Читать книгу Bloodline for the Messiah - A. M. Deigloriam - Страница 11

(Approximate 1836–1689 BC)

The covenant given by God to Abraham was passed down to Isaac and then to Jacob and then to his descendants. Jacob was not a perfect man and struggled with sin his entire life. He started his life by cheating Esau out of his birthright and blessing and continued to struggle with God over the control his life. A personal relationship with God will include blessings, instruction, and discipline just as in all relationships there is some conflict. All of the patriarchs sinned, were disobedient and experienced God’s loving discipline. Jacob had a dream where God did confirm his covenant with him and his descendants.

Genesis 28: 12-13 reads, “And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and thy seed:”

The dream confirms that there was a continual movement of angels between heaven and earth and that Jacob was under God’s protection at all times.

Jacob at the age of 130 had to make the most difficult decision of his life. He had moved his family to Canaan the land that had been promised to his family since the time of Abraham. Unfortunately, there was a great famine in the land and people were starving. To further complicate the issue Jacob discovered that Joseph his son was not dead, but living in Egypt under the protection of the Pharaoh. Jacob also received an invitation and a cart of gifts from Joseph to join him in Egypt. Jacob needed God’s direction and he prayed that God would answer his prayer.

Genesis 46:1-4 reads, “And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheda, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not go down to Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. “

God answered Jacob’s prayer in a way that provided specific directions as to where to go and that He would provide protection on the long journey. Jacob travel to Egypt during a drought that would last more than seven years. He travelled with his eleven sons, wives, children along with their herds of cattle, sheep, and goats. They were greeted in Egypt by Joseph and were given rich fertile land to work, allowed to manage the Pharaoh’s livestock, and Jacob’s family grew and thrived.

Genesis 46: 29-30, reads, “And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.”

The drought brought about severe hardship to all the people of the region to the point where many were starving and selling all they had for food to survive. It was Joseph and his wisdom that provided for a great storage of grain that allowed many to survive the famine.

Joseph was a son that was hated by his brothers, beaten and sold to a passing caravan. God would use this despised and rejected man to accomplish great things and to be the answer to Jacob’s prayer. God brought about a miracle by taking a slave called Joseph left for dead and placing him in a position that ensured that God’s man Jacob and the twelve tribes of Jacob would survive in great numbers.

Both Jacob and Joseph placed their trust in God and asked for His direction. God answered their prayers by providing His loving grace in His time and in His way. The message is clear, if you live a life that is based on your wisdom you will not experience God’s plan for your life. God will not fail to unfold his promises regardless of the circumstance. No one would expect a beaten slave left for dead to be an important part of a sovereign God’s plan for all of mankind. God’s plan for the world will unfold regardless of our individual values or situations. Today, many are enslaved to earthly values and their entire existence is focused on self.

It is God’s grace that blesses us with promises that we do not deserve. Jacob took every decision to God in prayer. Jacob was blessed greatly because of his faithfulness in taking all decisions to God in prayer. His life was based on God’s wisdom and not his own wisdom. Jacob and his twelve sons all prospered in Egypt and raised twelve great family tribes.

2 Samuel 7:28 reads, “And now, O Lord God, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant.”

We are the creation of a sovereign all powerful God that has no sin and cannot tolerant any sin. He is a loving patience God that has given His only Son as a sacrifice for all of man’s sin so that man may commune with God his Creator. Jacob was living out God’s plan for his life and the life of his family that included traveling and moving his family to Egypt. Obedience in our daily life pleases God and allows us to receive His blessing. However, disobedience will bring discipline to those that are faithful servants. We belong to a loving, faithful God who will never fail to provide for His faithful servants.

Application

Esau was not interested in his birthright and was willing to sell it to Jacob for a bowl of stew. Jacob on the other hand, realized the value and importance of the bloodline and was willing to assume all the responsibility and authority associated with the birthright. Unfortunately, when Isaac was on his deathbed and ready to give the final blessing, Jacob with the aid of Rebekah, Isaac’s wife, devised a plan to deceive Isaac.

Regardless of the conflict and the many sins between Jacob, Esau, and the family, God’s plan would be unfolded.

Genesis 25:23 reads, “And the Lord said unto her, two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from the bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.”

Jacob being the youngest son would be the son to carry the bloodline for the Son of David, Jesus the Christ. God has a plan for each person and regardless of the number of bad decisions we make He is always there to comfort us and to forgive us our many sins.

Jacob was a deceitful and crafty man that relied on his own skills to resolve issues he encountered. His deception and lies to Isaac resulted in Esau’s wrath and pledge to kill Jacob. All of Jacob’s efforts to resolve issues ended in failure and the wrath of his victims. Men are generally more inclined to try to resolve issues on their own rather than to pray and patiently wait on God for His answer. Jacob was in a difficult situation with his brother coming in the morning with 400 men to kill him and others to do him harm. Jacob spent the night struggling and wrestling with an angel of God.

Jacob was full of fear and dreaded the meeting with his brother Esau and realized he needed God’s blessing to change his life and resolve all of his conflicts. In complete desperation he told the angel he wasn’t going to release him unless he was blessed.

Genesis 32:26-29 reads, “And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name? And he blessed him there.”

The encounter with the angel made Jacob physically vulnerable with an injured hip and at the same time required that he be more dependent on faith. God’s blessing changed Jacob from being a man who tried to resolve all issues with lies and deception to a man who was completely dependent on God for all things. Jacob’s struggle with the angel pleased God and resulted in Jacob getting the blessing he fought for. We all struggle and wrestle with difficult issues throughout our lives. The sooner we realize our limitations, the sooner we place a greater trust in God’s love, and wisdom, the sooner we live a fuller and joy filled life. We continue in a life of prayer and patiently wait on the Lord for His direction and answer to our needs. God answers our prayers in many different ways and in some ways we do not understand. For example, God will wait until the time is right for an issue to be resolved. The right time could be dependent on other people, an individual’s maturity, experiences to be realized, knowledge of the issues, and countless other aspects of daily life.