In the key verse for our daily devotional we see that Joseph explains how the Lord used what his brothers meant to be “evil” had been turned into good, not only for his brothers but for the people of Egypt as well. This is the same principle found inRomans 8:28.
Our reading inGenesis 50is the end of the life of Joseph after he had been allowed by the Pharaoh to return to the land of Israel and to bury his father in the Machpelah Cave in Hebron, the burial site of Abraham and Isaac and their wives,Genesis 50:13.
The burial follows Jacob “blessing” his sons and foretelling the history that would follow all of his sons, a history as recorded inGenesis 49. There is a special blessing given to two of the sons Judah, verses 8-12, and Joseph,verses 22-26.
Notice the blessing given to Judah, and the prophetic significance of this son of Jacob, one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Judah is told that the “sceptre”, the “royal authority”, shall not depart from him until “Shiloh” come,verse 10. Shiloh is a term for Messiah Jesus Christ but also may be used to mean, “until He that is the one to be the saviour of the Jewish people has come.
It would be through the tribe of Judah that Jesus Christ would come to the earth. Genesis 49concludes with the death of Jacob but not the end of the plan of God that would play out in the family of Jacob.
Now back inGenesis 50we see that indeed the sons of Jacob did fulfill the desire of Jacob to have his body taken to Israel to be buried. It is after his death and burial that his sons get very fearful that now Joseph would turn on them in retaliation for how they had treated him. That was not the way of Joseph and in fact then he made the statement to his brothers, which is our key verse for today,verse 20. Joseph’s statement about God’s plan for his brothers, found in our key verse, was followed by Joseph again providing for his brothers,verse 21.
It was not long after that, that Joseph would also die, but before that he would also get his brothers promise that they would take his bones into the “promise land” to be buried,verses 22 to 26.
It is interesting to note that both Jacob and Joseph wanted to be buried in Israel, the land that God has given to the Jews. It is in concert with the “blessings” that Jacob gave to his sons, the prophetic events of the last days for Israel.
God has a plan for the Jews and it will be carried out as we can witness even today. Again, the Lord is setting the foundation for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled, in our day. This also sets the stage for the Rapture to take place at any moment, maybe even today. Keep looking up. PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for the Jewish people, who are evidence that Bible Prophecy is, and will be fulfilled. That reality must help me to be ready for these events to be fulfilled, help me to live expecting your return.
And said unto me, Behold I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people: and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.
In the record of Jacob and his sons in the land of Egypt we see that when they came into this foreign land they were blessed. In fact they were exalted through Jacob’s son Joseph, who actually received the directive from Pharaoh for this to happen.
This is the narrative recorded inGenesis 47, where we also see that Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for the Pharaoh,verse 20. This was not to make the Pharaoh the mean landowner, but instead to save the people of Egypt. God continued to bless Jacob’s son.
Verses 27 to 31deal with the last days of Jacob, as he nears death. This makes the transition intoGenesis 48and our devotional reading for today. Jacob wants to make sure that he will be carried back to Israel, the “promised land”, to be buried.
Jacob wants to be buried at the site where his Grandfather and Father, Abraham and Isaac, had been buried. The burial site is the one purchased by Abraham in Hebron, the Machpelah Cave, Genesis 23:16-20. This is the burial site of the Patriarchs. It is the second most sacred piece of real estate in all of creation to the Jewish people today.
Jacob made Joseph swear that the brothers would take him at his death to the land of Israel to be buried. The land was promised to Abraham, Isaac and inverse 4, our key verse, a re-confirmation of that promise to Jacob. This is the reason Jacob wanted to be buried in the land of Israel.
There is one other part of the record of Jacob’s family in Egypt I want you to notice and keep in your memory for later details as we continue our journey through the prophetic passages of God’s Word.
Inverses 5 to 22we see how Jacob blessed his two grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph that had been born in the land of Egypt. These two boys would take the place of their father in the tribes of Israel and also play a role later in history that plays into God’s prophetic scenario.
We will give more of the details in a later devotional reading, but let me just mention that half of the tribe of Manasseh would be given the Golan Heights when Joshua would lead the children of Israel into the “promised land” after the exodus from Egypt.
The tribe of Ephraim would be the tribe of Jeroboam, the leader of the rebellious ten tribes that separated from the two tribes at the breaking up of the twelve tribes as recorded in I Kings 11. These boys would play a major role in very important events in Bible prophecy.
This record in our devotional reading for today is setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled in the future, a future that is getting closer and closer. We are living in the last days. Keep looking, Jesus is coming and it could be today.
PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for the reality that you are coming and it could be very soon now. My prayer is that of John, the writer of the book of Revelation, “even so come Lord Jesus”.
In Genesis 46 we have the account of the first departure of the Jewish people out of the “promised land” into the land of Egypt. The previous chapters in Genesis had laid the groundwork for this chapter.
Jacob was compelled by a famine in Canaan to lead his family of some seventy people, verse 27, into Egypt. In fact, the Lord spoke to Jacob in a dream and through a vision to assure the father of the twelve sons of Israel that He would not only be with him and his family, but while he was in Egypt He would make of Jacob a “great nation”, verse 3.
Verse 6, our key verse in this devotional, records the departure of Jacob and his family on their trip to Egypt. We know that Jacob had 70 members of his family that went into Egypt and later, when we look at Exodus 12:37, we’ll see that the family grew to over two million.
God’s promise to Jacob in verse 3, that He would make Jacob a great nation would be fulfilled. All that Joseph had gone through and how he protected his brothers would stand as a confirmation that the Lord would not only make Jacob a great nation but also preserve them for the plan He has for the Jewish people, especially in the last days.
As we continue our journey through the prophetic passages of God’s word you will notice that there will have been three “departures” of the Jewish people from the “promise land” and there will be three “returns”. Two of those “returns’ have been completed, we are living in the time of the third.
Genesis 46 is a “benchmark” in the timeline from Creation to “eternity future”, Genesis 1 through Revelation 21-22. God had promised Jacob when He changed his name to “Israel”, Genesis 32, that He would “ fight for him” and all of his family and descendants through out “history”.
These facts, revealed in Genesis 46, are key to God’s prophetic plan for the end times and His plan for eternity future. The modern-day state of Israel is a product of the fulfillment of Bible Prophecy and evidence that we are drawing very close to the Rapture of the Church.
PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for preserving Jacob’s family, the Jewish people, and giving us evidence of your faithfulness. Help us to be faithful to you in these the end of days, as we await your soon coming.
As we come to our devotional reading today we will look at eight different chapters in Genesis. Remember, I am not going to look in detail at each of the chapters but only those passages that have a prophetic significance.
The reading for today isGenesis 45, which is basically the end to the story of Jacob’s son Joseph and how Joseph played a key role in the life of his father and his eleven brothers. I’ll have more details onGenesis 45in a moment.
