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This Day

Words of Faith Final

This Day
Words of Faith 8-15-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Genesis 47
[7] Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh, [8] Pharaoh asked him, "How old are you?"
[9] And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers." [10] Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.
[11] So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed. [12] Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their children.

Olivia Newton-John died last week. She was just 73. The week before, it was Tony Dow who played Wally Cleaver on "Leave it to Beaver." He was only 77. Both caught my attention. Yet, Dick Van Dyke keeps kicking up his heels at age 96. The value of a spoonful of sugar? The truth is we never know the number of our days.
Pharaoh pondered the same question. When he met Jacob he just had to ask: "How old are you, man?" I was raised with the notion that it is impolite to ask a person their age. But apparently, if you are Pharaoh, you can ask anything you like!
Jacob was 130 when he entered Egypt.
The sight of Jacob must have been amazing to Pharaoh. Archeologists tell us that the life expectancy in ancient Egypt was lower than in many modern populations, even among the wealthy. Age 18 was considered "mature" or "middle-aged." While some ancient Egyptians undoubtedly enjoyed longevity, most were unlikely to live beyond about 40 years of age. Jacob would have seemed positively ancient! There was something uniquely blessed about the patriarchal family.
Yet Jacob considered his 130 years to be "few." After all, Abraham lived to be 175 (Genesis 25:7-8) and Isaac to be 180 (Gen.35:28). Life had been hard for Jacob, and he realized this had taken years off him. But talking to an Egyptian, we can see that longevity is rather relative.
Jacob used the word "pilgrimage" to describe his life. The Hebrew word means a "temporary lodging." For all the pain and difficulty he had endured, Jacob understood his time on earth to be brief and fleeting, a short and temporary journey compared to eternity. That is a powerful insight.
We were once asked in a Christian financial class to estimate the number of our days and then note how many we have already lived. Wow. It is an interesting exercise. Of course, we are optimistic in such estimates, but even the most extended life we might project is brief. The truth is we are in a temporary lodging on the way toward eternity.
So what did Jacob do in the face of such reflection? He blessed Pharaoh. It must have been a big deal for the oldest man to bless you. There had to be a marked humility in Pharaoh to receive the blessing of a crusty old nomad who just walked out of the desert.
But this was perfect. The Lord had said to Abraham at the very beginning of this journey of faith: "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:3). Pharaoh extended blessing to the people of God and so Jacob would pray the blessing of the Lord upon him. For all Jacob knew, this could have been the last thing he ever did. So on the last day he knew he was given, he prayed for an Egyptian ruler.
The truth is we don't know the number of our days. Our best estimate may fall short or significantly exceed the number set for us by the Lord. We are in temporary lodging, but one thing we can do is seek to be a blessing in the days we are given. We may have thousands of days ahead of us, or we may have only one. All we can do is seek to glorify God and enjoy Him as he leads us to be a blessing in this world.

Father, thank You for this day. It is the day You have made. I rejoice in You, and I am glad in this day. Lead me to be a blessing to others so that I may honor You and glorify You, whether this is my last day or one of many more. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.