The Mystery of the 48th Week (November 26 – December 2)

Welcome to the 48th week of the year! The 48th week is the sixth week in the seventh seven weeks of the year. It is a sixth season week. The keys to unlocking the mystery of the 48th week are the sixth day of creation narrative, the 48th book of the Bible, the 48th chapters the Bible, 

Week 48 is a sixth-day-of-creation week. On the sixth day of creation, God commanded the dry ground to bring forth land animals; and it did. On the same day, He made man in His image and according to His likeness. It was on that sixth day that God completed and perfected the creation of flesh. He gave man authority to rule, subdue, and have dominion over he rest of creation. 

He blessed man with fruitfulness and multiplication and also communicated with man concerning provisions for men and animals. 

In the sixth season, therefore, 

1. God gives inheritance

2. God declares war against rebellion.

3. God communicates to guide man

4. God gives graciously and provides for man

5. God blesses with fruitfulness and multiplication 

6. God seeks representation in a man that would speak and act for Him. 

7. God rules and demands obedience. It is the season for exercising kingdom-rule.

In the sixth season, you must let the gracious and sovereign Lord have His way; and understand that things will not go the way you think. In the sixth season, even tradition will give way to the will of God. Man was the ‘youngest’ of God’s creation; and yet was made the head of all. He came in last but is made the first and put in charge of all. In terms of population, humans were in the minority on the sixth day of creation; but God still gave man authority over the other living creatures. He favored the minority with power to rule the majority. The sixth season is for exercising dominion in the name of the Lord. 

Week 48 is a 48th-chapters-of-the-Bible week. The 48th season is a season of amazing grace. In Genesis 48, Joseph visited his father, Jacob, with his two young sons and five amazing-grace-things happened on that day. There are five expressions of grace in the 22-verse Genesis 48. 1). Jacob accepted the sons of an Egyptian woman (Joseph’s children) into his family – without minding or complaining they were of mixed blood. 2). Jacob admitted the sons of Joseph (his grandsons) to the status of ‘sons of Jacob’. Grandsons became sons – to share inheritance with their uncles. Jacob made the two sons of Joseph his own sons like Reuben and Simeon. They moved from being grandsons of Jacob to becoming sons of Jacob. 3). In blessing the children, Ephraim, the younger son of Joseph received the blessing of ‘firstborn’. Joseph was displeased but Grace overruled and was pleased. Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph; giving the greater blessing to Ephraim the younger son. Manasseh was the older son. Joseph protested  but his father insisted. May the Lord stop anyone and any force that is protesting and laboring to stop, or truncate, what is yours by grace and divine ordination.  4). Joseph, the eleventh son of, had a tribe more than his brothers. Joseph has two tribes in Israel. The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh are descendants of Joseph. Jacob’s adoption of Ephraim and Manasseh gave Joseph two tribes in Israel; a portion more than the other sons of Jacob. 5). Ephraim, a grand child, is made the firstborn of Jacob. In Genesis 48, Grace found Joseph and his family. In this 48th week of the year, may grace locate you and be multiplied to you. 

Psalm 48 is about the greatness of God and the beauty of Mount Zion, the City of our God. 

The 22-verse Isaiah 48 is about the excellence, majesty, and mighty acts of God. – the First and the Last.

The 47-verse Jeremiah 48 is about the judgment of Moab for her pride and haughtiness against the Lord. In this chapter of Jeremiah, the Lord is the King whose name is the Lord of hosts. There is a gracious promise of the return of the captives of Moab. 

The 35-verse Ezekiel 48 is about the (25k by 25k) foursquare city of God – having portions of the land distributed to the 12 tribes and to the priests and Levites. There shall be a Holy District, with the sanctuary at the center, and it shall belong to the priests. The gates of the city will be named after tribes.

The 48th year of the 20th century, 1948, was a season of conflicts between Israel and Arabs over Palestine. God made a way for Israel to become an independent nation from May 14, 1948. The 48th season is for possessing your possession.

Week 48 is a Judges 16-18 week. The sixth three chapters of the seventh book of the Bible is applicable to the sixth week in the seventh 49 days of the year. This section records Samson’s decline, defeat, and death. God was gracious to him at the end but he died with his enemies. This section also record the losses of Micah and the people of Laish. The Danites defeated Laish and took their lands in the 18th chapter. This Echioma of Judges reveals that the 48th week is a season of intense spiritual conflict.

Week 48 is a book of Galatians week. In the 48 book of the Bible, Paul made a strong case for the grace of ‘justification by faith’. He began by stating the divine origin of his apostleship and message. God acted sovereignly in the matter of showing grace to man, to the Gentiles, and to Paul. He was a second-generation apostle, made equal to the first-generation apostles who followed Jesus of Nazareth as disciples; and admitted to revelation-privileges beyond the older apostles. As Jacob made the two sons of Joseph his own sons in Genesis 48,  the 48th book of the Bible says God made us Abraham’s sons like Isaac; and made us his sons like Jesus Christ. 

The 48th book of the Bible bears witness that the 48th season is a season of conflict in which ‘the weak’ and disadvantaged wins. The book gives hint of conflicts between Paul and the other apostles, Gentiles and Jews, Grace and Law, Isaac and Ishmael, Sarah and Hagar, Zion and Sinai, Jerusalem and Arabia, and between Spirit and Flesh. In all Favor triumphed over Legality. In the 48th season, God favors the disadvantaged. May the grace of God locate you and speak for you this week. May that grace, also, possess your heart; and lead you to greater humility, kindness, and generosity. Happy 48th week!