Friday, May 29, 2015

Israel Here to There

Today let’s Look at Israel’s Journey in the Here to There Process:
1. The Beginning - So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!” “Here I am,” he replied. “I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.” Genesis 46:1-4 – There was a great famine in the land. God provided salvation through Joseph in Egypt
Now Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in Goshen, and they acquired property in it and were fruitful and became very numerous. Genesis 47:27 
When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people. Genesis 49:33
2. The Problem - Genesis 50:24-26 – 24 Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob." 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, "God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here." 26 So Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt. When Joseph died they were to take him back to the land God had given them. They should have returned home as well. God had to make Egypt (“Here”) uncomfortable (slavery) so that they’d want to leave if given the chance again.
3. The Promise fulfilled -Joshua 21:43-45 - Look at what happened when Israel arrived There!  43 So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. 44 The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the LORD handed all their enemies over to them. 45 Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; everyone was fulfilled.
How about you? Have you ever ignored God’s prompting to leave “Here” and step into the unknown in faith?
Perhaps you were so consumed with life (life on your terms) that you missed His prompting?
The reason God puts us through this cycle is to make us more Christ-like. Each time we go through the cycle our hearts become more in tune with God’s which makes it easier to hear His voice, obey His command to leave “Here” and trust in His love and provision to get us “There”.

God still speaks to us today. Are we listening?