Day 16 (Monday) - Genesis 45:16-48:7

It took me a while to catch what was happening in these verses. It wasn’t until I was teaching on the entire book of Genesis a few years back that it hit me. Do you remember what God’s covenant promises have been to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? It was about land. The Promised Land is called that because God promised it to them and it was their possession. Here Jacob finds himself in a famine, right there in the Promised Land, and God has provided a way to survive it. Jacob’s son Joseph is in a position to give as much grain to his family as they need but instead of continuing in God’s provision, Jacob leaves the Promised Land behind and moves to another land. This is so devastating as this move will eventually put the people in slavery under their new god, Pharaoh, and it will take the great exodus to free them.

I wonder how many times I run away from God’s plan for me because I don’t like the inconvenience of walking to receive the grain that will save my life? How embarrassing. The truth is as long as we walk with God the grass in never greener on the other side and it doesn’t matter what color the grass is under our own feet. God is God and he has us in his care. We need to stay in the place he promises us!