January 29 - Genesis 48-50: The End of the Story of Jacob and Joseph

Today’s Reading: Genesis 48-50

The Message

English Standard Version

Congratulations! You are finished with Genesis! That means you have read two books. Only 64 to go! (And some of them will go by quickly!)

Thought to Guide Your Reading

Joseph finally gives the theme for the entire book.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Jacob lay dying. Joseph and his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, visited Jacob. He blessed them as equals to Joseph's brothers and prophesied that Ephraim (the younger) would become greater than Manasseh (the older). He then blessed each of his own sons. Judah would become a lion and rule over the nation; Simeon and Levi would not receive equal portions but be divided among the others. Then Israel died.
Israel's family buried him in Canaan. The brothers thought Joseph would exact revenge on them. He assured them God had meant everything to happen for good.
Joseph lived 110 years.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

Jacob's blessings were about the (eventual) nation of Israel more than the individual son.

Blessings in the Old Testament were not prayers to God to bless the people but sayings to the people about what God would do for them. So these blessings are each tribe's destiny when they do reach Canaan.

Three son's blessings were prominent.

Judah as "a lion's cub, … / home fresh from the kill ... / The scepter shall not leave Judah; / he'll keep a firm grip on the command staff / Until the ultimate ruler comes / and the nations obey him" (49:9-10, The Message). This would be the tribe that would supply the kings for nation of Israel and later the nation of Judah. Saul, David, etc. were from the tribe of Judah.
Levi, because of his temper and his willingness to kill, would not receive land but be dispersed among the other tribes. God would eventually make the tribe of Levi the priests and they would not have a province but be given parts of cities to survive.
Benjamin was a "ravenous wolf" (49:27, The Message). This would be the tribe that Saul of Tarsus, later the Apostle Paul, would come.
These are prominent because it shows that a nation of people will eventually take on the personality traits of its founding father(s). If the fathers seek to serve God, the nation will seek to serve God. If not, then the opposite is true. But this does not last forever, as we will read in the months ahead.

Joseph ends the story by giving the redemptive theme of Genesis.

When his brothers were scared Joseph would finally put an end to them, he reminds them,

Don't be afraid. Do I act for God? Don't you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now - life for many people. (50:19-20, The Message) 

Joseph knew that God uses bad situations for good. Because of their sins and Joseph's faith God was able to save an entire group of nations. Joseph did not need revenge. He had been blessed more than he could ever care because he embraced his trials and believed God would carry him through them. Wow! What a great story!

Footnote

As we head into the other four books of the Pentateuch, you may find sections boring, tedious, or downright strange. I will continue to blog every day's readings and keep showing how each of these readings leads us to the grand theme of the Bible, God is setting all things right. Do not worry, we will make it, together!

January 28 - Genesis 46-47: The (Small) Nation of Israel Moves to Egypt

Today’s Reading: Genesis 46-47

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

Joseph uses Egyptian culture to his advantage.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

God reassured Jacob that he would be safe going to Egypt. So Jacob and his entire family left.
When the harem arrived, Joseph coached them to tell Pharaoh that they were herders so he would give them the land of Goshen. Pharaoh welcomed them and gave them that land.
The people of Egypt sold their livestock to Pharaoh in return for food. The next year they sold their land to Pharaoh. Joseph allowed the people to keep their land but required a fifth of the crops.
Jacob died in Egypt, but made Joseph promise to return his body to Canaan.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

Jacob loves his land.

Jacob was born on this land. He returned to it with his family. He had worked the land for decades. He does not wish to leave. But he must. He wishes for his body to return to the land once his dies. As someone living far from his home, this resonates with me.

Joseph uses the Egyptians' prejudices against them.

It is interesting that Pharaoh gives the best land to the Israelites (as they will later be called) because they do not want these livestock herders to live near them. The best land. And the Israelites flourished.

Joseph designs a just sharecropping arrangement.

Remember that Genesis is not a book of moral tales. It is a history of God's early people. However, and not to get overtly political (as I often do), this arrangement should be lauded for its simplicity and fairness. Joseph could have forced the people onto community farms and required them to give all of the crops to Pharaoh in return for enough to survive, as in communist countries of the recent past. But we know how that system worked (or didn't). The amount he requires as payment is only 20%. This means the people were able to keep, sell, and live off 80% of their labor, unlike other sharecropping contracts from around the world. This arrangement provided the necessary ingredients for a boon to Egypt's cultural progression and leads them to become an empire. When godly people create godly systems of government, all people benefit.

January 27 - Genesis 43-45: Joseph's Brothers Pass Their Test

Today’s Reading: Genesis 43-45

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

God uses bad situations to set things right.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

When they could stay no more, Jacob allowed his sons to return to Egypt with Benjamin. Joseph fed them, giving Benjamin more than the others. The brothers suspected nothing.
Joseph told his steward to put Joseph's silver cup in Benjamin's bag. Later the steward caught up to them and proclaimed that the guilty one would become Joseph's slave. Benjamin was caught. The brothers begged Joseph for Benjamin's life. Joseph finally revealed his true identity – God had saved Egypt because of their evil actions. He told them to move to Egypt and have the best land. Jacob felt years younger.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

Jacob is very upset at allowing the only remaining son of his one true love go to Egypt.

