What Does This Mean?

[Fourteenth in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: Joseph wasted no time as viceroy of Egypt to prepare the land for famine. He stored grain and enacted other measures to prepare the people. When famine struck, the Egyptians were not only able to feed their people but also to sell grain to neighboring peoples. Among these were Joseph’s brothers.

Joseph arranged for a series of tests to see if his brothers had learned from their sin over the years. The final test, when Joseph demanded his brother Benjamin as a slave as punishment for the crimes he trumped up against them, Judah offered himself in Benjamin’s place. Since Joseph now knew that his brothers were truly repentant for what they did to him, he revealed himself to them.

Joseph forgave his brothers. He realized that what they “intended for evil, God meant for good, to save many lives.” He provided for them from his own wealth and settled them, Israel and his whole household, in Egypt. It took some convincing, but Joseph repeatedly reminded them he was not in the place of God. As God had provided for him and showed him mercy, so he would provide for them the rest of his days.

The Greek word for forgiveness literally means “to let go” or “to release.” When God forgives us, He lets go of our sins, not holding them against us. He does this because his Son, Jesus, paid the price for our sins. His sufferings and death satisfied God’s justice and canceled the charges against us in God’s court. God ordered us to be released because our sentence was completed.

Jesus wants us to release our neighbors from the evil they have done against us. This is not always easy to do, because we remember the pain and betrayal we feel when others hurt us, not only when they hurt us physically, but also when they hurt us emotionally and spiritually. The problem is that often the bitter feelings that we nurse when we hold on to them can ruin our lives more than the evil itself. When we let go of these sins against us, we can live at peace. This is why God offers us help to forgive others. The next time you pray the Lord’s Prayer, ask God to help you forgive others and receive the forgiveness He offers you

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Hymn on Forgiveness: “Remember Christ our Savior”

©2020 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com

[Thirteenth in a series of posts on Bible Stories]Encore Post: People in ancient times believed dreams predicted the future. Kings and other important people hired magicians, astrologers, and other wise men skilled in interpreting dreams. Because of this, God used dreams from time to time to send messages to kings and to his prophets. God sent dreams to Joseph’s father, Jacob. God sent dreams to Joseph to predict his future as the second in command of Egypt. It was this dream that angered Joseph’s brothers enough that they sold him into slavery in Egypt.

Joseph was sold to Potiphar, the captain of the Palace Guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Joseph worked hard for his master, who discovered the Semitic slave had a talent for administration and so put him in charge of his household staff. The captain’s wife tried to seduce Joseph, grabbing his robe as he fled from her. In revenge, the woman accused him of raping her. So, Potiphar threw Joseph into prison.

The warden of the jail discovered the same skills in Joseph, so he ended up in charge of the jail. It was there that he met Pharaoh’s butler and baker. Both servants had dreams that Joseph correctly interpreted. Eventually, he interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh himself. From the king’s perspective, all of his wise men, the best in the world at the time, couldn’t explain his dreams. But Joseph could. So he concluded that Joseph was the wisest of them all. Pharaoh appointed him to rule Egypt under his command. God had fulfilled the dreams he had given Joseph.

God used Joseph, then, to prepare for the famine in Egypt and to feed the world. 1500 years later, another Joseph had a dream. God told Joseph not to be afraid to marry Mary, because God was the father of the child she carried. He did and became the stepfather of Jesus, who would save the world from sin.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2020 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com

[Twelfth in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: Israel had not learned his lesson. Like his grandfather and parents, he had favored one of his wives over another, and he now doubled down and favored Rachael’s children over the children of Leah, her female servant, and Rachael’s female servants. When God revealed to Moses later with the Ten Commandments that sins travel to the third or fourth generation, he was not kidding!

Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons, because he was born in the patriarch’s old age, and was Rachel’s son. It did not escape Joseph’s brothers that their father loved him more than any of them, especially when Israel made Joseph a fancy robe (the Hebrew for the phrase “coat of many colors” is uncertain in meaning; it is translated in the Septuagint as “robe with long sleeves”). It didn’t help when God revealed to Joseph in two dreams that he would rule over his family, and used it to torment them.

