1435.) Genesis 44

“Joseph’s cup is found in Benjamin’s sack” by New York-based Dutch artist Shoshanna Brombacher, 2008

Genesis 44   (NRSV)

Joseph Detains Benjamin

Then he commanded the steward of his house, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the top of his sack. ²Put my cup, the silver cup, in the top of the sack of the youngest, with his money for the grain.” And he did as Joseph told him.

Joseph’s silver cup is reinterpreted as a chalice for the blood of Christ at Holy Communion.

³As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away with their donkeys. ⁴When they had gone only a short distance from the city, Joseph said to his steward, “Go, follow after the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you returned evil for good? Why have you stolen my silver cup? ⁵Is it not from this that my lord drinks? Does he not indeed use it for divination? You have done wrong in doing this.’“

⁶When he overtook them, he repeated these words to them. ⁷They said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants that they should do such a thing! ⁸Look, the money that we found at the top of our sacks, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan; why then would we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house? ⁹Should it be found with any one of your servants, let him die; moreover the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves.”

The brothers confidently stated they they did not have the cup. This shows that they had a healthy trust in each other. If they did not trust each other they would have immediately wondered which brother stole the cup.  They were so confident they did not have the cup (and trusted each other so much), they declared the thief should be killed and all the others taken as slaves.

–David Guzik

¹⁰He said, “Even so; in accordance with your words, let it be: he with whom it is found shall become my slave, but the rest of you shall go free.”

¹¹Then each one quickly lowered his sack to the ground, and each opened his sack. ¹²He searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.

“Joseph’s Brothers Find the Silver Goblet in Benjamin’s Sack” by Alexander Ivanov, 1861 (Tretjakov Gallery, Moscow)

¹³At this they tore their clothes. Then each one loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.

When Joseph was taken as a slave, the brothers allowed him to go and thought nothing of it.  Now they are willing to stand with Benjamin as he faces slavery or death. This demonstrates a significant change in the hearts and attitudes of Joseph’s brothers.

¹⁴Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house while he was still there; and they fell to the ground before him. ¹⁵Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that one such as I can practice divination?”

¹⁶And Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? What can we speak? How can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; here we are then, my lord’s slaves, both we and also the one in whose possession the cup has been found.”

With these words, Judah revealed God’s work among the brothers. In Judah’s mind, the brothers are now destined to live the rest of their lives as slaves in Egypt because they sold Joseph as a slave some 20 years before.

¹⁷But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the one in whose possession the cup was found shall be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.”

Judah Pleads for Benjamin’s Release

¹⁸Then Judah stepped up to him and said,

Donald Gray Barnhouse (pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, PA from 1927 to 1960) called this speech of Judah  “the most moving address in all the Word of God.”

“O my lord, let your servant please speak a word in my lord’s ears, and do not be angry with your servant; for you are like Pharaoh himself. ¹⁹My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ ²⁰And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead; he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him.’

^21″Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, so that I may set my eyes on him.’ ²²We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’ ²³Then you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall see my face no more.’ ²⁴When we went back to your servant my father we told him the words of my lord.

^25″And when our father said, ‘Go again, buy us a little food,’ ²⁶we said, ‘We cannot go down. Only if our youngest brother goes with us, will we go down; for we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ ²⁷Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons; ²⁸one left me, and I said, Surely he has been torn to pieces; and I have never seen him since. ²⁹If you take this one also from me, and harm comes to him, you will bring down my gray hairs in sorrow to Sheol.’

“Jacob caressing Benjamin” by Rembrandt

^30″Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy’s life, ³¹when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die; and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. ³²For your servant became surety for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear the blame in the sight of my father all my life.’ ³³Now therefore, please let your servant remain as a slave to my lord in place of the boy; and let the boy go back with his brothers. ³⁴For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the suffering that would come upon my father.”

Judah shines forth as one willing to be a substitutionary sacrifice out of love for his father and for his brothers.  Remember, Judah was the one who suggested selling Joseph 20 years earlier (Genesis 37:26-27).  Here he willingly offers to lay down his life for his brother.

_________________________

Music:

HERE  is “Have Mercy on Me, O Lord God,” by Johann Sebastian Bach (BWV 721), played by American organ virtuoso Carlo Curley.   The music almost sounds like a beating heart — “Have mercy, Lord, my sin forgive, for Thy long-suffering is great!”

_________________________

from John Wesley’s Notes on the Bible:

Now, had Joseph been, as Judah supposed, an utter stranger to the family, yet even common humanity could not but be wrought upon by such powerful reasonings as these;  for nothing could be said more moving, more tender;  it was enough to melt a heart of stone:  but to Joseph, who was nearer a-kin to Benjamin than Judah himself, and who, at this time, felt a greater passion for him and his aged father, than Judah did, nothing could be more pleasingly nor more happily said.  Neither Jacob nor Benjamin needed an intercessor with Joseph, for he himself loved them.

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Brombacher.  http://www.chabad.org/media/images/255/OmsD2556072.jpg

silver chalice.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/chalice.png?w=348&h=633

Ivanov.    http://static.artbible.info/large/jozef_beker.jpg

Judah pleads for Benjamin’s release.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/36-judah-pleads-for-ben.gif?w=450

Rembrandt.   http://www.stanfieldfineart.com/common/imgpiece.php?galleryId=18C5-ECFH-6E59&titleId=2270&whichimage=1

1434.) Genesis 43

The Ballroom of Buckingham Palace was set up for a State Banquet and then opened to tourists in the summer of 2008. The actual experience of eating with the Queen at such an event is reserved for only a small number of people. Certainly Joseph’s brothers never imagined that they would have a similar experience. And for us — just imagine what it will be like when Revelation 19:9 comes true: “Then the angel said to me, ‘Write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!”‘”

Genesis 43   (NRSV)

The Brothers Come Again, Bringing Benjamin

Now the famine was severe in the land. ²And when they had eaten up the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little more food.”

³But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ ⁴If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food; ⁵but if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.’“

⁶Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly as to tell the man that you had another brother?”

⁷They replied, “The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ What we told him was in answer to these questions. Could we in any way know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”

⁸Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and let us be on our way, so that we may live and not die—you and we and also our little ones. ⁹I myself will be surety for him; you can hold me accountable for him.

Judah put his own life on the line as a guarantee for Benjamin.  This is the first good thing we see Judah doing.  Previously, he was the one who had proposed the sale of Joseph.  He was also the one who wronged his daughter-in-law Tamar and had sex with her as a prostitute.

