Christine

'Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; .. and he shall be for an haven of ships; .... and his border shall be unto Zidon. Issachar is a strong ass .. couching down between two burdens: .... And he saw that rest was good, ...... and the land that it was pleasant; ........ and bowed his shoulder to bear, .......... and became a servant unto tribute. Dan shall judge his people, .. as one of the tribes of Israel. .... Dan shall be a serpent by the way, ...... an adder in the path, ........ that biteth the horse heels, .......... so that his rider shall fall backward. ............. I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. Gad, a troop shall overcome him: .. but he shall overcome at the last. ....'Out of' (ie., he shall press upon their heals) Asher his bread shall be fat, .. and he shall yield royal dainties. Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.' (Genesis 49:13-21) Praise God!

'Judah, .. thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: .... thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; ...... thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp: .. from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: .... he stooped down, ...... he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; ........ who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, .. nor a lawgiver from between his feet,until Shiloh come; .... and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. ...... Binding his foal unto the vine, ........ and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; .......... he washed his garments in wine, ............ and his clothes in the blood of grapes: .............. His eyes shall be red with wine, ................ and his teeth white with milk.' (Genesis 49:8-12) Praise God !(Numbers 24:17)

'Simeon and Levi are brethren; .. instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. .... O my soul, come not thou into their secret; ......unto their assembly, ........ mine honour, be not thou united: .......... for in their anger they slew a man, ............ and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; .. and their wrath, for it was cruel: .... I will divide them in Jacob, ...... and scatter them in Israel.' (Genesis 49:5-7) Praise God!

'Reuben, .. thou art my firstborn, .... my might, ...... and the beginning of my strength, ........ the excellency of dignity, .......... and the excellency of power: Unstable as water, .. thou shalt not excel; .... because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; ...... then defiledst thou it: ........ he went up to my couch.' (Genesis 49:3-4) Praise God! (Gen.35:22)

Hello there, @James thomas, You have been given lovely examples of love's definition biblically. However, my mind goes to the verse in Romans which defines the love of God for us:- 'But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.' (Rom 5:8) This encompasses love for the unlovely, for our enemies doesn't it? We are told in Ephesians chapter four to 'bear with one another in love', which indicates that it is not an easy thing to do. Love is not a matter of feeling, of emotion, but of action I believe. Overriding our natural inclinations in the flesh and operating in the love of God in the spirit. Just thoughts. Thank you for the thought processes this question has produced. In Christ Jesus Chris

And Israel said unto Joseph, .. "Behold, I die: .... but God shall be with you, ...... and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. ........ Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, .......... which I took out of the hand of the Amorite ............ with my sword and with my bow." (Genesis 48:21-22) Praise God!

'And when Joseph saw .. that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, .... it displeased him: ...... and he held up his father's hand, ........ to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head. And Joseph said unto his father, .. "Not so, my father: .... for this is the firstborn; ...... put thy right hand upon his head." And his father refused, and said, .. "I know it, my son, I know it: .... he also shall become a people, ...... and he also shall be great: ........ but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, .......... and his seed shall become a multitude of nations." And he blessed them that day, saying, .. "In thee shall Israel bless, saying, .... God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh" and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.' (Genesis 48:17-20) Praise God!

'And he (Jacob) blessed Joseph, and said, .. "God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, .... the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, ...... The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; ........ and let my name be named on them, .......... and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; ............ and let them grow into a multitude .............. in the midst of the earth.' (Genesis 48:15-16) Praise God!

'And Israel stretched out his right hand, .. and laid it upon Ephraim's head, .... who was the younger, ...... and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, ........ guiding his hands wittingly; .......... for Manasseh was the firstborn. (Gen 48:14) Praise God! For His will was done.

'And as for me, .. when I came from Padan, .... Rachel died by me ...... in the land of Canaan ........ in the way, when yet there was but a little way .. to come unto Ephrath: .... and I buried her there ...... in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.' (Gen 48:7) Praise God! 'And thou Bethlehem, .. in the land of Juda, .... art not the least among the princes of Juda: ...... for out of thee shall come a Governor, ........ that shall rule My People Israel.' (Matthew 2:6) Praise His Holy Name!

'And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, .. which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt .... before I came unto thee into Egypt, ...... are mine; ........ as Reuben and Simeon, .......... they shall be mine. And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, .. shall be thine, .... and shall be called after the name of their brethren ...... in their inheritance.' (Genesis 48:5-6) Praise God!

'And Jacob said unto Joseph, .. God Almighty appeared unto me .... at Luz in the land of Canaan, ...... and blessed me, And said unto me, .. Behold, I will make thee fruitful, .... and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; .. and will give this land to thy seed after thee .... for an everlasting possession. ...' (Genesis 48:3) Praise God!

