Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? Acts 19:1-7

  

Acts 19:1a
And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus.

It’s around 54 AD

We’re watching as The Holy Spirit has Paul and Apollos tag teaming the towns with a special emphasis on Ephesus.

In Acts 18, Paul was in Corinth and then sailed 314 miles with Aquila and Priscilla, to Ephesus.

Paul invested more time in Ephesus than anywhere else—two to three years. 

Priscilla and Aquila stayed in Ephesus, ever since Paul’s first visit.

Ephesus, on the Aegean Sea was a major seaport, a gateway to Asia; and had over a quarter million people.

Today it’s in ruins, an archaeological dig site and a small Turkish village called, Selçuk.

There were about fourteen temples and worship to about that many mythical gods; including emperor worship to, Julius, Augustus and Domitian.

It was mostly known for the temple of Diana (Greeks referred to her as Artemis).

That temple was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Discovered December 31, 1869, by British archaeologist John T. Wood. The T stands for Turtle, and like a turtle they dug 20’ under the sand before they discovered the temple.

It was bigger than a football field, 425 feet long, 220 feet wide and had 127 pillars, 60’ high.

The temple employed around, 1,000 male and female prostitutes.

To most people, Artemis was goddess of the moon and the hunt.

However, the Ephesians customized her a bit to fit their lust and greed and called her the goddess of sex and fertility. They depicted her with multiple eggs, or breasts, symbolic of fertility.

The worship looked more like gluttonous, drunken, orgies. Once a year, in the spring, (reportedly Diana’s birthday), Ephesus was Mardi Gras on steroids…spiked with Viagra.

That environment is where Jesus had the apostle John send the first of the seven letters to the Churches. Revelation 2:1-7.

Reportedly, sometime after the apostle Paul’s death (64-65 AD), the apostle John ministered in Ephesus until emperor Domitian banished him to the island of Patmos, where by Divine revelation, he wrote the book of Revelation.

Patmos is a little island about 65 miles southwest of Ephesus.

Today the Ephesian temples of Julius, Augustus, Domitian and Diana, have crumbled; are all but forgotten. The town of Ephesus is no more.

But, a couple letters written to the Church in Ephesus; one by an old man named Paul, on death row in a Roman prison; the other from an older man named John, on a prison island called Patmos; those letters, against all odds, have stood the test of time, have changed the hearts and minds of multitudes.  The word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed (Acts 19:20).

All the world’s kingdoms crumble, but the Word of the Lord, and the Kingdom of God, endures forever.

 And finding some disciples ² he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

³ And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?”

So they said, “Into John’s baptism.”

⁴ Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”

⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.

 ⁷ Now the men were about twelve in all.

Interesting question. Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?

The question only makes sense if asked to Christians. A non-Christian would just give you that deer in the headlights look.

The Bible reveals these men are Christians, by calling them disciples and believers.

Paul wasn’t asking a trick question, and he wasn’t questioning their salvation; he acknowledged that they believed.

Yet, he saw something in them, or not in them, that caused him to ask the disciples, if they received the Holy Spirit when they believed.  

Good question.

You might say. Well, yes, of course, I received the Holy Spirit the moment I asked Jesus into my heart. The moment I was born again, I received Christ as Lord and Savior and He resides in me.

Well, yes, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are One. So, when you receive Jesus, you receive all three, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Perhaps the first official recorded example of this is John 20:22. Jesus appeared to His disciples after His Resurrection. He breathed on them and said, receive the Holy Spirit.

Did you know, the Greek word for spirit and breath is the same word, pneuma.

And, the Hebrew word for spirit and breath is the same word, ruach.

Jesus, God the Son, breathed on them, akin to when He did something similar about 4,000 years earlier, when He breathed the breath of life into the pile of dirt, He called, Adam. Genesis 2:7.

(Interestingly, Adam comes from Adamah, meaning ground, earth, dirt. So, men, our name really is, dirt. Additionally, did you know that science has discovered that our bodies are made up of the same 27 chemical elements of earth? All honest science eventually catches up with the Bible.)

At that moment, when Jesus breathed on His disciples, mankind came back to life after 4,000 years of death by separation because we walked away, willingly seduced by the forbidden fruit.

Now with that breath, after His death, burial and resurrection, we were made alive again, born again.

The penalty for our sins had been laid on Him, paid in full by Jesus our Resurrected Lord.

