I highly recommend this series from the Domain for Truth. it examines various supposed Bible contradictions, and gives clear answers to why they are not.
There are many posts in the series, so do go back and read some of the others as well.
I hope you enjoy reading!
For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: When did the earth dry after the flood? Here are the answers which …
Bible Contradiction? When did the earth dry after the flood?
Earlier on this week, I felt the Lord speak to me about a certain matter in my life. I do not mean I heard a voice, but just that I had been seeking Him for an answer and found it in the Bible. He clearly drew me to it and pointed it out to me. This is neither frequent nor unusual for me. I expect it would happen more often if I took the time to listen more!
Having understood what I needed to do, I set about doing it yesterday. You might think that when you try to obey God in something He has shown you, that you will somehow step into a new level of blessing overnight. You might assume that when we follow God’s lead that everything will simply fall into place neatly… But this is not my first day, and so I knew that this is rarely so.
Yesterday was a tough day for a variety of reasons. Reflecting back, I realise that as I have tried to follow God in this way, I have encountered spiritual resistance. I’m undergoing “resistance training.”
We do have an enemy who wants to disrupt our relationship with God, and if he gets the chance, destroy us altogether. I am not someone who blames the devil for every little problem in life. When I lose my keys for instance, I do not generally leap to the conclusion that the enemy is attacking me. That said, we do have a real spiritual enemy we should take seriously.
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:7 (NIV)
It is important to note that we should not and cannot resist the devil without first submitting to God. I hear of Christians rebuking the devil left, right and centre, but who are clearly refusing to submit to God in some areas of their life. We cannot successfully stand against the wiles of the devil if we are not fully submitted to the Lord.
Reading this verse again this morning though, I see it in a potential new light. I have always thought of submission to God and resistance against the devil as two separate things, and of course they are. However, I wonder if James puts them side-by side like this because when we submit, we must then resist. Perhaps submission and resistance must go hand in hand?
How do we resist the enemy?
There is much we can say on this point, but I want to say two (hopefully) important things.
Firstly, do not let the devil set the agenda. Our focus should not be on the enemy but on God. Don’t run around trying to cast demons out of everything that moves, instead put your energy into your relationship with Christ. Remain in Him and draw on His strength. Be alert to the devil’s schemes, but try not to see them around every corner.
Secondly, resisting the devil means not acting like him. The best way to resist the enemy is to act like Christ. The more loving we are, the kinder, the more we serve and bless one another, the less like the enemy we become. The devil attempts to disrupt us by pushing us to live out of our flesh or sinful nature. Instead, we must walk in step with the Spirit.
This is not easy, and nor is it a one time thing. Each and every day you will need to push back against that resistance – call it “resistance training” if you will. Every time you say no to your sinful desires, you build spiritual muscles and it gives you strength to fight the next battle.
Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
2 Corinthians 2:9-11 (NIV)
Paul, although writing about something slightly different, points out that he does not want the church to be outwitted or to be unaware of the enemies schemes against us.
Have you ever stepped out in faith and faced strong resistance? It is not easy, but did it make you stronger?
Praise the Lord today and submit to His goodness and Lordship.
Reuben returned to the pit, and saw that Joseph wasn’t in the pit; and he tore his clothes. 30 He returned to his brothers, and said, “The child is no more; and I, where will I go?” 31 They took Joseph’s tunic, and killed a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood. 32 They took the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, “We have found this. Examine it, now, and see if it is your son’s tunic or not.”
33 He recognized it, and said, “It is my son’s tunic. An evil animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces.” 34 Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, “For I will go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” His father wept for him. 36 The Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard.
Genesis 37:29-36 (WEB)
If you cast your mind back to an earlier part of the story, you will recall that Reuben was the one who convinced his brothers not to murder Joseph in cold blood. Instead, he talked them into leaving him in the pit and letting nature take its course. This somehow seemed more palatable to them.
Secretly however, Reuben had planned to return and rescue Joseph so that he could return him to his father, and claim the credit. This is pretty low…
Our passage today picks up the account and opens with Reuben’s return. His is more than a little dismayed to find Joseph gone!
Reuben tears his clothes as a sign of grief, or perhaps regret. It does not appear to be a sign of repentance, as he was not exactly acting out of the purest of motives. Rather he recognises that he won’t be able to “save the day” and claim the credit now. He is sorry of course, but for quite the wrong reasons.
I acknowledged my sin to you.
I didn’t hide my iniquity.
I said, I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh,
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
Psalm 32:5 (WEB)
Psalm 32 is one of the Penitential Psalms or Psalms of Repentance. Here in verse 5, the psalmist asked to be forgiven for the iniquity of their sin – other translations say the “sinfulness of my sin.” See my post of the same name – The Sinfulness of my Sin.
