You Will Be...

Genesis 49:1-33, New Living Translation (NLT)

Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons
49 Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, “Gather around me, and I will tell you what will happen to each of you in the days to come.

2 “Come and listen, you sons of Jacob;
    listen to Israel, your father.
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength,
    the child of my vigorous youth.
    You are first in rank and first in power.
4 But you are as unruly as a flood,
    and you will be first no longer.
For you went to bed with my wife;
    you defiled my marriage couch.
5 “Simeon and Levi are two of a kind;
    their weapons are instruments of violence.
6 May I never join in their meetings;
    may I never be a party to their plans.
For in their anger they murdered men,
    and they crippled oxen just for sport.
7 A curse on their anger, for it is fierce;
    a curse on their wrath, for it is cruel.
I will scatter them among the descendants of Jacob;
    I will disperse them throughout Israel.
8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you.
    You will grasp your enemies by the neck.
    All your relatives will bow before you.
9 Judah, my son, is a young lion
    that has finished eating its prey.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down;
    like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
    nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants,[a]
until the coming of the one to whom it belongs,[b]
    the one whom all nations will honor.
11 He ties his foal to a grapevine,
    the colt of his donkey to a choice vine.
He washes his clothes in wine,
    his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
    and his teeth are whiter than milk.
13 “Zebulun will settle by the seashore
    and will be a harbor for ships;
    his borders will extend to Sidon.
14 “Issachar is a sturdy donkey,
    resting between two saddlepacks.[c]
15 When he sees how good the countryside is
    and how pleasant the land,
he will bend his shoulder to the load
    and submit himself to hard labor.
16 “Dan will govern his people,
    like any other tribe in Israel.
17 Dan will be a snake beside the road,
    a poisonous viper along the path
that bites the horse’s hooves
    so its rider is thrown off.
18 I trust in you for salvation, O Lord!
19 “Gad will be attacked by marauding bands,
    but he will attack them when they retreat.
20 “Asher will dine on rich foods
    and produce food fit for kings.
21 “Naphtali is a doe set free
    that bears beautiful fawns.
22 “Joseph is the foal of a wild donkey,
    the foal of a wild donkey at a spring—
    one of the wild donkeys on the ridge.[d]
23 Archers attacked him savagely;
    they shot at him and harassed him.
24 But his bow remained taut,
    and his arms were strengthened
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
    by the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.
25 May the God of your father help you;
    may the Almighty bless you
with the blessings of the heavens above,
    and blessings of the watery depths below,
    and blessings of the breasts and womb.
26 May my fatherly blessings on you
    surpass the blessings of my ancestors,[e]
    reaching to the heights of the eternal hills.
May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph,
    who is a prince among his brothers.
27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,
    devouring his enemies in the morning
    and dividing his plunder in the evening.”
28 These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he told his sons good-bye. He blessed each one with an appropriate message.

Jacob’s Death and Burial
29 Then Jacob instructed them, “Soon I will die and join my ancestors. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. 30 This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a permanent burial site. 31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. And there I buried Leah. 32 It is the plot of land and the cave that my grandfather Abraham bought from the Hittites.”

33 When Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his ancestors in death.

Footnotes:

49:10a Hebrew from between his feet.
49:10b Or until tribute is brought to him and the peoples obey; traditionally rendered until Shiloh comes.
49:14 Or sheepfolds, or hearths.
49:22 Or Joseph is a fruitful tree, / a fruitful tree beside a spring. / His branches reach over the wall. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
49:26 Or of the ancient mountains.

As hard as some of the blessings are to hear (not what some may consider a blessing), what a beautiful act of a father to his sons. Could you imagine if every man, and every woman, before passing from this life to the next, called their sons or daughters in, laid hands on them, and blessed them? Those words would remain in their hearts for life. They would carry such weight. They would be repeated over and again in their minds as they lay in their beds at night, under the stars. They would wake each morning, hearing them replay again, and again, with each new day.  They would sink deep within their souls... and settle there.

So maybe the better question is this: In what ways do we bless our children and what words do they hold long after our departure? 

Finally!

Genesis 45:1-28, New Living Translation (NLT)

Joseph Reveals His Identity
45 Joseph could stand it no longer. There were many people in the room, and he said to his attendants, “Out, all of you!” So he was alone with his brothers when he told them who he was. 2 Then he broke down and wept. He wept so loudly the Egyptians could hear him, and word of it quickly carried to Pharaoh’s palace.