If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. ¹⁰If we had not delayed, we would now have returned twice.”

¹¹Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry them down as a present to the man—a little balm and a little honey, gum, resin, pistachio nuts, and almonds.

This gift basket includes roasted almonds, roasted pistachios, and honey peanut butter crunch.

¹²Take double the money with you.

They took double money with them to Egypt to buy grain and the Egyptian leader’s favor.  Since ten brothers went to Egypt and they took double money, there were 20 units of money.  This answers exactly to the 20 pieces of silver they sold Joseph for (Genesis 37:28).  The words for silver and money are the same.

–David Guzik

Carry back with you the money that was returned in the top of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. ¹³Take your brother also, and be on your way again to the man; ¹⁴may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, so that he may send back your other brother and Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”

Proverbs 18:16 (New Living Translation)

Giving a gift can open doors;
it gives access to important people!

¹⁵So the men took the present, and they took double the money with them, as well as Benjamin. Then they went on their way down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. ¹⁶When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make ready, for the men are to dine with me at noon.”

Revelation 3:20 (English Standard Version)

Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”

¹⁷The man did as Joseph said, and brought the men to Joseph’s house. ¹⁸Now the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph’s house, and they said, “It is because of the money, replaced in our sacks the first time, that we have been brought in, so that he may have an opportunity to fall upon us, to make slaves of us and take our donkeys.”

Yes!  Yes!  Joseph, the second-most powerful man in Egypt, wants to take their donkeys! — How skewed our outlook can become when all we think about is ourselves! Any “donkeys” in your world recently?

¹⁹So they went up to the steward of Joseph’s house and spoke with him at the entrance to the house. ²⁰They said, “Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food; ²¹and when we came to the lodging place we opened our sacks, and there was each one’s money in the top of his sack, our money in full weight. So we have brought it back with us. ²²Moreover we have brought down with us additional money to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.”

²³He replied, “Rest assured, do not be afraid; your God and the God of your father must have put treasure in your sacks for you; I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

²⁴When the steward had brought the men into Joseph’s house, and given them water, and they had washed their feet, and when he had given their donkeys fodder, ²⁵they made the present ready for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they had heard that they would dine there.

²⁶When Joseph came home, they brought him the present that they had carried into the house, and bowed to the ground before him.

“Joseph and his brothers” a woodcarving by contemporary Canadian artist Robert Whitehead

²⁷He inquired about their welfare, and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”

²⁸They said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads and did obeisance.

²⁹Then he looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me? God be gracious to you, my son!” ³⁰With that, Joseph hurried out, because he was overcome with affection for his brother, and he was about to weep. So he went into a private room and wept there. ³¹Then he washed his face and came out; and controlling himself he said, “Serve the meal.”

Delicious Egyptian food! Clockwise from top: pita bread, baba ghanoush, hummus, falafels with mixed vegetable salad

³²They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. ³³When they were seated before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth, the men looked at one another in amazement. ³⁴Portions were taken to them from Joseph’s table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.

_________________________

Music:

HERE  is a very familiar table grace.  “Be Present at our Table, Lord”  sung by the Purduettes, a women’s choir from Purdue University.

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Buckingham Palace banquet table.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/gen-43-banquet-table.jpg?w=450

Gift basket.  http://www.giftbasketdropshipping.com/members/images/regular/Nuts_Gift_Packs=refresher-course=SKU-GB0244-.jpg

Whitehead.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/joseph_and_brothers-wood1.jpg?w=450

donkeys.   http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2008/04/25/donkeys10d.jpg

Whitehead.   http://www.whiteheadcarvings.com/products.php

Egyptian food.   http://sphinxbazaar.com/images/all-about-egypt/gourmet-egypt/gourmet_egypt_large/pharos-food_large.jpg

1433.) Genesis 42

“Joseph’s Brothers Beg for Help” by Pontormo, 1515 (National Gallery, London)

Genesis 42   (NRSV)

Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt

When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you keep looking at one another?

Why indeed?  Once Dad starts talking about Egypt, the sons start remembering Joseph’s cries as they sent him off as a slave to Egypt years ago.  Assaulted by guilt and fear, they are in bondage to their sin.

²I have heard,” he said, “that there is grain in Egypt; go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.”

³So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. ⁴But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he feared that harm might come to him. ⁵Thus the sons of Israel were among the other people who came to buy grain, for the famine had reached the land of Canaan.

_________________________

Music:

What a difference a day makes!  Certainly the brothers, and Joseph, and Jacob, could hardly have envisioned the upcoming events of the next few days and weeks!  And what a wonderful promise the Lord gives us in Matthew 28:20 — “I am with you always.” We have nothing to fear, since the Lord will lead us into and through each new day.  HERE  is “Lead Me, Lord”  sung by Gary Valenciano.

_________________________

⁶Now Joseph was governor over the land; it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground.

Obviously, this reminded Joseph of the dream he had some 20 years before, that his brothers would bow down to him (Genesis 37:5-8).

When Joseph’s brothers plotted murder against him and sold him into slavery, they did it specifically attempting to defeat his dreams (Genesis 37:19-20). Instead, by sending Joseph to Egypt, they provided the way the dreams would be fulfilled.

The great and glorious truth of God’s providence is He can and does use the evil actions of man towards us to further His good plan. This never excuses man’s evil, but it means God’s wisdom and goodness are greater than man’s evil. Surely the wrath of man shall praise You (Psalm 76:10).

–David Guzik

⁷When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said.

They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”

⁸Although Joseph had recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. ⁹Joseph also remembered the dreams that he had dreamed about them.

He said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land!”

Meaning, you are spying to see if Egypt is vulnerable to attack.

¹⁰They said to him, “No, my lord; your servants have come to buy food. ¹¹We are all sons of one man; we are honest men; your servants have never been spies.”

¹²But he said to them, “No, you have come to see the nakedness of the land!” ¹³They said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of a certain man in the land of Canaan; the youngest, however, is now with our father, and one is no more.”

“We are honest men.”
“One brother is no more.”
They have told these lies to themselves so often that now they almost believe them.

¹⁴But Joseph said to them, “It is just as I have said to you; you are spies! ¹⁵Here is how you shall be tested: as Pharaoh lives, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here! ¹⁶Let one of you go and bring your brother, while the rest of you remain in prison, in order that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you; or else, as Pharaoh lives, surely you are spies.” ¹⁷And he put them all together in prison for three days.