Jesus fulfilled His promise of John 14:17-18.

I will send the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

After that, Jesus would no longer dwell with them, (in His earthly flesh and blood body) but in them, by His Holy Spirit.

So, from that moment, when Jesus breathed on them and said, “Received ye the Holy Spirit” His Presence, His Holy Spirit, dwelt in them.

Like He dwells in you, if you’re born again.

Jesus was smiling. God was smiling. The Holy Spirit was smiling. The angels were rejoicing. Luke 15:10.

The Lord had been waiting for that moment since Adam and Eve kicked Him out by letting sin in.

Now, the debt has been paid, the divorce decree torn asunder, as the veil in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

Now, finally God could dwell with and in, mankind once again.

But...

As awesome as that is, according to Jesus, according to the Bible, there’s more.

More? How could there be more?

Well, since the Church is called the Bride of Christ, think of it like this:

All that we just described was like the part in the wedding where the preacher says, “You may now kiss the bride.”

Now you’re married. Congrats!

Now, you’re the Bride of Christ. Saved. Born again. Hallelujah! Angels rejoice.

As awesome as that is... there’s more.

According to Jesus.

According to the Bible.

According to our wedding analogy.

After you kiss the bride, what comes next?

Cake? Dance? Party? Yes, yes, yes, but something more, much more than that...

Consummation.

Jesus put it like this:

He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; ⁵ for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Acts 1:4-5.

Wait, appropriate Word regarding marriage consummation. Wait.

He concludes by saying: But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8.

The Holy Spirit will come upon you and fill you with His dunamis (dynamite) Life giving Power, to be His witnesses (martyrs), to plant His Seed, and be fruitful and multiply, birthing believing disciples to the utter most parts of the earth.

That’s what Paul was asking the dozen disciples about.

Have you received the Holy Spirit?

Have you been filled with His dynamite Power?

Ephesians 5:18 says, don’t be drunk with wine but be filled with the Holy Spirit.

The implication in the original text is to be being filled.

Keep being filled with the Holy Spirit.

You may have one wedding day, one salvation day, but keep being filled, keep getting filled repeatedly.

We need to do this, because, we leak.

Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?

Okay, now please notice our text actually mentioned three baptisms.

1.    John’s baptism of repentance.

2.    Jesus’ baptism of salvation.

3.    Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

 

John’s baptism of repentance.

Long before Jesus came in the flesh, the Jews practiced baptism according to ritual purity laws as an act of purification and the initiation of converts to Judaism.

The Levite priests performed ritual purification by immersion in a mikvah (pool of water) before and after religious duties. Leviticus 16:4.

John the Baptist took that ritual and applied it to those who saw the need for spiritual cleansing in preparation for the Messiah.

John’s baptism was pre-salvation in anticipation of the coming Messiah.

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Repent, make straight the way of the Lord.  Isaiah 40:3, Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4, John 1:23.

John pointed at Jesus as said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29.

CURRENT EVENT OBJECT LESSON:

Just as I finished writing this Bible Study, about 10:30 the night before it was to be given. I glanced at Telegram to see if there was any breaking news I needed to know about. There were hundreds of posts on the few channels I follow. I was too sleepy to even begin. So, I scrolled to the very last post by Amir Tsarfati, and lo and behold, it was several pictures of exactly what we’re talking about. A newly uncovered ritual bath (mikvah). It was found near the temple in Jerusalem and dates back to the 2^nd temple times of Christ, and is attributed to ritual purity laws.

Cool huh?

Thank You Holy Spirit for Your, Divinely timed, always amazing, object lessons; confirming to us, time and again, that You are our Teacher.

You can view the post and additional photos here:   https://t.me/beholdisraelchannel/47787

 

Jesus’ baptism of salvation.

This was what Paul did with the dozen believing disciples in our text, Acts 19:6.

This is still practiced today.

They were water baptized by immersion, post salvation, as an outward sign of an inward commitment.

Jesus is ever our example. He did not need to be saved, yet He was baptized.

Matthew 3:13-17
 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”

¹⁵ But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.

¹⁶ When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. ¹⁷ And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

This is what Paul asked the dozen believing disciples about.

The Holy Spirit is mentioned 56 times in the Book of Acts.

He is the third member of the Godhead. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, He should never be referred to as, “it”. 

He should never be shunned.

He should never be mocked.

