Prophetic Prospective Daily Devotional

Exodus 23:17

2010-02-09T08:02:00.002-05:00

Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the LORD God.

For further study - Exodus 23:10-19

This is a very interesting section in the book of Exodus and it may give you insight into the reasons behind some Jewish activities today. In this section of Exodus, especially chapter 23 but also chapter 21, 22 and 24, the Lord is instructing Moses so that he can tell the Jewish people how the Lord wants them to live.

In the Torah, in the book of Leviticus, the Lord explains how not only the Jews are to observe the Sabbath, Saturday, the seventh day of the work week, but the Lord wants the land that He has given to the Jewish people to be rested every seventh year as well, Leviticus 25:8-24.

As Moses wrote in Exodus 23:10-11 we see a preview of the Law that God gives Moses to pass along to the Jewish people. The Lord tells the Jews that they can sow and reap a harvest from the land for six years, and then the land must be rested. No crops, thus no harvest, the land must be untouched.

This is the principle of the Sabbath that the Lord set in motion during the week of creation. The Lord worked for six days to create the heavens, the earth and all that in them is, and on the seventh day the Lord rested, Genesis 2:1-3.

It was at that time the Lord introduced the principle of "Sabbath rest". That is what Moses is discussing in this second book of the Torah, the five books of Moses. In our devotional reading, Moses writes to the Jews about the "Sabbath rest" for the land as well.

Though we don't observe the Sabbath as Christians, setting aside a day of rest makes good sense on our journey through life. Someone has said, "come apart to rest, or you will come apart."

Notice at the end of our reading, in fact the last verse, Moses records the Lord's directive that the “kid”, a baby goat, can not be cooked in it's mother's milk.

This is the verse that the Orthodox Jews today use to justify their "kosher eating habits". Religious Jews will not mix "meat and dairy" items in their meals. The Orthodox, observant Jews, don't mix the two, meat products with dairy products, at any meal.

Again, this practice of eating "kosher" is not something we should do to conform to a Jewish life style, but it does help our overall well being to follow the dietary laws of the Bible, especially those in the Old Testament. God made our bodies and He surly knows how to take care of them, so that we can better serve Him.

I skipped over several very interesting verses, verses 14-17, which actually are the instructions from God, setting in place the three Jewish feast days that the Jews are to appear before the Lord, early on at the Tabernacle, and then at the Temple in Jerusalem.

These three days are called the "Pilgrim Feast Days". The male Jews must make a pilgrimage to the Temple three times a year to observe three of the Jewish Feasts, Passover and Unleavened Bread, which is one, verse 15 and Pentecost and Tabernacles, verse 16.

Even today, Jewish men from around the world, and usually with their families, make their way to Jerusalem for these three Feast Days. Two of these three Feast Days will require a pilgrimage by all the Jews, during the Kingdom to come here on Earth.

These Feast Days, Passover, Ezekiel 45:21, and Tabernacles, Ezekiel 45:25 will be at least two of the Pilgrim Feast Days that the Jews must celebrate at the Temple in Jerusalem during the time of the Kingdom and into eternity future.

The Jews do celebrate these Pilgrim Feast Days, annually, a foretaste of what will happen in the future during the Kingdom Period when the Lord Jesus Christ is ruling and reigning from the Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

PRAYER THOT: Thank You Lord for Your Word that informs me of the activities in the future that will bring honor and glory to You as we serve You throughout the millennial Kingdom and into eternity future.

Exodus 20:11

2010-02-08T08:17:00.004-05:00

For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day.

For further study -Exodus 20:1-26

The passage of Scripture for our reading today is the account of the giving of the “law” to the Jewish people. The “torah”, Hebrew for “law”, does include the “ten commands” that God gave to Moses at Mount Sinai, but it also includes the additional commands found in the rest of the first five books of the Old Testament, the Torah.

The Ten Commands are the standard that God has set in place for all of humankind to match their life with as they take their journey through their short period here on Earth. The truth be known, there is not one person that has lived, or will live on this Earth that can keep even the ten, much less all the other commandments found in God’s Word.

