"Now four men who were lepers were at the entrance of the city's gate; and they said to one another, Why do we sit here until we die.... So they arose." (2 Kings 7:3,5, The Amplified Bible)
No matter how bad the problem is you may be facing today, no matter how far under the circumstances you may be, in 24 hours you can be back on top!
"Oh, Brother Copeland, that would be impossible!"
That's what the Samaritans thought in 2 Kings 7. Their land was being ravaged by famine. Enemy troops had surrounded them and cut off all source of supply. Mothers were eating their own children just to survive.
Showing posts with label Famines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Famines. Show all posts
Friday, December 21, 2012
Thursday, December 13, 2012
As Long as the Candle Burns
“Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.” — Genesis 42:3
This Torah portion for this week, Mikeitz, is from Genesis 41:1–44:17 and 1 Kings 3:1–4:1.
By the time Jacob’s sons go down to Egypt because of the famine in Canaan, Joseph has been gone for 22 years. So the Sages find it strange that in the Scriptures, the ten brothers are referred to as “Joseph’s brothers.” They haven’t had anything to do with Joseph for over two decades and they certainly hadn’t acted much like brothers the last time they saw Joseph! Wouldn’t "Jacob’s sons" have been a more appropriate term?
The Sages explain that they are called “Joseph’s brothers” in order to teach us that when they came down to Egypt, they were indeed behaving like family. They had long regretted their act of selling Joseph and were desperate to find him. But that leads to another question: Why would they even imagine that Joseph would still be alive? The life expectancy for slaves in Egypt wasn’t very long!
This Torah portion for this week, Mikeitz, is from Genesis 41:1–44:17 and 1 Kings 3:1–4:1.
By the time Jacob’s sons go down to Egypt because of the famine in Canaan, Joseph has been gone for 22 years. So the Sages find it strange that in the Scriptures, the ten brothers are referred to as “Joseph’s brothers.” They haven’t had anything to do with Joseph for over two decades and they certainly hadn’t acted much like brothers the last time they saw Joseph! Wouldn’t "Jacob’s sons" have been a more appropriate term?
The Sages explain that they are called “Joseph’s brothers” in order to teach us that when they came down to Egypt, they were indeed behaving like family. They had long regretted their act of selling Joseph and were desperate to find him. But that leads to another question: Why would they even imagine that Joseph would still be alive? The life expectancy for slaves in Egypt wasn’t very long!
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