3 “I am Joseph!” he said to his brothers. “Is my father still alive?” But his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them. 4 “Please, come closer,” he said to them. So they came closer. And he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. 5 But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. 6 This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors.[a] 8 So it was God who sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser[b] to Pharaoh—the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt.

9 “Now hurry back to my father and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me master over all the land of Egypt. So come down to me immediately! 10 You can live in the region of Goshen, where you can be near me with all your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything you own. 11 I will take care of you there, for there are still five years of famine ahead of us. Otherwise you, your household, and all your animals will starve.’”

12 Then Joseph added, “Look! You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that I really am Joseph! 13 Go tell my father of my honored position here in Egypt. Describe for him everything you have seen, and then bring my father here quickly.” 14 Weeping with joy, he embraced Benjamin, and Benjamin did the same. 15 Then Joseph kissed each of his brothers and wept over them, and after that they began talking freely with him.

Pharaoh Invites Jacob to Egypt
16 The news soon reached Pharaoh’s palace: “Joseph’s brothers have arrived!” Pharaoh and his officials were all delighted to hear this.

17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘This is what you must do: Load your pack animals, and hurry back to the land of Canaan. 18 Then get your father and all of your families, and return here to me. I will give you the very best land in Egypt, and you will eat from the best that the land produces.’”

19 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Take wagons from the land of Egypt to carry your little children and your wives, and bring your father here. 20 Don’t worry about your personal belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

21 So the sons of Jacob[c] did as they were told. Joseph provided them with wagons, as Pharaoh had commanded, and he gave them supplies for the journey. 22 And he gave each of them new clothes—but to Benjamin he gave five changes of clothes and 300 pieces[d] of silver. 23 He also sent his father ten male donkeys loaded with the finest products of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other supplies he would need on his journey.

24 So Joseph sent his brothers off, and as they left, he called after them, “Don’t quarrel about all this along the way!” 25 And they left Egypt and returned to their father, Jacob, in the land of Canaan.

26 “Joseph is still alive!” they told him. “And he is governor of all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned at the news—he couldn’t believe it. 27 But when they repeated to Jacob everything Joseph had told them, and when he saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him, their father’s spirits revived.

28 Then Jacob exclaimed, “It must be true! My son Joseph is alive! I must go and see him before I die.”

Footnotes:

45:7 Or and to save you with an extraordinary rescue. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
45:8 Hebrew a father.
45:21 Hebrew Israel; also in 45:28. See note on 35:21.
45:22 Hebrew 300 [shekels], about 7.5 pounds or 3.4 kilograms in weight.

Finally! 

I thought we'd never get here! It's not that I wanted to shorten the story, I just wanted the anguish of both Joseph's brothers and his father to end.  I guess we rarely understand the need for prolonged agony, so we wish we could take a few frames out of not only biblical stories, but the stories of our own lives.

It amazes me that there is nothing about the brothers' response to Joseph's reveal. Are they simply so happy he is alive that there is no anger at his deceit? Or were they so angry with themselves for all the calamity they had brought on themselves, their father, and their families that they totally understood where Joseph was coming from?

I also wonder if the conversation ever came up again of the original dream that got them all so miffed to begin with? I can imagine them all sitting around an elegantly set table, eating that terrific new food they're going to be eating in Egypt, and it finally hits them.  One of them stops gnawing on an oversized turkey leg long enough to mutter "Hey! Remember his dream? Remember Joseph's dream? The one about us all bowing down to his authority? The one that made us all so mad? What nerve he had! .... "

"Hahaha... "

"But look what our God has done! It was through that dream that Joseph was able to see God's purpose for his life. It was through that dream that God prepared the way for Joseph to be in charge of all of Pharaoh's crops and businesses and belongings.  It was through that dream that we, our wives, and children are being fed right now!"  

And with that, all the brothers begin to chuckle again, between tearing chunks of meat off of bones and sipping the best of wines... And Jacob simply watched over it all, thankful that all his sons are back in his care once again.    