This standard helps each of use to realize that we have “fallen short” of God’s standard and we must come to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. The “law” is a “mirror” that shows each of us who we really are, a needy people that needs a Saviour, Jesus Christ.

I also want you to notice the statement made by God to Moses in the giving of the Law, verses 10-11. This is the commandment to the Jews that they must honor the seventh day, the “Sabbath”, as a day of rest. The Lord told the Jews that He created the “heavens and the earth” in six days and then rested the seventh.

God wants the Jews to work six days and then rest the seventh. By the way, He was not asking the Jews to rest for thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions of years. The Lord wanted the Jews to rest the seventh, 24-hour day, of the seven-day week. All the days are 24-hour days.

My point is that when the Lord spoke of days He was talking about 24-hour days. Therefore, the Lord, by His own statement said He “created the heavens and earth” in six twenty-four hour days. We must take the account of the “Creation” in Genesis 1 as literal in our interpretation of the scriptures.

The truth in God’s prophetic Word is to be taken “literal” as we interpret the end of times scenario that God has set forth to be fulfilled, seemingly in the near future. If we do not approach these passages of scripture literally then there can be too many opinions as to how everything will end.

We must not be “subjective” in our interpretation of the text, but “objective” so that we understand exactly what the Lord is telling us about the last days. Our understanding of the times is key to our daily living before the Lord.

An “objective” understanding of the scriptures will reveal that the next thing to happen on God’s calendar of activities is the Rapture, when Jesus calls us to join Him in the heavens, forever. That Rapture could happen at any moment, are you ready ?

PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for the promise that you are coming and please help me to live daily so as to be ready for that “any moment” event.

Exodus 19:19-20

2010-02-07T08:39:00.003-05:00

And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.

For further study - Exodus 19:1-20

The passage of Scripture for our reading today is an illustration of the next main event in God's calendar of activities for the last days. I will get back to that but first let's learn from that which God was revealing to Moses and the Jewish people some 3,500 years ago.

The scene is at the foot of Mt. Sinai with all of Israel encamped awaiting word from the Lord. It is one year since the Exodus out of Egypt and the bondage that the Jews had been under for more than 400 years. It is just before the Lord would meet with Moses and give him the Ten Commandments. It was a significant time in the total history of the Jewish people.

Before the Lord gave His law to the Jews, He met with Moses to explain what He had planned for the Israelites, among the peoples of the world. In verse 5, God reminds Moses that “obedience” is essential for a right relationship with Him. If the Jews will obey Him then He will make them “a peculiar treasure, a people above all people, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”.

When Moses returned to the Jewish people, he told them of his conversation with the Lord and they responded with, "all that the Lord hath spoken, we will do." The rest of the Old Testament and the Gospels will record the history of the Jewish people and reveal that the Jews spoke too quickly at Sinai. The truth is that they did not keep their commitment to the Lord. The Jewish people, as a whole, have not been obedient.

However, there has been a remnant, those who have been faithful and obedient. God has a plan for the Jewish people that included giving them the Scripture to preserve and transmit to the world, Romans 3:1-2. And of course, the Messiah was born of a young Jewish woman, Mary. God will use the Jews in the future, because He still has a plan for them.

Now, back to that thought I left you with at the beginning of this devotional. The next event on God's calendar of events for the end times is the “Rapture”. That is when Jesus will descend from the Third Heaven where He is seated on the right of God the Father.

Somewhere, "in the air, " He will shout, the archangel will shout and the trump of God will sound to call all Christians on earth to be with the Lord for evermore, I Thessalonians 4:13-17.

In our reading for today, the Rapture is depicted in how the Lord meets with Moses, verses 16-20. This event in the life of Moses is a foretaste of things to come. Remember, the Rapture could happen today, so keep looking up...until!

PRAYER THOT: Thank you for making me a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nations, a peculiar people (I Peter 2:9) so that I can show forth the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Exodus 17:14

2010-02-06T05:01:00.002-05:00

And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.

