I am not feeling very inspired tonight, so I think this will be short. In Chapter 37, I thought it was interesting to note that Leah's sons were not there when Joseph ratted out his brothers (verse 2)... and 2 of Leah's sons (Reuben and Judah) were the ones that tried to keep Joseph alive (verse 21 and 26). Also, it said that Jacob loved Joseph most because he was born in Jacob's old age, but I thought it was interesting that they did not mention that Jacob loved Rachel (Joseph's mom) best (verse 3). I also always thought the robe was striped, but it just says "richly ornamented", and the footnotes say that the meaning is uncertain... so, I guess, "Joseph and His Multicolor Dreamcoat" (or whatever the name of that musical was), must have just liked stripes. :) I have always wondered how the people in this story (and others) knew that their dreams meant something... I dream all the time and none of it means anything... I have heard of Muslims coming to faith because of dreams, but no one I've ever known personally has ever had those kind of dreams... I certainly would not assume that dreaming of wheat or the stars of grapes or bread would mean anything special... although, I assume God told Joseph that the dreams had special meaning and what the meanings were.
The Study Notes suggested pretending to be a family therapist and giving "advice" to bring the family back together... I think ahead though and wonder if Joseph would have been in a position to help his family in the future, and if the dreams he was given would have come true, if the family had been "fixed"... God surely knew what events would all take place, so Joseph going to Egypt as a slave was probably all part of the plan... I wonder how often we get in the way of God's plan when we try to (although with good hearts) "fix" the problems instead of just trusting God's sovereignty in and through them?
Chapter 38: verse 24 made me indignant of the double standards! :( Verses 27-30 made me glad that none of my kids births had a crazy story like that attached to it. :) I did not understand Judah's comment in verse 26 about Tamar being more righteous... any thoughts? Interesting note from Study guide... Judah and Tamar are the ancestrial line of Jesus (Matt 1)
Chapter 39: verse 9 reminded me that all evil acts I do are not just against others, but ultimately against God. The Study Notes suggested that maybe Potipher did not fully think that Joseph did as the wife accussed, because if Joseph was guilty, he should have been given the death penalty as was the law for adulterers then.
Chapter 40: I only came up with 2 things here... first, I admire Joseph's confidence in the gifts that God had given him (verse 8b)... I hope that I can be that confident in correctly using the gifts God has given me. Second, I hope that I do not quickly forget the kindness that I am shown (verse 23).
Sorry this is so short, but hopefully you will have some additional insights so we can all learn more. :) Have a great night!
God Bless,
sandJ
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-37 Definitely a lesson in not favoring one child over another. And another thought, not sure, but wouldn't that coat have been worth some money? If it was money they wanted, they could have sold the coat instead of him. But in fact, they could not stand to live in such jealousy, they had to get rid of him. Also, where was Reuben when they sold him? It doesn't say, but then it says that he returned after they sold him and was upset that he was gone.
ReplyDelete-38 Just thinking back to the earlier comment in Ch. 27 in how seriously a man's word was taken once Isaac gave Jacob the blessing. In this story, Judah was not taking his word seriously at all when he sent Tamar home to "wait" on Shelah to grow up. It obviously came back to bite him in a big way, but very interesting to see how much trouble you can bring on yourself by your own sin. Then, I'm sure think, I can't believe she did this to me!
-39 This is one of my favorite OT stories, unfortunately Joseph ends up in prison because of it, but he is such a picture of what a godly young man should do in a bad situation. I pray that my son grows to make decisions like that. I also love the end of the last verse 23 which says "the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did." It is a great reminder that none of us are "self-made", success comes only from the Lord.
-40 all I can think is poor Joseph. I guess good thing he knew there was joy in suffering, because he was sure getting it handed to him!
Thanks for the comments!
Read it.
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