Study Desk

But his father refused and said, "I know, son. I know. Manasseh is the firstborn. He will be great and will be the father of many people. But his younger brother will be greater than he is. And the younger brother's family will be much larger."

Then Israel said to Joseph, "Look, my time to die is almost here, but God will still be with you. He will lead you back to the land of your ancestors.

But your passion was like a flood you couldn't control. So you will not remain my most honored son. You climbed into your father's bed and slept with one of his wives. You brought shame to my bed, to the bed you lay on.

He will see his land is pleasant and that his resting place is good. But he will agree to carry heavy loads; he will agree to work as a slave.

"A group of robbers will attack Gad, but Gad will chase them away.

But he won the fight with his mighty bow and his skillful arms. He gets power from the Mighty One of Jacob, from the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

My parents had many good things happen to them. And I, your father, was blessed even more. Your brothers left you with nothing. But now I pile all my blessings on you, as high as a mountain.

It is true that you planned to do something bad to me. But really, God was planning good things. God's plan was to use me to save the lives of many people. And that is what happened.

When Joseph was near death, he said to his brothers, "My time to die is almost here. But I know that God will take care of you and lead you out of this country. God will lead you to the land he promised to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

But the Israelites had many children, and their number grew until the country of Egypt was filled with them.

The Egyptians forced the Israelites to work harder and harder. But the harder they worked, the more they grew and spread, and the more the Egyptians became afraid of them.

"You will continue to help the Hebrew women give birth to their children. If a girl baby is born, let the baby live. But if the baby is a boy, you must kill him!"

But the nurses trusted God, so they did not obey the king's command. They let all the baby boys live.

So Pharaoh gave this command to his own people: "If the Hebrew women give birth to a baby girl, let it live. But if they have a baby boy, you must throw it into the Nile River."

Pharaoh heard about what Moses did, so he decided to kill him. But Moses ran away from Pharaoh and went to the land of Midian. Moses stopped near a well in Midian.

But there were some shepherds there who chased the girls away and would not let them get water. So Moses helped the girls and gave water to their animals.

The girls answered, "The shepherds chased us away, but an Egyptian rescued us. He got water for us and gave it to our animals."

A long time passed and that king of Egypt died. But the Israelites were still forced to work very hard. They cried for help, and God heard them.

But Moses said to God, "I am not a great man! How can I be the one to go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?"

Then Moses said to God, "But if I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors sent me,' then the people will ask, ‘What is his name?' What should I tell them?"