Table Rock State Park, Branson, Missouri
We now return to Joseph . . . . . 😊
Then Judah said to Israel (Jacob) his father, “Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die. I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. As it is, if we had not delayed, we could have gone and returned twice.” ~ Genesis 43:8-10 So now Judah steps up into the leadership role once again, bypassing both Reuben (son #1) and Levi (son #3). Simeon (son #2) is in prison. My first thought was that if all 12 of Jacob’s sons end up lost in Egypt, that would leave Jacob all alone, but that’s not the case. Scripture doesn’t mention it, but there are most likely plenty of grandsons around. Even Benjamin, the youngest, is now in his mid-thirties. So I cheated and jumped ahead. Chapter 46 lists the 12 plus their sons. Jacob’s got 55 grandsons, if my quick count is correct! Of course, two of those belong to Joseph, but that still leaves 53! And that’s not counting the wives and granddaughters. Jacob is most definitely not alone. I marvel at the fact that with all this family to love and be loved by, that he’s so very attached to one son in particular. I’m not saying that he shouldn’t be concerned. He should be concerned about all of them! I can’t imagine holding one child more loved than any other. Can you? When my boys were whining about why one got to/didn’t get to do something, I’d sometimes respond with “Because I love him more.” I didn’t mean it of course, and hopefully they didn’t feel that way, since I said it to both at different times. But this isn’t supposed to be about me. Judah has stepped up to try to alleviate his father’s fears, and to give Jacob a gentle wakeup call – ‘I’ll be responsible for Benjamin. If you don’t let him go, we all die.’
Blaine drove 171 miles in 3 ½ hours up and down and all around mostly narrow roads today. Thankfully, there really wasn’t anything worth talking about, except for squeezing through construction zones.
We did drive through several very small towns today; I’m talking signs listing the population as barely above 100 souls. I think even I could remember that many names. 😊
It was tight!
It’s pronounced ‘ma-MEL’.
Maumelle COE, Little Rock, Arkansas
Beautiful!
And there’s very little boat traffic.
Tomorrow temperatures are supposed to hit the upper sixties with full sun. There’s a mountain we want to climb, and the weatherman is promising mid to upper eighties at the end of the week, so tomorrow it is!