Seize the Moment – Day 447
Blessings and Curses!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, June 7.
Genesis 49 records the scene of Israel calling his twelve sons to his death bed so that he can bless them. Verse 28 summarizes, “All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one with the blessing appropriate to him.”
The phrase that is revealing is that each one received, “the blessing appropriate to him.”
When you read this chapter you realize that for some of the sons this was a moment of honor and for others this was a moment of shame. Whereas Judah and Joseph were given a lion’s share of Israel’s good fortune, Reuben, Simeon, and Levi received curses. It must have been a painful moment as these three were remembered by their father for their worst moment of life.
Can you imagine being remembered forever for the worst decision of your life? What horror!
The thought of that, for me, is deeply disturbing and it causes me to stop and ponder. Just like Jesus’ teaching about the goats and the sheep in Matthew 25:31-46 when the sheep are blessed and the goats are cursed based on the actions of their lives.
Can you imagine your eternity being based on the actions of your life? We all fall short of the glory of God!
Thank you God that eternal life is found in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross, sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. As Paul said in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (cf. John 3:14-18).
Seize the moment and choose blessings through a life of faith in Jesus Christ. Life and death, blessings and curses, are before us every day.