​After we were brought safely through, we then learned that the island was called Malta. 2 The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold. 3 When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. 4 When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god. 
 
7 Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. 8 It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him, healed him. 9 And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. 10 They also honored us greatly, and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed. 
Paul Arrives at Rome
11 After three months we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods as a figurehead. 12 Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. 13 And from there we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14 There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. 15 And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. 16 And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him. 
Paul in Rome
17 After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. 18 When they had examined me, they wished to set me at liberty, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. 19 But because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar—though I had no charge to bring against my nation. 20 For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain.” 21 And they said to him, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. 22 But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.” 
 
23 When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. 24 And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. 25 And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: 
26    “ ‘Go to this people, and say, 
       “You will indeed hear but never understand, 
and you will indeed see but never perceive.” 
27    For this people’s heart has grown dull, 
and with their ears they can barely hear, 
and their eyes they have closed; 
       lest they should see with their eyes 
and hear with their ears 
       and understand with their heart 
and turn, and I would heal them.’ 
28 Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.” 
30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. 
 
 
Meditation
Bold and unhindered gospel proclamation marked the early church and will catalyze future building of the church. Christians must deepen gospel dependency to increase gospel potency, trusting God’s sovereignty to work His will through His word.
 
Paul endured shipwreck, snake bites, and near fist fights journeying to Rome. Bound in chains, (20) Paul boldly proclaimed God’s kingdom to “great numbers” who came to see him (23). Though the people did not believe or have hearts to receive the gospel, Paul continued to preach day after day, morning until evening (23-28).

Paul taught with “all boldness,” (31) an early description of Peter and John (Acts 4:13), a prayer for the early witness of the Church (4:29), and a fruit of the Spirit of God filling Christian witness (4:31). Paul asked the Ephesian church to pray for him to have boldness, and Christians today should pray for boldness, too (Ephesians 6:19-20).

Bold gospel proclamation understands God’s word is not bound by our circumstances or halted by people without ears to hear. Paul was in chains, but the gospel went forward “unhindered” (31)- The word of God Paul preached was not bound by chains (2 Timothy 2:9). The unhindered nature of bold gospel proclamation is built on concrete confidence that boldly claims God’s promise to use His word to accomplish His will (Isaiah 55:11). The limitations we see are not the full reality. Bold gospel proclamation trusts God’s sovereignty and freely scatters the kingdom seed we sow, confidently sharing the word and work of Jesus wherever He has placed us.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What observations do you make in today’s reading, especially the bold proclamation of Paul and the unhindered description of his message?
 
-What circumstances or limitations keep you from freely scattering seed of God’s word and work to all He puts in your path?
 
-Take a moment to pray for gospel boldness while at the same time asking God’s Spirit to give you a fire to share the word and work of Jesus with others.
 
Key Verse
30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. 

​After this, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. 3 And Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.’ 5 And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. 7 As for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).” 
 
8 When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?” 9 Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.” 10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.” 12 Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. 14 And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn). 15 And he blessed Joseph and said, 
       “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, 
the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, 
16    the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; 
and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; 
and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” 
17 When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.” 20 So he blessed them that day, saying, 
       “By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying, 
       ‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’ ” 
Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover, I have given to you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.” 
 
 
Meditation
“The Lord is my shepherd…” (Psalm 23) is one of the most quoted portions of Scripture. Believers notably hold to this promise when in the “valley of the shadow of death.” Today we see the power of the shepherd’s blessing in the green pastures of Goshen.
 
Jacob was obsessed with blessing people. Jacob blessed Pharaoh and his house (Genesis 46) and chapters 48-49 are filled with Jacob blessing his family. Central to today’s blessing is the reverse blessing of Joseph’s sons, setting younger Ephraim before older Manasseh (14-20). The shepherd’s blessings always kick against conventional norms.
 
Jacob was obsessed with blessing others because “…God has been my shepherd all my life long to this day…” (15). People blessed by our Good Shepherd discover increased blessing in stewarding the blessings God has entrusted to us.
 
Jacob had been shepherded by the Lord personally (3), experiencing the power of God’s promises (4) and purposes (5). Jacob’s security in God’s shepherding care led to sonship in God’s family, expanding the covenant promises of the Lord (5-6). Jacob gave Joseph a small piece of land in the promises land (22), a tiny gift to the person who ruled the land of Egypt, because Jacob trusted God’s sovereign shepherding care more than the power of Egypt.
 
Joseph, as the older brother in the prodigal son story, resists the pattern of God’s gracious blessings for his sons (17-18). Jacob re-orients Joseph (and the rest of us)- God’s shepherding blessings kick against conventional norms because God’s grace is beyond our comprehension. The Shepherd’s blessing comes to us by grace, through faith, and  flows through all our life and labor.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially the shepherding blessings of Jacob?
 
-Where do you identify with Joseph, wanting to direct God in how to give blessing to His people? Why do you feel the need to control God’s work in this way?
 
