The 50th week is for thanksgiving, praising God, redeeming vows, and for calling upon God. It is for celebrating the Creator, Owner, Sustainer, and Sovereign Ruler, of the Universe.
The 23-verse Psalm 50 reveals that the 50th season is the time of God’s outshining to rebuke darkness and judge wickedness. Psalm 50:1-4 says, “The Mighty One, God the LORD, Has spoken and called the earth From the rising of the sun to its going down. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent; A fire shall devour before Him, And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him. He shall call to the heavens from above, And to the earth, that He may judge His people”. In this chapter, God reveals He is Self-sufficient and does not need anything from man. Psalm 50:7-15 says, “Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you; I am God, your God! I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices Or your burnt offerings, Which are continually before Me. I will not take a bull from your house, Nor goats out of your folds. For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine. “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all its fullness. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High. Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”
Isaiah 50 is God’s reply to complainers among His people who blame God for their problems. He tells them to look inwards and take responsibility for their troubles. Isaiah 50:1-3 says, “Thus says the LORD: “Where is the certificate of your mother’s divorce, Whom I have put away? Or which of My creditors is it to whom I have sold you? For your iniquities you have sold yourselves, And for your transgressions your mother has been put away. Why, when I came, was there no man? Why, when I called, was there none to answer? Is My hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Indeed with My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness; Their fish stink because there is no water, And die of thirst. I clothe the heavens with blackness, And I make sackcloth their covering.”
After listening to God, the complainer changed and said in the fourth verse “The Lord has given me the tongue of the learned”; in the fifth verse, “The Lord has opened my ears”; in the seventh verse, “…The Lord God will help me”; and in the ninth verse, he repeats, “Surely, the Lord will help me”. Complaining is the wrong road in this 50th week of the year.
In both Psalm 50 and Isaiah 50, God shows Himself as the powerful, dependable, All-Sufficient Helper. That is why our rejoicing must be in Him.
Jeremiah 50 is prophecy of God’s judgment against Babylon. What does judgment have to do with jubilee? The downfall of the wicked causes rejoicing and jubilation. Proverbs 11:10 says, “When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices; And when the wicked perish, there is jubilation”. Week 50 is a week o divine retribution. It is a season of the recompense of justice for those who reject the covering of grace. In the 50th season, God causes jubilation by judging the wicked, saving the distressed and stopping calamity.
Week 50 is a book-of-Philippians week. The 50th book of the Bible is Paul’s epistle to the Philippians. This is not a book of great revelation or doctrines but an epistle on the right attitude to life in different situations. The theme of this epistle is JOY. The book calls the reader to rejoice in the Lord always. The word ‘joy’ is used about four times. The word ‘glad’ or ‘gladness’ is used about three times. The word ‘rejoice’ is used about 11 times. The word ‘thank’ or ‘thanksgiving’ is used two times. The word ‘sorrow’ or ‘sorrowful’ is used thrice. The rejoicing, gladness, and thanksgiving, of the season is because of the accomplished or anticipated triumphs in the season. The 50th season is not a season of sorrowing, complaining, strife, quarreling, worrying, or of losses – although that is what the adversary wants to make it. Joy keeps the enemy away. The joy of the Lord is our strength.
This week is for joy and rejoicing. In the 50th book of the Bible (Philippians), Paul took a stand against complaining, worrying, strife, quarreling. Rather, he called God’s people to rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS . Joy works miracles! Paul’s material needs were fully met in this book, Epaphroditus (Paul’s associate) who was sick to the point of death also recovered; and things that happened to him, to hurt him, advanced the gospel. Remember it was at Philippi that Paul and Silas sang praises and released earthquake on the jailhouse. As life swallows up death, and light drives darkness away, that is how joy shuts the door against mourning and sorrowing. Joy brings joyful testimonies. Try it this 50th week. What is revealed about joy in the 50th book of the Bible is, perhaps, related to what God in Leviticus 25:10-14 about ‘jubilee’: “And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. [11] That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee to you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine. [12] For it is the Jubilee; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat its produce from the field. [13] ‘In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his possession. [14] And if you sell anything to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor’s hand, you shall not oppress one another.
The 50th book of the Bible reveals, also, that the 50th week is a season to mock death. It is a season to honor God in spite of death. This week, don’t let the fear of death stop you. Philippians 2:8 says Jesus became obedient to the point of death. Philippians 2:30 says that Epaphroditus, “because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his life”. In Philippians 1:20-23, Paul said, “… Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. [22] But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. [23] For c I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.” In Philippians 3:7-11, said, “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. [8] Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ [9] and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; [10] that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, [11] if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. In Philippians 3: 20-21, he wrote, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, [21] who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
I enjoyed reading the 50th chapter of Genesis and comparing it with the 50th book of the Bible. The sync is amazing. My conclusion is that the arrangement and placement of Bible narratives, books, and chapter numbers is nothing short of Divine Inspiration.
1. In the 50th chapter of Genesis, Joseph and his brothers mourned and buried their father. The account of Joseph’s death and embalmment is also recorded in this chapter. This chapter is about death, burial, sorrowing and mourning. In the 50th book of the Bible, Philippians, Epaphroditus was sick and came close to death but God spared his life and kept sorrowing away from Paul and his companions. This 50th week, you will not sorrow or mourn. It is a week of triumph over death.
2. In the 50th chapter of Genesis, after Jacob had been buried, Joseph’s brothers were anxious and afraid that Joseph would pay them back for the evil they did to him. They met him and asked to be forgiven. He spoke kindly to them and allayed their fears and worries, In the 50th book of the Bible, Paul said, in 4:6, “Be careful for nothing; but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God…”. This 50th week, don’t fear; don’t worry; just pray, give thanks, and enjoy the incomprehensible peace of God. Instead of thoughts of fear, Paul said in 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things”.
3. In the 50th chapter of Genesis, Joseph told his brothers that though they meant evil against him, God turned it to good – to save lives. In the 50th book of the Bible, Paul said, in chapter one verse 12, “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel”. This 50th week, God will make all things work out good for you and for His name.
4. In the 50th chapter of Genesis, Joseph assured his brothers he would provide for them and their little ones. In the 50th book of the Bible, Paul said, in 4:19, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus”. This 50th week, God will provide adequately for you.
5. In the 50th chapter of Genesis, Joseph told his brothers that God would surely visit them and take them back to the land He promised their fathers. In the 50th book of the Bible, Paul told the Philippians that God who began the good work in them would perfect it. This 50th week, the Lord will show Himself a Finisher and Perfecter of what He started in your life.
6. In Genesis 50, Joseph told his brothers to keep their eyes on returning to the Promised Land. In the 50th book of the Bible, Paul speaks of giving up everything for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ; forgetting the things that are behind and pressing towards the mark of the high calling in Christ; and looking forward to the coming of our Savior to transform our lowly mortal body to be like His glorious immortal body. This week, do not settle for anything short of hitting the target. What matters in the 50th season is finishing and hitting the target. It is not a time to settle but a time to keep advancing.
7. In the 50th chapter of Genesis, Joseph’s brothers bowed to him to seek his favor. Pharaoh had exalted him highly, made him second in command in Egypt, and commanded all to bow the knee to him . In the 50th book of the Bible, Jesus is highly exalted and bears the name that is above all other names. At His name, every knee should bows and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. This week, knees will bow to the Christ in you.
This week is for life – not for death. Shut out worrying, complaining, quarreling, and strife. Be released from depression! Let your heart overflow with joy because of the sufficiency you have in God, our Father. This 50th week of the year shall be for you a book of Philippians week. It’s a new beginning. Enjoy the Jubilee!
Happy 50th week!!!