¹⁸On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: ¹⁹if you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here where you are imprisoned. The rest of you shall go and carry grain for the famine of your households, ²⁰and bring your youngest brother to me. Thus your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they agreed to do so.

Yes, three days in prison in Egypt did the trick for the brothers!

²¹They said to one another, “Alas, we are paying the penalty for what we did to our brother; we saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this anguish has come upon us.”

The power of a guilty conscience!  The United States government has something called the Conscience Fund (created in 1811), which collects money people send in because they know they cheated the government in some way.  People have sent in money because they took army blankets for souvenirs or cheated on income tax.  But our consciences are notoriously weak or corrupt.  One man wrote the IRS and said, “I cheated on my taxes and can’t sleep at night. Here is a check for $100. If I still can’t sleep, I’ll send the rest I owe.”

–David Guzik

²²Then Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to wrong the boy? But you would not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.”

“Joseph sold into slavery by his brothers” by Karoly Ferenczy, 1900 (Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)

²³They did not know that Joseph understood them, since he spoke with them through an interpreter. ²⁴He turned away from them and wept; then he returned and spoke to them. And he picked out Simeon and had him bound before their eyes.

²⁵Joseph then gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to return every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. This was done for them.

Joseph’s Brothers Return to Canaan

²⁶They loaded their donkeys with their grain, and departed. ²⁷When one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money at the top of the sack. ²⁸He said to his brothers, “My money has been put back; here it is in my sack!” At this they lost heart and turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”

²⁹When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying, ³⁰“The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us, and charged us with spying on the land. ³¹But we said to him, ‘We are honest men,

Well, I guess that depends on how one defines “honest”!

we are not spies. ³²We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.’

^33″Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, take grain for the famine of your households, and go your way. ³⁴Bring your youngest brother to me, and I shall know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will release your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’“

³⁵As they were emptying their sacks, there in each one’s sack was his bag of money. When they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were dismayed. ³⁶And their father Jacob said to them, “I am the one you have bereaved of children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has happened to me!”

Genesis 42:36 (New International Version)

Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!”

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Act 4, Scene 4.

Hamlet:  “How all occasions do inform against me . . .”

Romans 8:31-32 (New International Version)

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him,  graciously give us all things?

³⁷Then Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”

³⁸But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If harm should come to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.”

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Pontormo.   http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/upload/img/pontormo-josephs-brothers-beg-help-NG6453-fm.jpg

“Joseph’s Dreams.”   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/josephs_dreams1.jpg

guilty conscience.    http://izquotes.com/quotes-pictures/quote-a-guilty-conscience-needs-no-accuser-anonymous-280896.jpg

Ferenczy.   http://www.hung-art.hu/kep/f/ferenc_k/muvek/2/feren212.jpg

1432.) Genesis 41

“Pharaoh’s Dream” fractal art by contemporary American artist Doug Harrington

Genesis 41  (NRSV)

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dream

After two whole years,

The royal butler forgot about Joseph, and Joseph remained  in prison for two more years.  What good was God building into Joseph’s soul during this long wait?  During the times we think God isn’t doing anything, He is doing the work most important to Him: developing our character and transforming us into the image of Jesus Christ.

Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile, ²and there came up out of the Nile seven sleek and fat cows, and they grazed in the reed grass. ³Then seven other cows, ugly and thin, came up out of the Nile after them, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. ⁴The ugly and thin cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. And Pharaoh awoke.

⁵Then he fell asleep and dreamed a second time; seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk. ⁶Then seven ears, thin and blighted by the east wind, sprouted after them. ⁷The thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears. Pharaoh awoke, and it was a dream. ⁸In the morning his spirit was troubled; so he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

⁹Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “I remember my faults today. ¹⁰Once Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard. ¹¹We dreamed on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own meaning. ¹²A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each according to his dream. ¹³As he interpreted to us, so it turned out; I was restored to my office, and the baker was hanged.”

¹⁴Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was hurriedly brought out of the dungeon. When he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh. ¹⁵And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”

¹⁶Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not I; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”

To God be the glory!

cows grazing on the banks of the Nile

¹⁷Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile; ¹⁸and seven cows, fat and sleek, came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass. ¹⁹Then seven other cows came up after them, poor, very ugly, and thin. Never had I seen such ugly ones in all the land of Egypt. ²⁰The thin and ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows, ²¹but when they had eaten them no one would have known that they had done so, for they were still as ugly as before. Then I awoke.

^22″I fell asleep a second time and I saw in my dream seven ears of grain, full and good, growing on one stalk, ²³and seven ears, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprouting after them; ²⁴and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears. But when I told it to the magicians, there was no one who could explain it to me.”

²⁵Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁶The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one. ²⁷The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, as are the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind. They are seven years of famine.

²⁸It is as I told Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁹There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt. ³⁰After them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; the famine will consume the land. ³¹The plenty will no longer be known in the land because of the famine that will follow, for it will be very grievous. ³²And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about.

³³Now therefore let Pharaoh select a man who is discerning and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. ³⁴Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land, and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plenteous years. ³⁵Let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and lay up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. ³⁶That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to befall the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.”

Joseph shows both his boldness and his gift of administration. No responsible leader would present such news without also suggesting a plan to meet the coming crisis.

Joseph’s Rise to Power

³⁷The proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. ³⁸Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find anyone else like this—one in whom is the spirit of God?”

³⁹So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. ⁴⁰You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command; only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”

. . . thus making Joseph the straightest man in the Bible, since Pharaoh made a ruler out of him . . . hahaha . . .

⁴¹And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” ⁴²Removing his signet ring from his hand, Pharaoh put it on Joseph’s hand; he arrayed him in garments of fine linen, and put a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³He had him ride in the chariot of his second-in-command; and they cried out in front of him, “Bow the knee!” Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁴Moreover Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” ⁴⁵Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as his wife. Thus Joseph gained authority over the land of Egypt.

_________________________

Music:

HERE  is “Song of the King (Seven Fat Cows)” from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  If you have not seen this musical, get a copy — it is a lot of fun!

_________________________

Harvest in Egypt, from the tomb of Sennedjem, Thebes, ca. 1200 BC.

⁴⁶Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went through all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁷During the seven plenteous years the earth produced abundantly. ⁴⁸He gathered up all the food of the seven years when there was plenty in the land of Egypt, and stored up food in the cities; he stored up in every city the food from the fields around it. ⁴⁹So Joseph stored up grain in such abundance—like the sand of the sea—that he stopped measuring it; it was beyond measure.

“Grain bins in a spring wheat field” photograph by Dave Reede

⁵⁰Before the years of famine came, Joseph had two sons, whom Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him. ⁵¹Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.” ⁵²The second he named Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortunes.”

From his Egyptian wife, Joseph fathered Manasseh, whose name means “forgetfulness.” This was because God made Joseph to forget all the previous pain and trial in his life. His second son is Ephraim, which means “fruitfulness,” because God made Joseph fruitful in Egypt.

We can’t be doubly fruitful until we are also forgetting. In his book The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis described hell as a place where no one forgets anything, remembering every slight, every cruel exchange of words, every wrong ever done to them, and everybody is utterly unforgiving. But in heaven all these things are put away because all things have become new.

Joseph did not forget the faith of his fathers even though he rose to great glory in Egypt and had an Egyptian wife. As a sign of this, his children were given Hebrew names, not Egyptian names.

–David Guzik

⁵³The seven years of plenty that prevailed in the land of Egypt came to an end; ⁵⁴and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every country, but throughout the land of Egypt there was bread. ⁵⁵When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; what he says to you, do.”

⁵⁶And since the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. ⁵⁷Moreover, all the world came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine became severe throughout the world.

“Joseph, Overseer of the Pharaoh’s Granaries” by Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1874 (Dahesh Museum of Art, New York City)

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Harrington.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/phar-dream-fractaljpg1.jpg?w=450

cows and wheat watercolor.   https://sincetimebegan.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/pharaohs-dream.gif

cows.  http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3275/2600906207_820c4d70b8.jpg?v=0

wheat.   http://www.infiniteunknown.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/wheat-beautiful.jpg

ruler.  http://iruler.net/ruler_0_10.jpg

Egypt harvest.   http://www.ancientegyptmagazine.co.uk/images/41permesut1.jpg

Reede.   http://www.davereedephoto.mb.ca/photoslg/wheat_spring_tiger_hills.jpg

Alma-Tadema.    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Joseph_Overseer_of_the_Pharaohs_Granaries.jpg

1431.) Genesis 40

“Joseph Interprets the Butler’s and Baker’s Dreams in a Prison” by Alexander Ivanov, 1827 (The Russian Museum, St. Petersburg)

Genesis 40   (NRSV)

The Dreams of Two Prisoners

Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord the king of Egypt. ²Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, ³and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined.

The butler was in charge of Pharaoh’s wine.  The baker was in charge of Pharaoh’s food.  They were imprisoned because they offended their lord, the king of Egypt.  It is difficult to tell if it was in a minor or a major way.  Considering how the account will develop, it is probable there was a plot to murder the Pharaoh (perhaps by poisoning).  But we never lose sight of the over-arching reason: whatever external reason they were sent to prison, they were really there to meet Joseph.

–David Guzik

⁴The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he waited on them; and they continued for some time in custody.

from Whispers of His Power,
by Amy Carmichael

Joseph was in prison.  His feet were hurt with fetters, his heart was hurt by injustice and unkindness.  But none of these things prevented him from helping others.

The story that follows shows how full of kindness his service must have been.  Joseph must have done more than his bare duty.  We do not go for sympathy to those who have been cold and uninterested in our affairs.  We avoid them.  The butler and the baker went to Joseph sure of his loving, self-forgetful sympathy.

It makes us think of Another whose feet were hurt, and His hands and His side, and far more His loving heart.  Out of the midst of His pains He thought of others, only of others.

Matthew 27:42:  He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  More and more these words seem to sum up His life on earth.

Lord Jesus, who left us an example that we should follow in Thy steps, help us to follow.  Let us forget self in service.  Give us Thy love that, loving others, loves them to the end.

⁵One night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own meaning. ⁶When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled.

Reflection:

Do I notice when the people I am with are troubled?  Do I ask them about it, and try to help them however I can? Am I willing to put the needs of others above my own?

Galatians 6:2 (NIV)

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

⁷So he asked Pharaoh’s officers, who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?”

⁸They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.”

And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

⁹So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me, ¹⁰and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms came out and the clusters ripened into grapes. ¹¹Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”

¹²Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days; ¹³within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you shall place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer.

In only three days, the cupbearer will know if Joseph was correct or not.

¹⁴But remember me when it is well with you; please do me the kindness to make mention of me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this place. ¹⁵For in fact I was stolen out of the land of the Hebrews; and here also I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon.”

¹⁶When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head, ¹⁷and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.”

¹⁸And Joseph answered, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days; ¹⁹within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you! —and hang you on a pole; and the birds will eat the flesh from you.”

Joseph interprets the butler and baker’s dreams. Domenico Maggiotto,

_________________________

Music:

Kings/Pharaohs and birds —  HERE  The US Navy Chanters perform “Sing a Song of Sixpence” from Five Childhood Lyrics by John Rutter at the 1995 ACDA National Convention in Washington, D.C.

_________________________

²⁰On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his servants, and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. ²¹He restored the chief cupbearer to his cupbearing, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand; ²²but the chief baker he hanged, just as Joseph had interpreted to them.

²³Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

Again Joseph is forgotten.  But hang on, Joe!  There is light at the end of your tunnel, and God is going to rescue you in a way you cannot now begin to imagine!

All people God uses greatly, He first prepares greatly.  Are we willing to endure the greatness of God’s preparation?  God orders both our steps and our stops.

Proverbs 15:33 (New International Version)

The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom,
and humility comes before honor.

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Ivanov.   http://www.abcgallery.com/I/ivanov/ivanov2.html

Joseph dressed in red.    https://sincetimebegan.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/joseph-baker-butler.jpg

Ratner.  http://www.ratnermuseum.com/includes/images/photos/bible/bible-45.jpg

Maggiott.     http://www.realbiblestories.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Maggiotto_Joseph-Interpreting-Dreams-Pharaohs-Butler-And-Baker.jpg

1430.) Genesis 39

“Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife,” by Guido Reni, 1631 (Pushkin Museum, Moscow)

Genesis 39   (NRSV)

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.

Captain of the guard:  The idea behind this title means “chief of police,” or probably more precisely, Potiphar was head of Pharaoh’s “Secret Service,” his personal security force.  He was a highly trusted official in the government of Egypt.

–David Guzik

²The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man; he was in the house of his Egyptian master. ³His master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands. ⁴So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him; he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had.

