May 26, 2025: Isaiah 49:23 (Part 6 of 7) - The Shall Bow Down to Thee

“And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.” - Isaiah 49:23

Note to readers: Because of the length of this devotional, I have decided to split it up into 7 parts. This is part 6. I also have a link that contains the entire devotional.

Jacob told Joseph that he was adopting Joseph’s two sons as his own. Jacob then told Joseph to bring his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, to him so that he could bless them before he died. He told Joseph that he never thought he would see him again and yet, here he had not only seen Joseph but “God hath shewed me also thy seed.” (Genesis 48:11) Next, we read:

“And Joseph brought them [his two sons] out from between [beside] his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.” (Genesis 48:12)

I do not know if this is Jacob bowing to Joseph, in thankfulness to him for all he had done for him and blessing him with his two grandsons, or if it was Joseph bowing to Jacob, in an act of reverence to his father. I have read several commentaries, where some say it’s Joseph bowing and others say it’s Jacob. When it came time to bless his grandsons, because Jacob could not see, for his eyes were dim due to his age (Genesis 48:10), Joseph placed his sons so that the oldest, Manasseh, would be placed “toward Israel’s right hand” and Ephraim, the younger son was placed toward Jacob’s left hand. (Genesis 48:13) However, the Bible tells us:

“Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly [knowingly]; for Manasseh was the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, the Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.” (Genesis 48:14-22)

No matter what Joseph wanted, God had led Jacob to bless Joseph’s youngest son, Ephraim, and not the elder son Manasseh. God doesn’t go by mankind’s plans but by His own plans, just as it had been foretold to Rebekah, Jacob’s mother that the elder son, Esau would serve the younger son, Jacob (Genesis 25:23). We also see this years later when God chose the young David, the youngest of all his brothers, to be anointed and who became King of Israel (1 Samuel 16:13). As the word of God tells us, God looks at the heart and not one’s outward appearance.

Before Jacob died, he called all of his sons to him, and said to them, “…that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.” (Genesis 49:1-2) He then told each of his twelve sons that which would come upon them. Gotquestions.org has a good summary of what Jacob told each of his twelve sons and the fulfillment of those prophecies. (See: https://www.gotquestions.org/Jacobs-prophecies.html) As gotquestions.org indicates, while Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn son, he gave up his birthright when he had sexual intercourse with Bilhah, his father’s concubine (Genesis 29:32, 49:3-4). Thus, the birthright was then passed to Jacob’s oldest son he had with his wife, Rachel, who was Joseph. Joseph received a double portion. Per gotquestions.org, when Israel received the territory in the Promised Land, Ephraim and Manasseh were named as two of the twelve tribes, with some Scriptures referring to the tribe of Ephraim as the tribe of Joseph. , and his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, would be two of the twelve tribes of Israel. (See: https://www.gotquestions.org/twelve-tribes-Israel.html)

Returning to Jacob’s prophecies to his sons, I won’t list all of them, but I do want to us to read what Jacob said to Judah and to Joseph. First, let’s read what Jacob prophesied about his son Judah:

“Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in [on] the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion’ s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped [crouches] down, he couched [lies down] as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering [obedience] of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: his eyes shall be red with [darker than] wine, and his teeth white with [whiter than] milk.” (Genesis 49:8-12)

Jacob prophesied that of all of his sons, it would be Judah whom they would praise. It would also be from the tribe of Judah that Messiah would come, and not from the tribe of Joseph. I must admit that my first choice would have been Joseph and not Judah. While Messiah would not come through the lineage of Joseph, as we previously read, God had an amazing plan for Joseph. It would be through him that the lineage of His people would be preserved, for without Joseph, they would most likely have died from famine. By placing Joseph in a superior position in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh, God ensured that Joseph was able to save his family. Through them, and specifically from the tribe of Judah, the scepter, representing kingship and authority, would not depart, and that King is Jesus Christ. Jesus - the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Lion of the tribe of Judah - came to earth the first time, born of a virgin in Bethlehem Ephratah in Judah, offering salvation to all who believe in Him. As the Bible prophesies, He will come again, and the second time He comes, He will return in judgment of the world, and particularly Israel. It is at His second coming that Jesus will take His rightful reign upon the earth and will righteously rule from Israel with a rod of iron for 1,000-years:

“Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph’s:)…” (1 Chronicles 5:1-2)

“Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting [the days of eternity].” (Micah 5:1-2)

“…for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor [Ruler], that shall rule [shepherd] my people Israel.” (Matthew 2:5-6)

There is so much prophecy packed into the words that Jacob spoke to his son, Judah, including prophecies that have not happened yet, but will at some point in the future. One of the prophecies that has already been fulfilled is just absolutely beautiful. Let us read what Jacob said to Judah:

“The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering [obedience] of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine…” (Genesis 49:10-11)

This prophecy was repeated by the prophet Zechariah:

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just [righteous], and having salvation; lowly [humble], and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” (Zechariah 9:9)

Now let us read from the book of Matthew that describes how these prophecies from both Jacob and Zechariah were fulfilled. The account of Matthew describes what Jesus makes what is known as His triumphal entry into Jerusalem:

“And when they drew  night unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, saying unto them, Go into the village over against [opposite] you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose [untie] them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say ought [anything] unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek [lowly], and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, and brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.” (Matthew 21:1-7)

While we don’t know exactly when the book of Genesis was written, it is estimated to have been written between 1440-1400 BC. (See: https://www.gotquestions.org/when-was-Genesis-written.html). The book of Zechariah is estimated to have been written in two segments, between 520-470 BC. (See: https://www.gotquestions.org/Book-of-Zechariah.html) The book of Matthew is estimated to have been written between 55-65 AD. At His first coming, Jesus, the King of kings, came riding into Jerusalem not upon a horse, indicating He is a warrior, as many wanted him to do, but upon the colt, a young male donkey, indicating He is One who brings peace. The prophecy was fulfilled exactly as both Jacob and Zechariah prophesied. Also notice that Jacob said a foal, which is a young ass (donkey), and the foal would be a colt, indicating a male foal, would be bound not only to a vine but the choice vine. We likely wouldn’t know what that meant but Jesus Himself told us this:

“I am the true [genuine] vine, and my Father is the husbandman [vinedresser]. Every branch in me that bearers not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth [prunes] it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through [because of] the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:1-5)

The colt was untied from where it, and it and its mother donkey were taken to Jesus, who is the choice and true vine. The colt was in a sense bound to Jesus, as Jesus sat on the colt’s back, likely being led with some sort of bridle or rope.

I also want to write about what I believe is a prophecy from Jacob that has not been fulfilled yet and which is spoken in the book of Revelation. Let us read Jacob’s words and how I believe it is also written about in the prophetic books of Isaiah, Joel, and Revelation:

“…he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:” (Genesis 49:11)

“Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.” (Isaiah 63:1-6)

“Let the heathen [nations] be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen [nations] round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press [winepress] is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of [a shelter] his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” (Joel 3:12-16)

“And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast [the coming antichrist] and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture [full strength] into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” (Revelation 14:9-11)

“And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without [outside] the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.” (Revelation 14:14-20)

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture [robe] dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite [strike] the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture [robe] and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:11-16)

Just as Jacob prophesied to Judah, it will be the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Jesus Christ, that will prevail and will loosen the 7-seals on the scroll written about in Revelation 5:5, that will begin the 7-year time of Jacob’s trouble, also known as the Day of the Lord. It will be Jesus who will “treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” Jesus will give mankind every opportunity to turn to Him and be saved from the wrath that is to come. Mankind will have a choice: will they serve Satan and his antichrist, or will they serve Jesus Christ, Almighty God? The unbelieving world will reach the fullness of its wickedness, just as grapes reach their point of ripeness and are ready to be reaped, and it is at that point that Jesus will thrust in His sharp sickle and reap the earth. God’s word is simply amazing, and it all fits together, from the beginning in the book of Genesis, to the end in Revelation! God has told us His plan for mankind from the beginning to the end, even in the words that Jacob spoke to his son Judah, from whom the Lion of the tribe of Judah has come and will come again and reign as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Now, let us read Jacob’s blessing to his son Joseph, who had saved his family from death:

“Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: the archers have sorely [bitterly] grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: but his bow abode [remained] in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) Even by the God of thy fathers, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under [beneath], blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: the blessings of thy father have prevailed [excelled] above the blessings of my progenitors [ancestors] unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.” (Genesis 49:22-26)

Jacob acknowledged that though Joseph was hated and attempts on his life had been made, Joseph remained strong, and that it was the God of Jacob who had strengthened him. It would be the same God who would continue to bless Joseph and his family with grandchildren and future generations of children. Though was separated from his family for much of his adult life, it was through Joseph’s authority as a leading ruler in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh, that Joseph was the one who decided to whom food would be sold during the 7-year famine. It was through Joseph, by the power of his Almighty God, that he was able to save not only Egypt but more importantly his family. Joseph truly was a fruitful bough. Jacob told his son that God had blessed him more than his forefathers, and that blessing was through his own twelve sons and his two grandchildren whom he had adopted from Joseph.

