Genesis 42

Dear RTB’ers,

Joseph and his brothers, again. Put yourself into the story today. I’m playing the part of one of the brothers. I go back to Genesis 37 where we sold Joseph into slavery and tricked our father into believing that he is dead. Now we’re being charged with spying the land and we’re defending ourselves. We put on humility, but even then part of our defense is an outright lie, “…one is no longer alive…” (Gen. 42:13b), spoken to that one who is, in fact, very much alive! We proclaim our strongest defense, “…we are  honest men…” (Gen. 42:11b) Laughable! Eventually we come to the fact that our horrible sin from years past has come to roost: Then they said to one another, “Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; for that reason this distress has happened to us.” (Gen. 42:21) Finally, we admit that we are sinners.

Is this really a story from several thousand years ago? Or is this ourselves a few years back? Or just last year? Or last week? Or yesterday? Put yourself into your own story and bow down (Gen. 42:6b) to that One who is very much alive. Tell Him what He already knows. But unlike the brothers, don’t sugarcoat it. Put on real humility: confess and be forgiven. Thank you, Lord.

Blessings!

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See also: January 14 (2023) / Genesis 41-43:15

Genesis 41:14-57

Dear RTB’ers,

Joseph and Pharaoh. Joseph is living a yo-yo life. He’s up, he’s down, he’s up, he’s down, he’s up. He is his father’s favorite; he is hated by his brothers and gets sold off to Potiphar; he is in charge of all of Potiphar’s house and fields; he gets sent to jail; he is put in charge of his fellow prisoners and interprets their dreams; his hopes of release are dashed as he endures an “unending” prison sentence; he is released, interprets Pharaoh’s dreams, and becomes “prime minister” of all of Egypt. He’s UP!

So we might wonder about Joseph’s reactions to those ups and downs. Sadly, we see him prideful and arrogant with his multi-colored tunic and relating his dreams to his brothers and parents. Then we sense what must have been a change in spirit as he is put in charge of all that Potiphar owns. We see him take the moral high ground in response to Potiphar’s wife’s advances – and it costs him dearly with prison time. But it’s this time in prison where we see how Joseph dealt with his down times: But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed. (Genesis 39:21-23) The LORD was working in his life and in the lives of those around him – and Joseph recognized it: “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.” (Genesis 40:8b) He maintained his faith in God and had confidence in God working things out. So his down time was still “up”!

I suspect that many (if not most) of us have had our own yo-yo life. We’re up, we’re down, we’re up… What is our response to those ups and downs? When we’re up, do we give glory and thanks to God for all His provision? And equally important, when we’re down, do we look up? Wherein lies our hope, our confident deliverance? When we’re down, look up!!

Blessings!

Genesis 40:1-41:13

Dear RTB’ers,

Joseph, the interpreter of dreams. Today’s passages, with Joseph interpreting the dreams for Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer and chief baker are setting the foundation for tomorrow’s reading where Joseph will interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. So, what to make of dreams? Joseph has the answer for the interpretation of dreams, “Do not interpretations belong to God?” (Genesis 40:8b) Knowing that, Joseph then accepts his role as God’s agent and speaks the interpretations that God has given him.

But what about the dreams themselves, those of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker and of Pharaoh? I’m sure that we can all agree that these dreams came from God, that they were all part of His plan for Joseph. But with all that, my human head asks about the two-year lapse between the chief cupbearer’s release and his remembering Joseph. I’m thinking about Joseph during those two years, already serving time for no wrong done, now hoping for his release. Was that a depressing time for him? And I think about the cupbearer, how when he finally remembered Joseph, how he must have been guilt-ridden for having forgotten Joseph for those two long years. The strange thing about those two years is that Joseph did not have a 730-day calendar in his head or on his wall. He didn’t know that he only had two more years to serve; he was in prison with no release date. What was he thinking during this time? What was his attitude toward God?

So, let’s go forward two thousand years, visiting Paul while he sits in prison, also not knowing his release date. What is he thinking during this time? What is his attitude toward God? Here are his words:

Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

Philippians 1:18b-26

To live is Christ, and to die is gain. GLORY!!

Blessings!

Genesis 38-39

Dear RTB’ers,

Today, two contrasting stories of sexual relations in the Old Testament– Judah and Tamar, Joseph and Potiphar’s wife.

First, Judah and Tamar. Judah takes (marries) a Canaanite woman known only as the “daughter of Shua” (Genesis 38:2). Together they have three boys – Er, Onan, and Shelah. Years pass and Er marries Tamar. Er dies, leaving behind no children, so Judah sends his #2 son, Onan in to Tamar. But whenever he went in to her, …he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother. (Genesis 38:9b) So Onan dies and Judah refuses to give his third son, Shelah to Tamar, fearing to lose him also. Tamar dresses as a prostitute, Judah goes in to her, she becomes pregnant by Judah and gives birth to twins. So in this story we have

1. Judah marrying a Canaanite woman
2. Onan refusing to “do the right thing”
3. Judah refusing his third son to Tamar
4. Tamar dressing as a prostitute, making herself available to her father-in-law, and
5. Judah having relations with this “prostitute”, his daughter-in-law.

So, can five wrongs make a “right”? Apparently so, in that one of the children from this Judah-Tamar relationship, Perez becomes one of King David’s forefathers and later, Jesus’ own ancestor. If God can bring a Messiah out of this sad state of affairs, what can He do with the things that we have messed up in our lives?

Now, Joseph and Potiphar’s wife, a bit less dramatic. Joseph does all the right things, does not go down that adulterous path that his brother, Judah took – and his “righteousness” puts him in jail. So much for “doing the right thing”, eh? Stay tuned…!

Blessings!

Genesis 37

Dear RTB’ers,

Today we begin the story of Joseph, a story that will carry us all the way to the end of Genesis. The authors of Search the Scriptures have so much regard for this entire story that they have set aside a separate day twelve days from now for Jospeh’s complete story – on March 29 our reading is “Genesis 37-50”, no new material. So, we begin Joseph…

Many of us know this story – Joseph’s many-colored tunic (a Sunday School favorite), his being sold into slavery, Reuben and Judah intervening on his behalf to save him from death, the brothers’ deception, Jacob’s mourning for the loss of his son. Except for bits and pieces here and there, it’s difficult to find anything new, to see any major item that we don’t already know.

In this Joseph story we will see Joseph as a “type” of Jesus. Already we have two items that relate forward to Jesus. First, we have Joseph being sold for twenty shekels of silver (Genesis 37:28); Jesus was later betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15). Second, we see a lamb slaughtered instead of Joseph (Genesis 37:31); Jesus is the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29, 36; see also Genesis 22:8; Isaiah 53:7; I Corinthians 5:7; I Peter 1:19; Revelation 5:12, 12:11, 13:8).

Many of you also have memories of this story. What do you recall? What stuck out for you?

Blessings!

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See also: January 13 (2023) / Genesis 37-40

Genesis 36

Dear RTB’ers,

I didn’t have much to contribute yesterday, maybe even less today. One wonders at God including a full chapter on Esau’s descendants, when God’s promises of land and progeny have been given to Isaac. Esau moves south and southeast from Canaan to Seir, presumably driving out the current inhabitants, the Horites (Gen 36:20-30), and becomes his own mighty nation, Edom.

As Search the Scriptures references, we read more from the prophet Obadiah about Edom enjoying the devastation of Israel by foreigners. Where Edom is mentioned in Obadiah 1 my Study Bible has further references to Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Amos, and Malachi, so Edom, as Israel’s “relative” is important in Israel’s history. Later, as Israel leaves Egypt and travels toward the Promised Land, Edom refuses to allow Israel passage through its land and Israel is forced to take a much longer roundabout route. So as we continue to read through the Bible, when Edom is mentioned, we’ll know its connection to Esau and Jacob.

I’m intrigued by Esau’s moving to Seir, away from Canaan. Clearly the 20-year separation from his twin has softened his heart, even meeting Jacob as he returned from their uncle, Laban, and joining Jacob in burying their father. I’m guessing that over the years that Esau has recognized that both the birthright and the blessing went to Jacob and that he needs to make his own path.

Blessings!

Genesis 35

Dear RTB’ers,

A number of short items…

As I was reading our passage this morning, I was thinking that we had a “clean” chapter – no deceit, no trickery, no devastation. Then in Genesis 35:22 Reuben lays with Bilhah, his half-brothers’ mother and Jacob’s concubine. Sad.

Today we see Jacob as the changed man that we honor as one of the three patriarchs of Israel (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob): Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone. (Gen 35:3)

I am always saddened when I read of Rachel dying at childbirth, of Jacob losing the woman he loved. I think of my own mother dying with five young children and how my father must have felt to have to experience this.

We have no record of Jacob ever seeing his mother again. There is no happy family reunion with Isaac and Rebekah, not even any mention of Rebekah except that of her nurse, Deborah’s death and burial (Gen 35:8). Also, we only have two verses mentioning Isaac – his age and his death and burial by Jacob and Esau (Gen 35:28-29)

Blessings!

Genesis 34

Dear RTB’ers,

Dinah…, what STS refers to as “a sordid story”.  

First, a bit of trivia. Although not explicitly stated, it looks like a number of years must have passed between yesterday’s reading and today’s. A few chapters back we learned from Jacob that he had been with Laban for twenty years (Genesis 31:38, 41). The first seven of those constituted his service to Laban for the right to marry Rachel. So when he finally “went into” Leah and Rachel and Leah got pregnant with Reuben, then Reuben would have been only twelve years old when Jacob fled from Laban, and all the rest of his children even younger. So when Simeon and Levi (Leah’s second- and third-born) bring devastation on Shechem and Hamor and their friends and relatives (Gen 34:25-26), they were surely not in their pre-teen years. Today’s passage even refers to Jacob’s sons as “men” (Gen 34:7, 21), so a number of years must have passed.

Now, as to this story. I have a friend who used to ask, “Where is the redemption?” It’s hard to find “redemption” in this story! Revenge, yes, but not redemption. So from Jacob’s sons’ perspective, we see an incident, motivation, and revenge. And from the other side we see lust (Gen 34:2-3, 8, 12, 19) and greed – especially in the one verse that stood out most for me, “Will not their livestock, their property and all their beasts be ours?” (Gen 34:23a) I don’t recall that God has yet warned His people against intermarriage with the locals. That’ll come later. But we have seen how Isaac and Rebekah were deeply saddened by Esau’s taking Hittite wives (Genesis 26:34-35; 28:9) and by their sending Jacob off to marry “within the family” (Genesis 27:46). The “locals” and their pagan gods will continue to be a problem for Israel for years to come!

Blessings!

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See also: January 12 (2023) / Genesis 34-36

Genesis 33

Dear RTB’ers,

Jacob meets Esau. Put yourself in Jacob’s place. He deceived his father and stole Esau’s blessing, then fled to Haran for twenty years, and now is returning to Canaan with great wealth. He has sent messengers on ahead to Esau announcing his arrival and learns that Esau and his 400 men are coming to meet him (Genesis 32:3-6). Certainly he is afraid, but he does have one piece of security – God’s promise to him that He will protect him: “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (Genesis 28:15) So Jacob moves forward, confident but fearful. Esau’s reception is much more forgiving than Jacob could ever have imagined! But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. (Gen 33:4) What a reunion!!

Our meeting with my brother, Ron, was also a blessing. We had lunch together, chatted for more than an hour, then exchanged e-mail addresses and have stayed in touch, conversing every couple of weeks. A return trip to Florida brought more time together in 2023 and 2024, including his meeting most of our kids and grandkids last August when we had a family gathering in Daytona. We have both been blessed by our reunion and have grown closer than we ever had been in growing up together.

So back to Jacob… Is he still a deceiver? He tells Esau that Seir is his destination, “Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, and I will lead on slowly, …, until I come to my lord in Seir.” (Gen 33:14) But he never gets to Seir, nor does he return to his parents in Bethel, instead settling further north: He bought the plot of land where he had pitched his tent from the hand of the sons of Hamor… (Gen 33:19a). And we close today’s passage with Jacob remembering His God: Then he erected there an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel (Gen 33:20), which means “God, the God of Israel”.

Blessings!

Genesis 32:3-32

Dear RTB’ers,

This switch to Daylight Savings Time makes it hard to get up in the morning!!

Today, Jacob prepares to meet Esau… Jacob praying, “I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that You have shown to your servant, for with only my…” (Gen 32:10) Here is one of the few (only?) times that we see true humility in Jacob. We’ve seen him as devious, arrogant, demanding, entrepreneurial…, but not humble. You’ll notice that I left that sentence unfinished. In our Bible translations the next word is typically “staff”. That would be Jacob’s statement. But we can also put ourselves into that sentence, going back many years to where we were, comparing that time to where we are now – how little we had then and how much we have now. These Bible passages are not just history, information for our minds; they are also truths in our lives to be explored. Putting ourselves into every passage, every story, every character… Then we begin to know God better.

I can clearly put myself into this story. I have a (step)brother with whom I was never very close. He had chosen to separate himself from our family – no one had seen or heard from him in ten or more years. We didn’t have a phone number or e-mail address. We had a Florida mailing address, but Christmas cards came back undelivered. In April 2021 Carol and I knocked on his door, not knowing what to expect. We had brought McDonald’s lunch for the three of us, like Jacob a small “present”, if you will. It was COVID time, so Carol and I were both wearing masks. He welcomed us to his front porch, but didn’t recognize us. We chatted a bit, then as we sat down to eat he finally asked me, “I’m sorry; who are you?”

I’ll leave it there for today, just like we leave Jacob wrestling with God and anticipating his meeting with Esau. Tomorrow…

Blessings!

See also: January 11 (2023) / Genesis 31-33