Today’s reading: Genesis 27-28; Matthew 9:18-38
“…and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Genesis 28:14b
“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38
God’s revealed will for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their descendents was to bless all the families of the earth. That blessing was far greater than even those patriarchs could have imagined. They would probably envision personal prosperity, security, and long life, the kind of material things most of us long for today.
The blessing God planned for all the families of the earth would involve God Himself becoming flesh and living among us. Jacob’s dream of a ladder from heaven pictured a direct connection between the eternal God and mankind. This dream was fulfilled when Jesus came (John 1:51).
Matthew shows how Jesus blessed people through meeting their physical needs, even raising the dead. As we saw yesterday, Jesus wasn’t about merely meeting physical needs but about calling sinners to repentance. The promised blessing for all the families of the earth was redemption from sin and reconciliation with God through the atonement of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. This will become clearer as we go forward in our reading.
How would this blessing be made known to all the earth? God ordained that His blessed people, “laborers” Jesus calls them here, should proclaim this message of blessing. How do we get laborers? God sends them. What can we do about the need for laborers? Pray to God to send them. But beware. He may send you.
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