For Genesis 36, click here http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+36&version=NIV
For Monday, read through chapter 36 which is Esau's family line sprinkled with some interesting comments about his life.
Also read Chapter 37 - click here http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2037&version=NIV
Chapter 37 gets us into what is one of the most involved and interesting story lines of Genesis and all of the Old Testament. The story is about Jacob and his family, though the emphasis leans toward Joseph. It is a pheneomenal read in and of itself, but even moreso, it is God's Holy Word to us - speaking into us how we tend to be, how God is at work, what faith is and can look like at its best and worst, family dynamics that sometimes erode love and others that grow love. This is biblical narrative and theology at their best.
Read on!
Would you write a bit about this . What's going on from your perspective ? Just read a Chuck Swindoll
ReplyDeletebook on Joseph . What a guy! What a hero !
Yep...later today - anything in particular?
ReplyDeleteI dunno . Brothers in the bible are often like Christian brothers . Sometimes it's hard to feel the love . Envy , jealousy, hard feelings abound at times . Is that maybe why those kind of stories are in the bible ? Are we to recognize ourselves ?
ReplyDeleteI think there are a bunch of lessons/reflections in these stories. A few I've been thinking about:
ReplyDelete(1) the impact (good and bad) of family dynamics; I think we don't always recognize or take seriously the power of family relationships, and that means putting significant attention to this, especially as parents. It also means overcoming some of the natural/worldly(?) tendencies we might have, like Jacob's favoritism for Joseph which spun out all kinds of junk in the family. I'd also put Joseph's superiority complex in this too...there's nothing in the story that suggests Joseph should have been yacking about the dreams to his brothers, especially the second time around! Jealousy, anger, manipulation...all these are unnecessary, and yet so often part of a families, and someone (mom/pop, grandma/grandpa) needs to name these and start overcoming them.
(2) a second issue to me is the power of God's promise that carries even broken self-centered families like Abraham's along. This doesn't so much excuse the selfishness as show once again that God's grace has more power. And, it reminds us that there might be fewer complications if we let God's grace shape our families.
(3) reminds us that the real hero of the Bible is God...others in the stories sometimes are worth following, but ultimately God is to be our example.
(4) people cause other people incredible pain, complication, loss, etc. Think of all the pain Jacob, Josheph, Reuben, etc all went through unnecessarily because of each other!
Lots more, but this is a start.
If Joseph had not boasted , perhaps he would not have been sold off and all the ensuing Egyptian drama would not have unfolded . Much like if the woman had not used a years worth of nard , Judas might not have set things in motion with the chief priests .
ReplyDeleteHad I realized as a younger parent ( 25 years ago ) how important family relationships are , perhaps I would have related differently with my kids . Oh well , maybe better late than never !
God is the hero , yes . All I admire in Joseph
are characteristics of Jesus . Resistance to temptation , faith for the long haul , respect for the Father's will , compassion and forgiveness . Worthy of praise , worthy of worship .
Good thoughts. Thanks Doc!
ReplyDelete