Week 7 Thursday
Today Jacob blesses each of his sons with prophecies that would echo through generations, David finds the wonderful relief of forgiveness in Psalm 32, and Jesus heals ten lepers - only one of whom returns to say thank You.
Genesis 48-49
📖 What are we reading?: Jacob blesses Joseph's two sons, then gathers his own twelve sons to pronounce a prophetic blessing over each of them, before he dies.
✞ What does this passage say about God?: In 48:16, Jacob speaks of "the angel who has delivered me from all harm" - many see this as an appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ, the Angel of the Lord Himself, watching over Jacob's whole life. And in 49:24, Jacob calls Him "the Rock of Israel" - the same steady, unshakeable God who would carry His people through every generation.
🛐 How does this passage teach us to live?: Jacob, initially deceptive in his ways, dies with grace. It’s never too late to return to God.
Looking for some extra info?
➡️ The bigger picture: Genesis, meaning "beginnings", was written by Moses around 1400 BC, and covers the story of creation, the fall, and the origins of God's chosen people, Israel.
📝 A devotional about Jesus as the Angel of the Lord.
📝 A devotional about God being the Rock of Israel.
Psalm 32
📖 What are we reading?: A wonderful psalm of assurance, in which David describes the crushing weight of unconfessed sin, and the relief that comes once it is confessed.
✞ What does this passage say about God?: He is a forgiving God - may you find the peace that comes from His mercy and love.
🛐 How does this passage teach us to live?: This is a great Lenten psalm, a psalm of true penitence. Let David's honesty about his own sin lead us to the same honesty before God today.
Looking for some extra info?
➡️ The bigger picture: The Psalms is a collection of 150 poems and songs, written by David and others, expressing the full range of human emotion in response to God and to life.
📝 Luke speaks on Psalm 32 as a great psalm of penitence.
Luke 17:1-19
📖 What are we reading?: Jesus talks of forgiveness and humility, then heals ten men with leprosy - though only one returns to thank Him.
✞ What does this passage say about God?: He is generous with His healing, freely given to all ten men - but He notices, too, when gratitude is lacking.
🛐 How does this passage teach us to live?: His healing of the lepers reminds us to be deeply grateful and return to Him in praise when He has blessed us. Are we like the nine, or like the one who came back?
Looking for some extra info?
➡️ The bigger picture: Luke's Gospel was written by Luke, a Greek physician and companion of Paul, around AD 60-62. It is the most detailed account of Jesus' life, and is especially attentive to the poor, to women, and to outcasts.
A Prayer for the Day
🙏 Lord, thank You that You have watched over us like the Angel who delivered Jacob, that You are our steady Rock, and that confessing our sin to You brings true relief. Give us grateful hearts like the one leper who returned to praise You. Amen.
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