How easy it is for us to complain to God that He put us in a terrible or difficult place.  Yet God’s will is that we trust Him to bless us and make us successful (as He measures success) wherever we are.  The point is not the comfort and ease of our lives.  The point is our obedience in being conformed to the image of Christ through the circumstances we encounter.  We can be certain that God will be faithful to us in all things.

⁵From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. ⁶So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge; and, with him there, he had no concern for anything but the food that he ate.

Proverbs 14:27 (New International Version)

The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life,
turning a man from the snares of death.

Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking.

Joseph’s appearance is of special note.  The Bible only calls two other men beautiful: David (1 Samuel 16:12) and Absalom (2 Samuel 14:25).

⁷And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.”

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?

⁸But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my hand. ⁹He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

Reflection, a story:

“Rabbi, what can I do to silence the voice of temptation,” asked the man. When the rabbi replied that this voice might never be silenced, the man exclaimed, “But it’s driving me crazy. Is there any advice that can help me overcome it?”

“Ah, overcome it,” mused the rabbi, “Overcoming the voice is not hard at all. There is one magical word and when you say it, the voice is instantly overcome. It doesn’t go away, mind you. It rarely ever does that, but it can be overcome.”

“A magical word that will deliver me from the brink of temptation? Please share it with me,” the man begged.

The rabbi smiled and firmly replied, “No.”

“Why not? Please, I beg you.”

“No,” repeated the Rabbi. Crestfallen, the man turned to leave — when the rabbi softly explained that word “no” was, in fact, the magical word.

–from Countering the Voice of Temptation, by Lazer Gurkow.

¹⁰And although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not consent to lie beside her or to be with her.

“Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife,” by a Christian artist in Thailand, Sawai Chinnawong, 2004.

¹¹One day, however, when he went into the house to do his work, and while no one else was in the house, ¹²she caught hold of his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.

“Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife” by contemporary New York artist Richard McBee.

Hebrews 13:4 (English Standard Version)

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

_________________________

Music:

“Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin;
Each vict’ry will help you some other to win;
Fight manfully onward; dark passions subdue;
Look ever to Jesus, He’ll carry you through.”

This song was written by Horation R. Palmer in 1868.  HERE  it is sung by Ramona Campbell.

_________________________

“Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife” by Bartolome Esteban Murillo, around 1665

¹³When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, ¹⁴she called out to the members of her household and said to them, “See, my husband has brought among us a Hebrew to insult us! He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice; ¹⁵and when he heard me raise my voice and cry out, he left his garment beside me, and fled outside.” ¹⁶Then she kept his garment by her until his master came home, ¹⁷and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to insult me; ¹⁸but as soon as I raised my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me, and fled outside.”

¹⁹When his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, saying, “This is the way your servant treated me,” he became enraged. ²⁰And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; he remained there in prison.

Potiphar went easy on Joseph because he suspected his wife’s role in the matter.  The anger aroused may have not been directed towards Joseph, but against the wife for manipulating him into a situation where, to save face, he had to dismiss the man who made the whole household run well.

–David Guzik

²¹But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; he gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. ²²The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s care all the prisoners who were in the prison, and whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. ²³The chief jailer paid no heed to anything that was in Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.

The dominating theme is that Joseph succeeded because of the blessing of God:

• The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man (Genesis 39:2)
• His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand (Genesis 39:3)
• The Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had (Genesis 39:5)
• But the Lord was with Joseph (Genesis 39:21)
• The Lord was with him (Genesis 39:23)

Romans 6:15-18 (New Living Translation)

Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.  Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you.  Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.

_________________________

Book:

Bruce Feiler: Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land through the Five Books of Moses (Book II, Chapter 1 “On the Banks of the Nile”).

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Reni.  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Joseph_and_Potiphar%27s_Wife.jpg/506px-Joseph_and_Potiphar%27s_Wife.jpg

Voulez-vous.   http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g72/stolen1985/sleeping.jpg

Chinnawong.  http://www.omsc.org/art-at-omsc/sawai/joseph-potiphar-thumb.jpg

McBee.   http://www.fadingad.com/potifar.jpg

Murillo.    http://www.artble.com/imgs/c/8/4/527124/joseph_and_potiphar_s_wife.jpg

1429.) Genesis 38

“Tamar and Judah” — a spicy interpretation by Emile Jean-Horace Vernet (1789-1863)

Genesis 38   (NRSV)

Judah and Tamar

It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and settled near a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah. ²There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua; he married her and went in to her. ³She conceived and bore a son; and he named him Er. ⁴Again she conceived and bore a son whom she named Onan. ⁵Yet again she bore a son, and she named him Shelah. She was in Chezib when she bore him.

It isn’t hard to see the sons of Israel rapidly and willingly being corrupted by their Canaanite neighbors, and what the future will bring if they continued in that land. God had a plan to bring them out . . .

⁶Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar. ⁷But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death.

⁸Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her; raise up offspring for your brother.”

Matthew 22:24 (New International Version)

“Teacher,” the Sadducees said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him.”

This was done so the dead brother’s name would be carried on. But also it was so the widow would have children to support her. Apart from this, she would likely live the rest of her life in destitution.

⁹But since Onan knew that the offspring would not be his, he spilled his semen on the ground whenever he went in to his brother’s wife, so that he would not give offspring to his brother. ¹⁰What he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also.

Onan refused to take this responsibility seriously. He was more than happy to use Tamar for his sexual gratification, but he did not want to give Tamar a son he would have to support but would be considered to be the son of his brother Er.

¹¹Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Remain a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up” —for he feared that he too would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went to live in her father’s house.

One can understand Judah’s hesitancy to give his last son as a husband to Tamar.  He may have wondered — Was she the cause of the death of his sons?

¹²In course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died; when Judah’s time of mourning was over, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

¹³When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” ¹⁴she put off her widow’s garments, put on a veil, wrapped herself up, and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. She saw that Shelah was grown up, yet she had not been given to him in marriage.

Tamar didn’t have the option of just finding another man to marry. She was under the headship of her father-in-law Judah, and he had to give her a husband. He determined whom and when she could marry.

“Tamar, Judah’s Daughter-in-law” by Marc Chagall, 1958

¹⁵When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a prostitute, for she had covered her face. ¹⁶He went over to her at the road side, and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.

She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”

¹⁷He answered, “I will send you a kid from the flock.”

And she said, “Only if you give me a pledge, until you send it.”

