January 13th
Scripture Reading: Genesis 48 - 50 …
It must have seemed to
Jacob, Joseph and his brothers like a long time had passed since God had made
His promises to Abraham that He would be the God of Abraham and his
descendants, that He would multiply Abraham's descendants and give them the
land of Canaan as their inheritance, and that through the "Seed" of Abraham, all nations on the earth would be
blessed (Genesis 12, 15 and 17). Abraham was dead, as was his son, Isaac.
Jacob, Isaac’s son, had 12 sons, and we have read how the brothers of
Joseph sold him into slavery in Egypt and how God was with Joseph and exalted
him to be second-in-command to Pharaoh in order to accomplish God's purpose in
keeping the descendants of Abraham and Isaac alive during the seven-year
famine.
While in Egypt, God would keep His promise to make
of them a great nation and then He would lead them out by a mighty hand, giving
pictures that point to the deliverance that God would later provide in His own
Son, Jesus Christ. But now, Jacob's
death is near, so he makes Joseph promise not to bury him in Egypt, but to take
his bones back to the promised land, displaying his faith in God's promises.
He blesses Joseph and his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (Chapter 48),
and then passes on a word from God: "I am about to die, but God
will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers" (48:21). Faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
is not only for today or tomorrow; it is for the future. God will always keep His promises and part of
living as a follower of Jesus in this world is believing all of God’s promises
to US in His Word!!
As Jacob blesses Joseph and his sons, he also
gathers the rest of his sons together and gives a prophecy of their futures: "Gather
around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come" (49:1).
There are a number of significant prophecies given in Chapter 49, but
without question the most important is that given to Judah: "The
scepter will not depart from Judah nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
until he comes to whom it belongs, and the obedience of the nations is
His!" (49:10). Clearly,
God gave Jacob wisdom and used him to point to ONE who would come from the line
of Judah in a future time, who would rule over God’s people AND over all the
nations of the world. That’s quite a
prophecy!!
This promise will eventually become the focus of
the very existence of the people of Judah, those called "Jews" to
this day. It is important to remember that God has not forgotten the rest
of the tribes of Israel either. They are not mentioned often in
Scripture, but in the prophets there is always the underlying current of hope
offered to Israel that there will be a future glory for all of Israel.
There will be a reunion in the last days as God gathers His people from
the corners of the earth prior to the Church being raptured (see Revelation
7:1-8). God does not forget His promises!
And He has not forgotten His chosen people (Romans 11:28-32).
David, the second king of Israel, was from the
tribe of Judah, and the line of David would continue right up to the birth of
Jesus Christ, a descendant of Judah (Matthew 1:2-3). This tiny tribe,
amidst a tiny, insignificant nation in the eyes of the world, would give birth
to the Messiah, the Anointed One, the King, the Christ! Genesis 49:10 would be fulfilled in JESUS!!
When Jacob died, Joseph kept his promise and led a
procession to the land of Canaan. What a sight that must have been!
This was not like taking someone's body to the place of their birth
today. This was a major journey and others were watching, and perhaps
wondering, why all of the mourning, and why were the Egyptians bringing this
man's body all the way from Egypt? God's purposes are hidden from the
world and revealed only to those who know Him.
Now Joseph's brothers were concerned that with
their father gone, Joseph might hold a grudge against them. They asked
for Joseph's forgiveness and told Joseph that their father wanted him to
forgive them. Out of fear they offered to become Joseph's slaves, but
once again, Joseph understood the sovereignty of God over all the events of his
life and said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of
God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish
what is now being done, the saving of many lives" (50:20). Some
have said that Joseph had "50/20 vision." It's a good
way of remembering that God uses even the evil of men to accomplish His
purposes.
It reminds me of what Peter said of Jesus in Acts
2:23-24: "This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose
and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by
nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead!"
God's plan cannot be thwarted by the wickedness and evil of sinful men.
He kept His promises to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, and through faith
in Jesus Christ, the promised "Seed" of Abraham, the Lion
of the tribe of Judah, you and I who believe are included in God's promises for
the future!
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Patriarchs ("fathers")
of the nation of Israel, were now gone, but God's promises remained. As Jacob
died, the history of the nation of Israel began, as his twelve sons would head
the twelve tribes of Israel. Before he died Joseph said to his brothers,
"God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to
the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" (50:24). As
Jacob had done, Joseph made them promise to carry his bones back to Canaan … a
promise they would later keep.
As Joseph trusted God to keep His promises, so must
you and I. We know who the "Seed"
of Abraham is and how God determined to accomplish our forgiveness, our
salvation and our deliverance from the just reward of our sin. Trust in
the Lord our God and rest in His promises and you will enter into the promised
land, the new heaven and the new earth that He has promised for all who come to
Him through Jesus Christ!
"Heavenly Father, more than 4,000 years ago
You entered into a covenant with Abraham, and all who have faith in Jesus
Christ today are the children of Abraham, grafted into the 'root of Jesse,' the
father of King David, from whose line the Messiah came. Help me to
remember who I am and whose I am as I live in this world by faith, longing for
that day when I will live by sight! In Jesus' name, Amen"
Amen.
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