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  • God's Protection

    God's Protection
    2025/09/06
    The living Sovereign LORD God of heaven and earth defeated all the gods of Egypt by His great power with signs and wonders, and He brought His people Israel as a mighty army with boldness from Egyptian slavery, with Moses leading the way. As Israel was leaving Egypt, the living Sovereign LORD God by His grace covered, guided, and protected Israel underneath His wings in a pillar of cloud by day, and during the night, He went ahead of Israel in a pillar of fire. This amazing pillar of cloud and pillar of fire was the Glory Cloud, and the Glory Cloud of God is seen throughout the Holy Bible, including at Mount Sinai, as the living God’s Presence - a Theophany. As Israel was leaving Egypt, the living Sovereign LORD God led the Israelites to the edge of the Red Sea. However, the evil Pharaoh once again became stubborn and hardhearted, refusing to submit with repentance to the LORD (Yahweh), and he and his fellow Egyptians pursued the Israelites so Israel could return to slavery and bondage. So, the evil Pharaoh and the Egyptians took their elite military men with fighting chariots and pursued the Israelites so they could return them to Egyptian slavery. However, the living Sovereign LORD God was controlling the evil Pharaoh by hardening his heart, so He could display and reveal His power and glory to the evil Pharaoh and the Egyptians, making Himself known as the only true God and King of heaven and earth. In the New Testament, Christ Jesus also noted that His Holy Father allowed certain events, such as the blind man receiving his sight and Lazarus rising from the dead, for God’s glory and honor. Moreover, the LORD knew the evil Pharaoh would be hardhearted and stubborn because the evil Pharaoh believed he was mightier and stronger than the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - the Great I AM (Yahweh). As the evil Pharaoh and his army drew near, the Israelites panicked and became afraid as they cried out to the LORD. Also, the Israelites became discouraged, succumbing to fear and not faith in the living LORD, as well as becoming angry with Moses, wanting to return to Egyptian slavery. Moses declared his confidence and faith in the living LORD and assured the people not to be afraid nor discouraged because the LORD (Yahweh) was with them as a Divine Warrior, and He would fight and protect them against the Egyptians. In one of the greatest statements of faith in the Holy Bible, Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid…. stand still and watch the LORD rescue you today…. The LORD Himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” The story of the Red Sea is a reminder that although Israel was “ready for battle” and marching out of Egypt boldly, the victory would be won by the LORD alone. Significantly, the living Sovereign LORD God revealed His great almighty power to save and shield His people who call upon Him and His Holy Name by faith. The great Name of the LORD - Yahweh has wonder-working power to save and protect when you believe and trust in Him by faith. Then, the living Sovereign LORD God commanded Moses to put his faith into action by raising his staff (rod) over the Red Sea so the Israelites could cross the Red Sea on dry ground. Then, the mighty Angel of God and the Glory Cloud, who traveled and went before Israel, came between God’s people to shield and protect them from Pharaoh’s army. The living Sovereign LORD God protected and shielded His people with His Glory Cloud. Moses obeyed the living Sovereign LORD God’s command, and he raised his staff over the Red Sea. Then, the Sovereign LORD God sent His mighty wind from His nostrils to divide and push back the sea to create a safe path for His people to safely cross on dry land, protected in the midst of the sea. Moses and the Israelites followed the dry path through the Red Sea to the other side. Israel’s baptism and escape through the Red Sea was one of the greatest climactic rescues in human history. Then, the living Sovereign LORD God looked upon the Egyptian army from His Glory Cloud with grace, and He began fighting for Israel by bringing trouble and confusion to the Egyptian army and even jamming the wheels of the Egyptian military chariots. The Egyptians realized the living Sovereign LORD God was fighting for the Israelites as Israel’s Divine Warrior. After the Israelites safely crossed the Red Sea on dry land, the living Sovereign LORD God commanded Moses to stretch out his staff (rod) over the Red Sea so the waters would return to flow back over evil Pharaoh and the Egyptian army. Pharaoh’s army pursued the Israelites through the Red Sea, but the living Sovereign LORD God continued fighting for Israel by blowing the winds from His nostrils to return the sea waters to punish and overthrow the Egyptians in the midst of the Red Sea and completely drown the Egyptians' elite military men and fighting chariots. At the Red Sea, the living Sovereign LORD God revealed His awesome glory and mighty power by ...
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    13 分
  • All Powerful God