We discussed the Holy Spirit at length earlier in Acts, so for more information read or watch our message:  With Other Tongues, Acts 2:4-13

According to Jesus His Holy Spirit is our, Helper, Teacher, Guide, and Spirit of Truth; He abides with us, reminds us, testifies through us, and tells us of things to come. John 14:15-16, 15:26, 16:13.

Being filled with His Holy Spirit produces His fruit which is:  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23.

The Holy Spirit gives gifts of: Wisdom, Knowledge, Faith, Healings, Miracles, Prophecy, Discernment, Tongues, Interpretation. 1 Corinthians 12:4, 8-11, 28.

Those are the characters of folks filled with the Holy Spirit.

Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?  

Paul is not asking about salvation, he’s asking about consummation, about being filled with, His Holy Spirit, His Presence, His Peace, His never-ending, all consuming, Power and Love that never fails.

Have you received the Holy Spirit?

Jesus puts it like this in Luke 11:9-13:

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹ If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Luke 11:9-13.

Let’s pray.

Holy Powerful Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word right now, rightly divided to us. A diamond in the rough. A Light in the dark. Alive and powerful, piercing and dividing our flesh from Spirit; discerning the thoughts and intents of our heart. We lay bare before You, to receive You, and yield to You, asking only Your will be done in us and through us, on earth as it is, in heaven.

We love You, forever.

Amen.

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This was feed for you to read. Now it’s Seed for you to sow.

Thank you for sharing.

Joseph and Bros Reunion, Genesis 43

 

We jump ahead about a year from the close of chapter 42.

Joseph’s been in Egypt for over 20 years.

He was 17 when his brothers sold him into slavery (Genesis 37:2).

For 13 long, hard, years, as a slave and as a prisoner, Joseph honored God.

At age 30 God promoted him from the prison to the palace, 2^nd in command over all of Egypt. (Gen. 41:46).

Now, Joseph’s around 39. Egypt has gone through 7 years of prosperity, and now they’re in the 2^nd year of the 7 years of famine.

It was happening just as spoken by the Lord through Joseph when he interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams.   

Over 20 years Joseph’s father Jacob thought his son was dead.

Over 20 years Joseph’s brothers lived with the lie about what they had done.

It’s been about a year since the brothers showed up at Joseph’s door bowed down, begging for bread. Well, all the brothers but one, the youngest, Benjamin, (about 29) Joseph’s only full-blooded brother.

Joseph knew them, but they did not recognize him. (Maybe it was due to the Egyptian garb, the guy-liner, and he used an interpreter, or perhaps their guilty conscience clouded the obvious).

Joseph accused them of being spies.

Nevertheless, he sent them back home loaded with grain, and all the money they paid secretly stuffed back in their sack.

Well, sent them all, but one.

Joseph, the second youngest, held Simeon, the second oldest, as ransom until they returned, with the youngest, Benjamin.

This was to test and prove that their words were true, that Benjamin was alive and well.

As Ronald Reagan would say: Trust but verify.

Now the famine was severe in the land. ² And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.”

Famine, nothing coming in, nothing growing up. They had grain, but no rain. So, the seed was used for feed. 

They ate it instead of planting it.

Do you know what that’s like? Living off savings with nothing coming in can cause a pile to dwindle quickly.

The Dead Sea is dead because it consumes everything, gives nothing.

Famine is like that.

Spiritual famine comes like that.

The Word of God preached week after week. It goes in, never out. Bibles sit, in every corner, dusty, unopened.

Some famines are man-made. Most are the result of the curse. A few are sent by God.

Like this one. God warned of it through a couple dreams. He used Joseph to interpret the dreams and prepare the nation.  

He’s using His Word and the ever-increasing signs of the times, to declare His glory and send His warning, to prepare all nations for the soon coming 7 years of famine, tribulation, soon to hit this planet.

Israel had no idea that the very grain that kept them alive was by the hand of his son, that he thought was long sense dead.

None of them would’ve guessed that the very famine they thought might kill them, was used by God to direct their divine destiny. We’ll talk more about that later.

All they knew for sure was that the cupboards were getting bare, so, it was time to go, to the only food warehouse in the world still open—Egypt.    

3 But Judah spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. 5 But if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’”

Notice, Judah spoke this time.

They must’ve stuck a sock in Ruben's mouth for his hair-brain idea last time. (Genesis 42:37).

