Joseph’s Brothers Buy Grain (Gen 42)

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Bible Summary:

During the famine, Jacob learns of the grain in Egypt, so sends all his sons except Benjamin to buy some so the family will not starve. Joseph’s half-brothers show up in Egypt to buy the grain and unknowingly bow to Joseph, since he has changed from the teenager they sold into slavery twenty years prior. Joseph says they are spies. Reuben whispers to his brothers that they are being paid back for Joseph’s death (he never knew Joseph was sold). Joseph understands, leaves, cries, composes himself, and returns. He keeps Simeon as a prisoner and sends the others back with grain to get their youngest brother as proof they are not spies.

The brothers are scared when they find their money on top of the full grain sacks Joseph provided. Upon their return to Canaan, they tell Jacob the whole story. He says Simeon and Joseph are already lost and he does not wish to lose any more children, especially Benjamin. Reuben says he will take Benjamin and guard him with his life and offers his two sons as collateral. Jacob says Benjamin is his only son left and would die if something happens to him.

My Thoughts:

Accepting God’s Will: Jacob favors one wife’s sons, Joseph and Benjamin, over the rest because she was his true love. Reuben, the true first born, accepts his father’s will so much that he tried to save Joseph years ago and now offers to guard Benjamin. Accept God’s will and you will gain peace and happiness.  Let Him lead the way.

Mixed Families: Divorce is the norm today. More divorces (33) were requested in Columbus, Ohio yesterday than births (22). Divorce leads to remarriage and in many cases mixed families, children from different families living together. This arrangement is a challenge for parents and kids alike. The most difficult scenario is the lone child shared between two families. Dealing with two parenting styles is hard enough but this child has four. Many cases are shared parenting, so this child does not feel a part of either family, just a burden to both.

If you are this lone child, know that God loves you and wants you to be strong. He put you in this position because He has great things planned for you.

Dream Comes True: Joseph’s dreams about the family bowing to him finally come true. It took twenty years, but his perseverance pays off. Keep at your dreams and they will come true – some day.  Believe!

What is Success?

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To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;

To find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by
a healthy child, a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived;

This is to have Succeeded.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Joseph’s Dreams (Gen 40-41)

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Bible Summary:

Joseph is in the Egyptian prison for quite some time. The king’s wine steward and chief baker are sent to prison for offending the king. Joseph interprets their dreams and in three days they are released, the wine steward gains his position back, and the chief baker is executed, all as Joseph predicted.

Two years later the king of Egypt has two dreams but no one can interpret them. The wine steward mentions Joseph’s ability. Joseph interprets the king’s dreams to mean there will be seven years of abundance followed by seven years of severe famine. Joseph tells the king to store a fifth of the country’s grain during the good years for food during the famine. The king appoints Joseph as governor over all of Egypt.

For seven years they store grain in all the cities of Egypt. Then, famine strikes all the countries around Egypt as Joseph predicted, but Egypt has plenty of food. People from all over the world come to buy food from Egypt.

My Thoughts:

Serve and Be Rewarded: Joseph continues to serve others for 13 years after his brothers sold him into slavery and is ultimately rewarded with his freedom and the governorship of Egypt.

Save for Lean Times: Given the current slump in the world economy, this advice may seem a little too late, but should be remembered when good times return. Saving 20% like Joseph did for Egypt may be too much of a burden, but you should work towards at least saving 10% of your income. Consider it tithing to yourself.

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife (Gen 39)

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Bible Summary:

Joseph is a very successful slave to Potiphar, one of the Egyptian king’s guards, and is put in charge of everything in his household. Potiphar’s wife seduces Joseph but he continually declines. She entraps Joseph by snaring his robe and telling her husband he tried to rape her. Joseph is sent to prison, but soon becomes responsible for everything there.

My Thoughts:

Confidence: No matter how bad things get, Joseph keeps his head. I believe his confidence comes from knowing that God has a plan for him.

Service: Joseph serves others and is rewarded with more responsibility each time. He must be a great manager to be put in charge wherever he lands.

Jacob’s Son Judah (Gen 38)

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Bible Summary:

About the time Joseph is sold, his brother Judah leaves, marries, and has three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah. Er marries Tamar but is killed before they have children, so Judah tells Onan to sleep with her to fulfill his brotherly obligation. Onan spills his semen on the ground knowing the children will not be his. Onan dies too, so Judah sends Tamar to her father until Shelah grows up.

Years later, Judah’s wife dies and he mourns her. With face covered, Tamar disguises herself as a prostitute on the street and sleeps with Judah. A few months later, Judah is told that Tamar is a pregnant whore. Judah orders her death, but Tamar proves that he is the father. He agrees he has failed in his obligation to give her Shelah to marry.

Tamar gives birth to twins. An arm comes out first, so the midwife ties a red thread around it. Zerah pulls his arm back in and his brother Perez is born first instead.

My Thoughts:

Family Obligations: Once there was a young couple who had a heated battle over where to spend the holidays between their families. They finally agree on a schedule and everything smoothes out between them. A week later, his mother calls crying about Uncle Jim who just passed away. The young couple argues over fitting the funeral, a four hour drive away, in for a great-uncle they barely knew. They decide not to attend.