    All Powerful God
    2025/08/27
    In the book of Exodus, the LORD (Yahweh) displayed His awesome power and almighty hand through signs and wonders, so that the evil Pharaoh would know that the God of the Hebrews is the only true King and God of heaven and earth. Moses and Aaron repeatedly went to the wicked Pharaoh, who was the king of Egypt, to demand that Pharaoh release and free the Israelites (Hebrews) from slavery, or Pharaoh would experience God’s wrath and punishment. The evil Pharaoh became more and more defiant against the living Sovereign LORD God and his servants Moses and Aaron, and refused to release the Israelites from their brutal slavery. Even more, the evil Pharaoh increased the Israelites’ labor and made them work even harder. The evil Pharaoh and his taskmasters and overseers continued to beat and demand that the Hebrews continue their heavy labor building Pithom and Raamses for Egypt, while also accusing the Israelites of being weak and lazy, who did not want to work. Therefore, the living Sovereign LORD God of heaven and earth demonstrated His mighty power to the evil Pharaoh and the Egyptians through signs and wonders, as He sent ten plagues. These divine plagues were unprecedented in the history of Egypt. The plagues of Egypt are often called “signs,” just as Christ Jesus’s miracles in the New Testament were called “signs” as Christ Jesus’ ministry was filled with divine signs and mighty deeds. The Holy Bible warns that Satan and his evil workers, who are filled with lies, darkness, and greed, can also perform signs and wonders to lead people away from wholehearted faithfulness and allegiance to the living Sovereign LORD God. In the book of Exodus, the evil Pharaoh’s magicians and sorcerers performed similar signs and wonders as Moses and his brother Aaron, but God’s power defeated and overpowered these evil demons' signs and wonders. The evil Pharaoh’s magicians realized they had no true power, and the plagues were the “finger of God.” In the first plague, the living Sovereign LORD God, through His servant Moses, turned all the waters into blood, including the canals, ponds, and rivers of Egypt, as well as the Egyptian Nile. Then, the living Sovereign LORD God released frogs throughout the whole land of Egypt. However, the evil Pharaoh refused to submit and obey the LORD (Yahweh). So, the living Sovereign LORD God sent more plagues throughout Egypt including pesky gnats and swarming flies, turning all the animals and livestock of Egypt sick, giving the Egyptians and the animals festering skin boils with painful sores, bringing destroying hailstorms with thunder and lightning flashes, and then He sent swarms of locusts (grasshoppers) throughout Egypt that ate all the Egyptians crops leaving Egypt in devastation and ruins. With the divine plagues, the evil Pharaoh begged Moses to intercede and pray to the living Sovereign LORD God to take God’s punishment and wrath away from Egypt, and then he would release Israel from slavery. So, the living Sovereign LORD God listened to Moses’ prayers and removed the plagues from the land of Egypt. Moses was learning the role of intercessor that would become an important part of his life in his service to the living God. Despite Moses’ intercessory prayers, the evil Pharaoh continued his stubbornness and refused to release Israel from slavery so they could worship the living Sovereign LORD God. Moses was considered a very great man in the land of Egypt, and he was respected by Pharaoh’s officials and the Egyptian people. Despite the numerous plagues, the evil Pharaoh lied and continued sinning against the living Sovereign LORD God by refusing to obey Him. The evil Pharaoh’s heart, who the living Sovereign LORD God controlled, remained stubborn, obstinate, and hardened, and he refused to release the Israelites from slavery so they could worship the LORD (Yahweh). However, the living Sovereign LORD God protected and shielded His people with His abiding peace from the harmful plagues, including the firstborn’s death, by passing over the Israelites’ homes. The Sovereign LORD God’s purpose of the Exodus was to reveal the God of the Hebrews, who is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as the only true God of heaven and earth with all power, glory, and superiority over everything, and to lead everyone to worship and honor Him as LORD and King. Sometime later, the living Sovereign LORD God sent the ninth plague of darkness, bringing complete darkness over all of Egypt so that the evil Pharaoh would release Israel from slavery. After feeling the darkness, the evil Pharaoh agreed to release the Israelites from slavery, but once again, the wicked Pharaoh lied and refused to submit to the LORD (Yahweh) by releasing Israel from slavery. Then, the living Sovereign LORD God sent His tenth plague and final angry blow upon Egypt by destroying and killing all the Egyptians' firstborn sons living in every family, including Pharaoh...
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    13 分
  • God's Power and Name

