Daily Devotional from Genesis 45--Verses 7-8And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.Circumstances weren’t always in Joseph’s favor, but God had a plan and turned things around. We have al...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Genesis 44—Verses 33“Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers.”Unlike when they disposed of Joseph, his brothers were shocked and dismayed at Benjamin’s fate, tearing their clothes in horror. They trusted each other and did not try to blame anyone for the theft. They did not abandon their b...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Genesis 43—Verses 13-14 “Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man. And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!"Israel lost his beloved Rachel. He lost Joseph whom he had really treasured. And now he was faced with losing Benjamin, his youngest. What will he do?He had two...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Genesis 42—Verse 6Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground.Before his brothers sold him into slavery, Joseph dreamed they would one day bow before him (Gen. 36:7). When he shared the dream with his brothers, they scoffed and hated him ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Genesis 41—This chapter reminds me of James 4:6: “As the Scriptures say, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” What really catches my attention here is the way Joseph rose to his place of honor. Let’s back up a few chapters, when Joseph interpreted the dreams of two men in prison with him. He didn’t have a reason to interpret their dreams other than the fact...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Genesis 40--Verse 4The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody.How much lower can you go? Joseph has been sold into slavery, falsely accused of wrongdoing, thrown unjustly in prison, and now he is assigned to serve the servants in the prison! You'd never know it by his attitude though. I'm sure Josep...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Genesis 39--Verse 12She caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house.I’ve always loved the image of Joseph’s garment dangling in the hand of Potiphar’s wife. It tells me he knew who he was and to whom he belonged. And I believe we must share the same conviction. I say this because sometimes temptation ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Genesis 38—Verse 26Then Judah identified them and said, ‘She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.’Judah did not honor his word to his widowed daughter-in-law, Tamar. In doing so, he made a fool of himself in more ways than one.Have you ever made an agreement with someone and not held up your end of the deal? I know I’ve struggled with this befo...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Genesis 37--Verses 27-28“Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.What a crazy day for Joseph...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Genesis 36--Verse 1These are the generations of Esau (that is, Edom).It may seem unclear why we have a whole chapter in scripture dedicated to the descendants of Esau, the one that sold his birthright for a bowl of soup and lost his inheritance due to the deception of his brother. Why did God deem it necessary for this family to be named in scripture?My hunch is that it is be...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Genesis 35--Verse 3“Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”By now Jacob/Israel has definitely been through some distressing times! Being cheated and almost held captive by uncle Laban, wives fighting over each other, the fear of his brother coming w...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Genesis 34--Verse 30Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, ‘You have brought trouble on me by making me stink to the inhabitants of the land…’When we see injustice, our natural reaction is anger—and rightfully so. What we do with that anger says a lot about us. Dinah’s brothers were furious about the rape of their sister, and rightfully so. But what they did with that anger went...  Read More