Chapter 8 - Jacob and His Descendants
(How to Lead a Life of Godliness?)
"Abraham begat Isaac; the sons of Isaac were Esau and Israel." (1 Chronicles 1:34).
Abraham's son was Isaac, and Isaac's sons were Esau and Jacob. Of the two, Esau was the most ungodly. But Jacob alias Israel, was found godly in the sight of God.
Regarding Esau, the Bible says in Hebrews 12:16, 17: "Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. You know that afterward, when he wanted his father's blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears."
Even though Jacob had a name which means 'Deceiver', there was a great desire in him to receive God's blessing for himself and his descendants. He was concerned that his offspring should be brought as godly offspring. Therefore, he loved God and shun evil. Moreover, he started seeking God whole heartedly in prayer.
As a result, God blessed Jacob that he grew and multiplied to become a father of a great nation. The descendants of Jacob multiplied and became a nation called Israel. God blessed Jacob and made him Israel, which means "Prince of the Lord."
Keep the Commandments!
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)
God gave a set of commandments to the house of Jacob, the Israelites, through their leader, Moses. Out of those commandments, ten commandments were spoken by God audibly to the children of Israel from the clouds of the sky (heaven). They were also written down by God himself in two stone tablets and handed over to them through Modes, God's servant.
The ten commandments are as follows:
- Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
- You shall not make for yourself any idol; You shall not worship or serve them.
- Do not take the Lord's name in vain.
- Remember to keep the Sabbath holy.
- Honor your father and your mother.
- Thou shalt not kill.
- Do not commit adultery.
- Do not steal.
- Do not bear false witness against others.
- Do not covet anything that belongs to others. (Exodus 20:1-17)
Fear of God is one thing that God expects from the people living on earth since the time of Abraham until this day. We ought to fear God who made us in His own image and keep all His commandments.
That is why He has given us commandments and precepts to follow in His scriptures. When we keep the commandments given by God, we will be seen as those who do good in the sight of God. This is the advice given by King Solomon of Israel to each one of us.
Remember your Creator!
"Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity." (Ecclesiastes 11:9,10)
"Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, ..." (Ecclesiastes 12:1)
What God expects of us in the age group of adolescence is to remember Him as the Creator. Everyone should know and acknowledge God, the Creator during his/her youth (age between 13 and 19) and adolescence (age between 20 and 39).
Everyone should know God not only as the creator but also as a Judge. Because God will bring the thoughts, actions and words of every individual to judgement one day - the day of Judgement.
We should never forget that this world has already been judged and destroyed by water. Once again it is going to be judged on the day of His wrath. This time, God will destroy the world not by water, but by fire. Therefore, let us act with godliness; and keep all the commandments of God. This is what God expects from each one of us; this is the bottom line of the matter.
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