    God's Power and Name
    2025/08/16
    Moses and his brother Aaron returned to Egypt as commanded by the living Sovereign LORD God of heaven and earth to rescue and deliver His people Israel from slavery and bondage, and lead the Israelites to the Promised Land of God - Israel-Palestine. The people of Israel bowed down with hopeful expectation and worship to the living God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with thanksgiving after hearing Moses and Aaron’s message of deliverance, knowing that the living God had seen and listened to their bitter cries of slavery. Once in Egypt, Moses and Aaron commanded the evil Pharaoh to let the Israelites go from slavery and bondage so they could worship the God of the Hebrews with a feast and festival. However, the evil Pharaoh refused to listen to Moses and Aaron and even asked, “Who is the LORD?” that he would obey Him. Moses and Aaron continued their message to the evil Pharaoh that the God of the Hebrews had commanded the Israelites’ release so they could worship Him, or they would not receive God’s divine wrath and punishment. Then, the evil Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron liars and said that the people of Israel were many but lazy and weak, and the people must not be removed from their labor of building supply cities, Pithom and Raamses, for Egypt. So, the evil Pharaoh commanded his taskmasters to make Israel’s labor even harder and rigorous by taking away the Israelites’ straw for making bricks, but he continued to maintain Israel’s brick quota for building for Egypt. The Israelites gathered stubble instead of straw to make bricks. At the same time, the evil Pharaoh and his taskmasters and overseers continued to beat and demand that the Hebrews continue their heavy labor building Pithom and Raamses for Egypt, while also accusing the Israelites of being weak and lazy, who did not want to work. Then, the Israelite overseers met Moses and Aaron with anger, doubt, and frustration because the evil Pharaoh had increased their physical labor and made the Israelites’ slavery even harder, brutal, and bitter with much sorrow. So, Moses cried out to the living Sovereign LORD God, saying that the evil Pharaoh not only did not listen to him to release the Israelites from slavery, but the evil Pharaoh became defiant and made the Israelites’ slave labor even harsher, crueler, and troublesome. Then, the living Sovereign LORD God encouraged Moses and renewed His promises to him that the evil Pharaoh would feel and see His strong power and mighty hand when He would redeem and rescue the Israelites from the cruel Egyptian slavery and bondage. Then, the living Sovereign LORD God declared to Moses that He is the LORD (translated as “Yahweh” or “I AM”) that appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty (El-Shaddai, Adonai), but they did not know His eternal covenant Name as the LORD, who is the strong and miracle-working Most High God of heaven and earth. In addition, the living Sovereign LORD God proclaimed to Moses that He had established His eternal covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give the Israelites the land of Canaan (Israel-Palestine), which is God’s land forever. Even more, the living Sovereign LORD God, who is forever faithful and present with this people, declared once again to Moses that He had heard and seen Israel’s bitter groaning, sorrows, and bitterness, and that He had remembered His eternal covenant promises with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The living Sovereign LORD God declared that He had come down from heaven to redeem and free Israel from their oppressive slavery with His mighty arm and great judgments to claim (adopt) Israel as His people and give Israel the good land flowing with milk and honey He promised their fathers - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as a heritage. Then, the living Sovereign LORD God declared that the evil Pharaoh would know that the God of the Hebrews is the Redeemer God and the only true King and LORD of heaven and earth. Once again, the people of Israel heard Moses’ message of their deliverance and freedom by the living Sovereign LORD God from evil slavery but their hearts and spirits were filled with anguish and misery caused by the brutality of their slavery. So, the living Sovereign LORD God spoke to Moses and Aaron to command the evil Pharaoh king of Egypt to let His people Israel go from the land of Egypt. Moses questioned the living Sovereign LORD God if the people would listen to him, and once again, he argued as he did at Mount Sinai (Horeb) that he had weak speech (uncircumcised lips). However, the living Sovereign LORD God assured Moses that He would make Moses appear as God to evil Pharaoh and his brother Aaron as a prophet to speak all that He had commanded Moses to tell evil Pharaoh to let His people Israel go from Egypt so they could worship Him. Moses and Aaron were among the families of Israel (Hebrews) as descendants of Jacob’s son, the tribe of Levi, and they took the steps of faith and ...
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    11 分
  • God's Call of Moses

