Beyond The Basics

Transcript:

Welcome to the Beyond the Basics Bible Study Podcast. My name is Dan Snyder and I am your host. Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of Beyond the Basics where we are exploring the Bible from Genesis to Revelation one chapter at a time.

Before we get started, if you enjoy the show and want to help keep it on the air, you can go to my website at Beyondthebasics.blog. Click the donate button at the top and that will bring you to the website for Passion for Life Ministries where you can make a tax deductible donation. Passion for Life is a ministry that I’ve partnered with that is dedicated to spreading the gospel and feeding the elderly in Central and South America. Please make sure you designate your gift for Beyond the Basics. You can also click the subscribe button which will bring you to my Patreon page. And for only four dollars a month, you can receive access to the full uncut episode which will include between 10 and 30 minutes of additional audio. You will also receive access to all past episodes starting with Genesis chapter 24. Now, on to the show.

You know we’ve all had to repent for various things many times in our lives. This is a very regular occurrence for most of us, but sometimes there’s deep hidden sin that God needs to deal with in our lives and in those times God will orchestrate circumstances to lead us to repentance. In Romans 2:4 it says, or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? So God will show us kindness. He will do things for us to reveal his kindness and his love so that we will be led to repentance. And this is what we’re going to see God doing with Joseph’s brothers in Genesis chapter 42. God is going to orchestrate these circumstances in this chapter to lead them to repentance for what they did to their brother Joseph many years prior. So, let’s get into the chapter.

Starting off in verse 1, it says, when Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt. So this was likely in the first year of the famine, the reason being in chapter 45 verse 11, it says, “There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come so that you and your household and all that you have do not come to poverty.”

In Genesis 45, there’s still five years of the seven-year famine left. And this is after Joseph’s brothers take a couple trips back and forth from Canaan to Egypt. So quite a bit of time has passed between chapter 42 and 45. So likely this chapter takes place in the first year of the famine.

So it says, so Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?”

Now, this word look is the same word in Hebrew as “learned” earlier in the verse. So it says Jacob learned that there was grain and then he says, “Why do you look?” That word “learned” and word “look” is the same Hebrew word. He’s asking, “Why do you look at one another?”

Probably because Jacob’s sons obviously would have known or likely would have known that there was food in Egypt as well and they clearly did not want to go there. So it’s as if they’re sitting around needing food, kind of looking at each other like who’s going to be the first one to get up and go. For one thing, it’s a dangerous journey from the land of Canaan to Egypt. They could end up being enslaved. We already know that there’s slave traders on that route and if they were to be captured by these slave traders and sold into slavery, that’s a very real possibility. And it probably also reminded them of what they did to Joseph because they sold Joseph to those slave traders that were heading to Egypt. They probably didn’t want to be reminded, but they’re going to be reminded in a very clear way and they’re going to be confronted with that as we move on through this chapter and through the next few chapters.

So in verse 2, Jacob said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt, go down and buy us grain.” So Jacob says to his sons, “Go down and buy grain for us there that we may live and not die.”

So this phrase, live and not die, foreshadows the end of the story, which if you’ve read through the rest of the Genesis, you know that they live and don’t die.

So, moving on in verse 3, it says, 10 of Joseph’s brothers went down. So, 10 of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt.

So, in verse 4, Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might happen to him. So, Benjamin was the only one of Rachel’s sons left, at least according to Jacob, because Jacob had no idea that Joseph was still alive. So, Jacob was extremely protective of him. Now, he didn’t know that God was already working in these events for many years, ever since Joseph was sold into slavery. And that’s partly because his sons had deceived him. They weren’t telling him the whole truth. He had no idea what was happening. So Jacob was naturally going to be very protective of his son, Benjamin, but he was overprotective compared to the lack of protection he provided for his other sons.

So in verse 5 it says, then the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. So that phrase among the others is important. This verse, it provides a picture of the entire earth coming to buy grain. And we see that in the last verse of chapter 41, it says, moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain because the famine was severe over all the earth. It gives us a picture of a flood of people coming from across the whole earth, descending on Egypt. And the brothers joining this flood of people across the whole earth. What does this remind you of? It reminds you of the flood narrative. This language tying it to the flood narrative show that this judgment, this calamity of the famine across the whole earth is from God. God was responsible for the flood, God is responsible for this famine because it’s the same language of judgment in both instances.

So in verse 6, now Joseph was governor over the land. So it’s highly unlikely because he was governor over the entire land that he would be present for most individual transactions with foreigners. But God is part of this story. God is the main driver of this story and He’s with Joseph so that He would be present when His brothers arrived.

So later in verse 6, Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. Just like in Joseph’s dream many years earlier in Genesis 37, if you remember, in verses 5 through 8, there was a dream that Joseph had and he told it to his brothers and he said, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed. Behold, we are binding sheaves in the field and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright and behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf. And his brothers were very angry about it and hated him.”

In verse seven, Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers. This is the same word as recognized earlier in the verse. He recognized them and he treated them like strangers. Joseph recognized his brothers, but treated them as if he didn’t recognize them.

And then it says that he spoke roughly to them, or he spoke hard to them. So the picture is of a hard, gruff, intimidating man speaking to his brothers. So he asked them where they came from. They said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”

And then we’re told again, and Joseph recognized his brothers a second time. Remember, anytime anything’s doubled in these stories, it’s an indication that this is God’s plan. This phrase is repeated, that Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. Why is it repeated? Because it shows that this is God’s plan. It shows that God brought them here, that God placed Joseph in the right place so that he would be there to meet them, so that he would recognize them, and so that they would not recognize him.

Why didn’t they recognize him? Joseph was a teenager when they sold him into slavery. His voice had probably changed. He was clean shaven because he was basically living as an Egyptian and Egyptians did not like body hair and so they were clean shaven rather than the bearded men that would have lived in Canaanite or in Hebrew culture. And he spoke through an interpreter. So he was not even speaking Hebrew. He was speaking Egyptian or whatever language it was that they spoke in those days.

Not to mention, his brothers did not expect him to be there at all. They sold him into slavery. And he wasn’t even that good of a shepherd, so they certainly didn’t expect him to survive in slavery when he was a kid. Jacob had basically given him the position of the foreman. He wasn’t even doing the hard work. So for them to sell him into slavery, they expected him to die in slavery and not even die at an old age. This would have been the last place they would have expected to see him. They’re encountering Joseph in a completely unexpected place. There’s no reason why they would think that he would be there. They’re not going to recognize him in that instance.

So, moving on in verse 9, Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. So, that could indicate what Joseph’s motives are for what he’s about to do. He’s not looking for revenge. He remembered the dreams, because he saw his brothers bowing before him, and that would have triggered the memory of the dreams. So, he realizes, wait a minute. This is from God. We already know from the last chapter that He forgave His family. He forgave His brothers. So He’s not trying to get revenge on them. Instead, He’s recognizing that God is doing something here and He wants to be part of what God is doing so that hopefully one day His family can be restored.

So He tells them, “You are spies.” Now Joseph accuses them of being spies three times in this chapter in verse 9 and verse 14 and verse 16. If you remember, we talked about Joseph being tested three times through betrayal. First by his brothers, then by Potiphar’s wife, and then by the cup bearer. Now, Joseph’s brothers are going to be tested three times through accusation. And this is going to reveal the repentance in their hearts. Remember, at the beginning I talked about how God is going to lead Joseph’s brothers into repentance. This is how it’s going to be done. They’re going to be accused of being spies three times. That’s going to be the test that they’re going to have to go through that’s going to bring out repentance in their hearts.

So they deny it and they say, “No, we’re honest men,” in verse 11.

Well, they were not. They were not honest men. In fact, the next thing that they said was a lie about their brother. In verse 13, they said, “We, your servants, are 12 brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. And behold, the youngest is this day with our father and one is no more.”