-How does the extravagant blessing of Jesus free you to steward God’s blessings rather than manipulate them? Where do you need to steward blessings Jesus has entrusted to you? Be specific. 
 
Key Verse
9 Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.”

And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius. 2 And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. 3 The next day we put in at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for. 4 And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. 5 And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. 8 Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea. 

9 Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there. 

The Storm at Sea
13 Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to the shore. 14 But soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster, struck down from the land. 15 And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 Running under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we managed with difficulty to secure the ship’s boat. 17 After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship. Then, fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the gear, and thus they were driven along. 18 Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day to jettison the cargo. 19 And on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned. 
 
21 Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. 22 Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, 24 and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26 But we must run aground on some island.” 
 
27 When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. 28 So they took a sounding and found twenty fathoms. A little farther on they took a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms. 29 And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. 30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered the ship’s boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it go. 
 
33 As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength, for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.” 35 And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat. 36 Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 (We were in all 276 persons in the ship.) 38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea. 
​
The Shipwreck
39 Now when it was day, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned if possible to run the ship ashore. 40 So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that tied the rudders. Then hoisting the foresail to the wind they made for the beach. 41 But striking a reef, they ran the vessel aground. The bow stuck and remained immovable, and the stern was being broken up by the surf. 42 The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any should swim away and escape. 43 But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, 44 and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land. 
 
Meditation
God’s sovereign purposes give His people strength to lead during storms. Christian faith is anchored in a stable reality beyond circumstances or status, empowering faithful service during stormy seasons.
 
Central to this stormy narrative is God’s sovereign purpose to get Paul to Rome (33). Through his missionary journeys, Paul had become an experienced seafarer. But no one listened to Paul’s warning to not continue the voyage (10-12). As a prisoner, Paul had no leadership position. Yet 276 people on board were eventually saved because they listened to Paul.  Christian leadership flows from our position in Christ rather than our position on the ship we are sailing. Principles from this narrative empower faithful Christian leadership:
 
-Take Courage (21-26). Paul meets with the Lord during the storm and emerges with Divine confidence. In the midst of the wind and waves Paul compels all passengers to take courage in God’s promise, too. The storms eventually end and God’s purposes will prevail.
 
-Stay Together (27-32). Storms breed a scarcity mentality. Paul rises above this primal human tendency and compels soldiers to not abandon ship- for everyone to remain together.
 
-Eat (33-38). Wisdom compels us to take what we need for a journey. Paul and the passengers had not eaten for 14 days but Paul knew sustenance was needed to sustain the final leg from ship to the shore. A leader makes sure his people are fed trusting God to give our daily bread.
 
Christian leadership is anchored in a reality greater than our circumstances, secure in Christ and strengthened by His purposes.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What observations to you make about this narrative, especially the security and strength Paul had to lead with courage during the storm?
 
-Where do you struggle in leading during stormy seasons- anchoring in a reality outside circumstances? Being a slave to your cultural position? Lack of confidence in the word God has given and the work He has called you to?
 
-How does God’s sovereign purposes give you strength to serve during storms? How can you keep His purposes before you?
 
Key Verse
25 So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.

​Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. 3 The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. 4 Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. 5 And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. 6 Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. 7 And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them. 
 
8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. 10 They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. 11 But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the valiant men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. 13 And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days. 
 
 
Meditation
Never lose hope, even when everything you see leads you to believe the enemy has won. When the situation seems bad and you are tempted to wave the white flag- never lose hope. God’s promises will turn the page. The death of the king is not the end of the story.
 
The army of the Lord retreated (1). Jonathan, David’s intimate ally, is the first of Israel’s leadership to be killed (2). Saul soon follows in death and the people scatter, left without a shepherd. The enemy inhabited the cities of Israel (7) and the body of king Saul, desecrated by suicide, decorated the wall of the temple of Philistine’s false gods. The day is dark. Dawn is on the horizon. 
 
The death of Saul’s house was immanent because of his disobedience (1 Samuel 28) and God had already chosen and anointed David to shepherd the sheep of Israel (Psalm 78:70-72). When we turn the page of this difficult circumstance, we see the death of the king is not the end of the story. In arresting contrast to Saul, David is a “king after God’s own heart” and he will rise-up to lead God’s people.
 
In greater contrast, Jesus is a King whose death gives birth to an eternal kingdom. When the true “King of the Jews” died on the cross, His disciples were despondent and believed themselves to be in a dead end. As we turn the page, we see the resurrection of the Son of God, our king rising to lead us in a newness of life. 
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially the seeming finality of the narrative?
 
-Why is it tempting to live in despondency, as if death is the end of the story?
 
-How does the gospel, the finished work of Jesus, birth hope in your heart- so much so that you see even death as a doorway to life? Where do you (specifically) need to see and believe this reality?
 