In Genesis 38there is a parenthesis in the narrative of Joseph with an account of the “shame of Jacob”. Genesis 39gets us back on track with the story of Joseph and this son of Jacob being brought into Egypt.
Joseph is selected by the Pharaoh of Egypt to serve him. However, the wife of the Pharaoh tries to tempt Joseph, which was rejected by Jacob’s son,verse 8. InGenesis 41, after following the narrative throughGenesis 40, the Pharaoh sets Joseph over all of Egypt,verse 41.
As you readGenesis 42, 43 and 44you see how the Lord was working in the life of Joseph, and how he would actually be used of the Lord to protect his brothers from death and continue the line of Jacob to the ultimate end of the line which is the Jewish people of today. Notice several verses inchapter 45. Joseph said that God sent him before his brothers to “preserve life”,verses 5 and 7. Verse 8tells how Joseph had been sent into Egypt, by God’s design, not by the mistreatment of his brothers. God had a plan for Jacob’s family that He was directing.
God has a plan for all of us who know Him as Lord and Saviour. We must study to determine what that plan might be, and then move forward as He directs. The Lord’s plan for the end times is found in the prophetic passages of scripture.
These are passages that we can study everyday to determine where we are in His timeline. My study seems to indicate that we are ever so close to the Rapture, when He will call us to be with Him forever more. In fact, it could happen today.
PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for your prophetic passages that alert each of us to your plan for the future and how close we are to the next event, the Rapture. Help me to be ready for the Rapture, in my daily living.
InGenesis 37there is a continuation of the history of Jacob and an introduction to his son Joseph. However, before we look at the entire reading for today please notice again our key verse, verse 1. Remember, Genesis 36detailed for us the Lord sending Esau, the twin brother of Jacob, into Mount Seir with his family to live.
As the Lord made that move He also told Jacob that he and his twelve sons would dwell in Canaan, the focus of the “land of promise”,Genesis 37:1. This decision by the Lord sets the stage for the Abrahamic Covenant to be fulfilled through the “son of promise”, Jacob.
This chapter also introduces to the reader the son of Jacob, Joseph. Joseph was a favorite son of Jacob, “Israel”, verse 3, the name that the Lord had given Jacob,Genesis 32. Jacob so favored Joseph that he gave him a “coat of many colors”, also verse 3.
The brothers of Joseph started to hate their brother, because of the “coat” but also for the dreams that he would have about the family situation,verses 5-9. The second of the dreams was the one that really bothered the brothers. Joseph dreamed about the sun, moon and eleven stars,verse 9.
Joseph told his brothers that his dream indicated there would be obeisance to him from his Dad, the “sun”, his Mother, the “moon”, and the eleven brothers, the eleven “stars”. This angered not only the brothers but their father also,verse 10.
Additional reading of our devotional chapter will lay out the rest of this particular story referring to Joseph and his brothers. The eleven would strip Joseph of his coat of many colors, throw him in a pit and eventually sell Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver and then they would have Joseph taken into Egypt.
We’ll stop the story of Joseph right here, but I suggest that you do read all of Genesis 37. There are many thoughts that I have about this chapter, the first being that God gave Jacob the land promised in the covenant. The rest of the story of Joseph, revealed in the following chapters, will give more detail of the life of this very interesting man, used of God to save his family, the Jewish people of today.
It’s also interesting that the dream Joseph had about the sun, moon and eleven stars has a connection to the passage inRevelation 12:1-2, which is referring to the Jewish people in the last days. The passage in Revelation is “apocalyptic”, God using a symbol to communicate an absolute truth. This symbol in Revelation is interpreted by this passage in Genesis.
Again we see that God’s Word is written to inform each of us about the future. Our devotional today helps us to also see that the history of God’s people gives us a base upon which to understand God’s prophetic scenario for the end of times.
The evidence is strong that these last days are quickly approaching. We must live in light of this information as we await the shout from Jesus to have us join Him in the heavens.
PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for the record of the past that helps each of us to understand the future. Help me to live eagerly awaiting the shout from Jesus to join Him in heaven.
Genesis 36, our selected passage for today’s devotional reading, is the record of the generations of Esau, and the separation of the twin bothers, Esau and Jacob. Genesis 37:1 reveals to the reader that God was setting in motion His plan for the sons of Jacob, the Jewish people, into the future.
God told Jacob that he was to dwell in “the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan”, which is the “promised” land, the land of Israel. God told Esau that he was to leave this “land of promise” and go to a place called, Mount Seir, more on that in a moment.
You may remember that Jacob had been out of the land, traveling into Haran, modern-day Turkey, and there married and had eleven of his twelve sons. Jacob traveled back home and on the way, God changed his name from Jacob to “Israel”, Genesis 32.
When Jacob returned to the land of his father, Isaac, the land of Israel, he became very prosperous. It was so much so that he and his brother Esau, who also had prospered, could not dwell together in the land, verse 7.
As you will notice, God will send Esau and his family to a place called “Mount Seir”, verse 8. Mount Seir is the area in the lower third of modern-day Jordan. After Esau and his family arrived at Petra, the capital city of Mount Seir, the Lord changed the name of this real estate to “Edom” after Esau.
This record of God beginning His plan for the twin brothers is the basis for our understanding of the statement made by God to Rebekah, the mother of the twins, Genesis 25:23, that these two boys would become “two nations”.
As we know, Jacob had twelve sons who became the “twelve tribes” of Israel. These “tribes” became the nation of Israel, the modern-day Jewish State. Esau, as the text tells us, would also become a “nation”.
Notice verse 12, where we read that the “grandson” of Esau was “Amalek”. This young man would grow up and become the “father” of the Amalekites”, who God would later say He would have “ war with Amalek from generation to generation”, Exodus 17:16.
Space will not allow for a complete study of the descendants of Esau (see my audio study, “Esau and the Palestinians”), but this type of a study would reveal that the Palestinians of today can be traced back to Esau.
Therefore, we see that God’s prophecy to Rebekah of two “nations” in her womb has been fulfilled. The fulfillment of this prophecy sets the stage for additional prophecies to be fulfilled, Ezekiel 35 and Obadiah for example.
The stage is set for the prophetic events recorded in these books to be fulfilled. But before they come to pass, the Lord will call us up to be with Him in the heavens at the Rapture, which could happen today.
PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for the record of the people and the events in history past that set the stage for the prophetic events that will happen in what seems to be the near future. Help me to live, looking for you to call us to be with you in the heavens.
Before we get to our devotional reading in Genesis 35let me suggest that you may want to read throughGenesis 34which is the record of Jacob as he reaps the harvest of his evil years. Next we come toGenesis 35.
The account of the event covered in our devotional reading for today has a “historic” significance and a “prophetic” significance as well. In fact, historically, this passage helps the reader to understand the prophetic aspect of the location, “Migdal Edar”,verse 21, the “tower of the flock”.