Now, they may have thought that Joseph was dead. Or they might have been lying knowing that he was enslaved. Either way, it’s a lie because they didn’t know that he was dead. And of course he wasn’t. He was very much alive and standing in front of them, but they didn’t tell Joseph, of course, what they did. They didn’t tell him the reason he’s no more. And then if you notice, they say it last as if it’s an afterthought. They say, “Oh, we’re 12 brothers. We’re the sons of one man and Canaan. We’re not, we’re not spies. We, we got another brother. And he’s with her father. Oh, and we had another one, but he’s dead now.”

So this provides a possible reason for Joseph’s accusations for him to continue to accuse them of being spies because he may have seen through this afterthought about him that they were still unrepentant for what they had done many years earlier.

So Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you, you are spies.”

In verse 15, he says, “By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here.”

Joseph is going to keep them there until his youngest brother, Benjamin, comes there to Egypt to meet Joseph. So in verse 16, he says, “Send one of you and let him bring your brother while you remain confined that your words may be tested.”

So this is the first of two plans that are going to be set forth by Joseph. Again, remember, the number two reveals God’s hand working in this story. So we can tell that by Joseph presenting two plans, that this is going to be God working through Joseph and through his brothers to get the whole family down to Egypt. This is how it’s going to happen.

So in verse 17, he put them all together in custody for three days, similar to what they put Joseph through. They put Joseph in custody in the pit. Now Joseph is putting them in custody. Shows that God will visit our unrepented sins back on us to produce repentance. At least that’s what he’s doing here to his brothers. I hope that doesn’t happen to you or me, but God will do that sometimes. I’m not gonna say every single time, because I don’t pretend to know the ways of God when it comes to leading us to repentance. I’m sure each one of us individually is different, but this is one means that God will use to bring us to repentance, visit our unrepented sins back on us.

So in verse 18 it says, on the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God.”

And in verse 19 it says, “If you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody and let the rest go.”

So Joseph knew it was safer for them to go together than for one man to travel alone. Again remember this was a very dangerous journey between Egypt and Canaan. And he also knew that they would have to return eventually to get more food. They weren’t going to buy enough to last them another six years. So Joseph wasn’t trying to be cruel or to kill them. He just needed to find out if they were sincere and repentant. And he didn’t need to keep all of them there in custody in order to do that. He could just keep one of them and send the rest back home, knowing that they would need to return eventually.

So he says in verse 20, “Bring your youngest brother to me. So your words will be verified, and you shall not die.”

Now earlier remember Jacob had told them that they would live and not die if they go to Egypt. Now if they leave one in prison they will live and not die. You see the progression of events by going down to Egypt. Originally all they had to do was go to Egypt to live and not die but now they actually have to leave one of their number in prison in order to live and not die. This is why that language of going down to Egypt was included in the beginning of the chapter. It is a dangerous thing to go down to Egypt. Things get worse going down to Egypt.

Verse 21, then they said to one another, “In truth, we are guilty concerning our brother.”

So the three days in custody accomplished its purpose. They were starting to recognize what they had done to Joseph. And this association came so quickly. It means they probably thought of what they did to him often. I mean, wouldn’t it haunt you if you did something like that? Sold your brother into slavery? After deciding you weren’t going to kill him, you’re just going to make money off of him instead. Probably haunted these brothers and now they’re encountering difficulty, they’re encountering hardship by spending three days in prison and they immediately recognize and make the association between spending three days in prison and what they did to Joseph.

This is a result of a guilty conscience. This is what a guilty conscience will do. If you’re living with a guilty conscience because of something you’ve done in the past, anytime something bad happens, you’re going to think that it’s a result of what you did in the past. That sin in the past needs to be repented of. There’s somebody that you need to make right with. You need to go make it right with them. This is what can happen if we’re not careful and we live with unrepentant sin.

So they say, “In truth, we are guilty considering our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul.”

So they recognized God’s discipline for what they had done, even though what they had done seems unrelated to the current situation. But they had gone down to Egypt and been put in prison just like Joseph was, and they make the connection. They say that, “We saw the distress of his soul when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”

They’re recognizing that they saw Joseph’s distress when he was in that pit, and because of that now, they are in distress being released from prison. They’re starting to realize that God is disciplining them for what they had done.

So moving on to verse 22, Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy?”