Judah made it crystal clear. There’s only one way to see the man and survive the famine: Benjamin must go.

Benjamin means, son of my right hand.

Friends, there is only One Way to see The Man, and survive the famine of this life: The Son, seated at right hand of the Father.

⁶ And Israel said, “Why did you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?”

⁷ But they said, “The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we told him according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”

Notice, Joseph’s questions reflect his love and are clues for his family as to his true identity.

8 Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. 9 I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. 10 For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.”

Remember, Ruben, the first born, had offered to sacrifice his two sons if he didn't bring Benjamin back. Genesis 42:37.

Judah offered himself. I will be surety, guarantee, let me bear the blame, the burden, forever.

Judah didn’t offer death like Ruben, he offered life, his life, forever.

Firstborn Religious Ruben, a shadow of the Law, with its sacrifices and offerings that’d never take away sin or give Life.  

Judah, from whom came the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who offered Himself as the sacrifice, the surety, the guarantee, the burden bearer to carry our blame and sin and shame, forever.

Hebrews 10:5-7; Psalm 40:6-8.
“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.
⁶ In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You had no pleasure.
⁷ Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.’ ”

Isaiah 53:4-6
Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

¹¹ And their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. 

These gifts were what they had available in their land of Canaan, but not so much available in Egypt.

Proverbs 18:16, your gift will make room for you.

Prov. 21:14, a gift pacifies anger.

 Jacob knew the power of presents from experience with Esau.

¹² Take double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. 

Jacob passes the integrity test.

Take double the money; to buy new grain, and return the original money, in case it was a mistake.

(NOTE: The quoted translation is New King James Version. This and the King James Version, may seem to imply they are to take triple the money. However, the original Hebrew text clearly implies taking double the money.)

¹³ Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man. 

If only he knew the man, was his boy.

¹⁴ And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!”

Jacob commits to the hard truth of what must be done. And come what may, submits to the hand of the Almighty.

If I am bereaved, I am bereaved. Like in Esther 4:16, if I perish, I perish.

Whatever happens, happens. Lord, I’m trusting you, stepping out of this boat and onto the water. If I sink, I sink.

God Almighty will show more than mercy but bless them above and beyond their wildest dreams, by fulfilling the dreams He told them through Joseph when he was young.

15 So the men took that present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and arose and went down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my home, and slaughter an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon.” 

Picture the scene when Joseph sees his brothers, especially his younger brother Benjamin.

His eyes get wide, he gets a lump in his throat, his heart skips a beat, he bites his tongue to keep from shouting, “Benny!” He must stay his feet from running to him and hugging him and putting a robe on his back and a ring on his finger.

But like the prodigal son’s father (Luke 15:23) he can’t help but tell his steward to take my brothers—I mean, these men, to my house and kill that fatted calf so we can do lunch at noon.

17 Then the man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.

18 Now the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money, which was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may make a case against us and seize us, to take us as slaves with our donkeys.”

19 When they drew near to the steward of Joseph’s house, they talked with him at the door of the house, 20 and said, “O sir, we indeed came down the first time to buy food; 21 but it happened, when we came to the encampment, that we opened our sacks, and there, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; so we have brought it back in our hand. 22 And we have brought down other money in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.”

Well done boys. They passed the honesty test. Rather than pocketing the extra money they came clean, spilled the beans about the extra money.

What would’ve happened if they tried to keep the money?

Would what they feared have come upon them?

Thankfully they did the right thing.

Remember, when something like that happens, it’s a test.

Pass the test.

It’s just a penny.

Doesn’t matter. It’s the principle. Do the right thing. Pass the test.

Yeah, but, it’s the IRS, it’s not cheating if it’s—

Doesn’t matter. It’s the principle. Do the right thing. Pass the test.

Passing tests leads to promotion. Flunking tests lead to one more trip around the wilderness mountain.  

²³ But he said, “Peace be with you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

This Egyptian is talking like a Hebrew, or an angel. “Peace be with you, do not be afraid.”

Joseph must’ve told him stories about Abraham, Isaac and his father Jacob and their encounters with His God.

He used their name, the Hebrew name for God, Elohim. And he gave Him credit for the money in their sacks.

I had your money.

Yeah, you had it, until you stuck it back in their sacks.

Have you ever done that? We got your money, you paid us. We’re just not going to cash the check.

