Genesis 47–48; Job 39–40; Psalm 16;
Commentary on Genesis 47–48
Key themes:
- Pharaoh gives “the best land” to Israel.
- The famine is severe, and the people sell have to sell everything they have to buy food, all their animals and then their land and then theirselves as slaves.
- All Egyptian land, except for the land of the priests, is Pharaoh’s.
- Israel is old and almost dying, makes Joseph promise to bury him with his father Isaac.
- Israel blesses Joseph and his sons Ephraim and Manasseh.
A repeat of the Jacob-Esau blessing happens here, but without deception. Manasseh is the first-born, but Jacob/Israel, who is blind, purposefully, blessed Ephraim.
Anagogical sense
- Gen 47:9 “The days of my sojourning are …”. Men are just pilgrims passing through this life. Our final destination is heaven, and after that the final bodily resurrection.
Commentary on Job 39–40
I’ll have to comeback to this later, don’t understand it fully.
God continues to make rhetorical statements that show his might and infinite wisdom. It seems that the point is that Job (and us) can’t comprehend all of “God’s business”. We can’t grasp all the consequences and ramifications.
Fr Mike talks about the redemptive role of suffering, but I don’t fully grasp what this is.
Commentary on Psalm 16
Moral sense:
- Psalm 16:11 God teaches us how to live, and we become happy by following Him.
Anagogical sense:
- Psalm 16:9-10 God didn’t abandon us in Sheol, He opens the gates of heaven for us.
- Psalm 16:11 God rewards with eternal pleasures those who walk with Him (heaven).