and before you know it he's
trying to seduce us. He tried to make love to me but I yelled as loud as I
could. With all my yelling and screaming, he left his coat beside me here and
ran outside."
16-18
She kept his coat right there until his master came home. She told him the same
story. She said, "The Hebrew slave, the one you brought to us, came after me and
tried to use me for his plaything. When I yelled and screamed, he left his coat
with me and ran outside."
19-23
When his master heard his wife's story, telling him, "These are the things your
slave did to me," he was furious. Joseph's master took him and threw him into
the jail where the king's prisoners were locked up. But there in jail God was still with Joseph: He reached
out in kindness to him; he put him on good terms with the head jailer. The head
jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners—he ended up managing the whole
operation. The head jailer gave Joseph free rein, never even checked on him,
because God was with him; whatever
he did God made sure it worked out
for the best.
Genesis 40
1-4
As time went on, it happened that the cupbearer and the baker of the king of
Egypt crossed their master, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was furious with his two
officials, the head cupbearer and the head baker, and put them in custody under
the captain of the guard; it was the same jail where Joseph was held. The
captain of the guard assigned Joseph to see to their needs.
4-7
After they had been in custody for a while, the king's cupbearer and baker,
while being held in the jail, both had a dream on the same night, each dream
having its own meaning. When Joseph arrived in the morning, he noticed that they
were feeling low. So he asked them, the two officials of Pharaoh who had been
thrown into jail with him, "What's wrong? Why the long faces?"
8
They said, "We dreamed dreams and there's no one to interpret them."
Joseph said, "Don't interpretations come
from God? Tell me the dreams."
9-11
First the head cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: "In my dream there was a vine
in front of me with three branches on it: It budded, blossomed, and the clusters
ripened into grapes. I was holding Pharaoh's cup; I took the grapes, squeezed
them into Pharaoh's cup, and gave the cup to Pharaoh."
12-15
Joseph said, "Here's the meaning. The three branches are three days. Within
three days, Pharaoh will get you out of here and put you back to your old
work—you'll be giving Pharaoh his cup just as you used to do when you were his
cupbearer. Only remember me when things are going well with you again—tell
Pharaoh about me and get me out of this place. I was kidnapped from the land of
the Hebrews. And since I've been here, I've done nothing to deserve being put in
this hole."
16-17
When the head baker saw how well Joseph's interpretation turned out, he spoke
up: "My dream went like this: I saw three wicker baskets on my head; the top
basket had assorted pastries from the bakery and birds were picking at them from
the basket on my head."
18-19
Joseph said, "This is the interpretation: The three baskets are three days;
within three days Pharaoh will take off your head, impale you on a post, and the
birds will pick your bones clean."
20-22
And sure enough, on the third day it was Pharaoh's birthday and he threw a feast
for all his servants. He set the head cupbearer and the head baker in places of
honor in the presence of all the guests. Then he restored the head cupbearer to
his cupbearing post; he handed Pharaoh his cup just as before. And then he
impaled the head baker on a post, following Joseph's interpretations exactly.
23
But the head cupbearer never gave Joseph another thought; he forgot all about
him.
Genesis 41
1-4
Two years passed and Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile River.
Seven cows came up out of the Nile, all shimmering with health, and grazed on
the marsh grass. Then seven other cows, all skin and bones, came up out of the
river after them and stood by them on the bank of the Nile. The skinny cows ate
the seven healthy cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
5-7
He went back to sleep and dreamed a second time: Seven ears of grain,
full-bodied and lush, grew out of a single stalk. Then seven more ears grew up,
but these were thin and dried out by the east wind. The thin ears swallowed up
the full, healthy ears. Then Pharaoh woke up—another dream.
8
When morning came, he was upset. He sent for all the magicians and sages of
Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but they couldn't interpret them to him.
9-13
The head cupbearer then spoke up and said to Pharaoh, "I just now remembered
something—I'm sorry, I should have told you this long ago. Once when Pharaoh got
angry with his servants, he locked me and the head baker in the house of the
captain of the guard. We both had dreams on the same night, each dream with its
own meaning. It so happened that there was a young Hebrew slave there with us;
he belonged to the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams and he
interpreted them for us, each dream separately. Things turned out just as he
interpreted. I was returned to my position and the head baker was impaled."
14
Pharaoh at once sent for Joseph. They brought him on the run from the jail cell.
He cut his hair, put on clean clothes, and came to Pharaoh.