Jacob had lost Joseph (or so he thought). He had only one son from Rachel still alive. To lose him would be too much for him to bear. That is also the reason the brothers fight for Benjamin's life. They want to save their father as much as their brother.

God prepared Joseph for this very time.

(Repeat of yesterday's comment)
What makes Joseph's story wonderful for followers of God is that he obeys God and God rewards him while he is still alive. But God does not only reward Joseph, He also rewards the people of Egypt and the surrounding areas. Egypt has been blessed by God and could bless the (nearby) world. This was the very purpose for which God had prepared Joseph. Being despised by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused of attempted rape, imprisoned, forgotten for two years—all of these things were tests of Joseph's faithfulness. Our problems and trials may be God's preparation for a great purpose in our future. When we continue to submit to God and give Him the glory for all we have, God's name is honored among the nations and they will allow the Creator to make all things right.

Joseph's greatest accomplishment is bringing the glory of God to the Egyptian people.

The Egyptian knew the God of the creation. They knew the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They knew this God because Joseph told them about him through his actions and giving God the credit for all he did. When we act as God would have us to act, people will know our God and will make things right in their life.

January 26 - Genesis 41-42: Joseph Proves Faithful and It Saves a Nation

Today’s Reading: Genesis 41-42

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

See Joseph's attitude when faced with the potential for great fame.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Two years later Pharaoh had two dreams. At last the cupbearer remembered Joseph. Pharaoh asked Joseph to interpret. Joseph consulted God: seven years each of plenty and famine for Egypt. Pharaoh made Joseph his second-in-command, in charge of all Egypt. Joseph married Asenath and had two sons, Manasseh (Forget) and Ephraim (Double-Prosperity). People from all over the world came to buy grain in Egypt.
Jacob sent his remaining sons, save Benjamin, to buy food. Joseph concealed his identity. He imprisoned Simeon and told them to bring their youngest brother to prove they were not spies. Jacob was very distraught.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

Joseph gives God the glory for interpreting dreams.

Joseph proves his righteousness again by telling Pharaoh that it was not his ability but

God giving him the ability to interpret dreams. This echoes the theme of Genesis, when people submit to God, good things happen.

God prepared Joseph for this very time.

What makes Joseph's story wonderful for followers of God is that he obeys God and God rewards him while he is still alive. But God does not only reward Joseph, He also rewards the people of Egypt and the surrounding areas. Egypt has been blessed by God and could bless the (nearby) world. This was the very purpose for which God had prepared Joseph. Being despised by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused of attempted rape, imprisoned, forgotten for two years—all of these things were tests of Joseph's faithfulness. Our problems and trials may be God's preparation for a great purpose in our future. When we continue to submit to God and give Him the glory for all we have, God's name is honored among the nations and they will allow the Creator to make all things right.

Joseph's brothers' trip to Egypt finally gave Joseph the chance to payback all that had been done to him.

Joseph's dreams came true. Here are 11 sheaves of corn bowing down to his. Joseph could have imprisoned or even executed them without answering to anyone. Benjamin, his full brother, was not there. He could have taken all competition from his little brother. Instead he gives them food, returns their money, and gives them a test. We will read the results of that test tomorrow. What great faith to have a chance at payback and not to give it.

January 25 - Genesis 38-40: Tamar and Joseph Prove Their Faith

Today’s Reading: Genesis 38-40

The Message

English Standard Version

Thought to Guide Your Reading

God continues to bless Joseph even though he is brought lower and lower in Egyptian society and higher and higher in their hearts.

Summary in 100 Words or Less

Judah married Shua, a Canaanite. They had three sons. The oldest married Tamar. God killed him. God also killed the middle son when he refused to honor his brother through conceiving a child with Tamar. Years later Judah would not give his third son to her. She deceived Judah dressed as a prostitute and conceived through him.
Joseph, a slave in Egypt, was thrown in jail by his master's jealous wife. God blessed him and he became the head prisoner.
Pharaoh threw two servants in jail. God gave Joseph the interpretations of their dreams. Neither remembered Joseph later.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

Onan (Judah's second son) is killed because he would not honor his family by siring a son with Tamar.

No matter our thoughts on this practice, he was obligated to give Tamar and Er (Judah's oldest son) a son. Because he would not give Tamar a son God killed Onan. This story is not about sex or whether a couple should plan a family or not. It is about someone agreeing to honor his family and then reneging on that promise.

Tamar deceives Judah for righteousness' sake.

Judah agreed to help Tamar have a child. She waited for his youngest son, Shelah, to come of age. Yet Judah would not honor his promise. So she had to deceive him to have it fulfilled. Judah said, "She is in the right; I'm in the wrong" (38:26, The Message). The only way Tamar could get Judah to do what was right was through deception.

God's definition of righteousness is not limited to the set, black-and-white guidelines we normally understand.

This passage is full of what could be called "moral gray areas." Tamar uses deception to get Judah to give her a son. Judah thinks he is with a prostitute. Judah is married, not to Tamar. However, there is right and wrong. This right and wrong is not the same as what I would expect. Being right with God depends on each individual person's life within that person's community, not a set of global rules legislated and enforced by a distant group.

God continues to bless Joseph when he suffers persecution.

Joseph's attitude never changes toward God. Because of this faith, everyone could see how God blessed Joseph. Joseph is made a leader of criminals and even they follow him. Even when things do not go how we expect God will make all things in our life right if we continue to submit to His will for our lives.