Often when we are caught in wrongdoing, we are sorry for the consequences, not the sin itself. A bank robber is sorry he got caught red-handed, but would feel no guilt had they gotten away with it. Reuben, here, is likewise sorry for the consequences of his sin, not the wrongdoing itself.
There is a possible gap between verse 30 and 31, as the text moves from Reuben’s cries straight to the brothers’ cover up of events. Presumably one of them told him what had happened in his absence.
Joseph is gone, and the brothers must now deal with the obvious. What will they tell their father? Taking Joseph’s coloured coat, they kill a goat and use its blood to stain the tunic. This will be evidence enough of Joseph’s supposed fate.
Taking it to Jacob, they ask him to identify it. In the absence of a body, this is the next best thing and they do not correct him (of course) when he assumes Joseph has been killed by a wild animal.
Look at the grief they inflict on Jacob! His heart is broken and he descends into deep mourning for many days. His other sons and daughters try to comfort him, but to no avail.
Did they feel any guilt, I wonder, as they looked upon their father during this time? He was so broken that he wished to go to Sheol – the place of the dead – so that he might be with his beloved son. Would a spark of remorse have been felt by any of them? The Bible does not record it.
To what lengths people will go to cover up their sinfulness. I see it in myself at times too. I make a mistake at work and there is clear temptation to sweep it under the carpet, or to give a version of events which look less unfavourable. Surely I am not alone in feeling such temptation in those moments?
Christians must not lie however. We must be honest and truthful, even if it means admitting we’ve done wrong and facing the consequences.
The passage, and this chapter, close by telling us that Joseph (meanwhile) is taken to Egypt and sold to a man named Potiphar, who is a servant of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard. This will later turn out to be another divine appointment for Joseph – but we’ll pick that up another day.
Every blessing to you!
I won’t have a huge amount of time to write today, so I thought I’d share this really helpful post. Lots of good tips here on Bible study in general but also good for those who are more visual than I am!
Enjoy!
Photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels A bible study tool for a visual learner Just this week some of my colleagues and I had a quick briefing on …
The importance of Research for a Visual Bible Study
They sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, and let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not let our hand be on him; for he is our brother, our flesh.” His brothers listened to him. 28 Midianites who were merchants passed by, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The merchants brought Joseph into Egypt.
Genesis 37:25-28 (WEB)
Joseph has found his brothers in the wilderness, and they hatched and executed a plan to capture him. Tearing off his coat of colours, they throw him into a pit. Having talked themselves out of killing him directly, they now plan instead to leave him to the elements.
Verse 25 opens by telling us that they sat down to eat bread. I am not sure if there is any significance to this in particular, but it strikes me that having captured and essentially murdered their brother, food might be the last thing on their minds! It takes a callous heart to condemn someone to death, and then in the next moments enjoy a hearty meal.
Perhaps the significance lies in the timing. The text tells us that while they were eating, they look up and see a caravan of Ishmaelites heading their way. Had they dumped Joseph in the pit and moved on, they may not have run into this group at all, and the rest of our story may have been quite different.
There are no such things as coincidences with God.
Judah is quick to come up with an alternative ending to Joseph’s life. Rather than murder him outright, he sees an opportunity. Judah sees the chance of making a profit by selling Joseph into slavery. He also adds that why should they shed his blood, after all, Joseph is their brother. His words show perhaps little respect for Joseph himself, but for the family. They all recognise that shedding one’s own brother’s blood is not exactly a righteous thing to do.
So they haul Joseph out of the pit, sell him to the merchants and gain a bag silver in return. We learn that the merchants are heading to Egypt, and surely the brothers expected that to be the last they would ever see of this dreamer. How wrong they would one day prove to be!
God has not been directly mentioned in any of this up to now. Clearly though, He is ever present in the account. God is the source of the dreams that Joseph has had, and surely God is the one who has preserved Joseph’s life at the hand of his brothers. Likewise, God decreed events to take place in such a way that these merchants just happened to be passing at the precise moment necessary.
God has a plan! And this is no less true for you. What happened to Joseph was truly terrible, and yet it was all part of the tapestry of God’s plan. As he lay in the pit, Joseph was likely questioning his dreams and wondering what on earth was to happen to him. Even in our darkest moments, we can cling on to the promises of God and know that they will never fail.
There is a well-known verse from Jeremiah which is often quoted, although I’m not certain if the context applies to all people at all times, but here you go:
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,” says Yahweh, “thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:1 (WEB)
When you know Jesus, the future is bright. That does not mean there are no dark days ahead of us, but we can rely on Him to take us through. Whatever God’s plan is for you in this life, there is an eternity in paradise to look forward to.
