Genesis 47 + Psalm 39
Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied greatly.
Genesis 47:27
The ESV Study Bible notes that being fruitful and multiplying is "usually in association with divine blessing." God's blessing is revealed through being fruitful and multiplying. God told Jacob to not be afraid and to go into Egypt in Genesis 46 because he will be made into a great nation there. And now we see in Genesis 47:27 this promise coming into fruition, with Israel being fruitful and multiplying greatly.
We know from Galatians that the fruits of the Spirit are characteristics that believers begin to embody, such as patience, peace, kindness, and generosity. These heartfelt characteristics have visual manifestations. Just as the fruits of the Spirit are made visible through the way a believer lives, we can see Israel's fruitfulness made visible through them multiplying greatly and taking up the land. I heard someone who has a lot of children say that they wanted other people to look at their family and know which God they believed in, that being the God of Christianity, who tells people to go and be fruitful and multiply.
If we view God's blessing as showing up in someone's ability to be fruitful and multiply, and then we see how many people are not multiplying today, it is hard to not put those things together. As faith falls off in our society, so does the desire and ability to multiply, and God's blessing begins to fall off with it. It becomes a negative cycle, but there is an obvious answer to turn it around. It is the great commission, where we go out and make disciples of Jesus Christ, and as more people become believers, God's blessing will be more abundant and more people will be fruitful and multiply.
Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.
Psalm 39:4-5 (NLT)
These verses from David point to the fact that our life is a sliver of time, and yet it is eternal. It sounds a little contradictory, but it really goes hand in hand. Because our time here on earth is brief, we think about legacy and what we want to leave behind including having children and multiplying.
My thoughts leaving the study today are a reminder that my life is just a moment to God. In this moment of my life, how do I want to be seen? I want my life to look like I believe in God. I want my life to look like Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Savior.