For further study - Exodus 17:8-16

This passage of scripture that I’ve selected for our devotional today is the record of a battle between the Israelites and the Amalekites that took place around 3,500 years ago as Moses was leading the Jewish people towards the “promised land”.

This is a story that many of us would have studied in Sunday school about when God would give the Israelites the victory as long as Moses held the “rod of God” above his head. Moses was able to get the victory with the help of Aaron and Hur as they helped Moses with the “rod”.

This battle in Rephidim was to be recorded by Moses, to be written down in a book for the Israelites to be able to read at a later date. This is the very first time that someone was told to record an event. The story would be brought to the attention of the Jews in I Samuel 15.

This attack on the Israelites, as they traveled towards the land of Israel, was done by the people known as the Amalekites, a people that the Lord said He would have “war with from generation to generation”, verse 16. The Amalekites are the people “fathered” by Amalek.

Amalek was a grandson of Esau, Genesis 36:12. The lineage of Esau through Amalek would ultimately lead to the Palestinians of today, (for more insight, see my study "Esau and the Palestinians"). The conflict between the Jews and the Palestinians of today actually dates back to this incident.

For more than 4,000 years, the Lord has watched over His people - the Jewish people - and fought along side the Jews against the descendants of Esau and his grandson Amalek. This war will continue throughout all generations until the Lord's Return, Obadiah 17-18.

God's protection of the Jews over 4,000 years is evidence of the reality of an “All-Powerful God”. But it is also evidence that His promises to us for daily watch-care and eternal salvation, will be kept as well. It is also evidence that Jesus will come again one day, maybe a day real soon, perhaps today.

PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for Your protection and at the same time the alert to the times of the end that seemingly are approaching very quickly.

Exodus 13:3

2010-02-05T08:49:00.005-05:00

And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out of Egypt.

For further study – Exodus 13 to 16

As we consider the passages that I will cover in this devotional I am also reminded that our Lord was crucified on Passover and buried on Unleavened Bread, the first two of the seven Jewish Feast Days. This devotional will give us insight into the death and burial of Jesus Christ.

Remember, the lamb that was to be slaughtered on Passover was to be pure, perfect without spot. This is also the case with our “Passover”, Jesus Christ, I Corinthians 5:7.

The fact that the Jews must shed the “blood” of the lamb and paint their “doorpost” with this blood, Exodus 12:7, is symbolic of the “blood” that Jesus shed for us to take away our sin and give us eternal life. The Bible says, “Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin”, Hebrews 9:22.

As we scan the chapters of Exodus that we will cover today in this devotional, Exodus 13 to 16, I will bring to your attention some key points. Before we leave Exodus 12 please notice the total number of Jews who would exit the Egyptian bondage with Moses, the number was six hundred thousand men on foot, plus the women and the children, Exodus 12:37.

When Jacob brought his family into Egypt they were a total of seventy people. After almost 400 years the family had grown to almost two million. All of these people would have participated in the Passover, saving their first-born from each family who believed God.

The last contest Moses had with the Pharaoh was the killing of the ”first born” if there was no blood on the doorpost of the house, the Egyptian homes and the Jewish homes. The night of he Passover God killed all the first born in the land of Egypt, Exodus 13:15.

Verse 19 of the same chapter Moses takes the bones of Joseph with him on his way to the “promised land”, there to be buried. The Lord lead the Jewish people by a “pillar of cloud” in the daytime, and at night, a “pillar of fire”, verse 21.

In chapter 14 we have the account of the “crossing of the Red Sea, and the death of the Egyptians soldiers trying to overtake the Jews. The Egyptians would meet their end in the midst of the Red Sea, verse 27.

Exodus 15 and 16 record the journey of the children of Israel in the first year after the Exodus, and how God provided for them on the journey. I love the story of the “manna” that God supplied for the Jews, a provision not necessarily appreciated by the Jews.

This record of God’s “provision” and “protection” for His chosen people is one more evidence of how the Lord “preserves” His people for the “plan” He has for them. He has done that for some 4,000 years and will do so until He has fulfilled the “promises” He made to them.

