2 Timothy 4:13 – “…When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments….”

This seemingly unimportant comment in the closing section of Paul’s letter to Timothy contains a message from the Holy Spirit for us today. We remember that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16)  Paul mentions three items here, and urges Timothy to remember to carry with him. The Bible often mentions symbolic items in sets of three to illustrate the operation of the Trinity in our spiritual lives.

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Genesis 37:3 - “Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons” 

Joseph was the favorite son of his father; Jesus received repeated affirmations from His Heavenly Father, in a voice from above saying, “This is my Son whom I love; listen to him.”  In the stories about Joseph, we see three reasons that Jacob, his father, loved him more than his brothers.  The first was that Joseph was “Born to him in his old age.”  Applied to Jesus, the term “old age” or “many years” speaks of Eternity.  The Father is older than time – He is eternal, and Jesus is also eternal.  The Father’s love for Jesus starts with the fact that Jesus and the Father are one – from Eternity past. 

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There are three sets of dreams in the Joseph stories from Genesis 37-42.  Each set has two dreams that have related meanings. 

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Genesis 41:14 – “When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.”

Genesis 39:16- “She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home.  Then she told him this story: ‘The Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me.’”

Genesis 37:32 - ”They took the ornamented robe back to their father and said, “We found this.  Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”

There are three instances in the Joseph stories where he had to leave behind his garments.  Each time – especially the first two instances – other people used his garments as part of a deception, to perpetrate a lie about Joseph.  Each incident has important lessons for us today.  Many features in the stories about Joseph occur in sets of three (like the times he left his garments behind, or the times that God spoke through dreams, etc.) – emphasizing the operation of the Trinity in the project of salvation.

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Genesis 41:45-50 – “Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah, and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife.  And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt . . . Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.”

Joseph’s bride, Asenath, is an illustration of Christ’s redemption of the church, His Bride, from the world.  This theme runs throughout the Bible – the gentile church as the Bride of Christ.  (See Ephesians 5:22-32).  For example, in the genealogy of Jesus, Matthew’s gospel mentions only two women by name – Ruth and Rahab (Matthew 1:5) – both being from outside Israel, brides of leaders in the Tribe of Judah.  Each was from a pagan gentile background, but they received salvation and inclusion among God’s people.  These brides illustrate the Gentile church (this is also a theme in the book of Song of Solomon – Jesus would save a people from outside the Jewish people, like most of the believers in the world today.  The church that ascends at the Rapture, to the wedding feast of the Lamb, is primarily a Gentile church, the Bride of Christ.  Joseph also had a Gentile bride, Asenath.

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Genesis 50:24-25 – Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and will take you up out of this land, to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”  And Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place…” 

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Isaiah 41:13 - “For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”

This short verse contains wonderful promises and blessings for us, like most of the verses this chapter.  Isaiah 41 is a chapter where the Lord rebukes the enemies of His people, where the Lord challenges the idolaters for making useless images for worship, and where He promises a new period of divine protection and blessing.  The Lord actually promises three types of action on behalf of His servants:

• He will take hold of your right hand…
• He speaks to you, saying, “Do not fear”…
• He will help you…

Three is a biblical number representing the operation of the TRINITY.

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Psalm 74:2 - ”Remember the people you purchased of old, the tribe of your inheritance, whom you redeemed – Mount Zion, where you dwelt.”

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Hebrews 9:3-4 – “Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.  Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover.”

In the Old Testament, the Tabernacle and the Temple had an inner room called the “Most Holy Place” (or the Holy of Holies in some Bible versions).  The Holy of Holies contained the Ark of the Covenant.  The Ark of the Covenant played a crucial role in the major events in Israel’s history. 

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Judges 7:2-3 - “The Lord said to Gideon, ‘You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands.  In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ ‘ So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.”

This story is about God using Gideon to deliver the Israelites from the Midianites, who were oppressing them, stealing their food.  Gideon had to choose his men to accompany him into battle.  The enemy vastly outnumbered him.  At first, Gideon thought he would need as many people as possible to win.  He gathered 32,000 men at the outset, enough for war – or so Gideon thought.  Yet the Lord said there were too many people.   continue