Walk with God

 God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. So when Abraham became the father of Isaac, he circumcised him on the eighth day. The practice was continued when Isaac became the father of Jacob and when Jacob became the father of the 12 patriarchs of the Israelite nation. These patriarchs were jealous of their brother Joseph, and they sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. God gave him favor before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. God also gave Joseph unusual wisdom. Pharaoh appointed him governor over all of Egypt and put him in charge of the palace. But a famine came upon Egypt and Canaan. There was great misery, and people all around ran out of food. Jacob heard that there was still grain in Egypt, so he sent his sons to buy some. The second time they went, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, and they were introduced to Pharaoh. Then Joseph sent for his father, Jacob, and all his relatives to come to Egypt, 75 persons in all. If you missed that, I discussed the counting differences in the number of people in my last blog post. So Jacob went to Egypt and eventually died there. They were taken to Shechem and buried in Abraham's tomb for a specific price from Hamor's sons in Shechem (Acts 7:8-16).

Before the first famine years, two sons were born to Joseph and his wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On. Joseph named his older son Manasseh (Causing to Forget). He said God had made him forget all the troubles that everyone in his father's family had caused. Joseph named his second son Ephraim (Fruitful) because God had made him fruitful in the land of his grief (Genesis 41:50-52).

Meanwhile, the people of Israel settled in the region of Goshen in Egypt. There they acquired property, and they were fruitful, and their population multiplied. Jacob lived for 17 years after he arrived in Egypt, so he lived 147 years in all. As the time of his death drew near, Jacob called for his son Joseph. He insisted that Joseph swear to treat Jacob with unfailing love by honoring his last request not to be buried in Egypt when he died. Instead, he wanted his body to be taken out of Egypt and buried with his ancestors. Joseph agreed and made the oath. As Jacob's health was rapidly failing, Joseph brought his two sons to see their grandfather. So, Jacob gathered his strength to sit up in bed, repeating God's promise to him in Luz in the land of Canaan. God's blessing was that Jacob would make him fruitful. God would multiply Jacob's descendants, make him a multitude of nations, and give the land of Canaan to his descendants as an everlasting possession. Keep that word "everlasting" in mind whenever anyone tells us that none of God's promises to Israel still belong to the Jewish people. God is not a liar (Genesis 47:24-48:4).

Then Jacob does something interesting. He claims Joseph's two sons as his own, telling Joseph that any of his children after them could inherit the land that would have belonged to these two brothers. Jacob could hardly see because of his age. So, Joseph brought Ephraim and Manasseh close to Jacob. Jacob was thrilled because for 22 years of his life, he didn't think he would ever see Joseph again, but he got to see Joseph and Joseph's children. The oldest child, Manasseh, was on the right, with Ephraim on the left, as it typically should be for such a blessing. But Jacob crossed his hands, putting the right hand on the youngest and left on the oldest. Jacob asked God to bless the boys, keeping alive the names of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through the multiplication of descendants throughout the earth. Joseph objected to the placement of his father's hands and tried to correct him, but Jacob knew what he was doing. He said both boys would prosper, but the youngest would become more significant. Jacob knew his death was near, but Jacob still had God's promise in mind. He told Joseph that his people would be back in the Promised Land of their ancestors eventually. He also said that Joseph's descendants would have an extra portion of the land taken from the Amorites by conquest (Genesis 48:10-22).

The blessing is the most significant theme in this section of scripture. 

1. Jacob talks about how God appeared to him at Luz in Canaan and blessed him (Genesis 48:3).
2. Jacob's most important goal was to bless his children (Genesis 48:9).
3. Jacob blessed Joseph (Genesis 48:15-16).
4. Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manasseh (Genesis 48:16).
5. Jacob said that Israel would pronounce blessing in the names of Ephraim and Manasseh (Genesis 48:20).

Notice also what Jacob says about God here:

1. Abraham and Isaac walked before God.
2. God had been Jacob's shepherd all his life.
3. God had redeemed Jacob from all evil.

God can redeem us from evil, too, through trust in the work Jesus did on the cross.

There is also hope in the interaction between Jacob, Manasseh, and Ephraim. It shows us that every individual person has a purpose. God doesn't see everything in groups like much of our society is encouraging us to do today. That doesn't mean he doesn't see any groups at all. Matthew 25:31-46 is called the Judgment of the Nations. God has a plan for the Church and a plan for Israel. God has judged entire cities in the past and even in more recent years. But salvation is individual, and God has unique plans for each of our lives. This tells us that God notices us. Even though there are billions of people on Earth, God still focuses on and cares about you as an individual person.

Jacob mentioned how the patriarchs all walked with God. This is something the Bible talks about a lot. In Genesis 5:22-24, we see that Enoch walked with God. Then, suddenly, God took Enoch, and he disappeared from Earth in the first Rapture. How did Enoch qualify for this experience? He walked with God! Noah was a righteous man who was blameless in his generation because Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9). As such, he and his family were the ones spared from the global Flood. God commanded Abraham to walk before him faithfully and be blameless (Genesis 17:1). So, what does the Lord require of us? He requires us to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before God (Micah 6:8). The Apostle Paul urged his readers to walk with God in a manner worthy of the calling we have received. We do this by walking in humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love, and making every effort to keep the unity of the Holy Spirit through the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-3). That sure is a convicting passage. At least it is for me! So what can we learn about all of this about the command to walk with God:

1. The grace of God will call us to walk with him because we belong to him through Christ.
2. Noah was considered righteous and blameless, spared from judgment because he walked with God.
3. God commands walking before him faithfully and being blameless.
4. Walking with God means to act justly, walk humbly, and love mercy.
5. We have been called to be like Christ. Therefore, walking with God means the conduct of our lives is to reflect that. We do this through humility, gentleness, patience, love, and peace.

Reflecting on my own life and character, I can see many areas where I either need to improve in these areas or, in some instances, haven't walked like this at all. So I am glad I shared this study with you, as it has reminded me of some things I need to address. I pray it is the same for anyone who may need it. Thank you for your time, and God bless.