“Glory to the Precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ”

Isaiah 45: 17 But Israel shall be saved by the Lord With an everlasting salvation; You shall not be ashamed or disgraced Forever and ever.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen

Hallelujah

God who reveals himself to Israel

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in the portion of the Bible that we meditated upon in the past days, we see that God is showing us as a pattern the way he upholds Israel. Also God shows Joseph as a pattern to show that God reveals himself to Israel and we see that God is revealing himself to the father's of the tribes of Israel.

God sends the father's of the tribes from Canaan to Egypt and then sends them by Joseph from Egypt to Canaan and in order to call and bring them a second time from Canaan to Egypt he did few things through the knowledge of God and from there he sent them again to Canaan and on the way itself he sent the steward of his house in order to find the silver cup. God is showing us some things and in this manner God is revealing himself to Israel as a pattern.

In this manner, we see that God sends John the Baptist before Christ to give witness about the light. First God sends his word into our soul. In that word there was life. And that life was the light of men.

The way John gives witness about that light is  John 1: 15  John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me. 

First God's word is given. There is life in that word. That life is the light of men.

That is why, in John 1: 16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.

My dear people of God, let us read and let our soul accept every word of God and let us praise God.  Then Christ, the light will be manifested within us. This light is the life of Christ. Those who have received this life will obtain eternal life. This is because this life is grace and truth. If we live in this grace and truth, our life will be made holy everyday.

In John 1: 26, 27  John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. 

It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”

From this, we come to know that the reason why John says but there stands One among you whom you do not know because it shows us that when John the Baptist gives baptism in the midst of those who believe God's words Christ manifests as light.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in order for John to make the paths, in our heart straight for God, God sends John through his word. Every one who believes that word should repent, confess their sins and receive baptism. In that manner, all our old sins, iniquities, and transgressions should be confessed and if we will receive baptism then a person whom we do not know till that day will be standing among us and this will be truly manifested in us.

These things were done in Bethabara, where John was baptizing.

John 1: 29 - 34 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 

This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 

I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”

And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 

I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 

And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

What we have to understand from this is that, God loves his children too much because due to the dreams that Joseph saw his brothers were jealous over him and we see that they sold him to Egypt. Though Jacob loved Joseph more, due to the dream that Joseph saw and due to jealousy we see that he sent the son he loved to his brothers who had gone to feed their flock. During those days Joseph is being sold by his brothers. Joseph is being sold as a captive and taken to Egypt. Our God who saw all this happen, in order for them to think about the sin and iniquity that they have done, God sends a severe famine in the land.

My dear people of God, what has been happening in these days in our captive life -  famine, pestilence, plagues. People of God should know the reason why all these things are happening. Because though God blesses Jacob and brings him but because of the dream that Joseph says where the sun, moon and the eleven stars bowed down to him, Jacob gets jealous of his son. Think of what happened. Christians, that is those who are saved, how much jealousy they have in their lives also servants of God like Jacob when their children that is the believers, if they receive spiritual gifts how much jealousy. Instead of encouraging the believers, who are their children, because they left them, each one of us must think how many of them would have back slidden. God wanted Jacob's sons to think of the mistakes and iniquities that they had done and in order for the dream to be fulfilled, he sent the famine and makes them bow before the same Joseph.

Genesis 46: 1, 2 So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 

Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.”

From these words what we understand is that, God is the God who fulfills dreams. We see that the God who told Jacob that your name will not be called Jacob but will be called Israel is now calling him as Jacob.

Not only that,  Genesis 46: 3 So He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. 

I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes.”

Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel and his generation all went to Egypt. 

And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy.

God takes Israel to Egypt and will make him a great nation there and giving him to eat the good of the land and showing that Jacob needs a redemption and that he is in the bondage of Egypt and that in our life in Egypt to show us that there stands with us a person we do not know  God tells Jacob that I will go down with you to Egypt.

This is what John, while he was giving baptism when people were taking baptism after receiving forgiveness of their sin John says but there stands One among you whom you do not know

That is what, Jacob's sons rememeber their sins and again God brings them back to Egypt and shows as a pattern that he is there in the midst of them and the silver cup is kept in the mouth of the sack of grain.

In this manner, we must confess our sins and iniquities and receive baptism. Then  only he wil reveal himself to us.  That is why John says in John 1: 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”

If we confess our sins in this manner, God will save us also.

Let us pray. May the Lord bless you all.

 -To be continued