Note: Devotion based on last Sunday's sermon on Genesis 46.
“And God
spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he
said, Here am I” (Genesis 46:2).
Genesis 45 presented a great climax in the life of Joseph, as
he finally made himself known to his brothers and was reconciled with them.
The story does not, however, end there. Genesis 46 follows with
the account of how Joseph’s father Jacob [Israel] made his journey to Egypt.
God had been at work providentially to preserve the line of
Abraham, and in bringing Jacob [Israel] and his household to Egypt, God is further
working out his providential plan. That plan will include hardship for this
elect nation, as they will be placed in bondage in Egypt. Yet it will also include
God’s mighty work of deliverance in the Exodus under Moses.
Jacob did not know all that was ahead. He simply listened and
obeyed the command of God.
As we look back at the opening verses to this chapter (46:1-7),
we can see how Jacob and his household might stand as figures for every
believer and for all the people of God, his church, collectively.
Jacob was called to leave his homeland and go to Egypt. We
too have been summoned to answer the call of God upon our lives. We have been
called to leave all behind and follow Christ wherever he leads (Luke 9:23).
Jacob worshipped God (see v. 1 “and [Jacob] and offered
sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.”). We are called to give worship,
to offer spiritual sacrifices, the fruit of our lips, to the one true God of
the Bible.
God has spoken to us in this age, not in visions, but by his
Word written (v. 2: “And God spake unto Israel…”). We are to receive his Word
and take it into our lives.
He gives us his perfect love which casts out fear (v. 3: “fear
not…”).
He gives us his promises that we will be a great nation, the
spiritual seed of Abraham (v. 3: “for I will make of thee a great nation”).
He promises to go with us into every circumstance and to
bring us out again, to be all our comfort and hope in life and death (v. 4: “I
will do down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again…).
Moses records Jacob’s response to this call: “And Jacob rose
up…” (v. 5). He took with him “all he had” (v. 1) and followed. This included “all
his seed” (vv. 6, 7). He entrusted not only himself but all his family to the Lord.
May we learn from men like Jacob in Holy Scripture how we are
to obey when the Lord calls upon us.
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
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