After Jacob prophesied to his twelve sons of what would happen to them in the last days, we are told:

“All these are the twelve tribes of Israel; and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.” (Genesis 49:28)

Jacob then commanded them that after he died, they were to bring his body back into the land of Canaan and have him buried in the field of Machpelah, which his grandfather, Abraham had purchased from Ephron the Hittite. It was in that field that Abraham and Sarah, his father and mother, Isaac and Rebekah, and his wife Leah were all buried. Jacob then died, and Joseph cried and kissed his father. He then commanded his Egyptian servants who were physicians to embalm Jacob, and they did. The Egyptians mourned for Joseph’s father: ”And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.” (Genesis 50:3) After the mourning period, Joseph asked Pharaoh to let him honor his father’s command to go and bury him in the land of Canaan, and that he would return to Egypt afterward. Pharaoh granted Joseph’s request. Joseph went with a great company of Egyptian servants and elders, including elders of the house of Pharaoh, and his brothers and their adult sons, in chariots and on horses:

“And they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore [solemn] lamentation: and he made [observed] a mourning for his father seven days. And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: where the name of it was called Abel-mizraim [Mourning of Egypt], which is beyond Jordan. And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them: for his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a burying place of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.” (Genesis 50:10-13)

It is profound that not only did Jacob’s family mourn him but also the Egyptians. They must have felt very much indebted to him, as the father of the one, Joseph, who saved them from death during the 7-year famine. So profound was the mourning of the Egyptians that even the Canaanites in the land of Canaan saw their great mourning and named the place where they saw them in the floor of Atad, “Abel-mizraim,” meaning the Mourning of Egypt.

After Joseph and his family buried their father in the place where Jacob had told them to bury him, they returned to Egypt. The realization of Jacob’s death soon hit his brothers, and once again, their fear of retaliation by Joseph began to fill them for what they had done to him long ago when he was still young. Instead of discussing this with their brother Joseph face-to-face, they did this:

“And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.” (Genesis 50:16-18)

Joseph’s brothers clearly still feared what he might do to them, and that he only had not retaliated against them previously because their father was still alive. This is what sin and lack of trusting in God does to us: it makes us paranoid, so we are always on the lookout for something bad to come against us. Never once in the Bible does it tell us that Joseph sought to hurt or kill his brothers because they had sold him into slavery and had told their father that he had been killed. On the contrary, the Bible shows us that not only did Joseph not seek to hurt or kill them, but that he sought to save them and all of his family who were starving in Canaan. It only shows us the love of Joseph to his brothers. Once again, we see Joseph’s brothers bowing down to him, just as he had dreamt long ago would happen. Let us read Joseph’s response to his brothers:

“And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought [intended] evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish [provide for] you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.” (Genesis 50:19-21)

Joseph knew that what they had done to him long ago was in fact intended for evil, to cause him harm, but God used it for good, which was to use the situation Joseph was in to save his family. By saving Joseph’s family, it would bring Messiah, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, at His first coming, and again at His future second coming. In a sense, the words of Joseph also remind me of the words of Peter, after he and the other apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit of God 50 days after Jesus resurrected and ascended to heaven. The apostle Peter had just healed a man who had been lame, unable to walk, from the time he was born, and people ran over to Peter and John in amazement:

“And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly [intently] on us, as though by our own power or holiness [godliness] we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; and killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.” (Acts 3:12-15)

Like Joseph had done when he had spoken to his brothers, Peter acknowledged that evil had been done, which was when the Jews had Jesus crucified. Like Joseph, Peter acknowledged that it was by the power of God, and not of any power of their own, that had healed the lame man and more importantly, it was by the power of God that had resurrected Jesus Christ, the Prince of life. God knows the end from the beginning, and He knew that Joseph’s brothers would sell Joseph into slavery, but God used their evil act for good, just as many years later, God used the evil act of Israel, when they turned Jesus over to Pontius Pilate and demanded that He be crucified, not realizing that God would resurrect Jesus three days after Jesus gave up His life, and that through His precious, sinless blood, He would save many.

Joseph lived until the age of 110 years, seeing his grandsons born to his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Before he died:

“And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die [I am dying]: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.” (Genesis 50:24-26)

Something I noticed in Genesis 50 after Joseph died is that it does not record that there was a mourning in Egypt for him, as there was for his father, Jacob. Perhaps there was and it is just not recorded. That seems very odd to me, considering it was Joseph who had correctly interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, by the power of Almighty God, and through Joseph, Egypt had been saved from the famine. Maybe it was because Joseph had received much glory during his life in Egypt that God did not feel the need to write about any mourning for him.