    God's Call of Moses
    2025/08/09
    Moses was a Hebrew (also called Israelite) from the tribe of Levi. Moses was 40 years old when he left Egypt and married his wife, Zipporah, while living in Midian with his father-in-law Reuel, also known as Jethro. During his time in Midian, Moses became a shepherd, and he fathered two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. Moses lived in Midian for forty (40) years, and he was now eighty (80) years old, beginning at Exodus chapter 3. The people of Midian were descendants of Father Abraham, as Midian was Abraham’s younger son. Beginning with chapter 3, the book of Exodus devotes the events of chapters 3 through 40 to a single year, focusing on the main character, Moses. One day, Moses was watching and tending the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro when he came to Mount Sinai (Horeb), the mountain of the living God. At Mount Sinai, a mighty Angel of the LORD appeared to Moses from the midst of a burning bush with flames of fire. Moses saw with fear and amazement that the bush was on fire with many flames, but the bush was not burned up or consumed. Then from inside the burning bush, the living LORD God called and spoke with Moses, and He commanded Moses to take off his sandals from his feet because the place where he was standing was holy ground. The living LORD God is holy, and He has also called everyone to honor His holiness by following His holy living and moral character. Next, the living LORD God called Moses. The living LORD God said to Moses, “I am the God of your fathers - the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” but Moses hid his face from the living LORD God because he was afraid as he trembled with fear. The living LORD God said to Moses that He had seen and heard the cries, misery, sorrows, and oppression of His people Israel living in Egypt, and that He has come down from heaven for a visit to deliver and rescue Israel out of the Egyptian’s hands and bring Israel to the good land flowing with milk and honey that He promised their ancestors - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then, the living LORD God informed Moses that He had called and appointed him as ruler and deliverer by the hand of His mighty Angel, who appeared to Moses in the burning bush to lead and deliver His people Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land of Canaan (Israel-Palestine). The Promised Land of Israel is a significant region on earth that connects the continents of Africa and Europe. Moses was concerned and protested to the living LORD God that he was not worthy to speak to Pharaoh and lead Israel out of Egypt. Then, the living and faithful LORD God assured Moses that His Holy Presence would be with him and His divine sign would be Moses’ return to Mount Sinai (Horeb) with the Israelites to worship Him at this holy mountain of God. Then, the living God announced His eternal covenant Name to Moses to tell his fellow Israelites, saying, “I AM WHO I AM,” also translated “I WILL BE WHAT I WILL,” because He is the Most High God of heaven and earth. The Name “I AM WHO I AM” or “I AM” is the so-called tetragrammaton of YHWH or Yahweh, and the Name has been translated as “the LORD,” “Jehovah,” and “Adonai” in Hebrew. In Greek, Yahweh is translated as “Kyrios.” Once again, the living LORD God commanded Moses to assemble the Israel and their elder to tell them that the eternal God of their fathers - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who has seen their misery and sorrows and He has come down from heaven to rescue and deliver Israel from Egyptian slavery to give them the good land of Canaan (Israel-Palestine) that flows with milk and honey. Notably, Christ Jesus identified Himself as “I AM” or Yahweh in the New Testament as One with His Holy Father, who has once again come down from heaven to deliver and free His people with an exodus from bondage and slavery to Satan’s evil sin and wickedness. Christ Jesus is the eternal God who is One with His Holy Father and the Holy Spirit of God that has existed before Moses and at the beginning of creation. Then, the living LORD God announced to Moses that he and the elders of Israel must go to the king of Egypt and tell Pharaoh that the God of the Hebrews needs Israel to worship Him for three days in the wilderness with sacrifices and a great feast. However, the living LORD God, who is omniscient (all-knowing) knew that evil Pharaoh would reject Moses and the elders’ request, which would lead Him to stretch out His mighty hand to strike Egypt with His mighty signs and wonders so Israel could leave Egypt. In addition, the living LORD God informed Moses as He had previously promised Abraham that He would give His people Israel favor (grace) in Pharaoh’s sight so Israel would plunder Egypt and take Pharaoh’s great wealth and possessions of silver, gold, and fine clothing. Then, Moses was reluctant to accept the call and divine assignment from the living LORD God, and he questioned the living LORD God whether the people ...
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    13 分
  • Beginnings of Moses