To finish, let me ask you what opportunities may present themselves to you today? How can you be a blessing to someone, or to share your faith with a person who needs to hear it? Don’t just wait and see if an opportunity presents itself, ask the Lord for divine appointments where you can act as a light in this world.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
My first attempt to publish this did not seem to work so well! If you already saw it, then great… if not, here it is again! Thanks for your patience!
If you are tuning in, expecting the next in the series on Joseph, then don’t worry! I’ve not forgotten! I will return to the series on Joseph later this week (God willing, and Andy co-operating!) For today, I want to circle back to the subject of prayer.
I was praying for someone a little while ago and asked god to “Keep them safe!” It got me thinking about what I actually meant by the phrase. Clearly, I was thinking about their physical safety, but extends to their emotional and spiritual condition as well.
I am obviously asking God to keep this individual from harm, but what do I actually expect God to do in response to my prayer? Perhaps I am asking Him to restrict them from going outside? Surely, being inside closed doors is far safer than going outside? No… I do not think that is what I am asking at all.
So therefore, I must be asking God to keep them in relative safety while they are out and about, and living their daily lives. Living life is not “safe” though, is it? We take risks every single day, even if they are tiny. We take a chance every time we cross the street. If we do not look both ways, then there is a risk of being hit by a car. Taking it to extremes, staying at home may be little safer – people fall down the stairs, slip in the shower, or injure themselves in other ways.
As above, life is simply not safe. And neither, at times, is God’s will.
When we look at how Christians are often treated in this world, and how many of our fellow brothers and sisters are martyred in Christ, we realise that God’s will is not always safe for us. While it may not be the safest place to be, it is always the best place to be.
Given this, perhaps there are times when praying that God will keep someone safe is to pray against His will. Instead of safety, we ought to pray for that person to have strength and wisdom to fulfil God’s call on their lives, or to face the good and the bad that life has to offer.
I want to examine my prayer life closely. I really want to think about the words that I use. When praying for people, I frequently say “Lord, bless them…” but as above, what do I actually mean by this? So often my view of a blessing may be quite different to God’s view. To some, winning the lottery might be a “blessing” but if it leads the person down a path of selfishness, greed and ultimately destruction, then it is no blessing at all.
We can learn much from the prayer that Jesus taught us.
He said to them, “When you pray, say,
‘Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come.
May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
Bring us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’”
Luke 11:2-4 (WEB)
No mention of safety here!
This prayer focusses primarily on God the Father. It seeks first His glory, will and kingdom, not our relative safety or blessing. Of course, it does go on to ask for our daily bread and that is not unimportant. Neither is the request to avoid temptation or to be delivered from evil.
We must allow the Bible to shape our prayer lives. It is not wrong to ask God to keep someone safe, but how much greater a prayer is it to ask God to bring about His will and kingdom in their lives? To ask the Father to deliver them out of temptation’s grasp, or to seek forgiveness for and from them. How much richer and more effective our prayers would be!
When we pray, we do not always see immediate results. In fact, there are times when it seems like our prayers are making no difference whatsoever. I do not suppose we will see the full effect of our prayers on this side of heaven, but one day (in eternity) will look back on the times a person we were praying for avoided temptation or stepped deeper in God’s plan for their lives.
How do you pray? What words do you use? Do share below for my benefit and for others. As iron sharpens iron, we can all learn from one another.
And may I close by saying, “Lord, may Your will be done in the lives of everyone reading this today! Deliver them from evil, and keep them far from temptation. In Jesus’ mighty Name! Amen!”
It has been an interesting day in my house, with nothing quite going according to plan!It has been an interesting day in my house, with nothing quite going according to plan! As a result, I’ve not been able to sit down and write anything today.
However I have just seen this post from another blogger and wanted to share it with you.
I do hope you enjoy it! And God willing, normal service will resume on my blog soon!
There are no other gods other than God Himself. He is the beginning, He is the end, and He sustains all things through His Son Jesus. For with …
Believe in Jesus
I really do encourage you to check out Allens blog-Devotional Treasures. you certainly won’t regret it!
Formonthills Nature Reserve, Glenrothes, Fife. Photo by Alan Kearns Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and …
Sing To The Lord!
If you are tuning in, expecting the next in the series on Joseph, then don’t worry! I’ve not forgotten! I will return to the series on Joseph later this week (God willing, and Andy co-operating!) For today, I want to circle back to the subject of prayer.
