Day 24..."From Famine to Blessing"

We have almost completed the Book of Genesis. Joseph and Jacob (Israel) are front and center in today's reading. As I see it...more is written about Joseph than any other person in Genesis. In following along, a severe famine is replaced with a season of blessing. God is faithful in fulfilling the vision through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph of a multitude of people...and blessing. Notice how Jacob says he did not expect to see his son Joseph again and God blessed him to see his children. God provides a way to move from famine to blessing...and even exceed our thoughts of the future. We will see this story repeated again in different ways throughout the story of Israel. We can make applications in our life today. How do we respond to God's blessings? Are we strong enough to endure scarcity? How do we respond to abundance? One way to keep everything in perspective is to follow the words of David. Everything on earth belongs to God the Psalmist tells us..."the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof." Jesus teaches He is Lord of the Sabbath. Sabbath is a huge issue of controversy in Jesus' ministry. An "ox in the ditch" (sheep) gives reason to be practical about matters of the Sabbath. We are made for the Sabbath and not the other way around. Ultimately we are known by how productive we are with our lives anyway. Jesus says our fruits and word tell the story.