¹⁸He said, “What pledge shall I give you?”

She replied, “Your signet and your cord, and the staff that is in your hand.”

“Judah and Tamar” School of Rembrandt, ca. 1650-60 (Residenzgalerie Salzburg)

So he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him. ¹⁹Then she got up and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.

²⁰When Judah sent the kid by his friend the Adullamite, to recover the pledge from the woman, he could not find her. ²¹He asked the townspeople, “Where is the temple prostitute who was at Enaim by the wayside?”

But they said, “No prostitute has been here.”

²²So he returned to Judah, and said, “I have not found her; moreover the townspeople said, ‘No prostitute has been here.’“

²³Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, otherwise we will be laughed at; you see, I sent this kid, and you could not find her.”

We see how carefully and shrewdly Tamar planned this.  Now she has proof of Judah’s actions in the signet, cord, and staff, proof that Judah will be unable to deny.

²⁴About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the whore; moreover she is pregnant as a result of whoredom.”

And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.”

²⁵As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “It was the owner of these who made me pregnant.” And she said, “Take note, please, whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.”

²⁶Then Judah acknowledged them and said, “She is more in the right than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not lie with her again.

Judah acknowledges his guilt in not taking proper care of his daughter-in-law, and in sleeping with her.

²⁷When the time of her delivery came, there were twins in her womb. ²⁸While she was in labor, one put out a hand; and the midwife took and bound on his hand a crimson thread, saying, “This one came out first.” ²⁹But just then he drew back his hand, and out came his brother; and she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore he was named Perez. ³⁰Afterward his brother came out with the crimson thread on his hand; and he was named Zerah.

Matthew 1:1-3 (New International Version)

The Genealogy of Jesus

A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar . . .

A veiled Tunisian woman, photograph by Matthias Stolt

TAMAR
by Joyce Carr Stedelbauer

I, Tamar, am not proud of what I have done,
you must understand … not proud of what I have done.
A desperate situation and I was justified.
You ladies alone today have other options –
savings – jobs – an acceptable place in society.
I was an outcast, a foreigner, twice widowed.
My father-in-law, Judah, son of Leah and Jacob,
reluctantly promised his youngest son
to care for me, as Hebrew law provided.
Judah reneged on his word – marriage or care,
would have let his son’s memory die with no heir.
I had no other choice.

Drying tears, I painted my eyes with kohl,
my mouth red with berry juice,
plaited ribbons in my hair,
humbling myself to sit near the city gate
with other ladies of the night.
It was degrading, a miserable experience,
I prayed as I waited ….
Judah came along as if he owned the road.
Smiling shyly at him – he turned –
hesitated but a moment –
came back to me.

Armed with the law of protection,
I demanded his ring before he took me.
Some months later he denied my claim
until I held out the dishonored ring.
Judah crumbled like a clod of dirt on the road.
Somehow out of His infinite goodness
God allowed me to birth twins sons
from the house of Judah, Messiah’s branch,
and the rest is His Story.

_________________________

Music:

We read the strange story of Tamar and Judah remembering that God loves us not because of what we do — but because of who He is.  It’s all grace.  HERE  is “Grace”  sung by Michael W. Smith.

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Vernet.  http://www.womeninthebible.net/images/1.9B-2_TAMAR_Tamar_and_Judah_Horace_Vernet.jpg

Chagall.  http://www.davidsongalleries.com/artists/chagall/chagall-22475_tamar.jpg

Rembrant school.  http://www.residenzgalerie.at/uploads/tx_csimageexplorer/0570_Rembrandtschule.A5Augeheller_01.jpg

veiled woman.    http://www.womeninthebible.net/VeiledTunisianWoman1.JPG

1428.) Genesis 37

Genesis 37  (NRSV)

Joseph Dreams of Greatness

Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan. ²This is the story of the family of Jacob.

Here begins one of the remarkable life stories of the Bible and all literature.   James Montgomery Boice has written:  “He was loved and hated, favored and abused, tempted and trusted, exalted and abased. Yet at no point in the one-hundred-and-ten-year life of Joseph did he ever seem to get his eyes off God or cease to trust him. Adversity did not harden his character. Prosperity did not ruin him. He was the same in private as in public. He was a truly great man.”

–David Guzik

“Joseph and His Coat of Many Colors” by Suzanne Tornquist

Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. ³Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age;

Jacob’s parents played favorites with their two boys, and now Jacob plays favorites with his sons.  Neither family functions happily as a result.

and he had made him a long robe with sleeves.

I have read that the Hebrew phrase here translates as “tunic of many colors” but means a long-sleeved robe.  Such a robe indicated a life of privilege and status.  A working man could not function in such a garment.

⁴But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.

“Yosef” by Israeli artist Orna Ben-Shoshan, 2003

⁵Once Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. ⁶He said to them, “Listen to this dream that I dreamed. ⁷There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright; then your sheaves gathered around it, and bowed down to my sheaf.”

⁸His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Are you indeed to have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more because of his dreams and his words.

⁹He had another dream, and told it to his brothers, saying, “Look, I have had another dream: the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

“Joseph’s Dreams” by contemporary Floridian artist Susan Govatos

¹⁰But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him, and said to him, “What kind of dream is this that you have had? Shall we indeed come, I and your mother and your brothers, and bow to the ground before you?” ¹¹So his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

Luke 2:51 (New Living Translation)

Then Jesus returned to Nazareth with his parents and was obedient to them. And his mother stored all these things in her heart.

Joseph Is Sold by His Brothers

¹²Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. ¹³And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” He answered, “Here I am.” ¹⁴So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron.

He came to Shechem, ¹⁵and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” ¹⁶“I am seeking my brothers,” he said; “tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” ¹⁷The man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’“

So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. ¹⁸They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. ¹⁹They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. ²⁰Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits (a dry cistern); then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.”

²¹But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” ²²Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him” —that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father.

“Joseph is Sold by his Brothers” by Raphael, 1518 (The Vatican)

²³So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; ²⁴and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

²⁵Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. ²⁶Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? ²⁷Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers agreed.

“Joseph is sold by his brothers” by Friedrich Overbeck, 1816 (Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin)

²⁸When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver.

Matthew 26:14-15 (New Living Translation)

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests  and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver.

And they took Joseph to Egypt.  ²⁹When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes. ³⁰He returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy is gone; and I, where can I turn?”

³¹Then they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood. ³²They had the long robe with sleeves taken to their father, and they said, “This we have found; see now whether it is your son’s robe or not.”

