To Let Outsiders Inside
Some Jews arrived from Judea and argued that all non-Jewish believers must be circumcised in order to be saved. Paul and Barnabas opposed this idea and the church decided to send them to Jerusalem to resolve the matter with the apostles and leaders.
Along the way, they shared news of the breakthrough to non-Jewish believers and everyone was thrilled. When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed and shared their journey and how God used them to reach non-Jewish believers. Some Pharisees, who believed but still held to strict laws, argued that the pagan converts must be circumcised and follow the Law of Moses.
The apostles and leaders debate this issue until Peter spoke up, reminding them that God had made it clear he wanted the pagans to hear the message of the good news and that the Holy Spirit had been given to them just as to the Jewish believers. He questioned why they would try to burden new believers with rules that even their ancestors had trouble following.
James agreed, pointing out that God had always planned to include the outsiders, and they eventually decided not to burden non-Jewish believers with unnecessary rules, but instead only to give them guidelines to maintain peaceful relations with the Jewish Christians. They sent Judas and Silas with Paul and Barnabas to confirm this decision with the believers in Antioch.
This is a really important conversation to have, Because Jesus fulfilled the law of Moses essentially freeing us from the tyranny of Law. The law was there to show us that we were incapable on our own. The Law = death. Jesus = Life and freedom. This concept will be explored in the other books in the New Testament.
Barnabas and Paul Go Their Separate Ways.
After delivering a letter to the church in Antioch, Judas and Silas preached to the people and encouraged them. Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch to continue teaching, but eventually decided to visit the towns where they had previously preached. However, they disagreed about bringing John Mark along, and ended up going their separate ways: Barnabas took Mark to Cyprus, while Paul chose Silas and went to Syria and Cilicia.
Genesis 47
“Next Joseph brought his father Jacob in and introduced him to Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh asked Jacob, “How old are you?””
Genesis 47:7-8 MSG
I think this is one of my favorite lines in the bible. . . Jacob states he is 130 years old!
Joseph, his father Jacob, and his brothers settled in Egypt at the invitation of Pharaoh. Joseph presented his father and brothers to Pharaoh and settled them in the land of Goshen. Joseph, as governor of Egypt, managed the country through the famine, buying up all the land and people for Pharaoh. Joseph provided food for the Egyptians, but also for his family, including his father and brothers. As the famine continued, Joseph implemented a system of taxes and redistributing food to the people, which helped to sustain the population. Jacob blessed Pharaoh before his death, and he requested to be buried with his ancestors in Canaan.
“So Joseph bought up all the farms in Egypt for Pharaoh. Every Egyptian sold his land—the famine was that bad. That’s how Pharaoh ended up owning all the land and the people ended up slaves; Joseph reduced the people to slavery from one end of Egypt to the other.”
Genesis 47:20-21 MSG
Israel dies at 147 years old, The chapter ends with Jacob having Joseph promise that he would be buried with his family and not in Egypt.
Genesis 48
In Genesis 48, Joseph visits his sick father, Jacob, with his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. When Jacob sees Joseph, he remembers the promise that God made to him about his descendants, and adopts Joseph's sons as his own, giving them an equal share in the inheritance with his own sons. He blesses them and says that through them, his name will be remembered and they will become great nations. Jacob then asks Joseph to bury him with his ancestors in the cave in the field of Machpelah, which Abraham had purchased as a burial site.
Psalms 43
Psalm 43 is a prayer of lament and a plea for God's deliverance. The psalmist is in distress, feeling oppressed and attacked by enemies who are not following God. The psalmist asks God to vindicate them and to be their stronghold and guide, leading them to God's holy mountain. The psalmist also prays for God to send out His light and truth to guide them and to lead them to His dwelling. The psalm concludes with a declaration of trust and hope in God, expressing confidence that they will yet praise Him and that God will come to their aid.
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