Well, he didn’t really tell him. I mean, he said that they shouldn’t kill Joseph, but just throw him in a pit. And he had the intention of rescuing him later, but he didn’t tell him that. He was just trying to buy time. He never even really said that they shouldn’t kill Joseph. He just said, throw him in a pit. So Reuben is trying to make excuses for what he said, but he says, “you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.”

Spilt blood must be paid for. This is a very common theme in the book of Genesis. So they must have assumed that Joseph died in slavery because they’re talking that they are receiving a reckoning for his blood or the shed blood of their brothers being made right. So what’s interesting is that this actually proves that Joseph’s motive is not for revenge because he’s going to bring good back on his brothers for their guilt. We’re going to see in a little bit how generous he was to his brothers when they leave. So he’s going to bring good. He’s going to return good to his brothers. It proves that he’s forgiven them. Instead of returning to them the bad that they deserve for the bad that they did, he’s gonna return and repay them with kindness and generosity.

So in verse 24, Joseph turned away from them and wept because Joseph saw that his brothers were beginning to see the gravity of their sin and he returned to them and spoke to them. So we see Joseph’s attitude change toward his brothers. It’s clear that he heard Reuben’s confession and his heart was softened and he realized that they were starting to recognize their sin. So now, we don’t see any more accusations from Joseph. Instead, we only see generosity. So this picture of Joseph turning away from them and then returning to them, that’s language of repentance. Joseph repented of his accusations toward them, and now he’s gonna show them generosity. Well, he’s still gonna go forward with his plan, but we’re not gonna see him accuse them of being spies anymore.

So in verse 24, and he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. So Joseph heard Reuben’s confession, which caused him to weep. So he took Simeon instead of Reuben. It should have been Reuben, most likely that should have been bound up and kept in custody because he was the firstborn. But since Reuben was the one who had the confession that this is a reckoning for our brother’s blood, Joseph took Simeon into custody instead and allowed Reuben to go free.

So now in verse 25, Joseph is gonna give a threefold order to his servants. He’s going to say, “Okay, it’s time for the brothers to go. Servants, here’s what I want you to do. One, I want you to fill their bags with grain. They bought the grain. I want you to fill their bags. Second, I want you to replace every man’s money in his sack. So all the money that they paid to me, I want you to replace it. And third, I want you to give them provisions for their journey back to Canaan.”

So they go on the journey, they leave, they load their donkeys with grain and departed, in verse 26. And then in verse 27, and as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder, at the lodging place he saw his money in the mouth of his sack. This forces the question now of what to do with the money. This is the test that’s going to reveal the repentance in their hearts. And we can actually ask ourselves the same question, what would we do with that money? If I were one of Joseph’s brothers and I got to the lodging place that night after leaving Egypt and I opened up my sack to feed my donkey and I saw the money in there, what would I do? Would I do the right thing and go return it to him or would I keep it for myself? Say, “Huh, looks like somebody made a mistake. Looks like it’s my lucky day.”

Or would I say, “Uh-oh, somebody made a mistake. I gotta go make this right.”

So in verse 28, he said to his brothers, “My money has been put back. Here it is in the mouth of my sack.”

At this, their hearts failed them and they turned trembling to one another saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”

So, we know as the reader that it was Joseph who put the money in their sacks, but from the brothers’ perspective, it was God. They’re seeing God’s hand in these events. It shows us that God is working through Joseph to bring the brothers to repentance. They even see it now. They see that God is working through these circumstances.

So in verse 29, when they came to Jacob, their father, in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. So now this continues the theme of doubling because they’re going to tell the whole story a second time. So this is going to be the second time we read this story in the same chapter. There’s that doubling theme again, showing the hand of God in all of this.

Now the last time they told their father what had happened, they lied. Of course, the last time that they had told their father a story of what had happened, it was when they had sold Joseph into slavery and then they went to their father and told him that they had found his coat torn and covered in blood and then he had been eaten by an animal. But this time they tell him everything. With exception, of course, because in verse 31, it says, “We said to him, we are honest men.”

