I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 48-50.

The description of the death of Jacob shows that the Egyptians of Joseph’s day treated him as if he was royalty.  Perhaps some day a cave will be discovered in the land of Israel which contains the remains of several people, one of whom was embalmed in the Egyptian style.  I suspect that this will not happen, since it is likely that the site which has already been identified as this site is indeed the site where Jacob was buried.  We also see in this passage that Joseph’s forgiveness of his brothers was not just for the sake of his father.  This passage strikes home to me because I have siblings who will not speak with each other now that my mother has died.  There is blame to share around, but I wish my family could experience the forgiveness which Joseph and his brothers experienced.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 42-44.

My first thought reading this passage today was, “What about this situation made Joseph’s brothers think about what they did to him those many years prior?”  Yes, Joseph had been probing them closely about Benjamin just before they made that connection, but I wonder about it being that simple.  In fact, when we read about the brothers’ exchange with their father before coming back to Egypt the second time we get the impression that Joseph asked many probing questions about their family.  Reading between the lines about the way Joseph sat the brothers and then what his servant said when confronting them about the silver cup, we see that Joseph had led his brothers to believe that he had supernatural sources of knowledge.  In fact throughout this passage we see Joseph use the knowledge he had which others thought he had no way to know to impress and intimidate others (a behavior to keep in mind later when we read about how Pharaoh’s advisers responded to the Plagues).

I also wanted to continue to highlight the differences between Reuben and Judah.  When the brothers blamed their current troubles on what they had done to Joseph, Reuben claimed to have told them not to harm Joseph, which he had not actually done.  Then, when they asked Jacob to send Benjamin with them, Reuben offered the lives of his own sons as surety for Benjamin’s safe return.  On the other hand, Judah offered himself as surety for Benjamin’s safe return.  Then, when Joseph threatened to enslave Benjamin for stealing his cup (which he knew full well that Benjamin had not done), Judah forcefully put himself forward to be enslaved in Benjamin’s place.  I do not want to condemn Reuben for what he did.  Rather, I want to hold up Judah as taking more personal responsibility.  There was nothing wrong with Reuben’s words or actions in this passage, but Judah’s were better.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 39-41.

I think that the story of Joseph is a lesson about perseverance and not giving in to circumstances.  He was his father’s favorite son with all of the privileges which came with that.  Then his own brothers sold him into slavery.  But he did not let that get him down.  He still used his abilities as best he could.  Then, he was lied about and thrown into prison on the basis of a false accusation (and probably beaten up pretty good along the way).  There in prison he once again applied his skills to the best of his ability.  Then he helped out a fellow prisoner, who promptly forgot about him for two years.  In all that time, he never forgot God, nor did he attempt to take credit for the gifts which God had given him.  He could have easily given in to despair, but he did not.  He could have used what happened as an excuse to quit.  He did not.  He continued to do his best to do God’s will.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 36-38.

As I read today’s passage I cannot help but think about a curiosity.  Abraham’s father, Terah, left his family and set off on his own.  Abraham did the same.  Yes, Abraham brought his orphaned nephew Lot with him, but once Lot reached full maturity he went his own way.  Abraham sent his sons by his concubines away, leaving Isaac as the sole member of his family to take over.  Isaac’s sons, Esau and Jacob, each went their own way.  But Jacob’s sons stayed together and became a nation (as did Esau’s sons).  I can’t help but wonder what changed with Jacob’s sons that led to them staying together.  Perhaps they stayed together out of fear of reprisals for what they did in Shechem to get revenge for the rape of their sister Dinah.

In the story about Joseph being sold into slavery we have examples of two different styles of taking charge.  The way Reuben did things and the way Judah did things.  Reuben recognized that what his brothers wanted to do to Joseph was wrong, but he was unwilling to challenge them on it.  So, he used his force of personality as the eldest to get them to do something reversible, planning to seek back later and do just that.  Judah, on the other hand, recognized his brothers’ discomfort with killing Joseph (which he probably shared) and convinced them to get rid of the “problem” another way.  And in a way, Joseph was a problem for the sons of Jacob.  He was Jacob’s favorite and spoiled.  Joseph was too young to rule over his brothers in the household.  Yet, Jacob would likely have tried to make that happen.  Since God had other plans, it all worked out.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Genesis 33-35.

I love the story of Esau and Jacob reuniting.  If ever there was a person with reason to hate his sibling and never want anything to do with them again, it was Esau.  However, when Esau saw his brother again after many years apart he ran to hug him.  Jacob for his part acknowledged by his actions that his brother had a legitimate grievance against him.  I want to point out that Esau did not forgive Jacob because of Jacob’s gifts.  A  careful reading of the Bible shows that Esau had set out with a small army while Jacob was meeting with Laban.  Yet Esau’s actions indicate he had not set out with the intention of bringing harm to Jacob.  Both brothers took action to reconcile their relationship.  Jacob gave Esau gifts as an acknowledgement that he owed Esau for what he had done to him.  Further, I think the rest of the story shows them negotiating their future relationship.  Esau offered for Jacob to come back and join his household but Jacob declined that invitation without rejecting his brother.