God is not finished with the Jews, and the way we can recognize where we are in God’s timeline is to focus on the Jews, today. What happened yesterday to the Jews only assures use that His plan for tomorrow will be fulfilled, as it was in the past.

PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for your protection, provision and plan for my life, as it has been for your chosen people over the years. Your faithfulness to them assures me that you will be faithful to me also in the fulfillment of promises made to me.

Exodus 12:14

2010-02-04T08:44:00.007-05:00

And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.

For further study - Exodus 12:1-24

As we come to the devotional for today from Exodus 12 we will read of the very first Passover, the last of the contest that Moses had with the Pharaoh in order to get the Egyptian leader to "let the Jewish people go".

The seven chapters of Exodus since our last devotional in Exodus 4 reveal to the reader the confrontation between Moses and the Pharaoh. They started in Exodus 5:1 where Moses told the Pharaoh to "let his people go", and the Pharaoh refused to let the Jews go, verse 2.

It is an interesting read to study the way the Lord used Moses, a reluctant "prophet" to stand up to the Pharaoh and allow the Lord to use him in the contest that would finally make the Egyptian leader decide to let the Jewish people to to their promised land. We have the account of this challenge for Moses in the seven chapters of Exodus 5-11.

In Exodus 12 we see that God told Moses how He would take the children of Israel out of the Egyptian bondage and into the Promised Land. The Israelites were to slaughter a lamb and paint their doorpost with the blood of the lamb, verses 1-7, so that the "destroyer", verse 23, would not take the life of the firstborn of the family, but would instead "pass over" their house.

The death of the firstborn of the families in Egypt was the final judgment on Egypt before the children of Israel would make their Exodus. Our key verse today is the command from God to the Jewish people to yearly rehearse the story of the Exodus at a Passover Seder, a special “feast” to observe as a “memorial” of the Passover.

From that day, until today, the Jews on a special night yearly gather as a family for the Seder. The father will tell the story once again to all in attendance. On this night the Jewish people around the world stop to remember what the Lord God did for them 3500 years ago.

What a joyous occasion it is at these Passover Seders. I have had the privilege to be in a Jewish home in Jerusalem for this holy Jewish feast day. Even the children are excited about the events of the evening.

Our church in Jerusalem will host Jews from our area for a “Passover Seder” and in the course of the evening will present “Jesus” as the “Passover Lamb”, I Corinthians 5:7. It is a great way to give testimony to Jewish friends. However, as I write this devotional, I am reminded that there is an exception to observing the Passover.

The ancient Jewish prophet Jeremiah wrote of a day when the Jewish people would no longer only talk about the Exodus out of Egypt, Jeremiah 16:14. Notice the context of Jeremiah 16:13-15. Verse 13 says the Jews will be cast out of their land to lands they do not know.

This dispersion of the Jewish people, a fulfillment of Deuteronomy 28, happened in 70 AD when General Titus and the Roman Army dispersed the Jewish people to the four corners of the Earth.

Verse 14 speaks of a time when the Jews will speak of something in addition to the Exodus out of Egypt. Verse 15 reveals that the Jews will talk about the Lord bringing Jews out of "the north and the lands whither He had driven them." That prophecy is being at least partially fulfilled today.

In the last 100 years, Jews have come back to Israel out of the nations of the world. Since the early 1990's, over 1.3 million Jews have come out of Russia, "the land of the north." The return of the Jewish people to the land of their forefathers is evidence that the prophecies for the Last Days are in the process of being fulfilled. These are prophetic passages that point to when the Messiah Jesus Christ will return.

Every Passover Seder I have attended during the time I have lived in Jerusalem has seen a larger number of Russian Jews in attendance. Each time we speak of this prophecy in Jeremiah as we observe the Passover as the Lord commanded the Jewish people thousands of years ago.

This coming Passover, stop to read this passage in Exodus and the one in Jeremiah again as you reflect on how close we are to the return of Jesus to Earth.