    Beginnings of Moses
    2025/08/02
    The opening chapters of Exodus continue the story of Genesis with the children of Israel (Jacob) now as a mighty nation with many descendants living in Egypt. The sons of Jacob are called Israelites, and the Israelite families living in Egypt included Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, and Joseph. Many years have passed, and a new Pharaoh ruled over Egypt. Joseph was a great and wise leader in Egypt, but after Joseph’s death, a new Pharaoh arose in Egypt who did not know Joseph nor honor Israel. While in Egypt, the people of Israel, also known as Hebrews, had grown from seventy members to a fruitful and abundant nation that multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty as the living Sovereign LORD God promised their forefathers - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The land of Egypt was filled with strong Israelites. Pharaoh became fearful and tried to destroy the Israelites by enslaving the people of Israel with hard and bitter labor, and he also tried to kill and murder the Hebrew boys who were born. However, the Hebrew midwives - Shiphrah and Puah - feared and trusted in the living God, and they refused to do such evil by killing the Hebrew boys and instead, the midwives honored God by allowing the Hebrew boys to live. Because of their faithfulness, the living Sovereign LORD God blessed Shiphrah and Puah. The Israelites built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pitham and Raamses, and the more the Egyptians inflicted and enslaved the Israelites, the more Israel multiplied and grew. The living Sovereign LORD God previously predicted to Father Abraham that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land and Abraham’s descendants would live in hard bondage, slavery, and oppression for four hundred years before being delivered into the Promised Land of Canaan (Israel-Palestine). Then, a man and his wife, named Jochebed, from the tribe of Levi, gave birth to a healthy and beautiful Hebrew son named Moses. Moses would become God’s deliverer of His people, the Israelites, as well as a champion of justice and goodness. Through faith in the living God, Moses’ parents hid their beautiful son for three months, knowing Moses was no ordinary child but a special child of God, and then they finally released Moses in an ark (basket) down the Egyptian Nile river to save Moses from death by the evil Pharaoh. The living Sovereign LORD God, through His divine providence, watched over and protected Moses in his ark, like Noah and his family, as Moses’s sister Miriam also watched over Moses going down the Nile river in the ark (basket). Eventually, the daughter of Pharaoh saw Moses, drew Moses out of the water, and adopted the Hebrew boy as her own son. As Moses grew, the living Sovereign LORD God, by His grace, allowed Moses’ birth mother, Jochebed, to nurse and nurture Moses. Pharaoh’s daughter named the Hebrew boy Moses, which means “Drawn Out.” Moses learned all the wisdom of Egypt, and he became mighty in words and deeds. Remarkably, the living Sovereign LORD God used women - the Hebrew midwives, Moses’s mother and sister, and then Pharaoh’s daughter - to save Moses’ life. Now, Moses grew older while living in Egypt, and he was forty years old when he went out to see his fellow Hebrew brethren - the children of Israel. Moses looked upon the Hebrews’ burdens, bitterness, and bonds of Egyptian slavery, including the Egyptian taskmaster abusing and beating his fellow Hebrew brethren with hard labor. Then, Moses saw one of the Egyptian taskmasters abusing and beating his fellow Hebrew brethren, so Moses defended and avenged his Hebrew brethren by killing the Egyptian and then burying the Egyptian taskmaster in the sand. For Moses believed that his brethren would realize and understand that the living Sovereign LORD God would rescue and deliver his fellow Hebrews by his hand, but his fellow Hebrews did not understand. By faith in the living God, Moses, when he became an adult, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing instead to suffer affliction and pain with the people of God rather than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. Moses accepted disgrace for the sake of Christ Jesus as greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for Moses looked to the living God’s reward and promises that come by trusting in Him. The next day, Moses once again went to visit his fellow Hebrews, and he saw two Hebrews fighting. Moses tried to reconcile the two Hebrews by asking his fellow Hebrew why he was striking and hitting another Hebrew. Then, one of the Hebrews who had wronged his neighbor pushed Moses away and said to Moses, “Who made you ruler and judge over us?” Significantly, the Hebrew man made a prediction that would be fulfilled by Moses when the living God appointed Moses as the deliverer, ruler, and lawgiver of the Hebrew people. The Hebrew man accused Moses of killing an Egyptian, which made Moses very afraid. Then, Pharaoh heard of Moses’ ...
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    10 分
  • Final Days of Israel (Jacob)

