The words from the bible are available in hundreds of languages and have been translated, interpreted, reviled, promoted and showcased in every manner known to man. So what’s left to do?
I think the web opens up some interesting possibilities; that’s why this site is here.
Domain names and hosting are cheap; I can do it for less than $15.00 per year. That gives me a pulpit which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year long. It can be reached at any time by anyone with access to a computer. At this point in time that means half or more of the population of the earth could visit my site if they wanted to.
If I write good information and stick with it, my site will get listed in the search engines, for free. The software used to write this is free, relatively easy to install, and easy to use.
Digital cameras are inexpensive and getting more so. Googles Picasa2 program is available for a free download and will let you manage and improve your pictures. Kinko’s and other venue’s will accept your submissions via email, print your images, and even ship to a buyer if you would like.
As a result there has never been a better time for creative people to find new and different ways to spread the Word. It will be interesting to see what develops.
I started my research into the best use for the bible verses domain with Wordtracker. There are almost 2,000 searches per day for the term. That is a lot, but nothing compared to popular subjects like ring tones. :) However, in my experience that is enough activity upon which to build a modest online income.
Next I visited Ebay as a way of seeing up to the minute bibile verse related sales activity. There were 168 active auctions where the title included Bible Verses and they included an astonishing variety of attempts to profit. Mousepads, tee shirts, neckties, pictures, framed prints, flash cards, scarves, pillows, etc. Obviously, finding a new way to present a bible verse will require some imagination.
The nice thing about working with bible verses is they are all in the public domain. In fact, you can easily obtain multiple translations in electronic form. There is no need for original writing or scanning documents into the computer. Project Guttenburg is a great place to find prublic domain material which is already in electronic form.
The abundance of resources is a problem. You can’t cover everything at once, so I will have to find a focus and grow the business from there.
Genesis 40
1 And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord the king of Egypt.
2 And Pharaoh was wroth against his two officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.
3 And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.
4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he ministered unto them: and they continued a season in ward.
5 And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream, in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were bound in the prison.
6 And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and saw them, and, behold, they were sad.
7 And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in ward in his master’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sad to-day?
8 And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell it me, I pray you.
9 And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me;
10 and in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and its blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes:
11 and Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.
12 And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days;
13 within yet three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head, and restore thee unto thine office: and thou shalt give Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler.
14 But have me in thy remembrance when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house:
15 for indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.
16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, three baskets of white bread were on my head:
17 and in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of baked food for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head.
18 And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: the three baskets are three days;
19 within yet three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.
20 And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and the head of the chief baker among his servants.
21 And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand:
22 but he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them.
23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgot him.
Joseph was in prison in Egypt, having been wrongly accused by Potiphar’s wife. Even though he was in prison for something he didn’t do, Joseph continued to put his trust in God, and God helped Joseph. There were two men in prison with Joseph both of whom had been in the service of the Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. These two men had dreams which they couldn’t understand. God helped Joseph to explain the meaning of the dreams to these men. One of these men was freed from prison and again welcomed into the service of the Pharaoh. Two years later the Pharaoh himself had a dream which he could not understand, and none of the magicians of Egypt, nor any of the wise men of Egypt could interpret the Pharaoh’s dream. (Gen. 41:8). At this point the man who had known Joseph in prison remembered how Joseph had interpreted his dream and told the Pharaoh.
With nothing to lose the Pharaoh instructed that Joseph be brought to him, and asked Joseph if he could interpret the dream. Joseph replied that he didn’t have such a power, but God might indeed help. The Pharaoh told Joseph his dream. “Behold, I was standing on the banks of the Nile and 7 cows, fat and sleek, came up out of the Nile and fed on the grass. Then 7 other cows came up out of the Nile. They were gaunt and thin such as I had never seen before. The gaunt and thin cows ate the fat cows yet remained gaunt and thin.” The Pharaoh also shared a second dream with Joseph. “I saw 7 ears growing on one stalk, full and good, then 7 ears withered and thin sprouted after the good ones and swallowed up the good ones.”
God was with Joseph and helped him to interpret the dreams. Joseph told the Pharaoh that the dreams meant there would be 7 years of abundant crops in the land followed by 7 years of severe drought. Joseph told the Pharaoh that he should choose a wise and trusted man and set him over Egypt to collect the extra crops during the 7 abundant years and put it in storage so that there would be food during the time of drought. This made sense to the Pharaoh and he said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discreet and wise as you are; you shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command; only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.”
So Joseph was out of prison then and he proceeded with the task given to him. He saw to it that crops were collected and stored during the 7 good years, and when the famine came during the 7 years of drought the people of Egypt were able to draw upon the food that had been stored. What becomes even more important is that the drought and famine spread through the lands around Egypt into Canaan. There Jacob and his family were greatly affected. Jacob heard that there was food in Egypt and he sent his sons there to see if they could buy some.
The brothers had to come before Joseph to make their request for food. Joseph had changed quite a bit and they didn’t recognize him, but he knew them. What an opportunity Joseph would have had to get back at his brothers for the way they had treated him. In fact, he did make it somewhat difficult for them. So here we have another example of the Bible giving us the story of a man of faith, but one who also falls short at times, doing wrong. That is something important for us to recognize as we read the Bible. It tells the story of people just like us – with our good points and our bad points, our times of faithfulness and our times of turning from God’s way. It seems to me that we can draw a valuable lesson from the Bible. God is willing to stick with people who are less than perfect. That should give us a measure of hope, not that we can do whatever we want and get away with it, but that when we do fail God is still faithful, will forgive and will stand by us.
Yes Joseph gave his brothers a hard time, but finally revealed who he was and told his brothers that he forgave them. He told them, “now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.” (Gen. 45:5) These words too are a valuable lesson for us. What if Joseph had wallowed in self-pity after his brothers had sold him into slavery, or after he had been put in prison? What if he had given up on God? But Joseph continued to trust God, and God was able to bring good from those terrible circumstances.
The story of Joseph illustrates very vividly a verse from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans: “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” (8:28) To me that is one of the toughest verses in the Bible. When we face the death of a loved one, when a drunk driver injures someone, when war brings senseless killing and atrocities, when divorce breaks up a family, when a teenager ends up hooked on drugs, when disease leaves us with less physical or mental capacity it is hard to see God working in any of these circumstances, and it is hard to see God working for good. Yet it is precisely in such times that we need to place our trust in God. It is precisely in such times that we can see that our power is so limited and we need God. It is precisely in such times that we need to understand that God can work in the long range even though we can only see the present. Joseph continued to trust God in difficult circumstances and God was able to work good out of what was not good – and not only for Joseph, but for his whole family.
Does this also help you recall another biblical story? The one on which we focus during the Lenten season? Yes the story of Jesus. Jesus went about teaching people about God. He helped people get to know God. He healed people with miracles. And yet there were those who hated Jesus. They plotted to kill him. Jesus was arrested, beaten, hung on a cross. It was a cruel and terrible way to die. Yet the night before he died, when Jesus knew what was coming, he prayed to God his Father, “not my will, but your will be done”. And through terrible circumstances, through death, God did work something good – and not just for Jesus but for all who would accept Jesus as Savior – resurrection, new life, eternal life.
Remember Joseph’s story, but even more remember God’s faithfulness and power and wisdom in doing new things. The story of Joseph ends with the family being reunited and moving to Egypt to join Joseph there, and they increased in numbers just as God had promised Abraham.