Well, at that moment they were, but of course, they’re still lying about what happened to Joseph. Because in verse 32, they say, we are 12 brothers, sons of our father, one is no more. So they’re still saying that Joseph is no more. They’re still lying. But the difference is, previously, when they told Joseph about their family in verse 13, they mentioned that “one is no more” at the end after mentioning the youngest, Benjamin, as if Joseph was an afterthought. But now, when they retell the story of their father, they mention Joseph before Benjamin, which could be an indication that they’re starting to recognize their wrong. It’s starting to take more prominence in their minds.

Then in verse 34, they say, Joseph tells them, “Bring your youngest brother to me, then I shall know that you are not spies but honest men, and I will deliver your brother to you, and you shall trade in the land.”

Well Joseph never actually said this. He actually said, “You shall not die.” Although the ability to trade is implied, but it’s not what he said. He said, “Do this and you shall not die.” So they’re minimizing the danger that they were actually in by going to Egypt.

Then in verse 35, as they emptied their sacks, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack. And when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid, because now they could all be accused of theft.

In verse 36, Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children,” which is an indication that Jacob believed his sons may have been responsible for Joseph’s so-called death. And here’s why. Because when they returned from Dothan without Joseph, they came back with more money than they had left with because they sold him for 20 shekels of silver. Now they’re returning from Egypt without Simeon and they have more money than they left with. So Jacob is potentially starting to recognize a pattern here. Why do these guys keep leaving and coming back with one less brother and more money? He’s starting to recognize something’s up.

So he says, “Joseph is no more.”

So Jacob still believed the lie that Joseph was dead. And this grief caused by that lie is going to result in strange actions made by Jacob, most notably that he’s going to not allow his sons to return with Benjamin to Egypt because that’s a requirement. If they want to buy more food, they have to return with Benjamin. Jacob’s not going to allow that. He would rather allow his family to starve than lose Benjamin like he lost Joseph.

And then he says “Simeon is no more.”

That’s compared to Joseph being no more. It’s the same language. So he believed that Joseph was dead and he said Joseph’s no more. Now he says Simeon is no more. So basically Simeon was as good as dead to Jacob because Jacob would not allow his sons to return. So Jacob was basically giving up on Simeon saying, “Not gonna let you return, Simeon’s just gonna die there because I can’t let you return with Benjamin.”

And he says, “Now you would take Benjamin. All this has come against me.”

This complaint that Jacob has, all this has come against me. The whole world is against me. It’s compared to Joseph who never complained even though he encountered far worse circumstances. And it’s contrasted with what Paul says in Romans 8:28. He says, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose.

See, we know that Jacob was called according to God’s purpose, but he so idolized his sons from Rachel, his wife, that he forgot that God works all these things together for good for those who are called according to his purpose. And he thought all these things were working together for bad to come against him.

So in verse 37, Reuben presents a solution, because he is a man of solutions. He is always coming up with solutions, but they’re almost always bad ones, and this one’s no better. He says, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring Benjamin back to you.”

Obviously, he’s trying to convey confidence that they were gonna return with Benjamin, but this is not helpful. “Hey, Dad, I know you just lost your second son, but if we don’t come back with Benjamin, you can kill my two sons, your two grandsons.” How’s that for an exchange? It’s terrible. It’s not helpful.

So Jacob said in verse 38, “My son shall not go down with you.”

So Jacob clearly preferred Benjamin over Simeon. He says, “For his brother is dead and he is the only one left.” The only one of Rachel’s sons left. He says, “If harm should happen to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.” And that’s how we end this chapter.

So how does Genesis 42 point to Jesus? We don’t have a whole list of ways that Joseph foreshadows Jesus in this chapter, so it’s gonna be a little bit less intense as it has been in the last few chapters. But we do see that Jesus’ resurrection is foreshadowed in the way that the brothers are put in prison. So we see that Simeon is put in prison and his brothers are set free. So they all, all of them, all 10 of them spend three days in prison, and then one man is selected as a ransom for his brothers. The rest of them are set free on the third day. And it even says in verse 18 that Joseph says, “Do this and you will live.”