I was praying for someone a little while ago and asked god to “Keep them safe!” It got me thinking about what I actually meant by the phrase. Clearly, I was thinking about their physical safety, but extends to their emotional and spiritual condition as well.
I am obviously asking God to keep this individual from harm, but what do I actually expect God to do in response to my prayer? Perhaps I am asking Him to restrict them from going outside? Surely, being inside closed doors is far safer than going outside? No… I do not think that is what I am asking at all.
So therefore, I must be asking God to keep them in relative safety while they are out and about, and living their daily lives. Living life is not “safe” though, is it? We take risks every single day, even if they are tiny. We take a chance every time we cross the street. If we do not look both ways, then there is a risk of being hit by a car. Taking it to extremes, staying at home may be little safer – people fall down the stairs, slip in the shower, or injure themselves in other ways.
As above, life is simply not safe. And neither, at times, is God’s will.
When we look at how Christians are often treated in this world, and how many of our fellow brothers and sisters are martyred in Christ, we realise that God’s will is not always safe for us. While it may not be the safest place to be, it is always the best place to be.
Given this, perhaps there are times when praying that God will keep someone safe is to pray against His will. Instead of safety, we ought to pray for that person to have strength and wisdom to fulfil God’s call on their lives, or to face the good and the bad that life has to offer.
I want to examine my prayer life closely. I really want to think about the words that I use. When praying for people, I frequently say “Lord, bless them…” but as above, what do I actually mean by this? So often my view of a blessing may be quite different to God’s view. To some, winning the lottery might be a “blessing” but if it leads the person down a path of selfishness, greed and ultimately destruction, then it is no blessing at all.
We can learn much from the prayer that Jesus taught us.
He said to them, “When you pray, say,
‘Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come.
May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
Bring us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’”
Luke 11:2-4 (WEB)
No mention of safety here!
This prayer focusses primarily on God the Father. It seeks first His glory, will and kingdom, not our relative safety or blessing. Of course, it does go on to ask for our daily bread and that is not unimportant. Neither is the request to avoid temptation or to be delivered from evil.
We must allow the Bible to shape our prayer lives. It is not wrong to ask God to keep someone safe, but how much greater a prayer is it to ask God to bring about His will and kingdom in their lives? To ask the Father to deliver them out of temptation’s grasp, or to seek forgiveness for and from them. How much richer and more effective our prayers would be!
When we pray, we do not always see immediate results. In fact, there are times when it seems like our prayers are making no difference whatsoever. I do not suppose we will see the full effect of our prayers on this side of heaven, but one day (in eternity) will look back on the times a person we were praying for avoided temptation or stepped deeper in God’s plan for their lives.
How do you pray? What words do you use? Do share below for my benefit and for others. As iron sharpens iron, we can all learn from one another.
And may I close by saying, “Lord, may Your will be done in the lives of everyone reading this today! Deliver them from evil, and keep them far from temptation. In Jesus’ mighty Name! Amen!”
During the height of the lockdown in the UK, where we were only allowed out for short periods of exercise, I began to fairly regularly record prayer videos which I put out here on the blog and on my Facebook page. You can see an example here, if you’re interested.
I really love to pray for people, and in fact, I just really love to pray. In recent days, I’ve felt a stirring to pray more frequently and a reminder from the Lord about the real power of prayer. The more I study and consider prayer, the more I want to do it, and the more I wonder why the global church does not pray more than it does.
My prayer life has perhaps faltered somewhat in recent times. I have no real excuse for this. I can cite moving home, family matters and work, but none of that is really an excuse to allow my prayer life to suffer. We are all busy, most of the time, and yet is half of what we do more important than prayer? Prayer allows us to worship the God who has saved us. Prayer allows us to give thanks for all the good things in our lives. Prayer lets us develop our relationship with God. And of course, prayer also allows us to make requests of our giving God.
What is your prayer life like? Most Christians I ask that of say they could do better. Most of us feel like this, and of course it is always a good idea to take stock of our spiritual lives. I do not think, though, that God wants us to feel like poor performers when it comes to prayer. Rather, I think He wants us to be excited by prayer. We must be careful about falling into a legalistic and works mentality where we just pray to tick our Christian box and feel like we “put in our time” with Jesus.
So, how can I pray for you? I’d love to start recording prayer videos again, and love to be able to include requests from my readers. Always happy to keep requests anonymous too. Even if you do not want to be included in any videos, it would be an enormous privilege to pray for you either way.
You can comment below if you wish, reach out on social media or else use the Contact page to send me a private message.