God Even Uses Us

Genesis 44:1-34New Living Translation (NLT)

Joseph’s Silver Cup
44 When his brothers were ready to leave, Joseph gave these instructions to his palace manager: “Fill each of their sacks with as much grain as they can carry, and put each man’s money back into his sack. 2 Then put my personal silver cup at the top of the youngest brother’s sack, along with the money for his grain.” So the manager did as Joseph instructed him.

3 The brothers were up at dawn and were sent on their journey with their loaded donkeys. 4 But when they had gone only a short distance and were barely out of the city, Joseph said to his palace manager, “Chase after them and stop them. When you catch up with them, ask them, ‘Why have you repaid my kindness with such evil? 5 Why have you stolen my master’s silver cup,[a] which he uses to predict the future? What a wicked thing you have done!’”

6 When the palace manager caught up with the men, he spoke to them as he had been instructed.

7 “What are you talking about?” the brothers responded. “We are your servants and would never do such a thing! 8 Didn’t we return the money we found in our sacks? We brought it back all the way from the land of Canaan. Why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? 9 If you find his cup with any one of us, let that man die. And all the rest of us, my lord, will be your slaves.”

10 “That’s fair,” the man replied. “But only the one who stole the cup will be my slave. The rest of you may go free.”

11 They all quickly took their sacks from the backs of their donkeys and opened them. 12 The palace manager searched the brothers’ sacks, from the oldest to the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack! 13 When the brothers saw this, they tore their clothing in despair. Then they loaded their donkeys again and returned to the city.

14 Joseph was still in his palace when Judah and his brothers arrived, and they fell to the ground before him. 15 “What have you done?” Joseph demanded. “Don’t you know that a man like me can predict the future?”

16 Judah answered, “Oh, my lord, what can we say to you? How can we explain this? How can we prove our innocence? God is punishing us for our sins. My lord, we have all returned to be your slaves—all of us, not just our brother who had your cup in his sack.”

17 “No,” Joseph said. “I would never do such a thing! Only the man who stole the cup will be my slave. The rest of you may go back to your father in peace.”

Judah Speaks for His Brothers
18 Then Judah stepped forward and said, “Please, my lord, let your servant say just one word to you. Please, do not be angry with me, even though you are as powerful as Pharaoh himself.

19 “My lord, previously you asked us, your servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 20 And we responded, ‘Yes, my lord, we have a father who is an old man, and his youngest son is a child of his old age. His full brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him very much.’

21 “And you said to us, ‘Bring him here so I can see him with my own eyes.’ 22 But we said to you, ‘My lord, the boy cannot leave his father, for his father would die.’ 23 But you told us, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes with you, you will never see my face again.’

24 “So we returned to your servant, our father, and told him what you had said. 25 Later, when he said, ‘Go back again and buy us more food,’ 26 we replied, ‘We can’t go unless you let our youngest brother go with us. We’ll never get to see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’

27 “Then my father said to us, ‘As you know, my wife had two sons, 28 and one of them went away and never returned. Doubtless he was torn to pieces by some wild animal. I have never seen him since. 29 Now if you take his brother away from me, and any harm comes to him, you will send this grieving, white-haired man to his grave.[b]’

30 “And now, my lord, I cannot go back to my father without the boy. Our father’s life is bound up in the boy’s life. 31 If he sees that the boy is not with us, our father will die. We, your servants, will indeed be responsible for sending that grieving, white-haired man to his grave. 32 My lord, I guaranteed to my father that I would take care of the boy. I told him, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, I will bear the blame forever.’

33 “So please, my lord, let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. 34 For how can I return to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see the anguish this would cause my father!”

Footnotes:
44:5 As in Greek version; Hebrew lacks this phrase.
44:29 Hebrew to Sheol; also in 44:31.

Do you ever wonder how God can use any of us? Here you have someone like Joseph. At first, he is sold into slavery by his brothers and we side with Joseph. "Mean ole' brothers!"  Then he is tossed into jail because of a lustful wife of another. "Selfish ole' married woman!"  But soon, it gets harder and harder to feel any sympathy for this man who is swindling his brothers, not to mention his father, over and again.  

