Fruitful Generations

 

Fruitful Generations

Exodus 1: Now these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob: ² Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; ³ Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; ⁴ Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. ⁵ All those who were descendants of Jacob were seventy persons (for Joseph was in Egypt already). ⁶ And Joseph died, all his brothers, and all that generation. ⁷ But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.

 

============

 

This book begins with the twelve tribes of Israel moving to Egypt. Joseph was capture and brought to Egypt and his brothers moved there due to the famine GOD created. What was meant for evil, GOD used it for good. All of the tribes of Israel were now in Egypt and they were flourishing.

 

My Observations:

• The Hebrews were considered to be a lower class than the Egyptians.
• The children of Israel “were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty.”
• The Egyptians were probably not as fruitful.

 

Joseph’s generation all passed away. The twelve brothers were now known as tribes of Israel. Each tribe performed to the blessing given by Jacob. All of the tribes had many children. The fertility rate was supernatural!

 

GOD was growing the nation of Israel in an amazing way. You would think that everyone would be happy about this. But the multiplication and supernatural fertility would soon pose a threat to the Egyptians. GOD provided the fertility.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD tell Moses about the generations of fertility in the nation of Israel?
• Has your success ever been met with jealousy?
• Is GOD making you fruitful for a reason?

Foreshadowed

Foreshadowed

Genesis 48: Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told, “Indeed your father is sick”; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. ² And Jacob was told, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed. ³ Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, ⁴ and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’ ⁵ And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. ⁶ Your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. ⁷ But as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

 

============

 

Some time after Israel made Joseph promise to bury him near his fathers, he got sick. Joseph got word of his sickness and took his two sons to see him. What Israel said, would come to pass.

 

My Observations:

• Ephraim and Manasseh would become tribes of Israel.
• The tribe of Joseph would be replaced by his sons and referred to as the house of Joseph.
• Rachel died in Bethlehem, birthplace of JESUS.

 

On Israel’s deathbed, he foreshadowed things to come. One day Joseph’s children would become prominent tribes, receiving earthly inheritances as great as the other tribes. He then recalled the death of Rachel.

 

She died on the way to Ephrath in a little town called Bethlehem. This would be the birthplace of CHRIST two-thousand years later. Her deathplace was significant. GOD’s plan was far greater than expected. Most people think it’s about earthly possessions, but it is about JESUS establishing an everlasting Kingdom.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD tell Moses about Israel’s prophetic words?
• Do you think the places you have been, are insignificant?
• Can you accept that everything you do and everything you are has significant meaning to GOD?

Needed Conversation

Needed Conversation

Genesis 35: ⁹ Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him. ¹⁰ And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel. ¹¹ Also God said to him: “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. ¹² The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.” ¹³ Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him. ¹⁴ So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. ¹⁵ And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.

 

============

 

Fleeing the area where Simeon and Levi had murdered all the men of Shechem, Jacob was nervous. To top it off, he did not have his mother to talk to and the closest person to a mother figure had just died. “Then GOD appeared to Jacob again.”

 

My Observations:

• Jacob already birthed the kids who would fulfill the prophesy.
• GOD stepped in and talked “with” Jacob, but Jacob’s words were not written.
• GOD changed Jacob’s name from “Deceiver” to “He who strives with perseverance.”

 

Jacob seemed to struggle with the way he was raised versus the right way he should act. Jacob learned how to deceive, and became good at it. Unfortunately, he had to struggle for many years. He realized that GOD protected him, even though he caused his own problems.

 

Now Jacob was in a larger mess and deception would not be the answer to his problems. He needed a conversation from GOD, who not only changed his name, but gave him assurance that HIS prophecy still stood. GOD would protect Israel and his sons and daughters.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD tell Moses about HIS conversation and name change of Jacob to Israel?
• Are you in need of a conversation from GOD?
• Will you seek GOD’s comforting words today by reading HIS promises HE has for you?

Dedicated to Susie Washington

Protection Program

Protection Program

Genesis 28: Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. ² Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother.

³ “May God Almighty bless you,

And make you fruitful and multiply you,

That you may be an assembly of peoples;

⁴ And give you the blessing of Abraham,

To you and your descendants with you,

That you may inherit the land

In which you are a stranger,

Which God gave to Abraham.”

⁵ So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Padan Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

 

============

 

Isaac was aware that Jacob had lied and stolen Esau’s blessing. But it was too late. He did not want Jacob to marry a Hittite woman, known as the daughters of Canaan. He sent Jacob away.

 

My Observations:

• Isaac blessed Jacob again, asking GOD to make him fruitful and multiply him.
• Isaac blessed Jacob with the ability to gather people.
• Isaac blessed Jacob with the blessing of his father Abraham, which came directly from GOD.

 

Undeservingly, Jacob accepted the blessing and went to Rebekah’s brother Laban. GOD was clear that Laban was Rebakah’s relative. HE was also clear that Rebekah was the mother of Jacob and Esau.  This is the first time their names are mentioned together and Jacob’s name is mentioned first.

 

Jacob is being sent away, similar to a witness protection program of today. Isaac wanted him to marry someone from His father’s lineage. Rebekah wanted Jacob protected from Esau. GOD saw the entire plan and allowed Jacob to be protected.

 

Challenge

• Why do you think Isaac blessed Jacob, knowing he made a mistake?
• Have you ever been protected in the middle of your sins?
• Can you praise GOD for HIS protection because HE sees, knows and forgives your sins?

Emotional Rollercoaster

Emotional Rollercoaster

Genesis 17: ¹⁷ Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” ¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”

¹⁹ Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. ²⁰ And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. ²¹ But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.” ²² Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

 

============

 

Abraham experienced some strange requests from GOD. Leave your family’s land without knowing where you are going was the first strange request that Abraham obeyed. Rename yourself from Abram to Abraham was another strange request because Abram was known.

