“zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea; he shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall be at sidon. “issachar is a strong donkey, crouching between the sheepfolds. he saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant, so he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant at forced labor. “dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that his rider falls backward. i wait for your salvation, o LORD. raiders shall raid gad, but he shall raid at their heels. asher’s food shall be rich, and he shall yield royal delicacies. “naphtali is a doe let loose that bears beautiful fawns. [genesis 49:13-21]
in Christ, by Christ – we are saved – made right with God to be with God – on this earth with his Spirit.
in Christ, by Christ – we are waiting – to be face to face with God – in heaven, forever.
jacob is speaking these prophetic blessings over all his sons. in this passage, zebulun is told his tribe will be known as a people connected with the sea. isaachar is told his tribe will be great servants, but there will be a day they will be slaves. dan and gad are told their tribes will be known as great warriors. ascher’s tribe will be known for the wonders of the food they make. and, naphtali’s tribe will be known for their productivity.
in the midst of all this prophecy …
jacob prays.
“i wait for your salvation, o LORD.”
in the midst of the LORD speaking thru jacob … jacob speaks to the LORD.
why?
the LORD was speaking thru jacob declaring all the ways God would use this rag tag group of broken half-brothers for his redemptive purposes for the nation of israel – and beyond!
the LORD was declaring – “I AM greater – than your brokenness and the brokenness of this world” – and i will prove it thru you.
in the midst of God declaring he was the Great One – jacob needed to remind himself and the brothers – it would be a while before all these prophecies came true. but even more – they would come true because the LORD is the savior, our Savior.
“i wait for your salvation, o LORD.”
we have his promises of all he has done and will do – jacob says. but we will have to wait for the fulfillment of these prophetic words. we will wait – trusting – because you o LORD are the savior, our Savior!
for you and i…
we have the presence of the Spirit now, with us, in us. this is the main reason we were saved from the judgment of our sin – to be with God.
now though, his presence is like we see him “in a mirror dimly, but then (one day) face to face.” [1 cor 13:12]
right now, he is with us by his his Spirit, but one day we will be with him face to face – fully knowing as we are known. “now i know in part; then i shall know fully, even as i have been fully known.” [1 cor 13:12]
in this in between … we wait.
we wait
for the full salvation
of the LORD.
the Spirit of the LORD in us right now is good, hopeful, satisfying, joy-filling, and incredible! please, rest in his presence today.
but … face to face, i believe will be an amazing, unspeakable joy that you and i can now – only imagine.
when i travel and i talk to my wife via facetime, it is incredible. i can talk to her, see her face, see what she is doing, and enjoy her presence. it’s as if i am almost there – but i am not. i enjoy my job. i get to shepherd pastors – teaching, loving, encouraging, and more. but, i enjoy my wife more! as the days and hours get nearer for me to go home, i grow a little giddy, i get excited in my heart and soul. why? because being face to face with my wife, fully in her presence, is better in every way than a facetime call. thankful for facetime for sure. technology is incredible. but face to face – is amazing and what we were made for.
right now, we get to be in the LORD’s presence – facetime if you will. please, today, enjoy his presence. he and his presence is what your soul was made for.
but one day,
wait for it,
you and i will know the full salvation
of the LORD.
and we will be face to face
forever!
~ john ryan