Key Verse
6 Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together.

​So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in the land of Goshen.” 2 And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. 3 Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were.” 4 They said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” 5 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them settle in the land of Goshen, and if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.” 
 
7 Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” 9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.” 10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. 11 Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. 12 And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their dependents. 
Joseph and the Famine
13 Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason of the famine. 14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. 15 And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.” 16 And Joseph answered, “Give your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. 18 And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lord’s. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.” 
 
20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh’s. 21 As for the people, he made servants of them from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land. 
 
23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. 24 And at the harvests you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.” 25 And they said, “You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh.” 26 So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh’s. 
 
27 Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years. 
 
29 And when the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh and promise to deal kindly and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place.” He answered, “I will do as you have said.” 31 And he said, “Swear to me”; and he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed. 
 
Meditation
Signals of God’s faithfulness during difficult days are proof of God’s presence in our problems and pain, sign-posts pointing to His steadfast love.

God is not mentioned in Genesis 47 but His presence cannot be missed. Intense famine drives Jacob’s family out of the Promised Land and into Pharaoh’s hands. Eyes of faith still see God’s promise to Jacob, to be with him in Egypt and there make him a great nation (Genesis 46:3-4). When we can’t see God, He remains faithful to His promises.
 
In Egypt, Jacob was blessed and assigned “the best of the land” (6, 11) as a “possession in the land of Egypt” (11).  During famine Jacob’s family was provided abundant food (12) and experienced God’s covenant promises in that they were “fruitful and multiplied” (27). Echoes of Eden, namely a portion of fruitful land given to be fruitful and multiply, are signals of the voice of God whispering His faithfulness to His people- I AM WITH YOU… EVEN THROUGH PROBLEMS AND PAIN, MY PURPOSES WILL PREVAIL.
 
Confidence in God’s presence gives believers power in every circumstance to discover God’s purposes for our lives. Jacob blesses Pharaoh (7, 10) joining God’s call for his grandfather to be a blessing to the nations (Genesis 12:1-3).  No matter where you are, God is with you and His promises are being filled all around you- signposts pointing to His covenant faithfulness. Do not be discouraged by dark days of famine. Look for sign-posts and listen for His whisper- In Christ, God will never leave you or forsake you. 
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially how God signals His presence and faithfulness to His purposes even in the midst of the dark days of famine?
 
-Where do you need to believe this truth today, doubling down on the reality of God’s faithfulness to His promises and His presence in the midst of problems and pain?
 
-How does the work of Jesus and His promise to disciples both secure you during struggles and help you believe God’s promises are true?
 
Key Verse
27 Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly.

​Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, 
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 
2    Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; 
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. 
3    The voice of the Lord is over the waters; 
the God of glory thunders, 
the Lord, over many waters. 
4    The voice of the Lord is powerful; 
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. 
5    The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; 
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. 
6    He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, 
and Sirion like a young wild ox. 
7    The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. 
8    The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; 
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 
9    The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth 
and strips the forests bare, 
and in his temple all cry, “Glory!” 
10    The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; 
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. 
11    May the Lord give strength to his people! 
May the Lord bless his people with peace! 
 
 
Meditation
The Lord’s power fuels praise from His people.
 
The disciples were afraid when stuck in a storm, Jesus sleeping in the boat with them. Jesus awoke and with His voice calmed the storm and sea, inviting His disciples to have faith and believe (Matthew 8:23-27). 
 
David summons the hosts of Heaven to join in this hymn of praise, worshipping the Lord for His strength and glory (1-2). The strength of the Lord is portrayed as a storm, God’s voice (3, 5, 7, 8, 9) thundering violently. Glory frames the theophany (3, 9) as God’s power to break the pride of Lebanon and Kadesh is revealed, territory traditionally attributed to Baal’s authority. The Canaanite god of storms cannot withstand the storm of the Lord! The glory of the Lord overpowers all false gods.
 
The voice of the Lord thunders over the waters with power and majesty (3-4), destroying and bringing life (5-6) and blazing strongholds of false gods (7-8). The voice of the Lord calls forth life and strips life bear (9), and the Lord’s people are invited to join in worship through this psalm of praise and trust.
 
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood (10), above the storm, offering strength and peace to His people. Jesus took the full judgement for sin on the cross, enduring the storm of the Father’s wrath so believers can have peace promised in this psalm (11). Jesus is king forever! And His voice still has absolute authority in our stormy world. The power of Jesus must fuel praise from His people.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s psalm, especially the power of the Lord (strength framing the psalm- 1, 11) and the promises coming from praising God for His power?
 
-Where do you struggle to see the Lord’s power and authority? How does the revelation of this Psalm give you security and fuel strength?
 
-How does Jesus enduring the stormy wrath of the Father against sin deepen the authenticity of the offer of peace? And what part of your life do you need to appropriate this truth?
 
Key Verses
10    The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. 
11    May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!