Before we get to the prophetic, let’s look at the historic impact of this account of Jacob’s return to the “promised land”. Jacob and his family, his two wives and eleven sons, had traveled from Haran, a location in modern-day Turkey. Jacob was sent there to protect him from his twin brother, Esau, who wanted to kill him.
It had been several years since Jacob ran away from the “land” that the Lord had promised all the Jewish people, through him. As the family had made their way from up north, Jacob had a hand-to-hand struggle with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus,Genesis 32.
The Lord had change the name of Jacob to “Israel”. The Lord wanted Jacob to be the “father of the Jewish people”. As you know, the twelve sons of Jacob would be the “twelve tribes” of Israel and become the Jewish people and the “nation of Israel”.
Our devotional reading for today explains that the “twelfth” son was born at Bethlehem in Ephrath. Jacob’s wife, Rachel, was the “mother” of this last son, the twelfth son, who she named Ben-oni.
Rachel would die in “child-birth” and Jacob would bury his wife at the spot of the birth, today referred to as “Rachel’s Tomb”. Jacob would then re-name the child, “Benjamin”, the “son of sorrow”.
Several things I would like for you to take note of, and let these items teach you of this very important time in the life of the “nation” of Israel. Remember, these twelve sons of Jacob would become the “Jewish people” of today.
Remember, Jacob and his family had just returned from Haran, which, as I said, is located in the modern-day state of Turkey. Interestingly, eleven of the twelve sons of Jacob were born outside the land that would become Israel.
Now, let’s focus on the phrase, “tower of Edar”, or in the Hebrew, “Migdal Edar”. This phrase is only used twice in the Bible, here and in Micah 4:8. The phrase is describing a “two-story stone tower" in the “Shepard’s fields” where the “priestly Shepard’s” would watch over the “sheep” that would be offered in sacrifice at the Temple in Jerusalem three miles away.
InMicah 4:8, “Migdal Edar”, would be the location where Jesus Christ would be born. We will have more on that on December 24th, but let me tell you how Migdal Edar was used. The “chief Shepard” would stand in the top story of the tower and watch over the flock of sheep that were in his care. There were other animals in the area that would love to have one of these sheep for lunch. The bottom floor of this tower was used for “birthing” the new-born lambs.
This whole scenario plays into the Christmas story that I will deal with in a future devotional reading. But, do let me remind you that Jacob’s boys would become the “nation of Israel”.
God was fulfilling His promise to Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham,Genesis 12:2. It was to the Jewish people that God would send the “messiah”, Jesus Christ to be born in the same location of the death of Jacob’s wife Rachel.
God had a plan then for Jacob and his family, and He has a plan for the descendants of Jacob in the future. That plan will be played out and in fact, it is unfolding even as I write this devotional thought. You can watch Jacob’s family today, the Jewish people of today, to see how close that plan is to being fulfilled.
PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for a way to know what you are doing in your plan for all of humankind. As I watch the Jewish people I can tell the time of the fulfillment of that plan. Help me to live in light of your plan for me as I watch your “timepiece”, the Jewish people.
Again, as we travel through the book of Genesis, we will not deal with all the chapters in their entirety but instead point out to you special thoughts from some and detail the others. This is the case with Genesis 28, 29, 30 and 31.
In Genesis 28 we see Jacob having a vision, a ladder set up on earth that reached into heaven, Genesis 28:12. In that dream Jacob saw the Lord appear to him to confirm the Abrahamic Covenant, verse 13.
In Genesis 29 and 30 there is a record of Jacob's travels to be with his Uncle Laban in Haran where he would meet his two wives, sisters. This is a must read for you to better understand how there were twelve sons of Jacob. These sons would become the twelve tribes of Israel.
Genesis 31 tells us how Jacob and his family would leave and return to the "land of promise" and become the nation of Israel, the Jewish people of today, the ones that God still has a plan for in the future.
In our devotional reading for today we will look at the account of Jacob's return to the land of his father, Isaac, and his grandfather, Abraham. Jacob had been in Haran, which is today modern Turkey.
Jacob had spent a number of years living with his uncle, his mother's brother, as he hid himself from his brother, Esau. It was during this time that Jacob got married. In fact, he married two sisters, Leah and Rachel.
The Lord had given this family eleven sons and as we come to this portion of Genesis we see that they had traveled south, back into the land God had promised to both his father, Isaac, Genesis 26:2-3; and his grandfather, Abraham, Genesis 15:18.
In fact, the Lord would also make a promise to Jacob of the land, Genesis 35:12, and thus establish the covenant with the "line of promise" to these, the patriarchs of the Jewish people.
In our key verse, and also in our extended reading, we see that the Lord would name the people and the land, by changing Jacob's name to "Israel".
As the story goes, Jacob had been in Turkey to escape the wrath of his twin brother, Esau. As Jacob returns to make amends to Esau for his deception committed against his brother, Jacob had an "all night long" wrestling match with Jesus Christ, a "pre-incarnate" appearance of Jesus.
I know that it was Jesus because the text tells us Jacob stood "face-to-face with God", verse 30, and he did not die. Jacob could not have seen God the Father face to face, and lived, John 1:18. The text tells us that the wrestling match lasted all night long, verse 24.
Jacob told Jesus he would not let the Lord go until He had blessed him, verse 26. So the Lord changed Jacob's name to "Israel", "I will fight for you", verse 28. This marks the time in history that the Lord chose to begin a "people" that He would use as a "witness" to the entire world.
Let me point out several things about this very interesting and informative passage. During the "wrestling match" Jesus touched the "thigh" of Jacob, and basically impaired Jacob's full use of his leg. The reason the Lord touched Jacob's "thigh" is that the "thigh" is the strongest muscle in your body, ten times stronger than any other muscle.
Also, Jacob would live for the rest of his life with a limp, verse 31, and it would be a daily reminder that his own strength was impaired, but the Lord would "fight for him", and thus his new name, "Israel".
It is also interesting to note that "eleven" of Jacob's twelve sons who would become the "twelve tribes of Israel", were born outside of the "Promised Land". God has His own way to accomplish His plan, a plan for Israel that will be fulfilled in the future.
It is key that we understand this truth of God's Word, God does have a plan for the Jewish people. It is a plan that extends into "eternity future" and the Lord's plan must be fulfilled because the Lord said He committed His integrity to the fact that His plan for the Jews would be fulfilled.
PRAYER THOT: Help me Lord to remember that You fight for me and not only for me but for all that know You as Lord and Saviour. And also, thank You Lord for keeping Your promises to the Jews, and to me, as well.
We will move to Genesis 27for our devotional, but first let me point out to you the "confirmation" of the Abrahamic Covenant to Isaac found inGenesis 26. Jesus Himself appears to Isaac,Genesis 26:1-4, and makes the same promise that He made with Isaac's father, Abraham.
