“When your ancestors went down into Egypt, there were only seventy of them.
But now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky!”
Deuteronomy 10:22
God had promised Abraham the land of Canaan, so I wonder if Jacob feared leaving Canaan to go down to Egypt. What if it kept his family from receiving God’s promise?
However, God gave Jacob this reassurance, “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt…I will go with you down…and I will bring you back again.” (Gen. 46:3-4) When we struggle believing God will keep His promise, we can be sure He knows exactly how to inspire hope.
Today’s verse is one of God’s encouragements. The Israelites were only seventy in number when Jacob arrived in Egypt, but now they were as numerous as the stars in the sky. God had spoken those exact words to Abraham in Genesis 15:5, eighty years before Jacob was born. Jacob arrived in Egypt at age 130, his descendants were in bondage 430 years, then lived in the wilderness forty more. So, God’s promise to Abraham was finally fulfilled back at the door of Canaan, 680 years after Abraham believed!
God reminds us that many giants of faith in Hebrews 11:13 “…didn't receive the things that God had promised them, but they saw these things coming in the distant future and rejoiced.” (GWT)
So, we too can rejoice…by faith…right NOW…
We KNOW our God WILL keep His promise… even if it takes over 600 years!
