Saturday 16 January, 2016

8 Here are the names of Israel’s children and grandchildren who went to Egypt. Jacob and his whole family are included. Reuben was Jacob’s oldest son. 9 The sons of Reuben were Hanok, Pallu, Hezron and Karmi. 10 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul. Shaul was the son of a woman from Canaan. 11 The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath and Merari. 12 The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez and Zerah. But Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. 13 The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub and Shimron. 14 The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon and Jahleel. 15 These were the sons and grandsons born to Jacob and Leah in Paddan Aram. Leah also had a daughter by Jacob. Her name was Dinah. The total number of people in the family line of Jacob and Leah was 33. 16 The sons of Gad were Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Areli. 17 The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah. Their sister was Serah. The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malkiel. 18 These were the children and grandchildren born to Jacob and Zilpah. Laban had given Zilpah to his daughter Leah. The total number of people in the family line of Jacob and Zilpah was 16. 19 The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. 20 In Egypt, Asenath had Manasseh and Ephraim by Joseph. Asenath was the daughter of Potiphera. Potiphera was the priest of On. 21 The sons of Benjamin were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard. 22 These were the sons and grandsons born to Jacob and Rachel. The total number of people in the family line of Jacob and Rachel was 14. 23 The son of Dan was Hushim. 24 The sons of Naphtali were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem. 25 These were the sons and grandsons born to Jacob and Bilhah. Laban had given Bilhah to his daughter Rachel. The total number of people in the family line of Jacob and Bilhah was seven. 26 The total number of people who went to Egypt with Jacob was 66. That number includes only his own children and grandchildren. It doesn’t include his sons’ wives or his grandsons’ wives. 27 The total number of the members of Jacob’s family who went to Egypt was 70. That includes the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt.

This is not just another genealogy.  This is the visible evidence of the promised nation to Abraham. When God first promised to make him a father of a nation, then a father of many nations, he had no children. It was more than two decades before Abraham had a son through Sarah.
The fact is, Abraham never saw the promise become a reality. And neither did his son Isaac.
But God is faithful, he always keeps his promises.
Hebrews 11:13 Abraham (They) died in faith, without receiving what God had promised them, but he (they) saw it all from a distance and welcomed the promises of God.
Though we may not physically see the fulfilment of God’s promises today, faith sees it from a distance and welcomes it.

Father, thank you for the many promises you have made to me. While the fulfilment is on its way, I welcome them all.

Written by Andrew Martin