    Final Days of Israel (Jacob)
    2025/07/16
    Jacob (also known as Israel) had faithfully walked with the living Sovereign LORD God as He commanded Abraham, and God’s ministering Angel had protected Jacob from Satan’s harms and evil. Jacob had twelve sons and one daughter named Dinah, and the twelves sons were named as follows: Reuben (Jacob’s oldest), Simeon, Levi (priestly tribe), Judah (Jesus’s descendent), Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph (father of Ephraim and Manasseh), and Benjamin. Before his death, Jacob humbly instructed his son Joseph and then his other sons to carry him out of Egypt and bury him in the Promised Land of Canaan (Israel-Palestine), where his grandparents - Abraham and Sarah, his parents - Isaac and Rebekah, and his wife Leah were all buried. In his dying breath, Jacob had future hope, knowing that the living Sovereign LORD God would bless and be with his sons as He had promised, and He would bring Jacob and his twelve sons from Egypt back to the Promised Land of Canaan, which He had promised to Abraham and Isaac. As Jacob neared the end of his life, Jacob gave his twelve sons - the Twelve Tribes of Israel - his final blessings. Joseph heard his father Jacob was very sick and dying, so he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to see his father, Jacob. Then, Jacob informed Joseph and his two sons that God Almighty (El Shaddai) had appeared to him in Luz (Bethel) in the land of Canaan (present-day Israel-Palestine), and God Almighty had blessed him with the divine promises of Abraham and Isaac: the land of Canaan and numerous descendants. Jacob also said that God Almighty promised to make him fruitful and multiply his descendants into a great nation, and give him and his descendants the land of Canaan (Israel-Palestine) as an everlasting possession, as He had promised to Abraham and Isaac. Then, Jacob blessed and, importantly, adopted Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, as his descendants and co-heirs with his other sons, such as Reuben and Simeon. In other words, Manasseh and Ephraim were now Jacob’s sons, and Joseph now would receive double blessings from Israel through his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Significantly, Jacob blessed Ephraim with the divine and covenant blessings of his grandfather Abraham and father Isaac over Joseph’s firstborn and oldest son, Manasseh. Jacob blessed Ephraim, the younger son, with the primary blessings to be greater and to multiply with many descendants more than his older brother and firstborn son, Manasseh. Notably, Jacob was also the younger son of Isaac and Rebekah, and he received the blessings of the firstborn over his brother Esau. Many years later, Joseph’s sons Manasseh and Ephraim became large and powerful tribes in the Promised Land. Ephraim became the leading tribe in the northern kingdom of Israel, and the entire northern kingdom was occasionally referred to as Ephraim. After blessing and adopting Joseph’s sons, Jacob called and gathered his twelve sons so that he could provide final blessings and also some curses on each of his sons. Jacob trusted in the living Sovereign LORD God for hope and salvation that would come through his family. Notably, Jacob anticipated that his sons Judah and Joseph would be preeminent amongst his sons, and Judah and Joseph received Jacob’s important blessings. The firstborn son, Reuben, was stripped of his birthright as Israel’s firstborn son because Reuben could not control his desires and had sexual relations with his father’s concubine, Bilhah. Moreover, Simeon and Levi received Jacob’s curses to be scattered because of their uncontrolled anger, cruelty, and violence towards people and animals when Shechem harmed their sister Dinah. Judah largely absorbed Simeon’s land, and Levi, who eventually became the priestly tribe of Israel, never acquired their land; however, Levi’s land was scattered among his brothers in Canaan. Significantly, Jacob praised and blessed his fourth son, Judah, and Jacob promised that Judah’s brothers would also praise and bow down to him. Judah’s mother was named Leah. Moreover, Jacob predicted Judah would defeat all his enemies with his fierce, lion-like dominance. Likewise, Jacob predicted that Judah would be a strong lion’s whelp, and a ruler (king) would come from Judah’s family as previously promised to Abraham and Sarah. Finally, Jacob promised that a scepter and lawgiver shall not depart from Judah’s family to lead people to obey the living Sovereign LORD God. Judah became the leading tribe in southern Israel. Reuben, Simeon, and Levi forfeited their rights of leadership, and Jacob assigned the leadership role to Judah. Later, Judah would become the leading tribe of Israel because of Ephraim and northern Israel’s sins and wrongdoing against the living Sovereign LORD God and violation of his commandments. From the tribe of Judah came the victorious King David, King Solomon, and most importantly, the promised Christ Jesus,...
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    13 分
  • Israel's Family

    Israel's Family
    2025/07/07

    The family of Israel is large, wide, and diverse. By way of background, the living Sovereign LORD God of heaven and earth restarted the whole world with a new heaven and new earth after the Great Flood, and He restarted all human life through Noah and Noah’s three sons - Shem (Mesopotamia and Arabia), Ham (Africa and Eastern Mediterranean), and Japheth (Europe and Asia).

