Genesis 47 — 03-04-15

by Bruce on March 4, 2015

1 Chapter a Day’s take

The verse that was meaningful to me today was:

I have journeyed through life for 130 years. My life has been short and hard. But they don’t compare with the many years my ancestors traveled this earth.

Jacob indicates that his life has been short–an indication that he knows that he had ancestors whose lives were much longer than his. This tells me that the history of his family had been passed down to him. Two things about this caught my attention. 1) He wasn’t just being told about 1 or 2 generations before him–for Jacob to feel his life was short at 130, this ancestry had to go back many generations to the ones who lived before the flood and lived for around 900 years. (The life span of his ancestors after the flood quickly began to drop. Noah’s son, Shem, lived for 600 years, 3 generations lived for about 400 years and then everyone after that for 100-200 years.)  2)When talking to the ruler of the country he was needing help from, I’m pretty sure that Jacob would be careful with his words. This would indicate that knowing about and referring to one’s ancestors was probably not unusual.

For some reason, knowing the history of our family has become something much more uncommon today. I’m not sure of the reason, but I think that it is good to share with your children their heritage. If it is a godly heritage, then it is something to be extremely grateful for. If it is not, then, with God’s help, it can be changed to one. I am grateful for my Godly heritage and am committed to passing down to my children the history of our family and to continuing the Godly heritage.

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What is your take?

Share the verse that was special to you today and why. Be brief. Read the comments of others. Interact with them. Be encouraging.

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