This is an assurance to not only the Jews of of the fulfillment of all the promises that the Lord made to the Jews through their "patriarchs", Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; but to all Christians who God makes promises that must be fulfilled, because they were made by "God".
Now, let's look to our devotional reading for today. I have selected only a portion of the entire chapter for our extended reading. However, let me suggest that you read the whole chapter for all the background.
You will see how Jacob and his mother connived to “steal” the “blessing” from Esau. What is so interesting about the manipulation by Jacob and Rebekah for both the taking of the “birthright” and the “blessing” did not have to take place since the Lord told Rebekah that Esau, the older son, would serve Jacob, the younger son, while the boys were still in her womb, Genesis 25:23.
As we go over the reading for today let me share some thoughts that may give you insight into the plan of God for the future. Verses 26 to 33record Isaac giving Jacob the “blessing”. Isaac repeated what God had told his father Abraham in Genesis 12:3, that “cursed be everyone that curseth thee and blessed be he that blesseth thee”, verse 29.
Esau was very upset when he found out that Jacob had received the blessing and wanted his father to give him a “blessing” also. In fact, Esau cried an “exceeding bitter cry” and almost demanded from his father a blessing also,verse 34.
Isaac did, in fact, give Esau a blessing,verses 39-40. Part of that blessing was that he would serve his brother Jacob. This made Esau very mad, enough so, that he purposed in his heart to kill his brother Jacob after the death of their father, verse 41.
It was at this time that Rebekah decided it best for Jacob to go live with her brother in Haran, verse 43, until Esau’s “fury turned away”. This trip would result in Jacob marrying his two cousins, Rachel and Leah, and having with them the twelve sons that would become the “twelve tribes of Israel”.
We see in this chapter of Genesis the beginnings of so much of Bible prophecy. The “line of promise” would be passed from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob and that was in the “blessing” that Isaac bestowed upon his son Jacob.
Also, the two brothers would become two “nations” in the world, in the last days. Jacob’s descendants would become Israel of today, the Jewish State. Esau’s family-line can be traced to the Palestinians of today. The stage is set for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled, and seemingly in the near future. PRAYER THOT: Lord, I am amazed at how the ancient Jewish Prophets were able to “pre-write” history. Thank you for this tangible proof of how prophecy was fulfilled, and will be fulfilled in the future.
Before we get to the devotional reading for today, please notice we skipped over Genesis 24 as we come to our daily reading in Genesis 25. Genesis 24 is the "love story" of Isaac and Rebekah and the process that God used to lead her to Isaac. I would suggest that you read the whole of Genesis 24.
In our devotional today we have come to one of the most important chapters in Bible Prophecy. This chapter reveals to us the three families that Abraham had in his 175 years here on the earth.
I will not be able to develop all of the verses in Genesis 25 that deal with the family of this very important Biblical character, Abraham. We will just look at two of the three families, the families of Ishmael and Isaac. Verses 13-18 deal with Ishmael and 19-26 with Isaac and his offspring.
Remember, Ishmael was the firstborn son of Abraham, the result of a relationship with his wife’s “handmaid”, 16:1. Remember, Ishmael did not “father” the Arab world, but did go to live in a place in Abraham’s day, which was called “Arabia”, verse 18.
Ishmael’s twelve sons, would become the leaders of the twelve tribes that formed the nation of Saudi Arabia of today. These “tribes” would become the tribes of Arabia, the “pre-Islamic” culture. Ishmael was to become one of the nations of this world, and only one, Genesis 17:20.
Again, I state that Ishmael did not ”father” the Arab world. It could be said however, that Ishmael did “father” the “Islamic” world. Mohammad, the founder of Islam, stated that he was a direct descendant of Ishmael.
Then in verses 19 to 26 we see a record of the life and family of Isaac. This second born son to Abraham was the “son of promise”, the one who would carry the plan and promise of God forward, into the next generation.
God’s plan for Isaac and his wife Rebekah was for them to have a son that God would use to carry the Abrahamic Covenant along to the Jewish people. However, there was a problem, Rebekah was barren. Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife and she conceived.
Interesting how the Lord works, instead of a son, God gives them two boys, Esau and Jacob. The Lord told Rebekah before their birth that there were “two nations” in her womb, verse 23. Jacob would become the Jewish nation of Israel and Esau, the Palestinian people of today (see my audio series, “Esau and the Palestinians”).
We see in this prophetic passage the major players of the “last days”, the Islamic world, the Palestinian people and the Jewish people. There is much we could develop along these lines but for now let’s realize that almost 4,000 years ago the Lord was using Moses, the writer of Genesis, to lay out the prophetic scenario for the “end times”.
This devotional reading for today should help us to realize that Bible prophecy doesn’t start in the known “prophetic books” but it all begins in the “book of beginnings”, the book of Genesis. This is the reason for selecting this passage for our devotional reading.
PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for the record of the Jewish “forefathers” and helping me to see how, in your plan, you set in motion all that will lead up to the “end times”. Please help me to live for you as I see your prophetic plan unfolding and quickly approaching the time of the end.
In our devotional reading for today we see the account of the death of Abraham’s dear wife, and her burial. This may seem to you a strange passage for a devotional reading but as we share some thoughts I believe that you will realize that this passage is very important, especially prophetically.
Up to this point in the book of Genesis we have been traveling through history, from the Creation, the Flood, the building of Babylon, the travels of Abraham and now to the death of his precious wife, the mother of his second son, the “son of promise”, Isaac.
With the death of his wife, Abraham needed to make provisions for caring for her body and the plan that he would set in motion for not only Sarah, but a burial site for himself, their son Isaac and their grandson Jacob and their wives.
Since Abraham was living in Hebron, which makes it the “oldest Jewish community” in the world, dating back some 4,000 years, Genesis 13:18, he of course would select a place nearby for the burial site.
The piece of land that Abraham selected belonged to Ephron the Hittite, verse 17. Ephron wanted to give the “cave” to Abraham for the burial site, verse 15, but Abraham refused the offer and instead paid the amount of “four hundred shekels of silver”. That amount in today’s currency would be around $700,000, a large sum of “money” for a “cave”.
Verses 16 to 20 are the “title deed” to this piece of land in what today is the area of Judea, or known in some circles as the “West Bank”. The term, “West Bank” is a political term that basically is anti-Jewish. It is an area about 35 miles Southwest of Jerusalem.
The Mechpela Cave is the burial site for the Jewish Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is the second most sacred place on this earth to the Jewish people, second only to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Notice that Abraham paid “cash money” for this piece of real estate.
The fact that Abraham purchased this “cave” to bury his wife is evidence that he believed the Lord, and that the Lord had given him and his descendants this, the “promised land”. Abraham wanted to be buried in the “promised land”.
The interesting thing about this story is that today this cave site is on a very controversial piece of land. There are almost 800 Jewish people that live in Hebron, surrounded by around 150,000 Palestinians that do not want the Jews to be there.