    Beginning with Genesis chapter 12, the story of the Holy Bible starts the divine line of Abraham and Abraham’s family, who descended from Noah’s son Shem, which included modern-day Israel, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria. Abraham was both a prophet and a friend of God. The living Sovereign LORD God called Abraham (Abram) to leave his Babylonian family (present-day Iraq and Iran) and come to His good Promised Land in Canaan (present-day Israel-Palestine). The living LORD God of Glory called Abraham (Abram) to leave Ur and later Haran, located in ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iran and Iraq), and move to a new land in Canaan, the Promised Land of Israel-Palestine. Abraham’s wife Sarah (Sarai) accompanied Abraham from Ur to Haran to Canaan. Thus, Abraham and Sarah were probably born in Iraq or Iran. Abraham and Sarah are known as the father and mother of the nation of Israel.

    Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac became the father of Jacob (later renamed Israel), and Israel became the father of twelve sons (patriarchs), later known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel. As Isaac grew older, Abraham wanted Isaac to marry a righteous and virtuous woman from Abraham’s homeland of Mesopotamia, rather than from the wicked women of Canaan, who would likely make Isaac’s life miserable. Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, and the mother of Jacob (Israel), came from Paddan Aram, also known as Aram-Naharaim, located in parts of modern-day Syria and Iraq. After their marriage, Isaac and Rebekah gave birth to twin boys named Esau and Jacob (later renamed Israel). Thus, Jacob (Israel) is of Syrian and Iraqi descent. Rebekah and her sons, Esau and Jacob, were Arameans, and Jacob also lived in Aram for many years, which is today modern-day Syria, Turkey, and Iraq. The name “Jacob” became synonymous with the nation of Israel.

    Later, Rebekah sent Jacob to her brother Laban in Haran (present-day Turkey). Also, Isaac and Rebekah sent their son Jacob to Rebekah’s brother Laban in Padan Aram (Haran), located in Mesopotamia (modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Iraq), so he would not marry the wicked women of Canaan. Jacob married Leah and then Rachel along with Leah and Rachael’s attendants (servants), Bilhah and Zilpah, and these women were from Paddan Aram (modern day modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Iraq), and they became the mothers of Jacob’s twelve sons (Twelve Tribes of Israel), who were also born in Paddan Aram. These twelve sons of Jacob were Reuben (Jacob’s oldest), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, and Benjamin. Thus, Abraham and his children, Isaac and Jacob (also known as Israel), as well as their descendants, were of Syrian, Iranian, and Iraqi descent.

    The living Sovereign LORD God promised that a conquering ruler would come from Jacob’s descendants. Ultimately, the Descendant of Abraham who brings blessings and salvation to all nations and people came with Christ Jesus, our Lord. Through Christ Jesus, everyone receives salvation and becomes a member of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’s family, receiving God’s divine blessings through our faithful obedience to the living Sovereign LORD God, found in His Son, Christ Jesus.

    In the New Testament, the early Christian church regarded itself symbolically as the Israel of God and descendants of Abraham through their wholehearted faith and belief in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. Christ Jesus taught about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob during His public ministry on earth. In His teaching, Jesus, as well as His cousin John the Baptist, taught everyone the importance of repentance, turning from Satan’s evil deeds, and producing good fruits so that one can enter the narrow gate and enjoy eating at the Messianic banquet with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the Old Testament prophets. The foundation of New Jerusalem is the Twelve Tribes of Israel (Jacob). Christ Jesus and His Kingdom's message did not abolish the Old Testament Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms because God’s Word and teaching endure forever and points to Christ Jesus, salvation, and righteousness. Salvation of the world comes through the Jewish people - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel), and Jesus - the Savior of the World.