A heartless way to bring the news and an unconscionable lie.  Yet one cannot deny the poetic justice here.  Jacob, who had once deceived his own father, is now deceived by his sons.

Art:

“Joseph’s Bloody Coat Brought to Jacob”  by Velazquez Diego, 1630, now in Monasterio de San Lorenzo, El Escorial, Spain.  Click  HERE.

³³He recognized it, and said, “It is my son’s robe! A wild animal has devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” ³⁴Then Jacob tore his garments, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many days. ³⁵All his sons and all his daughters sought to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father bewailed him.

³⁶Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.

Egypt was a large and thriving kingdom for at least a thousand years before Joseph came. The Egyptians were wealthy and had massive natural resources. They were educated and had no real enemies at the time. When Joseph came to Egypt, some of the pyramids already looked old and the Sphinx was already carved. But in God’s eyes, the most impressive thing about Egypt was that Joseph was now there.

–David Guzik

_________________________

Music:

HERE  is “Coat of Many Colors,” written and sung by Dolly Parton; how a Bible story helped her through a difficult time in her childhood.

on DVD:

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. With Donny Osmond, Maria Friedman. 1999.

Joseph. Starring Ben Kingsley, Paul Mercurio.  1995.

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

drawing of Joseph’s colorful coat.  http://www.holytrinityglencraig.org/Images/Joseph.gif

Tornquist.    http://suzannetornquist.com/wp-content/gallery/spirituality/joseph-sm1.jpg

Ben-Shoshan.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/gen-37-ben-yosef.jpg?w=450

Govatos.  http://susangovatos.com/websites/SusanGovatos/works/7836_195035m.jpg

Raphael.  https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/josephsold.jpg?w=450&h=326

Overbeck.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Friedrich_Overbeck_003.jpg

Sphinx and pyramid.   http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Giza_Plateau_-_Great_Sphinx_with_Pyramid_of_Khafre_in_background.JPG

1427.) Genesis 36

Esau of stew-for-birthright fame.

Genesis 36   (NRSV)

Esau’s Descendants

This chapter testifies to the fertility, prosperity, and political power that Easu and his descendants find in their homeland of Edom.

–Linda B. Hinton

These are the descendants of Esau (that is, Edom). ²Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah daughter of Anah son of Zibeon the Hivite, ³and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebaioth. ⁴Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau; Basemath bore Reuel; ⁵and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.

⁶Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his cattle, all his livestock, and all the property he had acquired in the land of Canaan; and he moved to a land some distance from his brother Jacob. ⁷For their possessions were too great for them to live together; the land where they were staying could not support them because of their livestock. ⁸So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir; Esau is Edom.

Hebrews 12:14-17 (New International Version)

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.

⁹These are the descendants of Esau, ancestor of the Edomites, in the hill country of Seir. ¹⁰These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz son of Adah the wife of Esau; Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath. ¹¹The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. ¹²(Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.) These were the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife. ¹³These were the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons of Esau’s wife, Basemath. ¹⁴These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah son of Zibeon: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

Edom is shown in bright red. The darker red shows the area of Idumea, from Jesus’ time.

Clans and Kings of Edom

Edom and the Edomites are mentioned some 130 times in the Bible. They were an important group of “neighbors” to Israel.

• When the Israelites came through the wilderness to the Promised Land in the time of Moses, the Edomites refused them passage through their land (Numbers 20:21). This was a source of great discouragement for the nation (Numbers 21:4).
• Even so, God commanded special regard for the Edomites among Israel: You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother(Deuteronomy 23:7).
• In the days of Saul, Edom was made subject to Israel (1 Samuel 14:47), and David established garrisons there (2 Samuel 8:14). But later, in the days of Joram, the son of Ahab, the Edomites became independent of Israel (2 Kings 8:16-22).
• Several of the prophets spoke about and against Edom, including Jeremiah (Jeremiah 49:17-18) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 25:12-14).
• Herod the Great — the one who tried to kill the young child Jesus — was an Edomite.  From the time Islam conquered the Middle East, the region has been virtually unoccupied, except for a few Bedouins and military outposts. It had been brought to nothing, as Obadiah had prophesied (the entire book of Obadiah records an extended prophecy against Edom).

–David Guzik

¹⁵These are the clans of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: the clans Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, ¹⁶Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the clans of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; they are the sons of Adah. ¹⁷These are the sons of Esau’s son Reuel: the clans Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the clans of Reuel in the land of Edom; they are the sons of Esau’s wife Basemath. ¹⁸These are the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: the clans Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the clans born of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. ¹⁹These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their clans.

²⁰These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ²¹Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the clans of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. ²²The sons of Lotan were Hori and Heman; and Lotan’s sister was Timna. ²³These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. ²⁴These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the springs in the wilderness, as he pastured the donkeys of his father Zibeon. ²⁵These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah. ²⁶These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. ²⁷These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. ²⁸These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. ²⁹These are the clans of the Horites: the clans Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ³⁰Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the clans of the Horites, clan by clan in the land of Seir.

³¹These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites. ³²Bela son of Beor reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah. ³³Bela died, and Jobab son of Zerah of Bozrah succeeded him as king. ³⁴Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king. ³⁵Husham died, and Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, succeeded him as king, the name of his city being Avith. ³⁶Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah succeeded him as king. ³⁷Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates succeeded him as king. ³⁸Shaul died, and Baal-hanan son of Achbor succeeded him as king. ³⁹Baal-hanan son of Achbor died, and Hadar succeeded him as king, the name of his city being Pau; his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Me-zahab.

⁴⁰These are the names of the clans of Esau, according to their families and their localities by their names: the clans Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, ⁴¹Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, ⁴²Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, ⁴³Magdiel, and Iram; these are the clans of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of Edom), according to their settlements in the land that they held.

Romans 9:13 (New International Version)

Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

Today’s passage is in Genesis 36, covering the generations of Esau’s children.  I continue to be focused on understanding what G-D means when He says, “Esau have I hated” as I listen to this passage.  Let’s see: 

• Esau fathered numerous sons with his three wives (and we can safely assume that there were numerous daughters among his progeny, as well; daughters who are not mentioned because they did no remarkable acts that would cause them to be remembered specially AND because, in that culture, they would have been counted in the families of their husbands estates when they married out of their father’s household).
• He is forced to move away from his brother (Israel), not because of smoldering resentments or family feuds, but simply because the land cannot support all of the people and livestock produced by the brothers.  Sounds like a good problem to me!
• His sons and grandsons became kings and leaders of clans.  They built cities and developed territories — the local equivalent of nations in their time.
• It seems they didn’t know the God of their great ancestors (Abraham and Isaac), or if they did, they turned away from that faith.  Again, I note that we are never told that G-D ever spoke with Esau.  The lands that they settled and developed were the highly productive lands of Canaan, which Israel’s descendants would later come to take by force, despising the pagan practices of their distant kin in that place and acting upon the direction they received by special revelation without ever questioning the logic or rightness of their actions.