Thanksgiving comes and goes with little fanfare, then a week before Christmas his mother calls, “I almost forgot to tell you, we won’t be home for Christmas.” He asks, “Why’s that?” She says, “Well, Uncle Jim gave everyone who attended his funeral $50,000 plus a two-week cruise. We’re all leaving Christmas Eve.”

Family obligations can be difficult to deal with – from holidays and weddings to funerals and caring for disabled members. Approach them each with love and you will be surprised how much easier they will pass for all. And, you never know what might happen.

Brothers Sell Joseph (Gen 37)

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Bible Summary:

Joseph, Jacob’s first son by his cherished wife Rachel though twelfth of thirteen overall, turns seventeen. Jacob makes him a special robe, which proves to his brothers he is the favorite. Joseph’s half-brothers hate him even more after he reports bad things to father and later tells them of two dream where the family bows to him.

One day, Jacob sends Joseph after his brothers tending flocks in Shechem. Joseph catches up to them in Dothan, but his brothers see him coming and plot to kill him. Reuben tries to save Joseph and talks the other brothers into throwing him into a dry well instead. Upon seeing some travelers, the brothers decide to profit from Joseph, pull him out of the well, and sell him.

The Midianite traders take Joseph to Egypt and sells him to the king’s captain of the guard while the brothers deceive Jacob with Joseph’s robe soaked in goat’s blood. Jacob thinks Joseph has been killed by a wild animal. He tears his clothes off, puts on a sackcloth, and says he will mourn Joseph until he dies.

My Thoughts:

Fairness: Once there was a family get-together and everyone sat around a table talking. Mother got up, left, and returned with a cake. She asked each person if they would like some. One was watching her sugar and another was pretty full from dinner so they took small pieces. One was on a diet and another did not like the flavor so they declined a piece. One only liked frosting so asked for a corner. One took a large piece. The last two and mother had average size pieces. A third of the cake was wrapped up and stored in the freezer for later.

Most pieces were not the same and some people went without, but all were satisfied.

MLK Memorial

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The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C. yesterday (10/16/2011). I’m writing about this event since Dr. King has been one of my heroes. He fought for freedom in America and is a symbol of standing up, in a non-violent way, for what is right.

I was surprised to see a sculpture so stubborn, almost angry with crossed arms and a slightly furrowed brow, in a Stone of Hope when I always thought of Dr. King as a beacon of hope, more like a lighthouse or the eternal flame at President John F. Kennedy’s Memorial (see Washington Post MLK Memorial picture). I thought I would see something like Dr. King giving the I Have A Dream speech, showing the great orator passionately insisting that each person act, through non-violence, to uphold freedom and justice for all people (see MLK I Have A Dream picture).

Esau’s Descendants (Gen 36)

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Bible Summary:

Esau, also called Edom, had three wives: (1) Adah who gave him Eliphaz and six grandsons, (2) Oholibamah who bore him Jeush, Jalam, Korah, and (3) Basemath, daughter of Uncle Ishmael, who gave him Reuel and four grandsons.

All Esau’s sons and daughters were born in Canaan. But, Esau moves his family to Edom when the land can no longer support his family and Jacob’s.

My Thoughts:

Genealogy: In biblical times, a man’s lineage was his most important contribution. Historically, large families were the norm across the world when more hands were needed on the farm. Today, families continue to shrink as the world moves to expensive city life.

Curiously, each person’s family tree branches out towards descendants and also back through ancestors. With so many branches, we all must be related somehow? I could be your cousin, 200 times removed!

Over-Population: At the time of Jacob and Esau, only 20 million people lived around the entire world (see middle of the Wikipedia World Population page), so it was easy to pick up and move when an area got crowded. With 7 billion people on the planet today (actually on 10/31/2011), it is getting much harder to find new ground.

Footprints in the Sand

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One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there was only one.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,

“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you, you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there has only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”

The Lord replied, “The times when you have seen only one
set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”

– Mary Stevenson

Jacob Loses Two Loved Ones (Gen 35)

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Bible Summary:

God tells Jacob to move south to Bethel and worship Him there. Jacob tells his family to discard their foreign gods before they leave. Even though Jacob’s two sons killed all the men of Shechem, the people near there are too frightened to pursue them.

Later, Jacob leaves Bethel and heads south to visit his father Isaac in Hebron. Jacob’s wife Rachel dies along the way while giving birth to Benjamin. She is buried beside the road in what later becomes Bethlehem. Isaac lives to 180 and is buried by his sons Esau and Jacob.

My Thoughts:

Perseverance: Jacob endures many hardships: 20-years of labor for his uncle, fear of his brother’s 400 man army, his daughter’s rape, and now the loss of his wife Rachel and father. Jacob perseveres through it all with help from God in response to his faith in Him. When times are tough, talk to God. He will help you through. He does love you.

Loss of a Loved One: The hardest thing in life is to lose a loved one, especially unexpectedly. All of a sudden, life moves in slow motion. You are numb and looking for answers. What could I have done? How could I have better spent my time with them? Slowly things become easier as you carry on. In time, you start to feel again, you start to laugh again, and eventually you become you again. Hang in there until you are you again! God bless!