SCRIPTURE: Genesis 47
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
Whenever you enter a city or village, search for a worthy person and stay in his home until you leave town. When you enter the home, give it your blessing. If it turns out to be a worthy home, let your blessing stand; if it is not, take back the blessing. (Matthew 10:11-13) God’s mission, as told to Abraham, was to bless the nations (Genesis 12:1-3). But the opposite is also true, those who reject (curse) him will be cursed. Jesus repeats this mission to his disciples when He tells them to bless whatever home they come to, and to withdraw the blessing from those who reject them.
Jacob blesses Pharoah. And when Pharoah welcomes him, he is blessed. But when later on subsequent Pharoah’s enslave the Israelites, the curse comes upon them. That curse is seen in the plagues that befall them, and especially in the death of his firstborn.
God does not delight in cursing anyone. He generously spreads His blessing (sun and rain) on the good and bad. Through Jesus He calls us to do the same, loving even our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48). We are urged to bless those who curse us, and not curse them back (Romans 12:14).
The withdrawing of the blessing that Jesus speaks of, and the curse that God mentions to Abraham, is not God’s revenge on people who reject Him and His people, but the natural result of rejecting His blessing. God does not have to punish sin, or sinners; sin and rebellion is its own punishment. The wages of sin and rebellion is death.
God is generously spreading blessing in all nations. God allows the Egyptians to prosper with the Israelites. But in time, if people of whatever nation, keep on refusing His loving advances, His gracious demonstrations of mercy and blessing, then He will “take back the blessing”, and they will discover what life without God is really like.
This is also true for people today. Anyone who resists God and makes life difficult for His people, they will discover what life with God is really like. And if they continue to refuse to repent, they will ultimately receive the wages of this response.
PRAYER:
Lord, I am blessed, and I am called to bless others. May I, and those around me, recognize that everything we have is a gift, a blessing from You.
LORD, in these verses we see the power of forgiveness revealed. Joseph could have responded so differently to his brothers but Your love, Your power was evident in his life as Joseph pours out love and compassion in such generousity. How this must have overwhelmed his brothers! LORD, may I too be conscious of my actions and response so that Your power and Your love may impact the lives that I am in contact with – for YOUR Kingdom purposes. LORD, like Joseph may I hold fast to the promise that You are at work in all things and that every thing is working to the good of Your plans and purposes. Joseph’s life was truly in Your hands.
LORD, we see the blessings poured out upon Joseph and through Joseph as a result of his trusting and surrendering to You.
In the last verses we see the power of the ‘verbal’ word in their day. LORD, how Your heart must break for the careless way we ‘use’ or ‘toss’ our word today without thought or meaning at times. LORD may my word be respected. Help me to be conscious of all that I am saying so that my word means what You desire it to mean. Forgive me for the times when I too have been careless / thoughtless, not taking seriously how greatly I could be hindering Your kingdom work. LORD, in my words, be glorified. May my words be edifying, full of Your life, speaking Your life into the lives around me, impacting this world for Your Kingdom, by Your Holy Spirit…..
Jacob and his sons settled in the land of Goshen. Their occupation was recognized even by pharaoh because he wanted them to look after his livestock. He saw that that the Lord had blessed them. As Jacob had been blessed by the Lord, he also blessed pharaoh. As God blesses us, we need to be a blessing to those around us.
All our silver and gold or even our land possessions can not give us our daily bread. During the famine, the people’s money ran out and they had to give themselves in service in order to live. As Christian by name, all what I have is His. In order to have the Bread of Life, I must surrender all to Him. To live forever with the Ruler of my heart, I must serve Him with all that He has given me. This is my Father’s World. All that I have is His and I must worship Him all my days in all my ways with all that He has given me. As Jacob’s family was a blessing to all the peoples, so I too need to be a blessing to all those around me. It went well for the people as long as the pharaoh knew of the wisdom of Joseph, but when the next pharaoh did not know of Joseph and his ways, the land perished. As the ruler goes, so go the people.
We give Thee but Thine own,
Whate’er the gift may be;
All that we have is Thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from Thee.
May we Thy bounties thus
As stewards true receive,
And gladly, as Thou blessest us,
To Thee our firstfruits give.