Episode 77
Scripture for Today | Genesis 45:3-11, 21-28 (with Pastor Nick)
February 26th, 2022
12 mins 40 secs
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About this Episode
Opening Song:
O Lord, open our lips and our mouths will declare Your praise.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end,
Amen.
The Scripture for today is Genesis 45:3-11 and 21-28.
Let’s prepare our hearts to hear from God’s word as we listen to Coram Deo by Antoine Bradford. Sliding guitar, atmospheric synthesizer chords, and airy background vocals create a sun-soaked sound. The text reinforces Jesus’s steadfast qualities in the midst of life’s ups and downs as the vocalist sings of the joy found in chasing after Him.
Lyrics:
Time and time again
I know that I've seen Your hands
Holy and holding me up
Again and again
And through all the ups and the downs
Thorny and golden crowns
Faithful You've always been
My heart sings in wonder
Oh, and I can't help but say
Lord, You are everything to me
Jesus, You are everything to me
In You I have my being
And Your love's a living stream
Constant and overflowing
And it satisfies all of my longings
My heart sings in wonder, oh-oh
And I can't help but say
Lord, You are everything to me
Jesus, You are everything
In You I have my being
Have more of You
All my joy is found in chasing You
And I'll chase You till I have more of You
All my joy is found in chasing You
And I'll chase You till I have more of You
All my joy is found in chasing You
And I'll chase You till I have more of You
Passage:
3 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.
4 So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So 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. 9 Hurry 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 tarry. 10 You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.’
21 The sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. 22 To each and all of them he gave a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five changes of clothes. 23 To his father he sent as follows: 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. 24 Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way.”
25 So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. 26 And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. 27 But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which 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. 28 And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”
(Genesis 45:3–11, 21–28 ESV)
Musical Reflection:
I Need Thee Every Hour (NEED) by Robert Lowry
Reflection Notes:
Each stanza of this familiar hymn was written by Annie Hawks as part of a poem. When she showed the composition to her pastor, Robert Lowry, he added the refrain and set the text to music for their congregation to enjoy. The musical lines always tend upward before falling back down, an apt parallel to the textual pleas reaching up to God.
Prayer:
This is another day, O Lord. I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. Make these words more than words, and give me the Spirit of Jesus. Amen.