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

Psalms 85: 1   Lord, You have been favourable to Your land; You have brought back the captivity of Jacob.

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

Hallelujah

The Generation of Israel entering Canaan

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in the portion of the Bible that we meditated upon yesterday, we saw regarding how the city of Zion which is Christ, is glorified within us. God has showed us using Jacob as a pattern, and the New Jerusalem, that is the bride manifests in the middle of us.

In order for us to become God’s righteousness, he made the Lamb who did not know sin to become sin for us and through the holy blood that was shed because of that sin, for all of us to be reconciled with God, he fulfilled the reconciliation within us, and through the blood of Christ he has given us the access to reach God.

In this manner, when we do the ministry of reconciliation, Christ enters our heart. That is, such deeds will occur on those who die to sin and live unto righteousness.

That is why, in Psalms 118: 19, 20 Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, And I will praise the Lord.

This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteous shall enter.

God is showing us as a pattern through Jacob, that we must die to sin. That is, we saw and meditated day before yesterday that while in Egypt, Jacob blessed his son Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh. We see that he blessed them saying that they will grow into a multitude. In that blessing, he keeps Ephraim before Manasseh.

Genesis 48: 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.

The reason for Israel to say thus to Joseph is that the place that they were in at that time was Egypt. The place where his sons were was Egypt. Egypt means a land filled with sin. The land ruled by Pharaoh. The reason for bringing them to Egypt was to show that we must be redeemed from the bondage of sin and shows us Israel as a pattern. But he is telling that God will bring you back to the land of your fathers because the land of the fathers is the land of Canaan. That is, God is clearly showing us that we must enter the heavenly land, which is Canaan.

But Jacob, in Genesis 49:29 Then he charged them and said to them: “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite.

Genesis 49: 33 And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

In the end, we come to know that in his bed, his soul became living (becoming renewed).

Ezekiel 37: 12 – 14 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 

Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. 

I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’”

We come to know that God did this thing to Jacob (Israel) because through God’s spirit he is making them to live.

Jacob died but Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So, the physicians embalmed Israel.

Embalming, when we read the Old Testament portion, we can see that embalming is done for the holy people who have died. That is, it is shown as a pattern to God’s anointing. That is the experience of the bride, the church.

Forty days were required for those who are embalmed; when those days were over and after the seventy days of mourning were over, all the family of Jacob did according to what Jacob had commanded Genesis 50: 13 For his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as property for a burial place.

My dear people, people of God who are reading this, if we see for whom this experience is, the gospel was not told to our forefathers. And only the blood of goats and calves were sprinkled. But for them, this blood will not renew their souls.

But, for us, our Lord Jesus Christ became a sacrifice and through that blood we have forgiveness of our sin and renewal of our soul now itself. But what happened for the Old Testament holy people will not happen for us now. Therefore, we must possess our redemption now itself and in this world every day, we must renew our spirit and soul, become holy and only if we live in this manner, we can enter Canaan. Those who want this heavenly life must possess the salvation now itself. If we think that we will receive like the Old Testament holy people received, then will be fooled.

And after he had buried his father, Joseph and all his brothers returned to Egypt.

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.” So, they sent messengers to Joseph.

Genesis 50: 16 So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died, he commanded, saying, 

‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you.”’ Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father.” and his brothers fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”

Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

And Joseph said to his brethren, “I am dying; but God will surely visit you and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”

Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.”

We see that Joseph also told his brothers to take his bones to Canaan (land of Israel).

From this, what we know is that Joseph is entering into the land of Canaan and God is showing this as a pattern.

That is what, God is asking Can these bones live? to the prophet Ezekiel after taking him in a vision to a valley and asking him. Bone means the generation of Israel. God is making his spirit enter on those whom God wills. Then they become alive.

From this, what we understand is that Jacob’s sons, who are the tribe of Israel, are confessing their sins in the last minute and we can see that. Therefore, their names are being written. God is with them.

But after Jesus Christ resurrected, they came out of their graves they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

My dear people, we should also, along with Christ, enter the holy city. So, we should submit ourselves completely and if we walk in a holy manner then we can enter the holy city.

Let us pray. May the Lord bless us all.

-To be continued