But remember, seven years before His Second Coming, the Rapture takes place and that could be today.

PRAYER THOT: There is so much evidence present today to let us know how close we are to the Rapture. Help me to live in light of the truth that the Rapture could happen today.

Exodus 4:11-12

2010-02-03T08:32:00.006-05:00

And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shall say.

For further study – Exodus 4:1-31

God told Moses how He would take the children of Israel out of the Egyptian bondage and into the Promised Land. The response of Moses, verse 1, was that the Jewish people would not believe him and would not accept what he was telling them.

What an interesting illustration the Lord used to tell Moses that He would help him to do the task that He wanted him to do for his people. The “rod” in the hand of Moses would become a “serpent”, which it did, causing Moses to drop it. As Moses obeyed the Lord and picked up the serpent by the tail it returned the rod that had been in his hand.

There was another “sign” that the Lord would use on Moses, which Moses was to show to the Jewish people when he told them he was to lead them out of bondage and into the promise land. This sign was the “leprous” hand, verses 6-9.

Even with these signs Moses still resisted the Lord’s call for him to be the “deliverer” of the Jewish people. In fact, when Moses introduced the thought to the Lord that Aaron, his brother, could do the job, it angered the Lord, verse 14.

Aaron was an excellent speaker, but not the one the Lord wanted for the job. It is at this point that the Lord told Moses that He would be with both him and his brother Aaron as they would lead the children of Israel out of the Egyptian bondage, verses 14-17.

In the next seven chapters of Exodus we will see the contest that Moses would have with the Pharaoh before the leader of Egypt would “let the people of Moses go”. We will briefly look at those chapters, but this devotional for today is key in the liberation of the Jewish people from Egypt and the first of three returns to the real estate that God had given the Jewish people.

The focus of this narrative in Exodus is the departure of the Jews from the “land of bondage” to the “land of promise”. The focus of the Jews today is the return of the Jews to the land that God promised them through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

This is the plan that God has for the Jewish people for the last days and as we witness this happening in our day we have the evidence that the Lord is working out His plan and the return of His son, Jesus Christ, must be very, very close, maybe even today.

PRAYER THOT: Since the Lord is working out His plan for the end of days, today, among the Jewish people, we must realize how close we are to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy and live out our everyday lives in light of that truth. Help me to do so Lord.

Exodus 3:6

2010-02-02T07:04:00.003-05:00

Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

For further study –Exodus 3:1-12

Our devotional for today is taken from the third chapter of the second book of the “Torah”, the “Law” to the Jewish people. Of course, it is the second book of the Old Testament to us who are Christians. However, before we look at this third chapter a quick review of Exodus 1 and 2.

Exodus 1 and 2 are the record of the “children of Israel” that came into the land of Egypt, the Egyptian bondage and the birth and early life of the “deliverer” of the Jewish people out of the “bondage”, Moses.

Exodus 1:1-6 is the record of the members of Jacob’s family, the ones who came with their father into Egypt. Verses 7 to 22 give the account of the bondage and the Pharaoh’s charge to cast the boy babies into the river and save the girl babies, verse 22.

Exodus 2 is the birth and protection of the baby boy Moses and then a brief account of the first two-thirds of his life. This is the transition to the third chapter of the very important book of Exodus and all that the narrative reveals about how the Lord would raise up a “man” to deliver the Jews out of the Egyptian bondage and send them toward the “promised land”.

Now we come to the devotional reading for today. I hope that you find time to read the first two chapters of Exodus to get the background of everything else we will discuss about this book. May I suggest that as we travel through the prophetic chapters and passages of the Bible you will be able to read the supplemental passages also.

Exodus 3 is the record of the Lord calling Moses to be the “deliverer” of his own people, the Jews. Verse 2 tells us that “the angel of the Lord”, a phrase that introduces a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ, appears to Moses in a ”flame of fire, out of a bush”, a “burning bush”.

Jesus told Moses that he was on “holy ground”, to take off his shoes. Jesus then presented Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the “God of his father”. This introduction to Moses was to assure him that He was the God that could do all things, even deliver the Jews out of the bondage.