At what point is enough? I asked this same question with yesterday's text. Too many times in this life I think we harbor such anger or pain at what someone else has done to us, that we play these games of deceit and revenge. Each time, it seems we are willing to go a step further, and then another.  I wonder if the reason we continue to the next is because not one of them releases the pain, as we thought it might. So we take another step, and another, none of which are healing the brokenness.  In fact, I wonder if it simply feeds it all, giving it more attention than it originally warranted. 

When Joseph's brothers arrived the first time for food, why didn't Joseph reveal his identity to them then? Why didn't he bless them with forgiveness and kindness? Why didn't he return the boys to his father with nothing but good news, "We have plenty of grain father, plus your beloved son is not dead! He is alive! It was he that blessed us with this food!"  

I'll never understand how God uses such self-centered, it's-all-about-me people... but God does.  He even uses us. 

Is My Father Alive?

Genesis 43:1-34, New Living Translation (NLT)

The Brothers Return to Egypt
43 But the famine continued to ravage the land of Canaan. 2 When the grain they had brought from Egypt was almost gone, Jacob said to his sons, “Go back and buy us a little more food.”

3 But Judah said, “The man was serious when he warned us, ‘You won’t see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ 4 If you send Benjamin with us, we will go down and buy more food. 5 But if you don’t let Benjamin go, we won’t go either. Remember, the man said, ‘You won’t see my face again unless your brother is with you.’”

6 “Why were you so cruel to me?” Jacob[a] moaned. “Why did you tell him you had another brother?”

7 “The man kept asking us questions about our family,” they replied. “He asked, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ So we answered his questions. How could we know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?”

8 Judah said to his father, “Send the boy with me, and we will be on our way. Otherwise we will all die of starvation—and not only we, but you and our little ones. 9 I personally guarantee his safety. You may hold me responsible if I don’t bring him back to you. Then let me bear the blame forever. 10 If we hadn’t wasted all this time, we could have gone and returned twice by now.”

11 So their father, Jacob, finally said to them, “If it can’t be avoided, then at least do this. Pack your bags with the best products of this land. Take them down to the man as gifts—balm, honey, gum, aromatic resin, pistachio nuts, and almonds. 12 Also take double the money that was put back in your sacks, as it was probably someone’s mistake. 13 Then take your brother, and go back to the man. 14 May God Almighty[b] give you mercy as you go before the man, so that he will release Simeon and let Benjamin return. But if I must lose my children, so be it.”

15 So the men packed Jacob’s gifts and double the money and headed off with Benjamin. They finally arrived in Egypt and presented themselves to Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the manager of his household, “These men will eat with me this noon. Take them inside the palace. Then go slaughter an animal, and prepare a big feast.” 17 So the man did as Joseph told him and took them into Joseph’s palace.

18 The brothers were terrified when they saw that they were being taken into Joseph’s house. “It’s because of the money someone put in our sacks last time we were here,” they said. “He plans to pretend that we stole it. Then he will seize us, make us slaves, and take our donkeys.”

A Feast at Joseph’s Palace
19 The brothers approached the manager of Joseph’s household and spoke to him at the entrance to the palace. 20 “Sir,” they said, “we came to Egypt once before to buy food. 21 But as we were returning home, we stopped for the night and opened our sacks. Then we discovered that each man’s money—the exact amount paid—was in the top of his sack! Here it is; we have brought it back with us. 22 We also have additional money to buy more food. We have no idea who put our money in our sacks.”

23 “Relax. Don’t be afraid,” the household manager told them. “Your God, the God of your father, must have put this treasure into your sacks. I know I received your payment.” Then he released Simeon and brought him out to them.

24 The manager then led the men into Joseph’s palace. He gave them water to wash their feet and provided food for their donkeys. 25 They were told they would be eating there, so they prepared their gifts for Joseph’s arrival at noon.

26 When Joseph came home, they gave him the gifts they had brought him, then bowed low to the ground before him. 27 After greeting them, he asked, “How is your father, the old man you spoke about? Is he still alive?”

28 “Yes,” they replied. “Our father, your servant, is alive and well.” And they bowed low again.

29 Then Joseph looked at his brother Benjamin, the son of his own mother. “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?” Joseph asked. “May God be gracious to you, my son.” 30 Then Joseph hurried from the room because he was overcome with emotion for his brother. He went into his private room, where he broke down and wept. 31 After washing his face, he came back out, keeping himself under control. Then he ordered, “Bring out the food!”