Joseph’s life was a perfect example of a man who stayed with God his entire life, never turning from Him in the difficult times, and he had many difficult times in his life. He didn’t hold bitterness in his heart against his brothers. When he was reunited with them, he didn’t seek to kill them because of what they had done to him, and he could have easily had them killed. When the lustful Potiphar’s wife kept coming after him, he fled from her, giving us a perfect example of what we should do when temptation comes our way: flee from it! God used Joseph in a mighty way, with a single goal in mind: save the people of Israel from famine so that Messiah could come!

After Joseph died, the descendants of Jacob’s family, called Israel, that lived in Egypt grew mighty in numbers. By that time, all of Joseph’s brothers had also died and all of their generation, but the people of Israel had grown significantly in numbers, so much so that the new Pharaoh, who did not know Joseph, feared that Israel would come against Egypt and side with its enemies. Pharaoh decided to enslave the people of Israel, and he caused them much affliction. The book of Exodus, the second book of the Bible, tells us of how the people of Israel eventually left Egypt through the leading of another man whom God used in mighty ways, Moses. It would be Moses who would lead Israel out of Egypt after they had been there 430 years:

“Now the sojourning [time of stay] of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 12:40-41)

Once again, we see that God always fulfills His promises. God kept His promise He had made long ago to Abraham, then called Abram, that his descendants would be slaves in a foreign land for 400 years but would return to the land of Canaan. Before Israel left Egypt, God instituted the Passover. God had previously sent nine plagues upon Egypt, for Pharaoh would not release God’s people. God then prepared His people for the tenth plague, the death of all the firstborn, both humans and animals. God told Israel, “This month shall be unto you the beginning of the months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.” (Exodus 12:2) God told His people that on the tenth day, they were to take a male lamb without blemish, from sheep or goats, and keep it until the 14th day. On the evening of the 14th day, they must kill the lamb. God then told them:

“And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it…and thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’s passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token [sign] upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul [person] shall be cut off [put away] from Israel.” (Exodus 12:7, 11-15)

The people of Israel did as God instructed them, and Pharaoh finally agreed to let God’s people go after his firstborn son died. In the institution of Passover, we see parallels to what Jesus Christ would go through when He came to earth as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. How He would suffer, though He never sinned, be crucified, give up His life, be buried, but three days later, He rose again, was resurrected, and forty days later ascended to the right hand of God. It is only by His unblemished, perfect, and sinless blood that we can be saved from all our sins:

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest [revealed] in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.” (1 Peter 1:18-21)

Through the power of Almighty God, Moses led the people out of Egypt by dividing the Red Sea, after which the sea swallowed up the Egyptians who were in pursuit of them. However, it would be another 40 years before the people of Israel would enter the Promised Land, the land that God had given to Abraham and his descendants long ago. Upon first arriving to the Promised Land, Israel had sent twelve spies into the land, who checked it out for 40 days. Ten spies came back with a bad report, saying the people were huge in size compared to them, but two spies, Joshua and Caleb, said they should go into the land. Let us read of the difference in the reports of the land between the ten men and the reports of Joshua and Caleb, how ten were fearful and did not trust in God and how Joshua and Caleb did not fear and did trust in God:

“And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron [Moses’ brother], and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Pagan, to Kaddish; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely [truly] it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the HIttites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess [take possession of] it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil [bad] report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up [devours] the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants [Nephilim], the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured [grumbled] against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?  And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt. Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces [prostrated themselves] before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.” (Numbers 13:26-14:5)

Here we see the children of Israel, who had just seen with their own eyes how Almighty God had sent ten plagues upon Egypt in order to cause Pharaoh to finally release them out of their bondage of 430 years, and how God had used Moses to divide the Red Sea and lead them through it, and bring them to the border of the Promised Land, and yet, how quickly their memories of this faded. Now, they could only see the giants in front of them, from the bad report of the ten men; they could not see the good report from Joshua and Caleb, who had remembered what God had just done for the children of Israel. Joshua and Caleb knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that God is bigger than any giant, and He is able to bring down the giants. But the children of Israel did not want to hear their report and did not want to follow the lead of Moses anymore. Instead, they wanted to put someone else in charge of them, a new captain, and bring them back into their bondage in Egypt. How absurd is that?! However, before we judge them too harshly, let us examine our own selves, myself included, and consider how many times has God brought us through something, and we knew that it was only by His awesome power that we got through it, only to be filled with fear when the next difficult time, the next crisis, arose in our own lives. How many times did we revert to fear, as did the children of Israel, instead of being filled with the faith of God in us and HIs promises to us, as Joshua and Caleb did? May we, myself included, be more like Joshua and Caleb.