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    10 分
  • God's Holy Presence

    God's Holy Presence
    2025/06/14
    Joseph of the Old Testament is a good example of God’s Presence with His faithful people who obey Him. Sadly, Joseph experienced some hard times and mistreatment by others. First, Joseph was thrown into a deep well (cistern, pit) by his brothers at the age of seventeen (17) and eventually sold to Ishmaelite and Midianite merchants, who sold Joseph into Egyptian slavery. Later, Joseph was falsely accused of sexual assault by an adulterous and lying woman, although Joseph was innocent of any wrongdoing, and then Joseph was unjustly imprisoned in the king’s prison (another pit) for a crime he did not commit. While imprisoned, the Sovereign LORD God promoted Joseph and continued to show Joseph His eternal love and grace, elevating Joseph to a high rank within the Egyptian king’s prison. One day, Joseph met two senior royal attendants of the Pharaoh, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, who were both imprisoned for angering and offending the Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Both prisoners had a dream one night, and the cupbearer and baker presented their dreams to Joseph as God’s Holy Spirit living inside Joseph gave Joseph the spiritual gift of dream interpretation. Joseph correctly interpreted the cupbearer and baker’s dreams, in which the cupbearer was restored to his royal position by Pharaoh’s side, while the baker was eventually put to death by Pharaoh. However, Joseph remained unjustly imprisoned for two more years, even after his correct dream interpretation. Eventually, the Pharaoh of Egypt had two strange but divine dreams that confused Pharaoh and his wise men (magicians), but only Joseph, with his divine wisdom from God’s Holy Spirit, could correctly interpret and explain Pharaoh’s dream. With God’s divine help through His Holy Spirit, Joseph announced to Pharaoh that Egypt and the world would experience seven years of abundance, followed by seven years of severe famine, hunger, and scarcity. Joseph then recommended that Pharaoh implement a plan to save the people. Pharaoh saw Joseph’s divine wisdom, intelligence, administrative planning skills, and excellent discernment, which Joseph attributed to the Holy Spirit’s empowerment. Consequently, Pharaoh released Joseph from prison and promoted Joseph to be ruler (governor, chief administrator) over all of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. Joseph was thirty years (30) old when he entered the service of Pharaoh as ruler (governor, chief administrator). Pharaoh gave Joseph a new name, Zaphenath-panel, an Egyptian wife who gave birth to two healthy sons. Joseph gave his two sons Hebrew names, Manasseh and Ephraim. As ruler of Egypt, Joseph implemented a wise and trustworthy plan to store grain during times of abundance, which would eventually save his father, Jacob (also known as Israel), and his brothers from hunger and starvation in Canaan (present-day Israel-Palestine) during times of famine. The book of Genesis notes that Joseph was a loyal and hardworking man of integrity, living a blameless life of faithful obedience to the Sovereign Lord God, even during times of trials and testing. Joseph was a well-built and handsome Hebrew man of integrity filled with the Holy Spirit’s gifts of intelligence, divine discernment, prudence, understanding, and wisdom. Despite his mistreatment, Joseph never abused God’s grace by living a wicked and evil life that sinned against God, but he lived a faithful life that feared and honored God, and God graciously filled Joseph with divine wisdom and abundant favor (grace). Joseph honored the sanctity of marriage and never yielded to adultery and sexual temptation, unlike his brothers Reuben and Judah, who both yielded to sexual sins and temptation. All sins are against the Sovereign LORD God of heaven and earth. The living Sovereign LORD God and His Holy Presence continued to be with Joseph, and He favored and promoted Joseph, making him prosper and succeed in everything he did, even during his time in Egyptian slavery and later imprisonment as God’s providential care and blessings governed Joseph’s life. Even the people around Joseph became blessed because of God’s Presence, with His holy blessings and favor (grace) upon Joseph’s life, just as it was with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Queen Esther, and King David. Notably, the Sovereign LORD God gives His Holy Spirit with blessings and peace to those who faithfully walk with love and obedience to Him, but He sends an evil, troubling, tormenting, and depressing spirit to those who rebel, disobey, and dishonor Him. The all-wise Sovereign LORD God planned and allowed Joseph’s imprisonment from the age of seventeen (17) to thirty (30) to prepare him for his divine leadership role in Egypt, which would ultimately lead to the salvation of his father, Jacob (Israel), and his brothers, who would become the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The good Sovereign LORD God of heaven and earth, who is the only great and all-wise ...
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