Skip to main content

13. Carrying on the Covenant


Genesis 35:9-15
Key Verse:  “And god said, "I am God almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body."
Genesis 35:11

 In yesterday's reading, when God met Jacob, Jacob's commitment was conditional. He stood at his altar, so sure of himself and said, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then the Lord will be my God." (Gen. 28: 21) If,..Then? Jacob seems to be in charge here.

What a difference a life makes. Today, he is back at the same place with a similar altar and a similar promise from God. This time, however, Jacob simply makes an offering and says nothing. What a difference the sanctification process makes when the Lord works in the life of His chosen.

Jacob knows who God is now.  God has walked with him and wrestled with him and changed his name from Jacob, (which means deceiver), to Israel, (which means one who wrestles with God). He has found his place in the messianic lineage. As his grandfather Abraham before him, Israel too has been molded and changed.

We are one sign post closer to Messiah.  How long, O Lord, how long?  Perhaps Israel is more contemplative now. He knows that he's not necessarily who he thought that he was. He sees the struggles that his family is going through and the problems they are creating for others. It is a humbler man who stands here, more useful in his submission to God's purposes.  He has learned how it feels to be deceived.  He has learned the value of commitment.

"After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him." (Gen. 35:9)  Earlier in his life, Jacob had used trickery to receive a blessing from his earthly Father.  Now, after many twists and turns, God, Jacob’s Heavenly Father, who cannot be deceived, comes to Jacob voluntarily to affirm His original blessing, to renew His covenant, and to encourage Jacob to keep on keeping on.  God knows everything about Jacob, but God still chooses him and calls him Israel to fulfill His purposes.

Ephesians 2:10 tells us: "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance, for us to do."   Jacob lives this out and sets an example before us of God's faithfulness to mold us into usefulness for Him.  It's just amazing to consider!

Hymn: "O Worship the King" 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

258. "Remember, Always Remember!"

Exodus 12:1-30 Key Verse: "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord a lasting ordinance." Exodus 12:14 "Celebrate the feast of unleavened bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come." (Exodus 12:17) "And when your children ask you, "What does this ceremony mean to you?" then tell them, "It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when He struck down the Egyptians." (Exodus 12:27) The original act was an act of worship as the first true act of freedom for the people of Israel. They had been brought to Egypt by Joseph during a time of famine so that through Joseph God could preserve their lives. ( Genesis 37 , & 39-50 ) After Joseph died, however, instead of heading back to C...
Post a Comment
Read more

August 13 What Is Fitting

It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury—how much less for a slave to rule over princes! ~Proverbs 19:10   On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man!” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. ~Acts 12:21-23  Wow! Well, what in the world can there be to benefit us here? First of all, perhaps we should review the first Biblical definition of a fool, penned by no other than Solomon’s Father, David himself. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1) It is not fitting for the fool to live the blessed life. Why should they when they deny from whom all blessings flow?  King Herod was a fool. Now, just to be clear, this is not the Herod who ruled at Jesus’ birth and ordered the slaughter of the male children in Bethlehem. He ...
Post a Comment
Read more

July 26 Time for A Wellness Check Up

This too is a grievous evil: As a man comes, so he departs, and what does he gain, since he toils for the wind? All his days he eats in darkness, with great frustration, affliction and anger. Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work, this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart. ~Ecclesiastes 5:16-20  I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret to being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everythi...
Post a Comment
Read more