Genesis, 46
18. These were the descendants of Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah; these she bore to Jacob--sixteen persons in all.
18. These were the descendants of Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah; these she bore to Jacob--sixteen persons in all.
Genesis 46 reports the journey of Jacob and his family to Egypt, where Joseph awaits them to save them from the hunger that plagued the earth. Jacob offers sacrifices to God in Beer-Sheba before leaving and, upon arriving in Egypt, he is presented to Pharaoh. The five verses below were selected for their relevance with the topics covered in this chapter.
Genesis 28:13-15: "And behold, the Lord was upon it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy Father, and the God of Isaac; this land in which you are lying down, I will give you and yours Descent. And your offspring will be like the dust of the earth, and will extend to the West, and the East, and to the north, and to the south; and in you and in your offspring, all the families of the earth will be blessed. Behold, I am with you, and I will keep you wherever you are, and I will make you make this earth; for I will not let you, until I have fulfilled what I have told you. " Jacob's journey and his family to Egypt is an example of God's faithfulness to fulfill his promises of protection and blessing to Abraham's offspring.
Exodus 1:7: "And the children of Israel fruited, and increased a lot, and multiplied, and were strengthened greatly; so that the earth filled with them." The fulfillment of God's promise that Abraham's offspring would be numerous begins to be seen when Jacob and his family arrive in Egypt.
Exodus 20:12: "Honor your Father and your Mother, that your days may be leaning on the earth that the Lord your God gives you." Jacob honored his father and grandfather before him, and now he and his family are being blessed by God's faithfulness to these promises.
Exodus 23:25: "And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless your bread and your water; and I will take away the sickness." God's blessing on Jacob and his family is evident in the fact that they found a place to live in Egypt during hunger and were received by Pharaoh.
Joshua 24:15: "But if it seems evil to you to your eyes to serve the Lord, I chose today to those who serve; if to the gods whom they served your parents, who were in the river, or to the gods of the Amorites, in whose dwelling land But I and I will serve the Lord. " Jacob's decision and his family of trusting God and following his plans is an example for us how we should trust God in all circumstances of life.
“O Senhor se comunica conosco à medida que nos libertamos do nosso apego aos sentidos, que sacrificamos nossa vontade própria e que edificamos nossa vida na humildade.” São Padre Pio de Pietrelcina