32 The waiters served Joseph at his own table, and his brothers were served at a separate table. The Egyptians who ate with Joseph sat at their own table, because Egyptians despise Hebrews and refuse to eat with them. 33 Joseph told each of his brothers where to sit, and to their amazement, he seated them according to age, from oldest to youngest. 34 And Joseph filled their plates with food from his own table, giving Benjamin five times as much as he gave the others. So they feasted and drank freely with him.

Footnotes:

43:6 Hebrew Israel; also in 43:11. See note on 35:21.
43:14 Hebrew El-Shaddai.

I love the lead up here. First we start with the need. Joseph's family is starving. No matter how much they want to risk losing another brother, they want to starve their own families even less.  And so their dad gives in and gives up another son.  I imagine him watching his sons go off into the horizon and then turning back into his home, shutting the door and wailing for hours.  

The sons make the trip and the first thing they do is attempt to make things right. They confess finding the extra money in the tops of their bags, after their last visit.  The response is great.   “Relax. You're fine. Your God, your dad's God, must have done this for you."  And then he shares that he knows he was paid for the last purchase of food.  

From here, the brothers are blessed. They are treated like royalty.  Their other brother is released to join them for a feast.  They are given water to wash their feet and food for their donkeys. And the brothers are given the opportunity to bless their host with the gifts they brought along.  Then the question is asked. "Is your father still alive?" Can you imagine that moment as Joseph awaited their answer?  "Is my father alive?..." 

But Joseph had not yet seen his younger brother face to face.  And when he did, it was too much. He could not hold up the front any longer. His inner emotions surfaced like a fountain spilling over from the depths of his heart... and so he pulls back... and the best is yet to come...

How Much More?

Genesis 42:1-38, New Living Translation (NLT)

Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt
42 When Jacob heard that grain was available in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you standing around looking at one another? 2 I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down there, and buy enough grain to keep us alive. Otherwise we’ll die.”

3 So Joseph’s ten older brothers went down to Egypt to buy grain. 4 But Jacob wouldn’t let Joseph’s younger brother, Benjamin, go with them, for fear some harm might come to him. 5 So Jacob’s[a] sons arrived in Egypt along with others to buy food, for the famine was in Canaan as well.

6 Since Joseph was governor of all Egypt and in charge of selling grain to all the people, it was to him that his brothers came. When they arrived, they bowed before him with their faces to the ground. 7 Joseph recognized his brothers instantly, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where are you from?” he demanded.

“From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We have come to buy food.”

8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they didn’t recognize him. 9 And he remembered the dreams he’d had about them many years before. He said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see how vulnerable our land has become.”

10 “No, my lord!” they exclaimed. “Your servants have simply come to buy food. 11 We are all brothers—members of the same family. We are honest men, sir! We are not spies!”

12 “Yes, you are!” Joseph insisted. “You have come to see how vulnerable our land has become.”

13 “Sir,” they said, “there are actually twelve of us. We, your servants, are all brothers, sons of a man living in the land of Canaan. Our youngest brother is back there with our father right now, and one of our brothers is no longer with us.”

14 But Joseph insisted, “As I said, you are spies! 15 This is how I will test your story. I swear by the life of Pharaoh that you will never leave Egypt unless your youngest brother comes here! 16 One of you must go and get your brother. I’ll keep the rest of you here in prison. Then we’ll find out whether or not your story is true. By the life of Pharaoh, if it turns out that you don’t have a younger brother, then I’ll know you are spies.”

17 So Joseph put them all in prison for three days. 18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “I am a God-fearing man. If you do as I say, you will live. 19 If you really are honest men, choose one of your brothers to remain in prison. The rest of you may go home with grain for your starving families. 20 But you must bring your youngest brother back to me. This will prove that you are telling the truth, and you will not die.” To this they agreed.

21 Speaking among themselves, they said, “Clearly we are being punished because of what we did to Joseph long ago. We saw his anguish when he pleaded for his life, but we wouldn’t listen. That’s why we’re in this trouble.”

22 “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy?” Reuben asked. “But you wouldn’t listen. And now we have to answer for his blood!”

23 Of course, they didn’t know that Joseph understood them, for he had been speaking to them through an interpreter. 24 Now he turned away from them and began to weep. When he regained his composure, he spoke to them again. Then he chose Simeon from among them and had him tied up right before their eyes.

