Thurs.’s Devo - The Last Days

Read: Genesis 48:1-49:33; Matthew 15:29-16:12; Psalm 20:1-9; Proverbs 4:20-27
Jacob was dying so Joseph was called to his bedside. He brought his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Jacob told Joseph the promises that God had given him about their family. Joseph brought his sons in for Jacob to bless and made sure Ephraim was on Jacob’s side that he would naturally put his right hand on Manasseh’s head. Instead, Jacob crossed his arms and put his right hand on Ephraim’s head and his left on Manasseh’s. When Joseph corrected him, he told him he was following the spirit of God. Manasseh was indeed the first born but it would be Ephraim who would become greater than Manasseh.
Jacob called in the other brothers to give them a look into what would happen to their tribe in the last days.
Rueben would be unstable because he went into his fathers’ concubine. Simeon and Levi (who stood for the organized religious system) would be dishonored, divided and scattered. Judah, who the Messiah would come from, would rule his enemies and his brothers would bow down to him. He would always have a king to rule on the throne. Through his blood he would make a righteous bloodline. Zebulun would be a port for ships. Issachar would be strong and a hard worker. Dan would judge his people and upset the proud and the exalted. Gad would be warriors who would not give up. Asher would have rich food, fit for a king. Naphtali would be like a deer set free. Joseph would be fruitful and stand in times of adversity. Benjamin would devour the prey and divide the spoil.
Joseph made sure to bury Jacob in the cave at Machpelah where Abraham, Sarah, Issac, Rebecca, and Leah were buried. When he died, he was gathered to his people which means that he spent his life in Sheol with his descendents. Wherever you were buried was where you lived in Sheol, the place of the dead. This land would become a designated city of refuge which we will talk about later.
In Matthew, Jesus was filled with compassion and healed the blind, lame, crippled, mute and many other diseases. He knew that the people had been with him for three days and needed to return home. Jesus didn’t want them to leave hungry so he told his disciples that he would like to feed them. Once again, the disciples gave him the practical answer. They only had seven bread and a few small fish. Jesus once again demonstrated the power of God which is above what is practical and natural. They fed 4,000 mostly Gentiles this time.
The Pharisees came asking Jesus to show them a sign from heaven. He rebuked them because they knew how to read natural signs in the sky but had no idea how to see spiritual signs. Jesus told them the only sign he would give them would be the sign of Jonah. Jonah was dead in the belly of a whale for 3 days and resurrected on the earth. Jesus would do the same.
The disciples were not spiritually minded either. They couldn’t understand that when Jesus told them to be aware of the yeast of the Pharisees. He was not talking about natural bread but the corrupt teaching of the Pharisees.
Lord, help us to see with spiritual eyes the signs that are all around us. We are living in the last of the last days.