'And when money failed in the land of Egypt, .. and in the land of Canaan, .... all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, ...... "Give us bread: ........ for why should we die in thy presence? .......... for the money faileth." And Joseph said, .. "Give your cattle; .... and I will give you for your cattle, if money fail." And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: .. and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, .... and for the flocks, ...... and for the cattle of the herds, ........ and for the asses: .......... and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year. When that year was ended, .. they came unto him the second year, .... and said unto him, ...... "We will not hide it from my lord, ........ how that our money is spent; .......... my lord also hath our herds of cattle; ............ there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, .............. but our bodies, .............. and our lands: ............ Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, .......... both we and our land? ........ buy us and our land for bread, ...... and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: .... and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, .. that the land be not desolate."' (Genesis 47:15-19) Praise God! 'For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?' (Luke 9:25)

'And there was no bread in all the land; .. for the famine was very sore, .... so that the land of Egypt ...... and all the land of Canaan ........ fainted by reason of the famine. 'And Joseph gathered up all the money .. that was found in the land of Egypt, .... and in the land of Canaan, ...... for the corn which they bought: ........ and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. (Gen 47:13-14) Praise God! For His foresight and His wisdom

'And he (Jacob) sent Judah before him unto Joseph, .. to direct his face unto Goshen; .... and they came into the land of Goshen. ...... And Joseph made ready his chariot, ........ and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, .......... and presented himself unto him; ............ and he fell on his neck, .............. and wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph, .. "Now let me die, .... since I have seen thy face, ...... because thou art yet alive.' (Genesis 46:28-30) Praise God!

'All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, .. which came out of his loins, .... besides Jacob's sons' wives, ...... all the souls were threescore and six; And the sons of Joseph, .. which were born him in Egypt, .... were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, .. which came into Egypt, .... were threescore and ten.' (Genesis 46:26-27) Praise God! Note: The words 'out of his loins', in verse 26 is important to note, for it distinguishes and explains the difference in the numbers given here (threescore and six = 66 and 70) and that of Stephen's account in Acts 7:14 (= 75) which includes Jacob and 'all his kindred' (which are not included in the direct descendants of this verse). 'Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.'

'The sons of Rachel Jacob's wife; .. Joseph, and Benjamin. And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born .. Manasseh and Ephraim, .... which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him. And the sons of Benjamin were .. Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, .... Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, ...... Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard. ........ These are the sons of Rachel, which were born to Jacob: .......... all the souls were fourteen. And the sons of Dan; .. Hushim. And the sons of Naphtali; .. Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem. .... These are the sons of Bilhah, ...... which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, ........ and she bare these unto Jacob: all the souls were seven.' (Genesis 46:19-25) Praise God! For His foresight and provision

'And the sons of Gad; .. Ziphion, and Haggi, .... Shuni, and Ezbon, ...... Eri, and Arodi, and Areli. And the sons of Asher; .. Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, .... and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of Beriah; .. Heber, and Malchiel. These are the sons of Zilpah, .. whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, .... and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.' (Genesis 46:16-19) Praise God!

'These be the sons of Leah, .. which she bare unto Jacob in Padanaram, .... with his daughter Dinah: ...... all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three.' (Genesis 46:15) Praise God!

'And Judah said, .. "What shall we say unto my lord? .... what shall we speak? ...... or how shall we clear ourselves? ........ God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: .......... behold, we are my lord's servants, ............ both we, and he also with whom the cup is found." And he said, .. "God forbid that I should do so: .... but the man in whose hand the cup is found, ...... he shall be my servant; ........ and as for you, .......... get you up in peace unto your father."' (Genesis 44:16-17) Praise God!

'And Joseph said unto them, .. "What deed is this that ye have done? .... wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?"' (Genesis 44:15) Praise God!

'Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, .. and opened every man his sack. And he (the steward) searched, .. and began at the eldest, .... and left at the youngest: ...... and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. Then they rent their clothes, .. and laded every man his ass, .... and returned to the city. And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; .. for he was yet there: .... and they fell before him on the ground.' (Genesis 44:11-14) Praise God! 'Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?' (Genesis 37:9-10) Praise His Holy Name!

'And he (Joseph) commanded the steward of his house, .. saying, "Fill the men's sacks with food, .... as much as they can carry, ...... put every man's money in his sack's mouth. ........ And put my cup, the silver cup, .......... in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. " And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. .. As soon as the morning was light, .... the men were sent away, they and their asses. And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, .. Joseph said unto his steward, .... "Up, follow after the men; ...... and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, ........ Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good? .......... Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, ............ and whereby indeed he divineth? .............. ye have done evil in so doing." And he overtook them, .. and he spake unto them these same words. And they said unto him, .. "Wherefore saith my lord these words? .... forbid that thy servants should do according to this thing:"' (Genesis 44:1-7) Praise God!

Hello @frienduff thaylorde Your words bring to mind the words of Ephesians 5:6, 'Let no man deceive you with vain words: ' which needs to be read along with the rest of the practical section of this epistle, chapters 4, 5 & 6. We must be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, thus deceiving ourselves (James 1:22) In Christ Jesus Christ

'Not every one that saith unto me," Lord, Lord," .. shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; .... but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, .. "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? .... and in thy name have cast out devils? ...... and in thy name done many wonderful works?" And then will I profess unto them, .. "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."' (Matthew 7:21) Hello @Pollycy, These verses are not intended to make comfortable reading. They were intended to cause those listening to stop and consider. So it is no wonder that we feel uncomfortable with them. These are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ while on earth, but the epistles, written by His Apostles, are equally from Him and of equal value with the words which were spoken by Him while on earth. He made it quite clear, also that He spoke only what He heard from the Father: His words are spirit and they are life. The believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has no reason to fear these words in Matthew 7, for they will never apply to him. For He is accepted in the Beloved, and declared to be Holy and without blame before the Father, not because of any righteousness of his own, but because of the righteousnes imputed to Him by God, on the basis of the finished work of Christ, who paid the penalty for our sin, by dying in our place. There are those who give verbal assent to the things of God, but whose hearts are far from Him, and He is not deceived concerning their hearts condition. He knows those who are His. You are His workmanship Polly, and greatly loved. In Christ Jesus Chris