“¹⁸When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands.”

– Genesis 47:18 (NKJV)

“When that year had ended, they came to him the next year * and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord  that our money is gone ; my lord also has our herds of livestock **. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord  but our bodies and our lands.” (All that remains now is “that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” [Rom 12:1], in what we now begin to see has become a prototype of the natural progression of sanctification if one eagerly desires to live the truly surrendered Christian life. Had the rich young ruler given his yes he would have discovered that a rudimentary grasp of God’s Law and surrendering his first idol – his love of money [1 Tim 6:10] – was but the beginning. Seeking The Kingdom first [Matt 6:33] would become an all-consuming, all-demanding rapturing of his heart as he comes to know God’s Annointed [Phil 3:8] more and more deeply, and his desire to surrender all, all the more fervent. No, not only would his money be required of him, but sacrifices of many “species”: all his strength [“horses”], all his dependents [“flocks”], all his talents [“cattle”] and weaknesses [“donkeys”], and ultimately his life [“our bodies “] and all territories – both natural and spiritual – that he has gained dominion over [ “our lands” ]. Truly, truly The Christian Life is a series of perpetual surrender until “there is (truly) nothing left in the sight of my lord”.)

* We are here beautifully reminded of the principle where each year within which The Child of God re-commits to following the Lord, The Books are opened shortly following the advent of The New Year (Rosh Hashanah), on the Day of Atonement, at Yom Kippur, and God re-evaluates and seals the themes that will be dealt with within the year to come.

** How precious when the humble Child of God believes he comes before God with nothing left to offer, having already given everything he esteems being of most value, when indeed there are such riches yet to be plumbed in the giving of his whole self: so much more for God to work with ☺️.