Genesis 47: Behold What Manner of Love

Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.  Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty–seven. -Gen. 47:27-28 NIV

What a life Jacob had.  When he took his brother's birthright and stole his father's blessing, did he ever imagine what it would all mean?  When he dreamed of the angels descending and ascending into heaven, did he know he would father twelve sons by four different women to fulfill the promise that he would be a great nation?  When he wrestled with God and received a new name, did he know that it would become the name of a nation that survives to this day?  When he wept over the bloody coat of his beloved son, did he realize that Joseph was going ahead to prepare a way for the entire family to survive?  As he wandered from place to place, always looking for a safe place to settle down, did he know that his last years would be spent as an honored guest in the land of Egypt?

The same is true of our lives.  God has called all of us.  We have heard his voice and chosen to follow him.  We have his promise that he will never leave or abandon us.  As we journey through this life, we may occasionally hear his voice or dream his dreams, but most of the time we are just living, moving from place to place, while it is God who is shaping our lives into what he created us to be.  What we are to be, what we will be is not yet made known.  All we have to know is that we are the children of God.


How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. 1 John 3:1-3 NIV