Fri.’s Devo - In the End

Read Gen. 46:18-34 Yesterdays devotion about Asher is a good description of our days. The next in line is Joseph whose name means “let him add”. His two son’s names mean “causing to forget” and “double fruit”. So, let’s just add the fact that Jesus will cause you to forget all your sins and bless you double to all the good things God promised through Asher. Benjamin’s names all have to do with the tribulation and rise of the antichrist. Dan’s name means to “judge” and he had one son whose name meant “the hasters” which is who God is going to judge (those who rushed carelessly through life with no thought of eternity) and Naptali has to do with God’s promise to his bride. I’ll leave those for you to look up and discover. Verse 26 says that all the souls that came from his loins were 66, then the next verse says that all the house of Jacob that came out were 70. So the extra 4 were the wives I guess. That is not many wives for 12 men! But I do know that there are 66 books in the Bible and the number 66 means that man has been tested and found pleasing to God or not pleasing to God. Seventy is a set time of judgment and represents the price of redemption. The number 70 means that man’s test is complete. So, Jacob and his sons had been tested for 70 years and God found them complete. He placed them in a good land called Goshen which means “drawing near”. Here they would be close to Joseph who would take care of them and provide for their families in the days of famine and testing in the world. That is God’s promise to us. We, who don’t deserve it, have been given a place in God where we can go that is full of provision and satisfaction in the midst of famine and uncertainty. Judah was sent to get Joseph and bring him to his family. It will be praise that will gain us audience with Jesus in days of uncertainty. When Jacob saw Joseph they had a very sweet reunion. Joseph wanted to go immediately before the pharaoh and present himself as a servant to him. Won’t that be our response when we get to heaven… just to go meet God and humbly present ourselves as his servant! Lord, provoke us to want to draw near and seek you provision in times of famine.