The Lord told Moses that he would lead his people out of the Egyptian bondage into freedom and into “a land flowing with milk and honey”, verse 8. We will see that two of the twelve spies sent into the “promised land” would return with a report that indeed the land was a land of “milk and honey”. We will have more on that event, later.

The events covered in these chapters played a key role in the return of the Jewish people to their land, a land that the Lord had promised the Jews, not only at this time in history, but in the future and into “eternity future” as well.

This account and what it records about the Jews is so significant to the end time prophecies in God’s Word that pertain to the Jews, the land and God’s relationship to His “chosen people”. This account gives us the evidence that God did, and will, bring the Jews from wherever they may be back into the land He has given them for an eternal possession.

God makes promises and then follows through in the fulfillment of those promises. That is a great assurance to each of us as it pertains to our future with God and Jesus, starting with the Rapture, the next event on God’s calendar of future events. It could be today, keep looking up.

PRAYER THOT: Help me to live in light of the truth that the Rapture could happen today.

Genesis 50:20

2010-02-01T08:15:00.004-05:00

But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good.

For further study –Genesis 50:15-26

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 in Romans 8:28.

Our reading in Genesis 50 is 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 in Genesis 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 49 concludes 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 in Genesis 50 we 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.

Genesis 48:4

2010-01-31T08:39:00.006-05:00

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.

For further study –Genesis 48:1-22

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 in Genesis 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 31 deal with the last days of Jacob, as he nears death. This makes the transition into Genesis 48 and 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 in verse 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.

In verses 5 to 22 we 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”.

Genesis 46:6

2010-01-30T08:37:00.004-05:00

And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob and all his seed with him.

For further study – Genesis 46:1-27

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.

Genesis 45:7

2010-01-29T08:42:00.006-05:00

And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

For further study – Genesis 45:1-28

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 is Genesis 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 on Genesis 45 in a moment.

In Genesis 38 there is a parenthesis in the narrative of Joseph with an account of the “shame of Jacob”. Genesis 39 gets 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. In Genesis 41, after following the narrative through Genesis 40, the Pharaoh sets Joseph over all of Egypt, verse 41.

As you read Genesis 42, 43 and 44 you 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 in chapter 45. Joseph said that God sent him before his brothers to “preserve life”, verses 5 and 7. Verse 8 tells 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.

Genesis 37:1

2010-01-28T07:50:00.001-05:00

And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.

For further study – Genesis 37:1-27

In Genesis 37 there 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 36 detailed 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 in Revelation 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 36:8

2010-01-27T07:00:00.004-05:00

Thus dwelt Esau in Mount Seir: Esau is Edom.

For further study - Genesis 36:1-12

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.

Genesis 35:21

2010-01-26T07:57:00.002-05:00

And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.

For further study - Genesis 35:16-26

Before we get to our devotional reading in Genesis 35 let me suggest that you may want to read through Genesis 34 which is the record of Jacob as he reaps the harvest of his evil years. Next we come to Genesis 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.

In Micah 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.

Genesis 32:28

2010-01-25T08:15:00.004-05:00

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.

For further study - Genesis 32:22-32

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.

Genesis 27:41

2010-01-24T05:19:00.002-05:00

And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him.

For further study - Genesis 27:26-46

We will move to Genesis 27 for our devotional, but first let me point out to you the "confirmation" of the Abrahamic Covenant to Isaac found in Genesis 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 33 record 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.

Genesis 25:7

2010-01-23T08:09:00.003-05:00

And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years.

For further study - Genesis 25:1-34

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.

Genesis 23:19

2010-01-22T07:54:00.003-05:00

And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.

For further study - Genesis 23:1-20

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 1 reveals 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”.

Genesis 22:8

2010-01-21T06:41:00.005-05:00

And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offering: so they went both of them together.

For further study - Genesis 22:1-24

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.

Genesis 21:2

2010-01-20T00:51:00.003-05:00

For Sarah conceived and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.

For further study –Genesis 21:1-21

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.