Notice they told them the story at the door of the house (verse 19).

Then, he brought Simeon out to them.

Apparently, Simeon was in the house, not a dungeon.

Imagine the steward calls over his shoulder, “Hey Sim—you’ve got company”

Sim walks up, a bucket of popcorn in one hand, a TV remote in the other.

He drops the popcorn, “Hey guys! C’mon in. Sorry Stew, I’ll clean that up.”

He hugs his bros.

Stew says, “Sure you will” and starts cleaning up sloppy Sim’s mess.

24 So the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. 25 Then they made the present ready for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they would eat bread there.

So, they prepared to meet the man by preparing the present.

Remember dad told them to bring some fruits, balm, honey, spices, myrrh, pistachio, almonds.

We are to be preparing to meet The Man, like a bride prepares to meet her Groom.

²⁶ And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down before him to the earth. 

Dreams coming true. Genesis 37:7-11.

Surely Joseph remembered the dreams of the sheaves bowing to his, and the sun, moon, and stars bowing to too.

But he didn’t lord it over them. Instead, he remained humble.

²⁷ Then he asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”

Joesph's humble, caring, heart shows.

He asks about their well-being, and about dad, "the old man."

²⁸ And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves.

²⁹ Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.”

The last time Joseph saw him, Benjamin he was only about 7. Now, he’s around 29.

Nevertheless, Joseph knew exactly who he was.

It doesn’t say, but listen real close, and we can probably hear the quiver in Joseph’s voice, and see the tears in his eyes as he whispers, “God be gracious to you, my son.”

30 Now his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and wept there.

The KJV puts it like this: “And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.”

Try that next time you see someone you haven’t seen in a while. “I’m so happy to see you my bowels did move—” on second thought, scratch that.

³¹ Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, “Serve the bread.”

Washed his face, because the guy-liner was running?

³² So they set him a place by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. 

Three separate tables. Joseph. The brothers. The Egyptians.

Segregation.

This is important.

None of them would’ve guessed that the very famine they thought might kill them, was used by God to direct their Divine destiny (See, I told you we’d talk it later).

The Egyptians thought they were superior from all other races. Thus, they segregated more than any other people on the planet.

God used this nation Egypt, to build His new nation, Israel, from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

You see, Egypt became the incubator for isolating Israel to grow up and grow strong without intermarrying and assimilating with other nations.

SIDENOTE: At this dinner, Joseph and crew were seated at three tables and Joseph served his brothers. At the Last Supper, Jesus and His brothers (disciples), were seated at a three sectioned table called a triclinium, and He served His brothers.

³³ And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked in astonishment at one another. 

That had to freak them out a bit. How’d he know?

Joseph seemed to be laying out one clue after another, trying to reveal his identity. The way he asked about their well-being, their other brother, their father, the way he returned their money, the way he seated them, showing them, he knows them.

Like how the Lord leaves His fingerprint with every sunrise and sunset, His Love that fills us, His wisdom that guides us, His Word being fulfilled right before our very eyes. His comfort, His healing, His joy, His peace that passes understanding. 

All clues to show us how much He loves us, how well He knows us. 

³⁴ Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin’s serving was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.

It was customary for the guest of honor to receive more than the others.

Five times more was reserved for nobility and royalty.

Jesus at the last supper, honored His disciples, served them, even washed their feet.

So, they ate with him and drank with him and were merry with him. All together like one big, noisy, messy, happy family.

Joseph planned and prepared and provided and made it all happen.

Like Jesus has planned and prepared and provided for us to sit with Him at the Great Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

Are you ready?

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, we look forward to Your soon to come reunion. The one You planned and prepared and provided for all of us to attend.

We pray we, and all those You’ve given us, are ready.

If not, help us Lord, here and now, to get ready, to prepare our hearts to meet You face to face.

Help us recognize the daily clues You give us, as to Your True Identity. So we know You when we see You, and will hear You say, “Well done.”

We love You, forever.

Amen.

Prayer Requests:

Call or text: 612-554-2522

Email: pray4measap@aol.com

Facebook: Church at WPV

Books: amazon.com/author/dougspurling

Watch online:

Facebook: Joseph and Bros Reunion, Genesis 43

You Tube: Joseph and Bros Reunion, Genesis 43

This was feed for you to read. Now it’s Seed for you to sow.

Thank you for sharing.