ROBERT@kontu.utu.fi (Robert W. Johnson) (12/01/90)
I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord. Genesis 49.18. Genesis chapter 49 reveals Jacob as a prophet. Out of a real understanding of God's heart he could utter its tremendous forecasts. But this verse, set right in the middle, is not a prophecy; it is a cry of Jacob himself. For there was sorrow and a foreboding of sin as well as joy and good in these oracles, and he had just been compelled to paint a very dark picture of Dan as a serpent in the pathway. Then, just here, Jacob showed himself. Lifting his eyes to heaven he revealed what he, the prophet was. It is easy enough to preach; but when a man preaches we know at once if God has hold of him or not. The old Jacob would have begun to think up a scheme for dealing with Dan. He could always get the better of people; but not now. Now he had learned to know God. "I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord!" ----- Robert W. Johnson Computer center, The University of Turku, Turku Finland robert@kontu.utu.fi (InterNet) robert@firien.bitnet (BITNET) The preceeding is my opinion and may not express the opinion of my employer and furthermore has nothing to do with my employment.