Eventually, his brothers had had enough. They seized him, took his robe, and threw him into a cistern. When a caravan came by, they sold Joseph into slavery. Then they tore Joseph’s robe, dipped it in goat’s blood, and showed it to Israel. The deceit worked, and Israel thought his favorite son was dead, killed by a wild beast. He mourned Joseph greatly.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2020 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com

[Eleventh in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: God blessed Isaac and Rebekah a lot. He gave them a good land to live in, riches, servants, flocks, and twin boys. God promised to make their family grow to become a nation. The Messiah would come from their descendants.

Yet the family of Abraham was dysfunctional from the very start. Abraham loved Isaac more than Ishmael. Isaac loved Esau more than Jacob, and Rebekah loved Jacob more than Esau. Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah and Rachel’s children, especially Joseph, more than all his other children. That really did not work well for them.

God told Rebekah that Jacob would be the family’s leader when Isaac died. But normally, the older son had this blessing. So Isaac didn’t listen to God and intended to give that blessing to Esau. Rebekah was afraid that God would not keep His promise and helped Jacob to trick Isaac. Esau didn’t think his father’s blessing was very important, so he sold it to Jacob for a good meal. Jacob didn’t want to wait for God to give him the blessing, so he tried to get it himself by tricking his brother and father out of it. The story did not end well. Esau was very angry, and Jacob ran away to his uncle Laban with only the clothes on his back.

Still, God forgave them. He continued to bless Isaac, Rebekah, and Esau. He gave Jacob two wives, Leah and Rachel, many flocks of sheep, and riches. When he came back home, he was afraid that Esau would still be angry with him. To remind Jacob that he was still with him, God came to Jacob at night in the person of the Son of God and wrestled with him all night. When the night was over, God renamed Jacob (which means “heel”) Israel (“he struggles with God”)

Soon, Israel discovered his brother loved him still and forgave the mean things Israel did to him years before. So they lived together as a family from that time on. Yet Israel didn’t learn much through experience, as we will discover in later posts.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2020 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com

[Tenth in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: The story of Isaac and Rebekah sounds very strange to us in America of the twenty-first century. In our culture, people often search for their own spouses, if they decide to get married at all. The thought that a parent finding a wife for their son, much less trusting a servant to search for her and negotiate the marriage as a business deal, seems all wrong. And yet, for most of human history and in many cultures today, arranged marriages were the norm. Many of these marriages evolved into very close and loving relationships.

Abraham knew that he was getting old. He had buried his wife three years earlier. He knew that a wife from the unbelieving world around him would not be God-pleasing or helpful in producing a family from which the Messiah would be born two thousand years later. He also knew he couldn’t make the trip back to Haran to seek a wife for his son among those who believed in God. So, Abraham trusts his servant, who would inherit everything if Isaac didn’t have children. His servant makes the search his own, devoting himself to prayer and seeking a bride with a servant heart. While he was praying for wisdom at a well near his destination, Rebekah came up to offer him and his camels water, which she did not have to do. Recognising a selfless, serving heart in her, the servant sought to arrange a marriage between her and Isaac.

Rebekah’s family shows faith in God and love for Abraham in sending Rebekah to Isaac. When the servant told his story, they also recognized God’s hand in the marriage. Yet they still asked Rebekah’s consent, and she agreed. Isaac was praying when the servant and Rebekah arrived in the land of Canaan. He received her as his wife and loved her from the start. Because of these acts of love and trust, Jesus would one day be born, descended from Rebekah and Isaac.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2020-2025 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share, and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com

[Ninth in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: The sacrifice of the Son of God and the binding of Isaac are closely related. Isaac is Abraham‘s son, His only son, whom he loves. Jesus is God’s Son, His only Son, Whom He loves.

When God told Abraham to go to Mount Moriah, He picked the place that Solomon would choose to build the temple. On this spot, Abraham was ready to sacrifice his son. God had promised that it would be through Isaac that Abraham’s descendants would become more numerous than the sand on the seashore and the stars in the sky. Abraham did not know how God would keep His promise. He thought perhaps God would raise Isaac from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-18).

When Abraham was ready to perform the sacrifice, the Angel of the Lord appeared and stopped the sacrifice. Christian theologians believe this figure is the Son of God Himself, appearing before His birth. So, God spared Abraham’s son, but He did not spare His Son, His only Son, Whom He loved, but provided Him as the sacrifice that ends all sacrifice. Two thousand years after this event, Jesus would be condemned to death on the very same spot. God indeed provided the Lamb for the sacrifice for our sins.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2020-2025 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com

[Eighth in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: In ancient times, names were very important. People thought names told you something about the person who had them. When something important happened in a person’s life, sometimes they changed their name as well.

