I have never read through the Old Testament and journaled as I read. I have read it and checked off the boxes on my reading plan, walked away not feeling as I though I had retained much of what I read. Taking the time every day to journal is making the text come alive in a way that I haven’t ever experienced before. More than ever (as I have mentioned repeatedly) my heart has been drawn to the sovereignty of God.
As we read about the end of Israel’s (Jacob) life, and read the blessings on each of his sons, we will begin to see how these blessings play out in the coming chapters. With the blessing of Joseph being given to his two sons, the twelve tribes of Israel are now established. If we are paying close attention, we will once again see that what God says, happens.
I’ve also been reminded of the fact that, just as the opening verses of Genesis recount, he created everything, and it was good. Sin entered and would infect all of creation, separating man from God. And everything that unfolds from that point on reveals God’s eternal plan of redemption that would be brought to completion in Christ. Christ is the ribbon that is woven throughout the entire Bible. Though he will not come in the flesh for hundreds of years, we see in the book of Genesis how God established the royal line from which he would ultimately be born into this world. None of the people God called – Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the rest that we will see – were perfect. He didn’t choose them based on their merit. He chose them according to his purposes so that his glory would be on display.
My prayer as we continue through the next several months is that as we read these Old Testament stories, we would read them with eyes looking ahead to Jesus. I pray that our hearts will rejoice as we see even more glimpses of his coming in the chapters ahead.
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