“And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.” Genesis 46:5
The first eleven chapters of Genesis tell big news: God creates everything, sees humankind fallinto sin, judges humanity by a global flood, spares only Noah and his family, and watchespeople try to build a tower to heaven their own way. But bigger news in Genesis will follow.
Chapters twelve through twenty-four tell big news: God calls one man–Abram–to start ajourney, a family, and a nation. God promises that Abram (later Abraham) and his wife Sarai (later Sarah) will have a son though Sarai is barren. Isaac is the son God brings into the world through Sarah. Jacob and Esau continue the family tree which will become Israel. But biggernews in Genesis will follow.
The next section, chapters twenty-five through thirty-six, tells big news: Jacob lives up to his name (“Trickster”, “Supplanter”) again and again. God chose Jacob to be a patriarch, one of the pillars of Israel (his name would even be changed to Israel). His deeds, however, were anything but godly. Laban, Jacob’s father-in-law, swindles the swindler and manipulates the manipulator. As Laban treats Jacob badly, Jacob treats others badly. We are amazed that the nation of Israel would be born of the seed of Jacob. But bigger news in Genesis will follow.
Chapters thirty-seven through fifty conclude Genesis, and they tell big news: Joseph would rise up as a gifted administrator who would deliver Egypt and the nations around it from famine. Joseph would mirror Christ in so many ways. Creation is big; the flood is big; the call of Abram is big; the founding of what would become Israel is big; the exploits of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph are big. But the biggest news in Genesis may be God’s power to change the heart of Jacob the Trickster into a man who allowed himself to be carried to Egypt (see 46:5 above) without trying to manipulate or trick anyone. Jacob finally trusts God. The change is breathtaking. Judah’s story is similar. Others undergo change. Genesis tells big news of changed lives.
Examine your life. Do others see how God has changed you? If not, take heart. Jacob was an old man before he experienced drastic change in his life. God is able to change hearts, and that may be the biggest news from Genesis.
