Seventy went in and over a Million came out

 

Genesis 46:5-27

The Bible puts a lot of ink on the descendants of Israel, who came into Egypt, nineteen verses in all.  These verses list the names of seventy people who are part of the promise God made to Abraham, and that includes Joseph and his two sons.  It has been a long time since God made this promise to Abraham; “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.  I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations and kings shall come from you.  And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. (Genesis 17:5-7)

We live in a time of instant gratification; we do not want to wait weeks for the fulfillment of a promise, much less generations.  It has been over 100 years since God made this promise to Abraham about Sarah; “God said, No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac.  I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.”  (Genesis 17:19) 

Only seventy descendants of the promise are going into Egypt, but they are going in faith, believing that God is with them and trusting him to keep his promises.  We, who are in Christ, by faith through grace, are part of that promise made to Abraham.  Paul the apostle states in the book of Romans 9:6-8, “It is not as though God’s word had failed.  For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.  Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children.  On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring well be reckoned.”  “In other words, it is not the natural children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.” 

Once more Paul writes the following in Galatians 3:29, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”  When we enter into Christ, we enter into His time line, He has no past, (He always was) and He has no future, as you and I look at the word future, because, He is, and He is the Creator of what you and I call time. 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice