COMMANDMENT CORNER

A MOMENT OF EXCELLENCY IN WISDOM

JOSEPH the son of  ISRAEL

GENESIS CHAPTER 42

Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.

2And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.

3And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.

4And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.

5Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

6For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.

7And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

8So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

9Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:

10And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:

11And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.

12And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.

13And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.

14And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.

15Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.

16And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.

17And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;

18And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.

19Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.

20Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.

21And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.

22To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.

23And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.

24So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.

25And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,

26And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not.

27And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived:

28And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.

Proverbs 15:33

“The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.” 

Hidden Treasures of the Diaspora

Dinah, Portrait of a Negress: ca 1866-69

Eastman Johnson (July 29, 1824 – April 5, 1906) was an American painter and co-founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

Did you know??

In 19th century America, "Dinah" became a generic name for an enslaved African woman

Lizzie McCloud, a slave on a Tennessee plantation during the American Civil War, recalled that Union soldiers called all enslaved women "Dinah". Describing her fear when the Union army arrived, she said: "We was so scared we run under the house and the Yankees called 'Come out Dinah' (didn't call none of us anything but Dinah). They said 'Dinah, we're fightin' to free you and get you out from under bondage'." After the end of the war in 1865 The New York Times exhorted the newly liberated slaves to demonstrate that they had the moral values to use their freedom effectively, using the names "Sambo" and "Dinah" to represent male and female former slaves: "You are free Sambo, but you must work. Be virtuous too, oh Dinah!"

The name Dinah was subsequently used for dolls and other images of black women ~wikipedia

Genesis 34:1

“And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.” 

A MOMENT OF EXCELLENCY IN WISDOM

KING HEZEKIAH

2 Chronicles 32:1

After these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself. And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him.  So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?

Ecclesiastes 9:18

“Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.” 

A MOMENT OF EXCELLENCY IN WISDOM:

Nehemiah

                                       

Nehemiah Chapter 6:12-13

Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee.

11And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.

12And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

13Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me.

Ecclesiastes 7:12

“For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.” 

Spotlight on Leadership: AARON

Leader: Aaron son of Amram, son of Kohath

Tribe: Levi

Occupation: Spokesman for Moses, Progenitor of the High Priesthood  

Introductory Scripture: Exodus 4:14 “And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.”

Our most intimate encounter we as readers experience in the life of Aaron begins with him meeting his younger brother Moses after many years, and with perfect timing! Moses has just received instruction from the Almighty concerning the children of Israel’s bondage in the land of Egypt and before he can talk his way out of it Aaron appears. This reunion quickly becomes the greatest tandem in war of all time! Aaron was transformed from a Hebrew slave to an Israelite leader in the blink of an eye. Being a forerunner in the mission of bringing down the greatest nation of its time wasn’t an easy task. Aaron being raised in the home of his parents unlike his brother spoke Hebrew well and deemed highly capable of the task by the Father.  After much warning, persuading and providing space of repentance while feeling the wrath of the Most High; Egypt was conquered at the Red Sea. Aaron’s role as an orator was fulfilled or was it? 

After many days and nights in the wilderness the children of Israel became restless awaiting Moses who was atop Mount Sinai communing with the Lord. Though baptized by the sea they still possessed the wicked ways of the Egyptians’ in their hearts and coerced Aaron to fashion a molten calf to worship.  The Father instructed Moses to return because of this matter and when Moses confronted Aaron on the matter of creating such a snare to the people  Aaron gives a profound statement “Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.” –Exodus 32:22

After this unfortunate ordeal, Aaron’s leadership qualities were still highly regarded by the Most High. Aaron, his sons, and brethren we set apart and assigned the roles of Priests for the mighty nation of Israel. Aaron and sons especially were given a higher role during the wilderness days to execute special services in the temple. Offering sacrifices such as burnt, grain, peace, and sin offerings to the Lord was significant so much so that when Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu offered incense; which HE commanded them not was put to death but Aaron held his peace. –Leviticus 10

The Levites "Kept the charge of the tabernacles of testimony" Num. 1:53 they had no territory of their own and were dispersed among the other tribes. Their emblem was the ephod of the High Priest on which were engraved, upon precious stones, the names of all tribes. "They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law." -Deuteronomy 33:10  The office of High Priest spanned more than 1,200 years. 

After much service to the children of Israel Aaron was called to be gathered unto his people atop Mount Hor. Prohibited to enter into the land because he rebelled against the word of the Lord at the water of Meribah, Moses Aaron and Eleazar went up Mt Hor in the sight of the congeration where he was stripped of his priestly robes and they were passed to his son Eleazar. And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel. -Numbers 20:29

Want to Know More about Aaron?

Read about the Budding of Aaron’s staff 

Numbers Chapter 17

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