The Jewish people that live in Hebron today believe that the Lord has given this land to them and they are not willing to leave this land, thus the conflict today. They believe that they have the right to be there because their “forefather” Abraham purchased the land and the Bible is the “titled deed” to this land.
Ezekiel 35:10-12 tells us that in the last days the Edomites, the Palestinians of today, will try and take the land that the Lord has given the Jews. Malachi 1reveals that these Edomites will return and rebuild. However, the Lord says that their “borders” will be the “borders of wickedness”.
All the prophetic passages that relate to Genesis 23 and the land that God gave Abraham 4,000 years ago, all of these prophecies are at the point of being fulfilled. There is only one thing that must happen before these prophecies are fulfilled, the Rapture of the Church and that could happen today. Keep looking up.
PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for the great example of “faith” that Abraham is to me, and the revealing of the prophetic significance of this passage and the event that it records for my information. Help me to live in light of the truth that we are living in the “last days”.
In our devotional reading for today we read the wonderful story of a father and son who travel together to the most sacred place on earth with both hearts ready to do the will of the Lord. As we read this passage we will watch as the Lord intervenes to give the “son” back to his “father”.
This passage gives the account of Abraham taking his son Isaac to Mount Moriah, which is today the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, for the purpose of “sacrificing” his son, as directed by the Lord, verses 1 and 2.
Notice that Abraham never questioned the Lord about this directive. Instead, he “rose up early in the morning”, verse 3, and took Isaac with him the three day journey to the peak of Mount Moriah to the site the Lord had set for the sacrifice to take place.
I love verse 5 where Abraham tells the others with him that they should wait as he and Isaac will go to the place of sacrifice, and “come again to you”, both of them. That is a wonderful faith that is displayed as obedience is followed.
Verse 8 is another great example of Abraham’s faith, he told his son that “God will provide himself a lamb” for the sacrifice. Abraham had trusted the Lord in the past and that experience helped him in the way that he would again put his trust in the Lord to do what was best for him and his son.
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself commended Abraham for his obedience and faithfulness. In verse 11, “the angel of the Lord” is a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. Jesus said to Abraham, “now I know that thou fearest God,” verse 12.
The word "fearest" in the text is not the thought, "afraid", but instead a "reverential trust" in his willingness to obey the command to sacrifice his own son, the "son of promise". This is the kind of "trust" we all need in these the end of days.
The Lord would provide to Abraham a “ram” as the “substitute” for his son in the sacrifice,verse 13. Notice that the ram was caught in a thicket by his “horns”. It would be a “ram’s horn”, the “shofar”, that the Lord would use later as an instrument to give direction to the Jewish people.
Because of the faithfulness and obedience of Abraham, the Jewish people, and even the rest of humankind, will be blessed, verses 15-18. This is the prophetic aspect of this passage for our reading today.
There is so much more we could say about this passage. Let me encourage you to spend more time reading and meditating on this passage for what the Lord may reveal to you.
It is because of the promises made to Abraham, and kept, that we can believe God will be faithful to His promises made to each of us for salvation, and His promise to come get us to join Him in the heavenlies, at the Rapture of the Church.
PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for the promises that You have made to me about salvation and Your return to gather me to be with you. I also thank you for your Word that gives me the evidence that you will keep your promises.
As you will notice we have slipped over Genesis 20 and have taken our devotional reading from Genesis 21, the record of the birth of Isaac, the “son of promise” to Abraham and Sarah.
I have said that the book of Genesis is key to understanding the entire Bible and in particular the prophetic passages of God’s Word. In the process of developing an understanding of the prophetic portions of the Bible we must deal with all the passages that set the stage for Bible prophecy in Genesis.
The key verse in our devotional today is the statement of the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham and Sarah, a son born unto them, even in their old age. It is interesting to notice that Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born and Sarah, 91 years old.
This was a “must” birth in order to continue the lineage of the Jewish people from Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob and beyond. Interestingly, the name “Isaac” in Hebrew means, “he laughs” appropriate for what Sarah had been doing since she heard that she would have a baby at her age.
Verse 6, Sarah says “God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me”. The Lord gets the “last laugh” and gives the evidence to the world that He would keep His promise and also fulfill His covenant to the descendants of Abraham through Isaac.
Verses 9 to 21 record the three-way conversation between Abraham, Hagar and the Lord Himself. The Lord tells Abraham that his son Ishmael will be the father of “one nation”, Genesis 21:13 and 18. These verses are further confirmation of Genesis 17:20.
Again I remind you that Ishmael was not the “father of the Arab world”. Ishmael fathered the nation located in Saudi Arabia today. Mohammad, the “father of Islam”, coming out of Saudi Arabia, said that he was a “direct descendant of Ishmael”.
In this one chapter you have both the “son of promise”, Isaac and the “son who was not a son of promise”, Ishmael. Isaac would have a son, in fact his second born son, who would become the father of twelve sons, the “sons of Israel”, the Jewish people of today.
If Abraham’s first son, Ishmael, fathered anything other than his twelve sons, he “fathered the Islamic religion”. These two entities, the Jewish people and the Islamic people, will both play a key role in the end-times scenario found in Bible prophecy.
The truth be known, the Jewish people and the Islamic world are moving closer everyday to that scenario being fulfilled and we must realize how close we are to the return of Jesus Christ to the Earth. The next event in this scenario, the Rapture, could happen at any moment. Keep looking up.
PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for your Word that informs me of that potential possibility of the Rapture happening in the very near future. Help me to life my life in light of that fact.
The key verse for our devotional reading today is a record of the judgment of God on a sinful society that lived in Sodom and Gomorrah, which would have been located in the Dead Sea area of modern-day Israel.
The “sin” in question here is “sodomy”, the sin of un-natural sexual relationships between men. It is a sin that the Lord will punish with the destruction of their society and He will also turn them over to a “reprobate mind” because of their sin, Romans 1:28.
The beginning of the chapter is the account of the two angels that had been traveling with the Lord,Genesis 18, coming into the city of Sodom and there meeting Lot, who was a judge that sat at the “gate of the city” each day.
These angels were in the appearance of “men”, verse 5, and Lot invited them to his house for a meal. This passage is evidence that “angels” can take on the form of “man”. Some of the “men” of the city of Sodom came seeking to have an un-Godly relationship with the two angels who they thought were “men”, evidence of how sinful the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were in this society.
Verses 10 to 23reveal the events leading up to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as the angels work to save Lot, his wife and their two daughters from the judgment. Three of the four escaped but Lot’s wife looked back at the judgment and was turned to a “pillar of salt”.
After the escape and the destruction of the cities another terrible sin was committed between the two daughters of Lot and their father. In the cave where the three were being protected from the judgment the daughters decided to get their father drunk and then commit “incest” with him,verses 30 to 38.
Both daughters bore a son to their father, the oldest called her son “Moab” and the second born called her son “Ammon”. These names are the Biblical names of two locations in Jordan during the times of the Israelites.
This account, of these terrible times in the history of mankind, is a reminder of the end times as well. Dr Luke, in his Gospel,Luke 17:28-32, warns us of the last days just prior to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ back to the Earth.
Luke records the words of Jesus, who said, “as it was in the days of Lot”. We are indeed living in similar days when “sodomy” is rampant in our world and becoming more aggressive everyday. We are living in the last days, the days when Jesus will shout to call us up to be with Him in the heavens. It could be today, so keep looking up.
PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for the warning that you give to each of us of the nearness of your return. We can see the similarities between Lot’s day and our day. Help all of us that know you as Lord and Saviour to be alert to the times and be ready for the shout that will call us to be with you, forevermore.
The key verse for our devotional today is the Lord appearing to Abraham at the “tent door” in Mamre, which is today known as Hebron, the second most sacred location on the Earth for the Jewish people. It is in this location that a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ, along with two angels, visited with Abraham.
The two “men” with Jesus Christ were actually “angels”. Notice that the angels took on the form of “men”,verse 2. These two angels would continue on with Abraham after the Lord departs back to “heaven”.
Abraham was so excited that the Lord was there that he rushed to make ready a special meal for his heavenly guest, telling Sarah, his wife, to prepare as he went to the field to get the food for this special meal,verse 4-8.
The Lord inquired as to the whereabouts of Sarah and then told Abraham that Sarah was going to have a “son”, which would be the “son of promise”,Romans 9:9. The fulfillment of this promise seemed to Abraham impossible because of their age, in fact Sarah even “laughed within herself”, verse 12, knowing she was too old to bear a child.
What a wonderful statement the Lord then made to the two of them,verse 14, “Is any thing to hard for the Lord?” The Lord then assured Abraham and Sarah that He would return and give them a “son” the “son of promise”. Isaac, that son, would continue the line of the “chosen people”, the Jewish people.
The fulfillment of this promise is key to the Lord keeping His “covenants” with the Jewish people and to the entire prophetic program that is described in the Word of God. The Lord is the “God of the impossible” and a “promising-keeping God”.
This chapter also is the introduction of the “sin” of Sodom and Gomorrah, a sin that was very grievous onto the Lord,verses 16-22. The “sin” under discussion here is “sodomy”, men involved in unnatural sexual relations.
The sin is so despised by the Lord that He will destroy the entire society of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah because of this sin. Verses 23-33describe the pleas of Abraham trying to protect the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.
We will see the total destruction of these two cities, as recorded in Genesis 19. This is evidence that the Lord is also a “God of judgment” and will deal with sin.
There are so many practical lessons that we learn as we read through the Bible. But I bring your attention to all the prophetic aspects of the Word as well, passages that help us to understand God’s plan for the future. Genesis is key to understanding the future.
PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for your Word that informs me of the past, present and the future. Help me as I study your Word to make ready for the next event on your calendar of prophetic events, the Rapture.
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. .
The key verse for our devotional today is the Lord telling Abram to “walk before me”, and then He exhorts Abram to be “perfect”. There is so much in this first verse that I actually could take the entire space to help us learn from God’s Word in this one verse.
The word “perfect’ in this passage does not mean “without sin” because there is no one who is “without sin”. The etymology of “perfect” is from the Hebrew word “”tamam” which is a verb meaning “to be complete”. It means to be not only complete but sound, unimpaired, innocent, having integrity and in accord with the truth.
The way Abram was told that he could be “perfect” was “to walk before the Lord”. With the Lord right behind you, or for that matter in front of you, and me, we will have the motivation to be perfect in our life style and daily walk.
Before we leave the first verse of our devotional passage notice that Abram is standing with a member of the “Godhead” as he receives his instructions for his walk. Abram is face to face with “Almighty God”, El Shaddai.
This is a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. Every time that you see the name of God, El Shaddai, it is the “Son” of the Holy Trinity, Jesus. As is the case when any of the Biblical personalities see Jesus Christ face to face they fall on their face to honor and worship Him, verse 3.
In verse 5 the Lord tells Abram that his name will be from this time on “Abraham” and that he would be the “father of many nations”. The word here in the Hebrew is “goy” translated “nations” in the passage. Remember, this word can also, and is in the Bible, translated “people”, “Gentiles” and refers usually to non-Hebrew people.
The verse is not saying that Abraham will be the father of the Arab world as we have already discussed. Again I remind you that Abraham’s son Ismael did not father the Arab world, but was the father of one nation, verse 20.
Another interesting fact about this passage is that we have here the record of the very first “circumcision”, verses 11-14 and 23-27. The Lord gave this act as a “token of the covenant” between Abraham and God, verse 11.
The Lord gave Abraham a promise that Abraham thought was funny, verse 17. When the Lord told Abraham that he and his wife Sarah were going to have a son, Isaac, who was to be the “son of promise” Abraham “fell on his face and laughed.
This promise from the Lord is key in all of God’s plans for the future. Verses 15-19 reveals to us that the “covenant” that the Lord makes with Abraham pertaining to his son Isaac is an “everlasting covenant”, a promise that the Lord cannot break.
Though Ishmael was the “first born” to Abraham, Isaac is the “son of promise” even though he was the second son born to Abraham. This sets up the lineage from Abraham through Isaac and Jacob on to the Jewish people, the people God sets aside as a special people to Himself.
God has a plan for the Jewish people that will come to pass some day in the future. God is not finished with the Jews, remember the circumcision that God gave Abraham, was a “token” that God will keep His promises to the Jews.
However, before the Lord totally fulfills all of His promises to the Jews He will complete His promises to Christians, and call them to be with Him in the heavens. That process will be the Rapture of the Church, which could happen at any moment, even today. Even so come, Lord Jesus.
PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for your token of the absolute promises that you made to Abraham. I know you are a “promise keeping” God. That assurance is strength for me in the days preceding your shout for me to join you in the “air”, maybe today.
The key verse for our devotional today is a description of the first son of Abraham, a son born to Abraham and his wife’s handmaid, Hagar. This was a “birth of convenience”, so that there would be a “son” to carry on the family line into the next generation and those to come.
Abraham and Sara were not willing to wait on the Lord to fulfill His promise of a “son” born of a Biblical marriage, Genesis 2:24. The result was that the new male child would be one that would be a “wild man” as the Lord indicates to his Mother, verse 12.
The birth of “Ishmael” would be the beginning of a nation that would be a “people” that would also “raise their hands against others”. By the way, the Bible tells us that Ishmael would “father one nation”, Genesis 17:20. Ishmael did not “father” the “Arab world”, as many have been taught down through history.
In Genesis 10 we see that many of the Arab-world nations were in existence over 500 years before Ishmael was even born. There are several such nations listed as “sons” of Ham, Noah’s son. In Genesis 10:6 it speaks of “Cush”, which is modern-day Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan.
“Mizraim” is today Egypt and “Phut” is the Arab nation of Libya. These few nations that I’ve listed are all Arab nations today and were in existence 500 years before Abraham ever came on the scene, much less Ishmael. Neither Abraham, nor Ishmael were the “father of the Arab world”.
Genesis 25:18 indicates that Ishmael went to “Arabia” to live with his family of twelve sons that would be born to him. The only nation that Ishmael fathered was modern-day Saudi Arabia. If anything, Ishmael “fathered” the Islamic world. Mohammad said that he was “a direct descendant of Ishmael.”
It does each of us good to study the Word of God and not necessarily listen to tradition about the origins of the nations of the world. Nations, or at least many of them came into existence almost 4,500 years ago after the Flood. Notice Genesis 10:5, 20, 31 and 32 in their context.
What we see in our world today is setting the stage for the scenario found in Bible prophecy for the last days to be fulfilled. Remember, before these prophecies are fulfilled Jesus will shout for us to join Him in the heavens. It could be today.
PRAYER THOT: Help me Lord to remember that the time of your return is quickly approaching and each passing day, with all that it displays as evidence of what will proceed Your return, should make me keep looking up, expecting You to appear.
In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
This fifteenth chapter of Genesis is the record of the Lord making a "covenant" with Abraham, which is known as the "Abrahamic Covenant".
In Genesis 12the Lord made a promise to Abraham that He would make this Gentile from Ur of the Chaldes, the "father of the Jewish people", and would make from His descendants "a nation of Jewish people".
In Genesis 12:7the Lord mentions that the Jews will receive a piece of real estate along with becoming a nation. The fact of the matter is that you cannot be a nation in this world unless you do have a piece of "land" for your nation.
That's the reason for the continuation of the Lord's promise, the covenant, to Abraham in Genesis 15. This covenant is what is called a "blood covenant", that's when the two participants, after having divided a heifer, a goat and a ram, the two making and receiving the "promise", walk between the parts of the slain animals, arm in arm and promising that if either one of them break the covenant the other will be able to divide asunder the person who broke the covenant.
Our passage tells us that the Lord, this appearance was of a pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, that the Lord put Abraham to sleep and He walked among the parts of the animals saying that He is the one responsible for keeping the promise, not Abraham.
This covenant is the first of four covenants the Lord makes with Abraham and his descendants, the Abrahamic Covenant, the Land Covenant, the Davidic Covenant and the New Covenant.
Genesis 15also begins to reveal the land that the Lord will give to the Jewish people. Notice verse 18where we see that at least some portion of the land extends from the "River of Egypt", most likely the Nile River, all the way north to the Euphrates River at Lebanon's northern border.
This passage is only one of thirty-eight passages that describe the "Biblical borders" of Israel, the land that God will give the Jewish people. The thirty-eight passages describe a land, ten times what the Jews have today and will include half of Egypt, all of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Kuwait, plus three-quarters of Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
Maybe now you can see the reason for the problem in the Middle East. All of this land will only be given to the Jews in the “Kingdom to come”. By the way, when the Lord does give all the land to the Jews that He has promised them, it will be their land forever, even into eternity future.
This is God's promise to Abraham and the Jews. What I love about the Abrahamic Covenant is that the Lord made it to Abraham 4,000 years ago and we see the final fulfillment of the promise, seemingly very close at hand.
The Lord will keep His promise to the Jews and that's why I can believe He will keep His promises to me for eternal life and the future, as spoken of in Bible prophecy.
PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for keeping Your promises to Abraham, the Jews and to me also.
The key verse for our devotional reading for today is a record of the appearance of the King, and priest, of Jerusalem, Melchizedek. This is an amazing personage of one that has been discussed by many Bible scholars over the years.
I am still studying Melchizedek and am not yet ready to be dogmatic as to whom this person may be. If I had to say right now what my opinion is I would most likely say he is a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. There are those that disagree, but remember, I’m still studying.
One thing for sure is that he is a lead character in the record of Bible history, and Bible Prophecy. In our devotional reading for today he is on the Biblical stage some 4,000 years ago and will be on the prophetic stage in the near future.
I had you read all 24 verses of Genesis 14 because I want you to get as much of the history of the “beginning” as possible. Remember, the foundation for Bible Prophecy is the book of Genesis. A true student of Bible Prophecy must know this book and not only the prophetic books in the Bible.
Let me point out to you the first usage of the word “Hebrew”, verse 13, in the Bible. The word is used 26 times in the Bible and it means, “one from beyond”. In this passage the author refers to Abraham as the “Hebrew”, describing the man that had come from the “land beyond the Euphrates”.
In verses 17 to 20 we see the record of the appearance of Melchizedek, the “king of Salem, verse 18. The word “Salem” is the word for “Jerusalem”, according to the Psalmist, Psalm 76:2.
King, and Priest, Melchizedek lived in Jerusalem and he came to honor Abraham with a “blessing” from the “most high God”. We have no record of the background of Melchizedek but we do have information on his future.
In the New Testament book of Hebrews, chapters 5, 6 and 7, nine times the Lord Jesus Christ is referred to as the “High Priest after the order of Melchizedek”. It is interesting to see that the “priesthood” of Jesus is not after the order of Aaron, the very first “High Priest”, of human lineage.
This is one of the many reasons that I am leaning towards the belief that Melchizedek is indeed a “pre-incarnate” appearance of Jesus. Jesus is the “highest” of the “High Priest”.
In His “priestly” responsibilities today Jesus is interceding for you and me with His Father. He is our special “advocate”, I John 2:1, and because of His own sacrifice He restores fellowship between each of us that are born again believers and His Father. This priestly ministry of Jesus will continue until He shouts for us to join Him in the heavens, forever more.
By the way, that “shout” could come at any moment, even today. I suggest that we all keep looking up for Him to call for us to join Him. Even so come Lord Jesus.
PRAYER THOT: I am so grateful that Jesus is my “special advocate” interceding for me with the Father. I’m also honored that He is our “High Priest” and all that this truth implies. Even so come Lord Jesus.
The key verse for our devotional reading for today is a record of the establishment of the first Jewish city by the “father” of the Jewish people, Abraham. Hebron is the oldest Jewish community in the world dating back some 4,000 years ago. Abraham is setting claim on the city that today has around 800 Jewish people living there.
In a future reading, Genesis 23, we’ll see how Abraham purchased his burial site in Hebron. He paid cash money for the site and when he was buried there, along with his son and grandson, Hebron became the second most sacred piece of real estate in the universe for the Jewish people, second only to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Abram, the Gentile name for the man who would be known as Abraham, Abram was a very wealthy man, verse 2, “very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold”. This reference to the silver and gold of Abraham has an interesting connection to Bible Prophecy.
Silver and gold are mentioned in Ezekiel 38:13 as the “spoil” that may be the “hook”, Ezekiel 38:4, that will bring the enemies of Israel into the land of the Jewish State to try and destroy Israel and wipe the Jewish people off the Earth. It would be interesting to know where the gold and silver of Abraham may be today.
Genesis 13:5-13 is the record of Abraham dividing the land that God gave him with his nephew Lot. The land was actually too small and could not accommodate them that they might live together.
Abraham was so gracious that he offered Lot the choice of the “promised land”, the exact location that he wanted before Abraham would take his portion. Notice that Lot choose the area that was most pleasant to his sight, the land that looked like the Garden of Eden, verse 10.
Let me remind you that you cannot go by “what looks good”, the area Lot wanted was Sodom and Gomorrah, a location that the Lord would destroy because of the sin of “sodomy”.
The promise of the “land” that God would make to the Jewish people is a “forever promise” of a “forever land” and the result of a promise that the Lord cannot break. This promise is in the Abrahamic Covenant that God made with Abraham, and passed on to all Jews after him.
As you read all 18 verses of Genesis 13 you can recognize the “foundations” being laid for Bible Prophecy, in the last days, to be fulfilled. All of Bible Prophecy has its foundations in the book of “beginnings”, the book of Genesis.
PRAYER THOT: Help me Lord to remember that the time of your return is quickly approaching and each passing day is a day closer to your shout to have all Christians join you in the heavens. Thank you for the foundations laid for Bible Prophecy in the book of Genesis and please help me to realize how close it may well be.
The Lord's promise to Abraham, known as the "Abrahamic Covenant" was made to Abraham before he ever left his home in Ur of the Chaldees. God promised this Gentile man that He would make him a great "nation" with a piece of the land to go along with the nation.
This nation would be a blessing to all people of the world, if they blessed the nation that Abraham would "Father". As you continue to read through the book of Genesis, you will see that the promise to Abraham was also confirmed to his son and his grandson; Isaac, Genesis 26:2-3and Jacob,Genesis 35:12.
Remember, Abraham is not the “father” of the Arab world but the father of the “Jewish nation”. The Abrahamic Covenant is the first of four covenants that God has made with the Jewish people. The "Land Covenant," Deuteronomy 30, is an extension of the Abrahamic Covenant.
To be a "nation" of people, you must have a piece of “real estate”. God mentioned to Abraham in Genesis 12 that the land he passed through on his way South from the "Fertile Crescent", modern-day Syria, that the land would be given to him and his seed, the Jewish people, verses 5-7.
In Genesis 15, there is additional information about the Abrahamic Covenant and the land promised to Abraham in the covenant. We will look at Genesis 15 in another devotional but suffice to say that the Abrahamic Covenant was what is called a "blood covenant." This is a covenant that, if broken, results in the giving up of the life of the one who breaks the covenant or promise.
Genesis 15 says that Abraham actually slept and only the Lord made the covenant, thus this is an "unconditional covenant", only the Lord is responsible for the promises and their fulfillment. By the way, Genesis 15 explains that the land promised to the descendants of Abraham, the Jewish people, will be ten times what they have today, more on that when we come to our devotional reading in Genesis 15.
What is such a blessing to me is that the Lord makes commitments or covenants and obligates Himself to keep them. Some churches say that God has finished with Israel and turned His blessings on the Church. That is what is called "Replacement Theology" - God has replaced the Jews with the Church and has no future program for the Jews.
That is not the case according to our reading today. The Abrahamic Covenant is "forever," as given to the Jewish people. Therefore, we can rest assured that any promise the Lord makes to Christians about eternal life will be fulfilled also.
Should the Lord break His covenant with the Jews, He could break His promises to us as Christians. He cannot break either of the promises, the Abrahamic Covenant or the promise of eternal life to the Christians.
The Lord does have a program for the Jews in the future and we can see the stage being set for that program to come to pass, seemingly in the near future. PRAYER THOT: Thank You Lord for being a covenant keeping God.
Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
The extended reading for our devotional today is as up-to-date, prophetically, as it could be. I will explain that in greater detail in a moment.
First let's look at how the stage was being set for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled some 4,500 years ago as recorded in Genesis 11.
Historically, this passage plays out after the world-wide flood as recorded in Genesis 6, 7 and 8. After the flood, God told Noah and his three sons, and their wives, to be fruitful, multiply and "re-people" the earth,Genesis 9:1.
Remember, after the flood there were only eight souls on the earth.Genesis 10is a record of these eight souls being obedient to God, at least in the beginning.
Genesis 10:6is a record of the grandson of Noah, the son of Ham, Cush. We can trace Cush and his son,verse 8, who was named Nimrod, a great-grandson of Noah. Notice that Nimrod established himself as a "king" in his "kingdom" that he started in the "land of Shinar", verse 10.
In fact, Nimrod went to Babel in Shinar and built a great city, Genesis 11:4. This act was in total contradiction of what God had told Nimrod's great-grandfather to do, to "re-people" the earth.
As we study more on the person of Nimrod we find out that he also started a religion, as signified by the building of a "tower who's top may reach into heaven", verse 4. The "tower" representing "religion".
The Trinity, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the "let us" of verse 7, came down to inspect Nimrod's disobedience and said that because the people were all speaking one language they were able to do evil. The Trinity then"confounded their language that they may not understand one another's speech", verse 7.
Through that act, God scattered all the people of Babylon abroad and across the world as He had commanded them to do years before, verse 8. Notice that verse 9 says "the Lord scattered them abroad, upon the face of 'all' the earth."
Now back to the prophetic scenario laid out in this passage. Nimrod set up a "one world government" in Babylon, his kingdom, with one leader, himself, as king. He also established a "one world religion," by building the tower.
I say "one world" because at the time, Babylon had the entire population of the world. Both Nimrod's "one world government" and "one world religion" were a prototype for the "one world religion" of Revelation 17 and the "one world government" of Revelation 18.
By the way, Biblical Babylon is modern-day Iraq. The literal city of Babylon will be the headquarters for the Antichrist in the last days when this false messiah sets up a "one world economic, political, governmental system" in Babylon, modern-day Iraq.
With all that is happening today in Iraq, the stage is being set for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled, seemingly in the very near future.
PRAYER THOT: Lord, as I watch the fulfillment of Bible prophecy unfolding today, help me to tell others of the future and how to prepare for the future that will be played out in world history.
God told Noah that he and his family were to be fruitful and multiply and thus "re-people" the earth, in Genesis 9:1. Remember, at this time in history, right after the flood, there were only eight people on the earth.
There was Noah and his three sons; Shem, Ham and Japheth and their four wives. God wanted to start “humankind” all over with the survivors of the flood. Genesis 10 is the record of at least the beginning obedience to God's command to "re-people" the Earth.
