Week 4: Wednesday Genesis 40

You may make the sign of the cross and say:

Invocation

P In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C Amen.

Collect

Merciful Lord, through the angels You called the women at the tomb to remember that the Christ must be delivered into the hands of the sinful and be crucified and on the third day be raised from the dead. Help us to remember that it is only through suffering that we enter into glory and that in our sufferings we participate in the sufferings of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Reading the Bible

Scripture itself teaches that the revelation of god was delivered under “a covenant,” or “testament.” first given to Abraham and confirmed/renewed through Moses. Although many covenenats are described in the Old Testament, Jeremiah saw the covenant given to Abraham and confirmed through Moses as the covenant, which God's called people broke and did not keep. Jeremiah then prophesied a second covenant, or “new covenant.”

Reading Genesis

The dreams of the two prisoners mean death for the baker and life for the cupbearer. Yet the chief cupbearer forgot Joseph in prison.

Through the dreams from God an impression of such a nature is made on the hearts that not only the intellect but also the will is troubled beyond normal. But not all dreams are from God.

Since certain instances strongly prove that dreams may be meaningful, they are not to be entirely rejected. However, to be of value, dreams must, as Paul says of prophesying in Romans 12:7, be according to the analogy of faith. But how to know whether God or the devil inspired a dream cannot be taught by rules. Experience must reveal it.

Reading Genesis 40:1–23

Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody.

And one night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation. When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me, and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer. Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.”

When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head, and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.” And Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat the flesh from you.”

On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

436 Go to Dark Gethsemane     Brass Trio

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Apostles' Creed

C I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died and was buried.

He descended into hell.

The third day He rose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven

and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy Christian Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life + everlasting. Amen.

Lord's Prayer

C Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;
give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Sixth Petition

And lead us not into temptation.

Lead us not into temptation.

What does this mean?

God tempts no one. We pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful nature may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. Although we are attacked by these things, we pray that we may finally overcome them and win the victory.

Prayers for others and ourselves:

• For marriage and family, that husbands and wives, parents and children live in ordered harmony according to the Word of God;
• for parents who must raise children alone;
• for our communities and neighborhoods;
• for all our leaders and those campaigning for office that they may serve and act with integrity, humility, wisdom and look to the Triune God for light and life;
• for thosr near death that they be welcomed into the Father's care, not on her own merit, but on Jesus Christ's merit - His perfect Life, Death, and Resurrection;
• for our congregational, District and Synodical leaders who desire always to show the glory of Jesus Christ;
• for the Reign of God in our hearts and minds, that we would always and in true faith call upon the Lord.

Luther's Morning Prayer

C I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.

Luther's Evening Prayer

C I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.

Benediction (Pauline)

P The grace of the Lord T Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C Amen.

Acknowledgments

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2006 Concordia Publishing House.