In the Bible, a name is often given with its meaning. When Adam gave his wife the name Eve, because she would be the mother of all living. (Genesis 3:20) — The word Eve sounds like the word for life giver in Hebrew. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham because “I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.” (Genesis 17:5) Abraham means father of a multitude in Hebrew. God also changed Sarai’s name to Sarah, which means “princess.” (Genesis 17:15) When both Abraham and Sarah laughed at God’s promise to give them a son, God told them to name that son, Isaac, which means “laughed.” (Genesis 17:19) Later, God would tell Mary and Joseph to name their son, Jesus, because he would save His people from their sins. In Hebrew, the name Jesus means God saves or God is salvation.

For nearly a lifetime, Abraham lived a life of faith. He trusted God to keep his promises. God told him to become a nomadic herdsman and take his family to the land of Canaan, which God promised to give to his descendants. He promised to give him and Sarah a son and through that son make him the ancestor of many nations. Yet, year after year, they did not have children. So, then, they decided maybe they were to have a child through a surrogate — Sarah’s slave Hagar. Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, whom God revealed would not be Abraham’s heir. When Abraham and Sarah sent them away, God provided for them. Ishmael would be the ancestor of the Arab peoples.

So God came to visit Abraham to renew his promise. He came as three men, for whom Abraham threw a feast. He promised a son to Abraham and Sarah within a year. It was then that the couple laughed — since they were barren and long past the age to have children. When finally Isaac — Laughed — was born, Sarah laughed again. She said the laugh was at her, since she doubted to power of God to keep his word.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2020-2025 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com

[Sixth in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: The Egyptians were not the only people that built pyramids. The Mayans, the Aztecs, the Sumerians — and the Babylonians did as well. They all had the same purpose. They were man-made mountains that would be a ladder from Earth to Heaven, where they could visit the gods, sacrifice to them and get what they want from heaven. Most had temples at the very top, where sacrifices were made, some of them human sacrifices.

The people of Babel intended to settle down, build a city and one of these temples. This idea was sinful in two ways. God had commanded them to migrate over the whole earth and fill it with people. They saw good farmland and decided to stay. They decide to build a great temple to manipulate God so that they could get everything they wanted. In a sense, they worshipped themselves. But God confused their language and scattered them, anyway. Their sin resulted in people fearing each other and set one nation against another.

But Jesus came to be the ultimate sacrifice. His death did not attempt to manipulate God, but was God of His own free will, paying the price for their sins of rebellion. In Jesus, all divisions among people come to an end. The miracle of the Day of Pentecost showed God can make us one people again — not to serve ourselves, but to worship God together.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2020 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com

[Fifth in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: After the Fall, sin spread to every corner of creation and infected it with evil. Two groups of people emerged among the sons of Adam and Eve. One group, Moses called the Sons of God, those who clung to God according to faith, and the other the daughters of men, who lived according to their sinful desires. When the Sons of God began to marry the daughters of men, the trend of unfaithfulness to God grew in strength. God saw “that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” ( Genesis 6:5). But Noah found favor in God’s eyes.

The first time we read about the flood, we get the impression that Noah and his family were saved because they were saints in a world full of sinners. But this is not true. They were just as sinful at heart as their neighbors. The difference was that they “walked with God” (6:9) and were righteous by faith (Hebrews 11:7), trusting God to care for them and obeying His commands. Even when God decided to wipe out the entire world, he delayed while Noah as a prophet warned people and built the Ark. When the flood came, God preserved the lives of Noah and his family and breeding stock of all living creatures. He made a covenant with mankind through Noah, never to destroy the entire world by flood again, sealing it with a rainbow as a reminder to him to spare them all.

The flood reminds Christians of baptism, in which our sins are drowned and we are safely carried to new life. Martin Luther’s “flood prayer,” which calls attention to God’s saving of Noah, has returned to the Baptism service in the latest Missouri Synod hymnal. The early church used the image of the Ark as a symbol for the church, which carries us to everlasting. In fact, the place in a church building where the people sit is called the nave, Latin for ship, because of that imagery.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2020-2025 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com