SPIRITUAL
DIARY FOR 06-05-03
My
Worship Time Focus: Isaac, Jacob, &
Joseph’s Faith
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: Hebrews 11:20-22
Message
of the verse: “20 By faith Isaac
blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. 21 By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed
each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his
staff. 22 By faith Joseph, when he was
dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning
his bones. (NASB)
These
three verses speak of the faith that these men of old had in their God, the God
of Israel. None of them had a written
copy of the Word of God to learn from, yet they had great faith in God, and
believed the promises that were first given to Abraham. Isaac was the promised child of Abraham and
Sarah, and was the one in whom the line of the coming Messiah would come
through. Isaac had his weak moments as
all of us do, but he did believe the promises of God and passed them on to his
two sons, of only one, Jacob would believe and act upon these promises. Jacob, who became Israel after wrestling with
God, had twelve sons who would become the fathers of the twelve tribes of
Israel, also believed the promises of God that had first been given to Abraham. Joseph was the eleventh son of Jacob, and
was a favorite which got him in a lot of trouble, but that trouble was what the
Lord used to get the children of Israel into Egypt where they eventually became
a might nation 400 years later. “Joseph
was tried by temptations to sin, by persecution for keeping his integrity; and
he was tried by honors and power in the court of Pharaoh, yet his faith carried
him through.” (MHCC)
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: It is
easy to come down on the things that these men did wrong in their lives, and
although no sin is recorded about Joseph he did surely sin, but the point of
what the writer of Hebrews is making is about their faith, faith in the
promises of God in spite of the circumstances or consequences that they would
find themselves in. In some ways I
believe that it is harder to live by faith when things are going easier in
life, and there are no storms to go through, and that is because all believers
need to be purified by storms in their lives that God brings about. He does this for our own good, and for His
glory. Joseph is a wonderful example of
a man living by faith and who kept living by his faith in God when the Lord
gave him charge over Egypt, for when he was about to die he told his family to
deliver his bones into the promised land when God called the nation of Israel
into that land.
The Word of God was both challenging and refreshing to my
heart this morning.
My
Steps of Faith Today: To
continue and act upon the promises of the Lord concerning the storm that we are
going through, to continue to pray about this and believe that God’s will, will
be accomplished through this for our good and for His glory.
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