 

Cut off your foreskin along with everyone in your household was another strange request as a sign of human promise back to GOD. But now GOD was telling Abraham that he would have another child.

 

My Observations:

• Abraham secretly said to himself “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 
• Abraham tried to steer GOD towards Sarai’s plan.
• GOD told Abraham when the child would be born, then left abruptly.

 

Abraham was probably on an emotional rollercoaster after hearing the promise from GOD. He had believed everything said up to this point, but how in the world would his barren wife have a child not? Abraham knew about his ancestors. He knew that Shem lived six hundred years and had many children well into his years.

 

But people around him were probably dying at an age younger than one hundred. He too, may have felt the effects of getting older and wondered if he would die soon. GOD, knowing Abraham’s persistence, told him “No” in answer to his statement about Ishmael being the possible chosen child. GOD left abruptly, possibly because of Abraham’s inquisitive nature. The answer was final.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD include the secret thoughts of Abraham in a conversation revealed to Moses?
• Has GOD told you a promise that seems to be taking a very long time to come to fruition?
• When GOD promises you something bigger than your imagination, how do you react?

Human Life Prioritized

Human Life Prioritized

Genesis 9: So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. ² And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. ³ Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. ⁴ But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. ⁵ Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.

 

⁶ “Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By man his blood shall be shed;
For in the image of God
He made man.
⁷ And as for you, be fruitful and multiply;
Bring forth abundantly in the earth
And multiply in it.”

 

============

 

Life as Noah was used to had changed. No longer would things be the same. GOD had not spoken to Noah’s sons before. Perhaps they were not interested, BUT GOD was starting humanity over. Satan had caused humans to fall. His demons fell and birthed giants. Noah’s sons were living in a world that could care less about GOD.

 

They got married, possibly to descendants of Cain or maybe from the lineage of the giants, spawned from the demonic union. Whatever the case, GOD saw something different in Noah’s sons that HE had to provide clarity to.

 

My Observations:

• GOD values all human life, male and female.
• GOD allowed humans to eat any animal, bird or bug as food.
• GOD specifically emphasized that humans should not be killed or eaten.

 

Turning the planet over to Noah and his family showed the change in the relationship between GOD and humans. GOD would no longer walk with the humans, BUT HE would talk with them. Noah’s sons did not cower in fear when hearing GOD, because perhaps they were used to hearing HIM talk to Noah.

 

GOD gave instructions to grow HIS kingdom. HE blessed humans with dominion over the earth. Animals and bugs were changed during this blessing. They would not own the earth, rather become food. All vegetation could be used by humans as they saw fit. Abundance was established again. Humans were placed on top.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD seem to change the relationship between HIM and Noah’s sons?
• Have you ever started something and came to a point where it was someone else who would be responsible for carrying it forward?
• Can you be fruitful with your creativity and multiply what GOD has given you so HIS kingdom will be expanded abundantly?

Go Out

Go Out

Genesis 8: ¹⁵ Then God spoke to Noah, saying, ¹⁶ “Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. ¹⁷ Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” ¹⁸ So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. ¹⁹ Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark.

 

============

 

“It worked! The ark GOD had me build actually worked!” should have been the thought that crossed Noah’s mind. But it didn’t seem like this was the case. Noah had never seen rain before. He and his family were closed up in an ark for a large portion of a year. He had never seen GOD’s wrath, only heard about it.  He saw the Garden of Eden and knew he could not enter it. He had many conversations with the LORD and understood HIM well.

 

My Observations:

• Every human Noah tried to convince was now gone.
• Noah followed instructions well and was probably nervous to make a mistake.
• GOD had to tell Noah to leave the ark even though he knew the ground was dry.

 

Waiting on the LORD for the next step was a quality that Noah demonstrated well. “I’m not going out there” was shown in his hesitancy and cautious approach. BUT GOD had another stage of life for Noah and his family. “Be fruitful and multiply” were the same instructions given to his ancestors Adam and Eve.

 

These words were a blessing instead of a curse. GOD bestowed confidence in humans to create life, just as HE intended. The ordeal was over. But Noah had become comfortable in the ark and was used to the security of the small space. BUT GOD had a different agenda. HE wanted the earth populated with humans, animals and bugs. Noah had to leave his adopted comfort zone to do what GOD saved him for.

 

Challenge

• Why does GOD tell Moses about this conversation with Noah?
• Has GOD ever rescued you and you have become comfortable with something that HE meant to be temporary?
• Have you asked GOD for the faith to “go out” of your comfort zone to do the next step of HIS plan for you?

Humans Day 5

Humans Day 5

Genesis 1: ²⁰ Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” ²¹ So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

 

============

 

Water, light, day, night, outer space, stars, sky, air, vegetation, dry land, and minerals were all in place and working well. The Earth was rotating properly and had made four revolutions. GOD then spoke fish and birds into existence. HE then provides the very first blessing by saying “Be fruitful and multiply.”  This blessing enabled species of all kinds of birds and fish to fill the waters and the air.

 

My Observations:

• GOD cares about the details of every fish and bird.
• GOD speaks to every living creature.
• GOD is excited about abundance for HIS creation.

 

Abundance sticks out to me when I see GOD creating the birds and fish. Not only did HE create plenty, HE created the ability for each species to have plenty. The math HE gave the birds and fish was multiplication versus addition. HE was very pleased that the birds and fish would be delightful for humans.

 

Challenge

• Why do you think GOD told Moses about the first blessing?
• What is your idea of abundance compared to GOD’s idea of abundance?
• Have you ever noticed that GOD did not create money during this week of creation, rather HE built a space HE knew was fitting for humans?