I will discuss Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph in this part and study to conclude their stories.
In the days of Isaac, there was a famine. He then made up his mind to go to Egypt. The Lord appeared to him in Genesis 26:2, saying, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and bless you. For you and your descendants, I will give all these lands and confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.” The oath God swore was, “I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offsprings all nations on earth will be blessed,” further explaining that this was “because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees, and my instructions.” After hearing all God had to say, he decided to stay, and what he sowed in the land came back a hundredfold because the Lord blessed him.
Furthermore, Jacob, another one of the “called,” stole Esau’s birthright (Genesis 27:19-29). But in Genesis 28:12-15, he had a dream, where God called him and promised to give him the land promised to Abraham. He said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying: your descendants will be like the dust of the earth and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you.”
When Jacob awoke he set up a pillar and poured oil on top of it. This place became Bethel.
The next story follows Joseph. In Genesis 37, Joseph had a dream which he then recounted to his brothers, he said, “We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed to it.” His brothers replied “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him more because of his dream.
Joseph had another dream, which he told his brothers about again. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” His father rebuked him, but this, however, was the call of God upon his life. He later gave a process that saved the world. This process was that food would be saved for seven years to take care of the lean years (famine years), seven years after the first seven years of abundance. In Egypt, where he was sold (Genesis 41-47), he predicted the famine and received a solution from God, to which he told the others.
These select few individuals performed specific functions according to the will of God, and we can see that their duties prevented catastrophic events that would have affected humanity negatively. These stories about the “called” show that God rules in the affairs of men (Daniel 4:17), and thus we must listen when God speaks.
Thank you for reading today’s blog, the next post will be out on June 17th.
