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Wednesday October 8 - God of provision
Israel’s sons took their father Jacob and their children and their wives in
the carts that Pharaoh had sent to transport him. Genesis 46:5
It’s all too easy to lose the beauty of a brushstroke when looking at the big picture. Consider these two ‘brushstrokes’; firstly, that Pharaoh instructed Joseph to tell his family to leave for Egypt and not to worry about their belongings “because the best of all Egypt will be theirs” (Genesis 45:20). Jacob’s family left knowing they would be given directions, provision and protection. Praise God! Our destination is not Goshen, but the eternal city of Zion, not to live in servitude but set gloriously free in Christ! Jacob’s family had to travel light, leaving behind the trappings of the past – something their descendants would be required to do again 430 years later on their return to Canaan (Exodus 12:40). The second brushstroke of grace flowing through Joseph’s story is to understand that salvation was granted to every member of Joseph’s family – the menfolk, their wives and their daughters. Yes, we are saved individually on the basis of personal faith in Christ, but God’s best is for family salvation. Noah, together with his sons and their wives entered the ark (Genesis 7:13); on the night of the Passover, households were saved where the blood had been applied to the door frames (Exodus 12:23).
So what of the brushstrokes? Let’s be encouraged in the knowledge that God will provide for our needs (Philippians 4:19) and the assurance that he desires our families to come to faith (2 Peter 3:9). Let’s pray accordingly:
Father, thank you that you call me and my family to follow you. Lord, I look to that day. Amen.
Thursday October 9 - God of purpose
These are the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob and his descendants) who went to Egypt: Reuben the firstborn of Jacob... Genesis 46:8
The lion’s share of Genesis 46 (vv 8-27) consists of a list of Jacob’s 12 sons and his grandsons. It is easy to skip over such a genealogy. In amongst the list is Kohath, one of Levi’s sons who was the grandfather of Moses, and then there’s Perez, the great, great grandfather of King David. These descendants of Kohath and Perez were unparalleled in Old Testament achievement – one as Israel’s deliverer and the other as her greatest king. I am sure Jacob prayed for God to work in the lives of his family, yet he never lived to see the full outworking of those prayers. I am indebted to the prayers of others, some of whom are in glory now. You may not always see the outcome, but please do not let up on praying for your family.
This genealogy also reveals that the offspring of Jacob’s concubines, Bilhah and Zilpah, are numbered alongside those of his wives, Leah and Rachel – foreshadowing the grace that elevates us all to equal standing in God’s Kingdom. Praise God!
In prison ministry, we affirm men by addressing them by their first names. This simple act breaks barriers down, softens hearts and makes minds receptive. Just like the names of Jacob’s descendants, God has your name, both in his heart and on his lips! How precious is that?
Heavenly Father, you know me better than I know myself, and yet you call me your own. I love you, Lord Jesus. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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