50 day journey to Christ - Day 10

Daily Reading
Genesis 46

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

46 Israel set out with all that he had and came to Beer-sheba, and he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. ² That night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” He said.

And Jacob replied, “Here I am.”
³ God said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. ⁴ I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you back. Joseph will put his hands on your eyes.”
⁵ Jacob left Beer-sheba. The sons of Israel took their father Jacob in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him, along with their children and their wives. ⁶ They also took their cattle and possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan. Then Jacob and all his children went with him to Egypt. ⁷ His sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters, indeed all his offspring, he brought with him to Egypt.

⁸ These are the names of the Israelites, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt:

Jacob’s firstborn: Reuben.
⁹ Reuben’s sons: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
¹⁰ Simeon’s sons: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.
¹¹ Levi’s sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
¹² Judah’s sons: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan.
Perez’s sons: Hezron and Hamul.
¹³ Issachar’s sons: Tola, Puvah, Jashub, and Shimron.
¹⁴ Zebulun’s sons: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
¹⁵ These were Leah’s sons born to Jacob in Paddan-aram, as well as his daughter Dinah. The total number of persons: 33.
¹⁶ Gad’s sons: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
¹⁷ Asher’s sons: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah.
Beriah’s sons were Heber and Malchiel.
¹⁸ These were the sons of Zilpah—whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah—that she bore to Jacob: 16 persons.
¹⁹ The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
²⁰ Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. They were born to him by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, a priest at On.
²¹ Benjamin’s sons: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.
²² These were Rachel’s sons who were born to Jacob: 14 persons.
²³ Dan’s son: Hushim.
²⁴ Naphtali’s sons: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
²⁵ These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. She bore to Jacob: seven persons.
²⁶ The total number of persons belonging to Jacob—his direct descendants, not including the wives of Jacob’s sons—who came to Egypt: 66.
²⁷ And Joseph’s sons who were born to him in Egypt: two persons.
All those of Jacob’s household who had come to Egypt: 70 persons.

²⁸ Now Jacob had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to prepare for his arrival at Goshen.When they came to the land of Goshen, ²⁹ Joseph hitched the horses to his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, threw his arms around him, and wept for a long time.
³⁰ Then Israel said to Joseph, “At last I can die, now that I have seen your face and know you are still alive!”
³¹ Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and inform Pharaoh, telling him: My brothers and my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. ³² The men are shepherds; they also raise livestock. They have brought their sheep and cattle and all that they have. ³³ When Pharaoh addresses you and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ ³⁴ you are to say, ‘Your servants, both we and our fathers, have raised livestock from our youth until now.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen, since all shepherds are abhorrent to Egyptians.”

Key - Purple text = words of God,  Bold = Verse of the Day

Think about the reunion of Israel with his son Joseph.  The amount of joy and elation that was felt between both of them as they embraced after being a part for many, many years.  A father reunited with his son after thinking he was dead.  A son, reunited with his father after not knowing if he would ever see him again.  

Discussion Question:  Have you experienced the joy that comes from an unexpected reunion?  What about the feeling when reunited with your heavenly Father after a season of doubt or sin.  

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Prayer - Father in heaven, we come to you today in humilty and rememberance, remebering the day we were reuntied with you!  We thank you for your Love and Mercy and for the fact that you never gave up on us.  Teach us to be like Judah and to go ahead and prepare the way for your reunion with our other brothers and sisters.  In Jesus name we pray.  Amen.


Image Credit - http://heartofwisdom.com/homeschool/?p=3026

Day 7 In Our Reading Plan

Genesis 32

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Preparing to Meet Esau

1 Jacob went on his way, and God’s angels met him. ² When he saw them, Jacob said, “This is God’s camp.” So he called that place Mahanaim.^[a]

³ Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. ⁴ He commanded them, “You are to say to my lord Esau, ‘This is what your servant Jacob says. I have been staying with Laban and have been delayed until now. ⁵ I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male and female slaves. I have sent this message to inform my lord, in order to seek your favor.’”

⁶ When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau; he is coming to meet you—and he has 400 men with him.” ⁷ Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; he divided the people with him into two camps, along with the flocks, cattle, and camels. ⁸ He thought, “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it, the remaining one can escape.”

⁹ Then Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Go back to your land and to your family, and I will cause you to prosper,’ ¹⁰ I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant. Indeed, I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two camps. ¹¹ Please rescue me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid of him; otherwise, he may come and attack me, the mothers, and their children. ¹² You have said, ‘I will cause you to prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’”

¹³ He spent the night there and took part of what he had brought with him as a gift for his brother Esau: ¹⁴ 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, ¹⁵ 30 milk camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys. ¹⁶ He entrusted them to his slaves as separate herds and said to them, “Go on ahead of me, and leave some distance between the herds.”

¹⁷ And he told the first one: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to? Where are you going? And whose animals are these ahead of you?’ ¹⁸ then tell him, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau. And look, he is behind us.’”

¹⁹ He also told the second one, the third, and everyone who was walking behind the animals, “Say the same thing to Esau when you find him. ²⁰ You are also to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’” For he thought, “I want to appease Esau with the gift that is going ahead of me. After that, I can face him, and perhaps he will forgive me.”

²¹ So the gift was sent on ahead of him while he remained in the camp that night. ²² During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female slaves, and his 11 sons, and crossed the ford of Jabbok. ²³ He took them and sent them across the stream, along with all his possessions.

Jacob Wrestles with God

²⁴ Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that He could not defeat him, He struck Jacob’s hip socket as they wrestled and dislocated his hip. ²⁶ Then He said to Jacob, “Let Me go, for it is daybreak.”  But Jacob said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me.”  ²⁷ “What is your name?” the man asked.  “Jacob,” he replied.  ²⁸ “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” He said. “It will be Israel^[b] because you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”  ²⁹ Then Jacob asked Him, “Please tell me Your name.”  But He answered, “Why do you ask My name?” And He blessed him there.  ³⁰ Jacob then named the place Peniel,^[c] “For I have seen God face to face,” he said, “and I have been delivered.” ³¹ The sun shone on him as he passed by Penuel^[d]—limping because of his hip. ³² That is why, to this day, the Israelites don’t eat the thigh muscle that is at the hip socket: because He struck Jacob’s hip socket at the thigh muscle.^[e]

^{Artwork: Pacific Press}