So let’s go over that again. The brothers are in jail for three days. On the third day one man is given as ransom for his brothers. The rest of the brothers are set free on the third day and they are given life. So it’s not a perfect analogy, but the language is clear. It’s clear that it’s pointing to the resurrection. That one man is given to set all of them, all of the men free on the third day and to give them life. That’s what Jesus’ resurrection did. Jesus, by being raised from the dead on the third day after his death, set his brothers free. He set free anybody who would believe in him. Anybody who would believe in the resurrection, they’re set free. They’re given life because Jesus was given as a ransom to pay for all of our sins. He was resurrected on the third day and as a result, He set us free and gave us life.

The other way this chapter points to Jesus is one day there’s going to be a seven-year period of testing for Israel to bring them into repentance as a nation. Now, I know there’s probably all different views, all different eschatological views represented by those of you who are listening. So some of you may agree with this, some of you may not. This is my view. I believe that there will be a seven-year period where the nation of Israel is going to be tested to bring them into repentance and to recognize that Jesus is their Messiah. And that’s detailed in Daniel chapter 9 verses 24 through 27. It says, “70 weeks are decreed about your people in your holy city to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity.”

And the prophecy goes on to detail how those 70 weeks would take place. So the angel described seven weeks and then 62 weeks and then, “At the end desolations are decreed… and he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week,” the final week of the 70 weeks, “And for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering and on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”

And then at the end, after that final seven-year period, Jesus will return. The Messiah will return to a nation of Israel that has finally recognized him as their Messiah, the one who would set them free from their final oppressor, the Antichrist. Note, I said at the end is when Jesus returns. I am not a dispensationalist. I do not believe in a pre-tribulation rapture. I do not believe that Jesus comes back before that seven-year period. I believe the church will go through that period with Israel and will be on the earth to welcome Jesus back at the end of that seven-year period. If you disagree with me, that’s cool. I’m fine with that. I’d love to have a conversation with you about it if you want. But that’s another way that this chapter and really this whole storyline here for the next few chapters is going to point to Jesus.

So what can we reflect on this week? Well, I want us to do a little bit of a deep dive into our past. I’m not a therapist. I’m not a counselor. I’m not a somebody who’s going to try and talk you through healing or inner healing or anything like that. But, I do think it’s important to take a look back from time to time.

So the question I have for you this week is, why is it important for us to confront our past sins and failures? If we haven’t dealt with our past sins, we need to. Why is that important?

Meditate on that question, and if you have any past sins or failures that you have not dealt with, I encourage you to deal with those this week. Deal with them before the Lord brings you to a place where he has to force you to deal with them like he does with Joseph’s brothers. Deal with them now. This is a great opportunity. So let’s pray.

Lord, thank you so much for this week. thank you so much for my listeners for every single one that you are speaking to hopefully through this podcast, through your word most importantly. I pray that as we read and as we meditate and as we ask questions as we pray. Pray that you would reveal things to us from our past, things that maybe we haven’t repented of, failures that we haven’t come to terms with. Help us to confront those things, confront those sins and deal with them and repent if we need to. Pray that you would help us to see that you are the one who brings restoration to families, to friendships, to relationships. I pray that you would do those. I pray that you would do that in our families and our relationships. There are so many broken families out there, Lord. We begin to do the work of mending those families together, bringing people into repentance so that those families can be brought back together and be whole once again. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Well, thank you as always. Love to hear your feedback. Always love to hear your comments. So go ahead and leave a comment on the website, on social media. Always love hearing from you guys. Don’t forget to click like, give the show a five star rating, whatever you can do on whatever app you use, whether it’s YouTube or Spotify or whatever it is, to help increase the visibility of the show so that hopefully more people can be blessed and be exposed to Scripture and to Jesus himself. Thanks. Have a great week.

Don’t forget, if you enjoy the show and would like to help keep it on the air, go to http://www.beyondthebasics.blog and click the donate button to make a tax deductible donation. Make sure you designate the donation for Beyond the Basics. You can also click the subscribe button, which will take you to my Patreon page, where for only $4 per month, you can receive access to an additional 10 to 30 minutes of audio content per episode, as well as access to all previous episodes I’ve released.