First Born
The opening words of Genesis 49 moved me strangely this morning. They seemed a culmination of so much....
As Israel described what the first-born was a promise of, how his heart must have ached. God’s hand lies in such a special way upon the first born. It is a window...a promise...of the father. Despite the passing of a lifetime, one can still capture the delight of this man, any man, who has placed in his arms for the very first time...a child. My firstborn....my strength...excellency of dignity...excellency of power.
You can see it even now in Israel’s face as the words flow from his mouth. And as they spill, a cloud, anguish-filled, begins to make its way across his countenance, and you feel his pain, as syllable-by-syllable the words Rueben...unstable as water, you shall not excel are pulled from his mouth.
How those words must have pained Israel. . . .and Rueben. Israel felt no satisfaction in speaking them, only grief ... the grief only a parent who has worn those shoes can understand.
So different from the hope-filled words spoken over Joseph’s sons: God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day. The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lands....” How precious to Israel...and Rueben....Israel’s declaration spoken earlier must have been at this moment. For in their hearts, they knew this same God redeemed each of them, as He redeems each of us, from all the evil that has been before and all that still lies ahead.
And as the sorrow, and hope, written here nearly choke me, I cannot help but envision another first born Son....who never tasted the evil of life, despite the onslaught of its arrows that must have been flung at Him moment-by-weary-moment throughout His thirty-three year sojourn among us. He remained the fulfillment of a Father’s promise! A true reflection of a Father’s might! A sure beginning of a Father’s strength! An excellency of dignity and excellency of power that still pours out on us today!
I hear a victory cry this morning, where an adversary would want to discover a whimpering, tear-filled soul. For Heaven’s First-Born remained faithful to a Father, undefiled, as stable as the rock which bears His Name....the Rock on which I can stand, without shadow of fear.
Blessed be His Name,
DeAnna
As Israel described what the first-born was a promise of, how his heart must have ached. God’s hand lies in such a special way upon the first born. It is a window...a promise...of the father. Despite the passing of a lifetime, one can still capture the delight of this man, any man, who has placed in his arms for the very first time...a child. My firstborn....my strength...excellency of dignity...excellency of power.
You can see it even now in Israel’s face as the words flow from his mouth. And as they spill, a cloud, anguish-filled, begins to make its way across his countenance, and you feel his pain, as syllable-by-syllable the words Rueben...unstable as water, you shall not excel are pulled from his mouth.
How those words must have pained Israel. . . .and Rueben. Israel felt no satisfaction in speaking them, only grief ... the grief only a parent who has worn those shoes can understand.
So different from the hope-filled words spoken over Joseph’s sons: God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day. The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lands....” How precious to Israel...and Rueben....Israel’s declaration spoken earlier must have been at this moment. For in their hearts, they knew this same God redeemed each of them, as He redeems each of us, from all the evil that has been before and all that still lies ahead.
And as the sorrow, and hope, written here nearly choke me, I cannot help but envision another first born Son....who never tasted the evil of life, despite the onslaught of its arrows that must have been flung at Him moment-by-weary-moment throughout His thirty-three year sojourn among us. He remained the fulfillment of a Father’s promise! A true reflection of a Father’s might! A sure beginning of a Father’s strength! An excellency of dignity and excellency of power that still pours out on us today!
I hear a victory cry this morning, where an adversary would want to discover a whimpering, tear-filled soul. For Heaven’s First-Born remained faithful to a Father, undefiled, as stable as the rock which bears His Name....the Rock on which I can stand, without shadow of fear.
Blessed be His Name,
DeAnna
posted by brooklet | 9:40 AM
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