This thing that the Bible describes as hatred looks like something completely different from what we think of as humans when we use the same word.  We think about punishment when we use the word hatred.  It’s not clear to me that G-D meant any such thing when He chose the word.

To an astounding degree, we humans continue to be guilty of the sin of Esau, just the same as the descendants of Israel were when they entered the land beyond the Jordan in the lust of conquest.  We are more intent upon satisfying our appetites and needs than we are on preserving the peace and well-being of the whole family of humankind.  We will sell off our future and all of the incumbent responsibilities/privileges in order to enjoy the satisfaction of our present impulse.

Strangely or not, every problem that plagues our 21st century world can really be traced back to this same type of offense at its root. 

Only Jesus found a different way to deal with human need and impulse.  He didn’t take, He didn’t clamor, He didn’t assert His rights, He simply trusted Abba God to make things come out right.  Granted, I believe He knew His calling and God’s plan when He took His stand, but there He stood.  And even in that knowing, I find guidance.  If I am not equally assured of the unshakable commitment of Abba God in my choice, then I want to exercise discretion until that comes. 

I can’t find another authentically altruistic model anywhere, however much I watch for one.

–Cat Bismuth

_________________________

Music:

Are we not “Lost in Wonder”  by all of what Jesus has done for us?  This song is by Martyn Layzell, a Curate at Holy Trinity Brompton, an Anglican Church in Central London.  HERE  is an encouragement to make the choice every day to follow Christ!

_________________________

 

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Esau and the stew pot.    http://dailycat.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/artworkesau3.jpg

map.    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Edom.PNG/200px-Edom.PNG

1426.) Genesis 35

Genesis 35   (NRSV)

Jacob Returns to Bethel

God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”

After the horrible episode in Shechem, God calls Jacob to return to Him.  God tells Jacob to build an altar, to turn away from his own way (or his children’s ways) to God’s way.

²So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your clothes; ³then come, let us go up to Bethel, that I may make an altar there to the God who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”

After Jacob makes the decision to purify himself and return to God’s will, he tells his family to do the same.  We remember that Rachel had stolen Laban’s gods; did the poor example of the mother influence the household for wrong-doing?

⁴So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak that was near Shechem. ⁵As they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities all around them, so that no one pursued them.

Oh, the joy and the freedom of knowing that, by the gift of grace, you are right with God!

⁶Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him, ⁷and there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because it was there that God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother.

⁸And Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak below Bethel. So it was called Allon-bacuth.

Deborah must have been dearly loved.  The name means “Oak of Weeping.”

⁹God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and he blessed him. ¹⁰God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall you be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he was called Israel. ¹¹God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall spring from you. ¹²The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.” ¹³Then God went up from him at the place where he had spoken with him.

¹⁴Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured out a drink offering on it, and poured oil on it. ¹⁵So Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

So Jacob returns to God.  He repents and worships God.  God blesses him, reminding him of the promise given to Jacob’s grandfather Abraham and repeated to Jacob’s father Isaac.  The offering shows Jacob’s gratitude for God’s lovingkindness.

Reflection:

Where have you been when God has spoken to you?

What have you done to commemorate it, and to worship?

_________________________

Music:

Sometimes I get happy just thinking about worshiping with all the saints in heaven — with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob!  And my mother and father!  And Jesus there!  HERE  is “Here I Am to Worship.”

_________________________

The Birth of Benjamin and the Death of Rachel

“Birth of Benjamin and death of Rachel” (The Vatican, Sala dei Patriarchi)

¹⁶Then they journeyed from Bethel; and when they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel was in childbirth, and she had hard labor. ¹⁷When she was in her hard labor, the midwife said to her, “Do not be afraid; for now you will have another son.” ¹⁸As her soul was departing (for she died), she named him Ben-oni (“son of my sorrow); but his father called him Benjamin (“son of my right hand”).

The right side was associated with greater strength and honor, because most people are right handed. Benjamin therefore has the idea of “son of my strength” or “son of my honor.”

The idea is expressed in passages like Exodus 15:6: Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces.

The Lord is our strength and honor, as in Psalm 16:8: I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

God’s strength and honor are for us: My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me. (Psalm 63:8) Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me (Psalm 138:7).

Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, the position of strength and honor, and we sit there with Him! If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1).

–David Guzik

¹⁹So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), ²⁰and Jacob set up a pillar at her grave; it is the pillar of Rachel’s tomb, which is there to this day.

Rachel’s Tomb, photograph from the 1860’s

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 (King James Version)

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die.

Rachel’s Tomb, current photo.

²¹Israel journeyed on, and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. ²²While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard of it.

Reuben commits adultery with Bilhah.  This is not just an act of passion, but is an attempt by Reuben to gain power over Jacob or to take his father’s place as head of the family.  Through their sin, Reuben, Simeon, and Levi have “disqualified” themselves from the high calling of Abraham’s blessing. It will be up to the fourth son, Judah, to bring forth the Messiah.

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.²³The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob’s firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

²⁴The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

²⁵The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid: Dan and Naphtali.

²⁶The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maid: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

The Death of Isaac

²⁷Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had resided as aliens. ²⁸Now the days of Isaac were one hundred eighty years. ²⁹And Isaac breathed his last; he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days; and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

The reconciliation earlier had long-lasting and positive effects.  Here the two sons do the right thing together for their father.

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

Here I am to worship.    http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/289/5/e/here_i_am_to_worship_by_loveisarevolution-d30wrxx.jpg

Vatican frescoes.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/birthbenjamin_5.jpg?w=450

right hand print.   http://www.clker.com/cliparts/c/5/1/6/1194984651288787994right_hand_print_benji_p_01.svg.med.png

Rachel’s Tomb, old.    http://www.zionism-israel.com/dic/Rachel_Tomb.jpg

Rachel’s Tomb, now.    http://www.rachelstomb.org/fortress1.jpg