25 Joseph then ordered his servants to fill the men’s sacks with grain, but he also gave secret instructions to return each brother’s payment at the top of his sack. He also gave them supplies for their journey home. 26 So the brothers loaded their donkeys with the grain and headed for home.

27 But when they stopped for the night and one of them opened his sack to get grain for his donkey, he found his money in the top of his sack. 28 “Look!” he exclaimed to his brothers. “My money has been returned; it’s here in my sack!” Then their hearts sank. Trembling, they said to each other, “What has God done to us?”

29 When the brothers came to their father, Jacob, in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened to them. 30 “The man who is governor of the land spoke very harshly to us,” they told him. “He accused us of being spies scouting the land. 31 But we said, ‘We are honest men, not spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of one father. One brother is no longer with us, and the youngest is at home with our father in the land of Canaan.’

33 “Then the man who is governor of the land told us, ‘This is how I will find out if you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take grain for your starving families and go on home. 34 But you must bring your youngest brother back to me. Then I will know you are honest men and not spies. Then I will give you back your brother, and you may trade freely in the land.’”

35 As they emptied out their sacks, there in each man’s sack was the bag of money he had paid for the grain! The brothers and their father were terrified when they saw the bags of money. 36 Jacob exclaimed, “You are robbing me of my children! Joseph is gone! Simeon is gone! And now you want to take Benjamin, too. Everything is going against me!”

37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my two sons if I don’t bring Benjamin back to you. I’ll be responsible for him, and I promise to bring him back.”

38 But Jacob replied, “My son will not go down with you. His brother Joseph is dead, and he is all I have left. If anything should happen to him on your journey, you would send this grieving, white-haired man to his grave.[b]”

Footnotes:

42:5 Hebrew Israel’s. See note on 35:21.
42:38 Hebrew to Sheol.

I try my best to see Joseph's perspective here, but find it hard to do. I continue to go back to his brothers and all they are hearing, seeing, feeling, and experiencing. I don't doubt they earned every bit of the treatment they are given. I'm just not sure that makes it right. I guess it feels to me like one of those, "don't stoop to their level" stories.

You have the brothers selling Joseph off due to jealousy, and then their father being fooled for years while he mourns the loss of his son. Then you have Joseph go through all he has gone through... brothers disdaining him enough to sell him off, being thrown in jail, and now realizing his own family is starving back home.  But all at the same time, you have these brothers being accused of spying, I'm assuming an accusation punishable by death. And so they are all tossed in jail, never knowing if they will be released.  Then they are released, all except one. 

Imagine the trip back. The conversations. The inner thoughts. "How do we tell our father what has happened? Another son we have left behind. And still another son we must take from his grasp..." And then they arrive and it goes just as they expected.  Dad freaks. "No! I cannot bear to lose another!" 

And we are left to sit between the two: A brother who was sold into slavery, holding another in slavery... as the father mourns them both.  How much more can a father take? 

Best of All

Genesis 41:37-57, New Living Translation (NLT)

Joseph Made Ruler of Egypt
37 Joseph’s suggestions were well received by Pharaoh and his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?” 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are. 40 You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.”

41 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and placed it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in fine linen clothing and hung a gold chain around his neck. 43 Then he had Joseph ride in the chariot reserved for his second-in-command. And wherever Joseph went, the command was shouted, “Kneel down!” So Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all Egypt. 44 And Pharaoh said to him, “I am Pharaoh, but no one will lift a hand or foot in the entire land of Egypt without your approval.”

45 Then Pharaoh gave Joseph a new Egyptian name, Zaphenath-paneah.[a] He also gave him a wife, whose name was Asenath. She was the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On.[b] So Joseph took charge of the entire land of Egypt. 46 He was thirty years old when he began serving in the court of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And when Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence, he inspected the entire land of Egypt.

47 As predicted, for seven years the land produced bumper crops. 48 During those years, Joseph gathered all the crops grown in Egypt and stored the grain from the surrounding fields in the cities. 49 He piled up huge amounts of grain like sand on the seashore. Finally, he stopped keeping records because there was too much to measure.