15 "I
dreamed a dream," Pharaoh told Joseph. "Nobody can interpret it. But I've heard
that just by hearing a dream you can interpret it."
16
Joseph answered, "Not I, but God. God will set Pharaoh's mind at ease."
Matthew 12:46-13:23 (The Message)
Obedience Is Thicker than Blood
46-47While he was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers showed up. They were outside trying to get a message to him. Someone told Jesus, "Your mother and brothers are out here, wanting to speak with you." 48-50Jesus didn't respond directly, but said, "Who do you think my mother and brothers are?" He then stretched out his hand toward his disciples. "Look closely. These are my mother and brothers. Obedience is thicker than blood. The person who obeys my heavenly Father's will is my brother and sister and mother."Matthew 13
A Harvest Story
1-3 At about that same time Jesus left the house and sat on the beach. In no time at all a crowd gathered along the shoreline, forcing him to get into a boat. Using the boat as a pulpit, he addressed his congregation, telling stories. 3-8"What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.9"Are you listening to this? Really listening?"
Why Tell Stories?
10The disciples came up and asked, "Why do you tell stories?" 11-15He replied, "You've been given insight into God's kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn't been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That's why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they're blue in the face and not get it. I don't want Isaiah's forecast repeated all over again:Your ears are open but you don't hear a thing.
Your eyes are awake but you don't see a thing.
The people are blockheads!
They stick their fingers in their ears
so they won't have to listen;
They screw their eyes shut
so they won't have to look,
so they won't have to deal with me face-to-face
and let me heal them.
16-17"But you have God-blessed eyes—eyes that see! And God-blessed ears—ears that hear! A lot of people, prophets and humble believers among them, would have given anything to see what you are seeing, to hear what you are hearing, but never had the chance.
The Meaning of the Harvest Story
18-19"Study this story of the farmer planting seed. When anyone hears news of the kingdom and doesn't take it in, it just remains on the surface, and so the Evil One comes along and plucks it right out of that person's heart. This is the seed the farmer scatters on the road. 20-21"The seed cast in the gravel—this is the person who hears and instantly responds with enthusiasm. But there is no soil of character, and so when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.22"The seed cast in the weeds is the person who hears the kingdom news, but weeds of worry and illusions about getting more and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, and nothing comes of it.
23"The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams."
Psalm 17:1-15 (The Message)
Psalm 17
A David Prayer
1-2 Listen while I build my case, God, the most honest prayer you'll ever hear.Show the world I'm innocent—
in your heart you know I am.
3 Go ahead, examine me from inside out,
surprise me in the middle of the night—
You'll find I'm just what I say I am.
My words don't run loose.
4-5 I'm not trying to get my way
in the world's way.
I'm trying to get your way,
your Word's way.
I'm staying on your trail;
I'm putting one foot
In front of the other.
I'm not giving up.
6-7 I call to you, God, because I'm sure of an answer.
So—answer! bend your ear! listen sharp!
Paint grace-graffiti on the fences;
take in your frightened children who
Are running from the neighborhood bullies
straight to you.
8-9 Keep your eye on me;
hide me under your cool wing feathers
From the wicked who are out to get me,
from mortal enemies closing in.
10-14 Their hearts are hard as nails,
their mouths blast hot air.
They are after me, nipping my heels,
determined to bring me down,
Lions ready to rip me apart,
young lions poised to pounce.
Up, God: beard them! break them!
By your sword, free me from their clutches;
Barehanded, God, break these mortals,
these flat-earth people who can't think beyond today. I'd like to see their bellies
swollen with famine food,
The weeds they've sown
harvested and baked into famine bread,
With second helpings for their children
and crusts for their babies to chew on.
15 And me? I plan on looking
you full in the face. When I get up,
I'll see your full stature
and live heaven on earth.
A David Song, Which He Sang to God After Being
Saved from All His Enemies and from SaulProverbs 3:33-35 (The Message)
33-35 God's curse blights the house of the wicked,
but he blesses the home of the righteous.
He gives proud skeptics a cold shoulder,
but if you're down on your luck, he's right there to help.
Wise living gets rewarded with honor;
stupid living gets the booby prize.
Verse of the Day
“Treat others as you want them to treat you. This is what the Law and the Prophets are all about.” - Matthew 7:12
Today's passage is from the Contemporary
English Version.
Thought for the
Day
John
Henry Newman, the 19th-century's most important English-speaking Roman
Catholic theologian, wrote, “Growth is the only evidence of life.”
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