I also want to reflect that I’ve been extremely blessed by the Christian WordPress community of late. There are some truly gifted writers here, offering their talents to encourage and challenge the Body of Christ. I will be praying for those blogs and authors which I follow here, but if you would like me to specifically mention you, please do let me know.
And finally… please do pray for me also! I truly value your them! I write mostly about the Bible, but perhaps I should pen a few words about my life more generally too. Not that it is particularly exciting, you understand, but rather because behind every blog is a blogger… I have my fair share of trials and successes, and cannot expect you to pray for me without a window into my world.
I have actually been toying with the idea of a series on testimonies. Perhaps I should start with my own, and then invite others to share theirs. Something to pray about!
Thanks for reading; praise the Lord and may He bless you richly today!
Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, “Let’s not take his life.” 22 Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father.
Genesis 37:21-22 (WEB)
To remind you where we are, Joseph was not popular among his brothers. In fact, the Bible makes clear that they hated him to point of not be able to speak to him kindly. Having shared with them some controversial dreams, their resolve against him has only been strengthened. Searching for them in the wilderness, an opportunity has presented itself to them to finally be rid of him for good. Putting it bluntly, they plan to kill him.
Reuben, hearing the plan to murder Joseph, delivers him out of their hand. It may sound as though Reuben has had a bout of conscience but in fact, his motives are purely self-serving.
Instead of shedding Joseph’s blood, an obvious crime, he convinces them to simply throw him into the pit and let him die “naturally!” To the brothers, this apparently seems less unsavoury than actually doing the deed itself. However, would God see them as guiltless for this? I hardly think so.
James, in his letter, says:
So any person who knows what is right to do but does not do it, to him it is sin.
James 4:17 (Amp)
If we know what is right, and yet refuse to do it, that is sin – plain and simple. For the brothers here, it is not as though they have stumbled across a Joseph who has accidentally fallen into a pit, and refused to rescue him… that would be sin enough! Instead, they plan to throw him in there themselves. Whichever way you shake it, to fulfil such a plan is no different from shedding his blood themselves.
We see from the final words of verse 22 that Reuben was not actually concerned about Joseph at all. His motives for rescuing him were purely selfish. He wanted to sneak back later on and pull Joseph out, claiming to be the one who had rescued him and gaining favour with his father.
I wonder if Jacob must take a slice of the blame here. Imagine being in a family where you felt you had to go to such lengths to obtain a father’s favour. Clearly Reuben’s actions are very wrong, but so was the favouritism which drove him to it.
When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him; 24 and they took him, and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it.
Genesis 37:23-24 (WEB)
I wonder, as Joseph approached his brothers that day, if he had any idea what was coming. Even a naïve dreamer (if that’s what he was) must have known their feelings towards him. Perhaps he simply thought the best of them, and never expected them to act in this shocking way.
They strip him of his coat of many colours, and this, in their minds, would have been like ripping off Jacob’s favouritism from him. The coat would have been a sign of leadership too, and likewise they are saying, “You are not above us!” Throwing him into the pit is to throw him beneath them once and for all.
The text makes a point of saying that the pit (or water cistern) is empty. Why is this important – apart from the obvious consequences for Joseph? I want to address that at a later date – so stay tuned! Suffice it to say that I do not believe any detail is in the Bible for no reason.
Water cisterns were no small holes in the ground. The picture above shows the size and scale of some of these pits. We do not know how long Joseph was in there, but from the bottom he would have seen little but sky.
The Bible does not seem to reference Joseph prying all that much, but I can only imagine that as he sat or lay at the bottom of this pit, that he was praying earnestly for rescue. “Get me out of this pit, please God!” he might have said, and would we have prayed any differently? Yet God does answer his prayer (as we will see next time) but not into freedom, rather instead into slavery.
Similarly, if God had rescued Joseph completely in this situation, he would never have found himself in Egypt and in that place God had called him to. Joseph, if he was praying to escape the pit, was praying against God’s will and against his own dreams. That is something to pause on. When we pray, we pray from our human viewpoint and not from God’s stance. Could it be that some of our prayers of rescue are not answered because they would contradict God’s plans and our dreams? I’ll leave that with you…
Let our prayers be led by the Holy Spirit today and every day!
A couple of weeks ago, I was interviewed by the host of “Understand the Bible” Phill Sacre on the subject of prayer. This was part of UTB’s course on How to live as a Christian. You can check out that post – Talking to Jesus here.
This week, I returned to discuss how to read the Bible. The video is below if you wish to see it.
You can find out more about Understand the Bible at their web site – Understand the Bible, or else find them on YouTube here.
Hope you enjoy it!
If you have any questions about reading the Bible, then do feel free to get in touch and I’d be glad to help.
Andy Brown 