Pablum: It's Special

A Series on Living in the Wilderness
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Genesis 37:1-11

 [In this series, we will be looking at people in the Bible who lived in the wilderness. Not necessarily a wilderness of natural creation, but the metaphorical wilderness of life. In fact, there are times when we all feel like we are living in the wilderness. During those times, it’s important to remember that the Lord is still with you.]

 

Oftentimes, the baby of the family gets spoiled rotten. I know this from personal experience because I… am the baby of my family. Not only was I spoiled, but in many ways, I was the favorite; or at least my Mom favored me. Whatever I asked for, I got.

 

My siblings observed this special treatment firsthand. To this day, every time we get together, they will bring up how Mom prepared Pablum for me until I was about eight years old. They’re just jealous of course. Not because they wanted Pablum, but because I got special treatment.

 

In Genesis, we read that Joseph was favored by his Father, Jacob. Like me, Joseph got special treatment such as, the “coat of many colors”. This robe was a constant reminder to his brothers of just how much their Father loved Joseph more than them.

 

In addition, Joseph didn’t do himself any favors to endear himself to his brothers. First, he would bring bad reports to his Father regarding them. Secondly, he told his brothers about a dream that he had. In that dream, Joseph’s brothers bowed down to him. Needless to say, they resented him even more.

 

Finally, Jacob sent Joseph to find his brothers and report on their behavior while they were tending the sheep. When he did find them, they hatched a plot to kill him. Instead, they decided to sell him to the Midianites, who then took Joseph to Egypt where he was sold as a slave to Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh.

 

In some ways, Joseph lived in two different wildernesses. One was growing up in a family where his brothers resented him to the point of wanting to kill him. The second was living in Egypt, away from his family and home.

 

But the Lord was at work through all of it; He had a plan. That plan was revealed when Joseph spoke these words to his brothers when they came to him during a famine, bowing down, and asking for food.

 

²⁰ You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.    Genesis 50:20 NIV

 

Thankfully, my siblings never treated me like Joseph’s did. Regardless, I have lived in my share of wildernesses; some of my own making and some not. Looking back, I can see how the Lord has been at work in my life through all of them

 

Regardless of how your wildernesses have come about, take comfort in the fact that the Lord has a plan; that He loves you; and that He is always with you.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

Nowhere Man

A Series on Living in the Wilderness
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Acts 7:17-34

[In this series we will be looking at people in the Bible who lived in the wilderness. Not necessarily a wilderness of natural creation, but a metaphorical wilderness of their life. In fact, there are times when we all feel like we are living in the wilderness. During those times, it’s important to remember that the Lord is still with us.]

 

In 1965, The Beatles released a song by the title of “Nowhere Man”. Here is the opening verse.

He's a real nowhere man
Sitting in his nowhere land
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody.

Doesn't have a point of view
Knows not where he's going to
Isn't he a bit like you and me?

 Indeed, we’ve all gone through times like this. Times when we feel like we’re just going through the motions without any real direction; when we feel like life is going nowhere; when we feel like a nowhere man. Moses experienced those same feelings.

 

He was born during a period of history in Egypt when every Jewish male baby was to be killed. Yet he survived by being placed in a basket in the Nile River only to be rescued by the daughter of Pharaoh.

 

Because of this, Moses was raised in the house of Pharaoh as a prince of Egypt with all the benefits and opportunities that it provided for him. He was a member of the ruling class who lacked for nothing. You could easily speculate that as a result of this, he felt entitled; that he felt empowered.

 

But then there was the little thing about his people being oppressed and abused as slaves of the Egyptians; the same people who had raised him as their own. Imagine how conflicted Moses may have felt about this.

 

One day, maybe out of guilt or anger or a sense of rescuing the Jews, he lashed out at an abusing Egyptian, killing him. Ultimately, this led to Moses fleeing the life he hand known in Egypt into the unknown wilderness of Midian. It was here that he married, started a family and became a shepherd.

 

You could say that for forty years Moses lived in the meaningless wilderness of Pharaoh’s power. Followed by another forty years, where he lived in the wilderness of daily monotonous living. But, unexpectedly, he had a personal encounter with the Living God. Suddenly, he had a new direction; a new purpose; a new mission in life.

 

You and I may not have a “burning bush” experience like Moses. But if we just set aside some time to stop the treadmill of our busy life; to be quiet; to come into His presence; to mediate on His Word; to journal about His work. It would take some discipline, but I believe that the results would get us out of the wilderness.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

Boiled Dinner Night

A Series on Living in the Wilderness
 (Use the link below to read the verses.)
Numbers 14:26-45

 [In this series we will be looking at people who lived in the wilderness. Not necessarily a wilderness of natural creation, but a wilderness of their own creation. In fact, there are times when we all feel like we are living in the wilderness. During those times, it’s important to remember that the Lord is still with us.]

  

Over the years, my wife has told the story many times, how her Mother had a set menu schedule for every dinner. In writing this blog, when asked to remember what they were, she recited all but one; impressive. However, the one she remembered first was a boiled dinner which she had every Wednesday. She hated it!

 

It had cabbage, which she hated, and the essence of ham from a ham bone; no actual meat. She claims that she could smell it cooking when she turned the corner walking home from school. I think she hated it more than she hates peas! Or possibly she just got tired of having the same food all the time; just like the Israelites.

 

Following the Exodus, the Israelites were at the brink of entering the Promised Land. First though, the Lord had Moses send twelve spies into the land; a leader from each of the tribes. Unfortunately, when they returned, like the children’s song goes, “Ten were bad and two were good”.

 

Even though the Lord had promised them a land of “milk and honey”, and that they would take possession of the land, they didn’t believe it. In fact, they rebelled and said it would be better for them if they returned to Egypt to slavery! They even began to choose a new leader to replace Moses.

 

As a result, the Lord condemned them to living in the wilderness; never to enter the Promised Land.

 

³⁴ “‘Because your men explored the land for forty days, you must wander in the wilderness for forty years—a year for each day, suffering the consequences of your sins. Then you will discover what it is like to have me for an enemy.’       NLT

 

Boiled dinners every Wednesday may have given my wife some idea of what it was like for the Israelites as they wandered the wilderness eating nothing but manna and quail for forty years. But can you imagine what it was like for them?

  

Despite all the hardships, they knew that in the end, they would never cross over into the Promised Land. Theirs was a life without hope; without purpose; without a future.

 

That’s not the case for us. We have a choice to make. Do we choose to live in the wilderness eating manna and quail? Or, do we choose to live life abundantly while living in the Promised Land with the Bread of Life?

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams