Bloodline for the Messiah - A. M. Deigloriam

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up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive.”

      The drought brought about severe hardship to all the people of the region to the point where many were starving and selling all they had for food to survive. It was Joseph and his wisdom that provided for a great storage of grain that allowed many to survive the famine.

      Joseph was a son that was hated by his brothers, beaten and sold to a passing caravan. God would use this despised and rejected man to accomplish great things and to be the answer to Jacob’s prayer. God brought about a miracle by taking a slave called Joseph left for dead and placing him in a position that ensured that God’s man Jacob and the twelve tribes of Jacob would survive in great numbers.

      Both Jacob and Joseph placed their trust in God and asked for His direction. God answered their prayers by providing His loving grace in His time and in His way. The message is clear, if you live a life that is based on your wisdom you will not experience God’s plan for your life. God will not fail to unfold his promises regardless of the circumstance. No one would expect a beaten slave left for dead to be an important part of a sovereign God’s plan for all of mankind. God’s plan for the world will unfold regardless of our individual values or situations. Today, many are enslaved to earthly values and their entire existence is focused on self.

      It is God’s grace that blesses us with promises that we do not deserve. Jacob took every decision to God in prayer. Jacob was blessed greatly because of his faithfulness in taking all decisions to God in prayer. His life was based on God’s wisdom and not his own wisdom. Jacob and his twelve sons all prospered in Egypt and raised twelve great family tribes.

      2 Samuel 7:28 reads, “And now, O Lord God, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant.”

      We are the creation of a sovereign all powerful God that has no sin and cannot tolerant any sin. He is a loving patience God that has given His only Son as a sacrifice for all of man’s sin so that man may commune with God his Creator. Jacob was living out God’s plan for his life and the life of his family that included traveling and moving his family to Egypt. Obedience in our daily life pleases God and allows us to receive His blessing. However, disobedience will bring discipline to those that are faithful servants. We belong to a loving, faithful God who will never fail to provide for His faithful servants.

      Application

      Esau was not interested in his birthright and was willing to sell it to Jacob for a bowl of stew. Jacob on the other hand, realized the value and importance of the bloodline and was willing to assume all the responsibility and authority associated with the birthright. Unfortunately, when Isaac was on his deathbed and ready to give the final blessing, Jacob with the aid of Rebekah, Isaac’s wife, devised a plan to deceive Isaac.

      Regardless of the conflict and the many sins between Jacob, Esau, and the family, God’s plan would be unfolded.

      Genesis 25:23 reads, “And the Lord said unto her, two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from the bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.”

      Jacob being the youngest son would be the son to carry the bloodline for the Son of David, Jesus the Christ. God has a plan for each person and regardless of the number of bad decisions we make He is always there to comfort us and to forgive us our many sins.

      Jacob was a deceitful and crafty man that relied on his own skills to resolve issues he encountered. His deception and lies to Isaac resulted in Esau’s wrath and pledge to kill Jacob. All of Jacob’s efforts to resolve issues ended in failure and the wrath of his victims. Men are generally more inclined to try to resolve issues on their own rather than to pray and patiently wait on God for His answer. Jacob was in a difficult situation with his brother coming in the morning with 400 men to kill him and others to do him harm. Jacob spent the night struggling and wrestling with an angel of God.

      Jacob was full of fear and dreaded the meeting with his brother Esau and realized he needed God’s blessing to change his life and resolve all of his conflicts. In complete desperation he told the angel he wasn’t going to release him unless he was blessed.

      Genesis 32:26-29 reads, “And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name? And he blessed him there.”

      The encounter with the angel made Jacob physically vulnerable with an injured hip and at the same time required that he be more dependent on faith. God’s blessing changed Jacob from being a man who tried to resolve all issues with lies and deception to a man who was completely dependent on God for all things. Jacob’s struggle with the angel pleased God and resulted in Jacob getting the blessing he fought for. We all struggle and wrestle with difficult issues throughout our lives. The sooner we realize our limitations, the sooner we place a greater trust in God’s love, and wisdom, the sooner we live a fuller and joy filled life. We continue in a life of prayer and patiently wait on the Lord for His direction and answer to our needs. God answers our prayers in many different ways and in some ways we do not understand. For example, God will wait until the time is right for an issue to be resolved. The right time could be dependent on other people, an individual’s maturity, experiences to be realized, knowledge of the issues, and countless other aspects of daily life.

      Judah and Tamar

      (Approximately 1755–1676 BC)

      Jacob had twelve sons. Jacob and his wife Leah’s sons were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. Jacob and his wife Rachel sons were Joseph and Benjamin. He also had sons with Zipah (Gad, Asher) and Bilaha (Dan, Naphtali). Reuben was the oldest son and would have normally been given the double portion of land and the family blessing; however, because of his involvement in the selling of Joseph to a caravan, he was denied that inheritance.

      Jacob would bless all twelve sons by giving them all some portion of the Promised Land which now includes all of Israel. Jacob under God’s direction singled out Judah the forth son for the most prominent blessing. Jacob’s son Levi and his sons would become priests and would be responsible for keeping and maintaining the law for all the tribes.

      However, Judah hated his brother Joseph and was involved along with his brothers in the selling of his brother Joseph. This sin caused Judah a great deal of suffering over the next twenty years with his wife and sons. Two of Judah’s sons lost their lives because of their sin and disobedience. Judah’s third son Shelah was too young and did not marry Tamar the chosen wife for Judah’s first son Er. Tamar changed her appearance and tricked Judah into having a relationship that resulted in the birth of twins. The child named Perez was the first born and was in the genealogy line that God delivered His promise and blessing for all of mankind.

      The tribe of Judah was blessed and grew to great strength and was the law giver for all the tribes of Israel. Judah was a strong warrior with a strong character and determination to follow God’s plan for Israel. It was the tribe of Judah’s numbers and strength that allowed them to be aggressive in driving out the Canaanites. In addition, Judah’s strength allowed him to move the tabernacle from Shiloh to Mount Zion. Mount Zion is located on an eastern hill in the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the capital of the southern kingdom of Israel, Judah.

      Genesis 49:8-10 reads, “Judah, thou art he whom thy breather shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thy enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him the gathering of the people be.”

      Judah was held in high esteem as the fourth son of Jacob and Leah. Judah took on a leadership role of Jacob’s family

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