In the first part of this week we read Joseph’s life story, a tale of entrapment, intrigue, and redemption that would make a really good movie. Actually, it’s been made into several good movies. Let’s see how accurate they are in their facts.
Joseph is favored by his father (not a good idea, considering the sibling rivalry among Jacob’s wives; now he has created rivalry among his kids.) Joseph has dreams which are, admittedly, visions of the future given to him by God, but he goes and brags about it to his brothers. They almost kill him, but they eventually sell him into slavery and tell their father he is dead. (Just for fun: The VeggieTales version, which is told as a western, has him getting eaten up in a wild gopher accident.)
Joseph gets a good job in Egypt, though, in the house of Potiphar, and he is favored by the Lord and by all who see him, including Potiphar’s wife. Her false accusation of Joseph lands Joseph in jail. Even there, though, he is favored, and becomes the chief prisoner.
One night two royal prisoners have dreams which Joseph, our dreamer, interprets, one with a happy ending and the other, well, not so much. News of Joseph’s gift reaches Pharaoh’s ears when he has two disturbing dreams. Joseph, who is older and wiser, now gives God the credit for interpretation. Famine is coming: they have been warned.
He helps Pharaoh set up a plan to conserve crops, looking ahead to the time of famine. Years later, when the famine has spread, Joseph’s brothers come to buy food and meet Joseph, though they do not recognize him. He keeps one brother hostage and sends the others back. When they return with Benjamin, the youngest and Joseph’s only full brother, Joseph finally reveals himself to them.
Jacob/Israel migrates to Egypt in fulfillment of a prophecy God made to Abraham. Israel blesses Joseph’s sons, once again placing the younger above the older, and then Israel blesses all his sons. This, the end of the book of Genesis, is the beginning of the 12 tribes of Israel, although when we get to Exodus there is no tribe of Joseph, but the half tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. I don’t remember why, exactly—we will look for this when we get there.
Have a good week—we will be reading Job next!
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