50 During this time, before the first of the famine years, two sons were born to Joseph and his wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On. 51 Joseph named his older son Manasseh,[c] for he said, “God has made me forget all my troubles and everyone in my father’s family.” 52 Joseph named his second son Ephraim,[d] for he said, “God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief.”

53 At last the seven years of bumper crops throughout the land of Egypt came to an end. 54 Then the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted. The famine also struck all the surrounding countries, but throughout Egypt there was plenty of food. 55 Eventually, however, the famine spread throughout the land of Egypt as well. And when the people cried out to Pharaoh for food, he told them, “Go to Joseph, and do whatever he tells you.” 56 So with severe famine everywhere, Joseph opened up the storehouses and distributed grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt. 57 And people from all around came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe throughout the world.

Footnotes:
41:45a Zaphenath-paneah probably means “God speaks and lives.”
41:45b Greek version reads of Heliopolis; also in 41:50.
41:51 Manasseh sounds like a Hebrew term that means “causing to forget.”
41:52 Ephraim sounds like a Hebrew term that means “fruitful.”

In the midst of this story unfolding, there is wisdom and trust, good choices and honor given.  And then the best of all: otherwise starving people were fed.  When wisdom is sought, many more than ourselves are blessed. When people offer trust, we are able to use all the gifts our Creator has placed within us.  And when good, sound choices are made, often the greater good of the community is lifted. 

And so they were, and we can, and it was. 

 Best of all: otherwise starving people were fed.  

So Much To Learn

Genesis 41:1-36, New Living Translation (NLT)

Pharaoh’s Dreams
41 Two full years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing on the bank of the Nile River. 2 In his dream he saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and begin grazing in the marsh grass. 3 Then he saw seven more cows come up behind them from the Nile, but these were scrawny and thin. These cows stood beside the fat cows on the riverbank. 4 Then the scrawny, thin cows ate the seven healthy, fat cows! At this point in the dream, Pharaoh woke up.

5 But he fell asleep again and had a second dream. This time he saw seven heads of grain, plump and beautiful, growing on a single stalk. 6 Then seven more heads of grain appeared, but these were shriveled and withered by the east wind. 7 And these thin heads swallowed up the seven plump, well-formed heads! Then Pharaoh woke up again and realized it was a dream.

8 The next morning Pharaoh was very disturbed by the dreams. So he called for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. When Pharaoh told them his dreams, not one of them could tell him what they meant.

9 Finally, the king’s chief cup-bearer spoke up. “Today I have been reminded of my failure,” he told Pharaoh. 10 “Some time ago, you were angry with the chief baker and me, and you imprisoned us in the palace of the captain of the guard. 11 One night the chief baker and I each had a dream, and each dream had its own meaning. 12 There was a young Hebrew man with us in the prison who was a slave of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he told us what each of our dreams meant. 13 And everything happened just as he had predicted. I was restored to my position as cup-bearer, and the chief baker was executed and impaled on a pole.”

14 Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once, and he was quickly brought from the prison. After he shaved and changed his clothes, he went in and stood before Pharaoh. 15 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream last night, and no one here can tell me what it means. But I have heard that when you hear about a dream you can interpret it.”

16 “It is beyond my power to do this,” Joseph replied. “But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.”

17 So Pharaoh told Joseph his dream. “In my dream,” he said, “I was standing on the bank of the Nile River, 18 and I saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and begin grazing in the marsh grass. 19 But then I saw seven sick-looking cows, scrawny and thin, come up after them. I’ve never seen such sorry-looking animals in all the land of Egypt. 20 These thin, scrawny cows ate the seven fat cows. 21 But afterward you wouldn’t have known it, for they were still as thin and scrawny as before! Then I woke up.

22 “In my dream I also saw seven heads of grain, full and beautiful, growing on a single stalk. 23 Then seven more heads of grain appeared, but these were blighted, shriveled, and withered by the east wind. 24 And the shriveled heads swallowed the seven healthy heads. I told these dreams to the magicians, but no one could tell me what they mean.”

25 Joseph responded, “Both of Pharaoh’s dreams mean the same thing. God is telling Pharaoh in advance what he is about to do. 26 The seven healthy cows and the seven healthy heads of grain both represent seven years of prosperity. 27 The seven thin, scrawny cows that came up later and the seven thin heads of grain, withered by the east wind, represent seven years of famine.

28 “This will happen just as I have described it, for God has revealed to Pharaoh in advance what he is about to do. 29 The next seven years will be a period of great prosperity throughout the land of Egypt. 30 But afterward there will be seven years of famine so great that all the prosperity will be forgotten in Egypt. Famine will destroy the land. 31 This famine will be so severe that even the memory of the good years will be erased. 32 As for having two similar dreams, it means that these events have been decreed by God, and he will soon make them happen.

33 “Therefore, Pharaoh should find an intelligent and wise man and put him in charge of the entire land of Egypt. 34 Then Pharaoh should appoint supervisors over the land and let them collect one-fifth of all the crops during the seven good years. 35 Have them gather all the food produced in the good years that are just ahead and bring it to Pharaoh’s storehouses. Store it away, and guard it so there will be food in the cities. 36 That way there will be enough to eat when the seven years of famine come to the land of Egypt. Otherwise this famine will destroy the land.”

(Too many great expressions of artwork to only include one today...)

So much to learn from this story:
A forgotten promise can bless others if given at the right time, therefore, it is never too late...
Bridges burned may be bridges needed at a later time...
Some things are important enough that God needs to repeat them before we will notice...

But my favorite in this story has to be:
Just because things are going good now, does not mean we should not plan ahead for when things begin to head in the other direction.  Oh, what we could learn from this lesson!  As a country we have moved through several very prosperous time periods, but instead of putting away and living on less, building up surplus and planning for days of deficit income, we lived to the hilt and then plummeted when the downturn came. 

And certainly, the same can be said for us as individuals and families. I know right now my hubby and I are there. He has a good job and is working all winter, but we know this job has an end. It is simply a contract with a beginning and an end to it. When it is complete, there are no promises of another contract to follow. If we live to the limit and use all the income we are afforded and then the contract comes to an end... then what? Will our outgo be higher than our income??

But we also had gone through a few years where he wasn't working consistently. So there were things that wore out or needed replacing that surely did not occur during the slim years. So we are trying to replace and repair right now. That takes more than our average outgo. It would be easy to use any extra in this way and still have nothing to set aside for another downturn to come... and surely... they will come.

So we have been figuring and talking, talking and figuring, praying and talking some more, trying to figure out how to be responsible to things like replacing an old car that died and a truck who's lease ended; repairing an old broken joint and another that has been torn for 3 or 4 years; repairing or replacing a furnace that isn't working efficiently and wasting fuel along the way; and the list goes on. 

At the same time, we have been discussing how maybe our life insurance needs to be overhauled and our retirement funds need to be doubled.  We are closer to death these days than we are our birth. [sigh...] 

But this we know for sure:
The fat times will go and the slim times will return.  So adjustments will need to be made sooner than later or we too will find ourselves inpaled on poles and weeping as the birds arrive to snack on the leftovers.  (see previous post...)

Do I Really Want to Know??

Genesis 40:1-23, New Living Translation (NLT)

Joseph Interprets Two Dreams
40 Some time later, Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer and chief baker offended their royal master. 2 Pharaoh became angry with these two officials, 3 and he put them in the prison where Joseph was, in the palace of the captain of the guard. 4 They remained in prison for quite some time, and the captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, who looked after them.

5 While they were in prison, Pharaoh’s cup-bearer and baker each had a dream one night, and each dream had its own meaning. 6 When Joseph saw them the next morning, he noticed that they both looked upset. 7 “Why do you look so worried today?” he asked them.

8 And they replied, “We both had dreams last night, but no one can tell us what they mean.”

“Interpreting dreams is God’s business,” Joseph replied. “Go ahead and tell me your dreams.”

9 So the chief cup-bearer told Joseph his dream first. “In my dream,” he said, “I saw a grapevine in front of me. 10 The vine had three branches that began to bud and blossom, and soon it produced clusters of ripe grapes. 11 I was holding Pharaoh’s wine cup in my hand, so I took a cluster of grapes and squeezed the juice into the cup. Then I placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”

12 “This is what the dream means,” Joseph said. “The three branches represent three days. 13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift you up and restore you to your position as his chief cup-bearer. 14 And please remember me and do me a favor when things go well for you. Mention me to Pharaoh, so he might let me out of this place. 15 For I was kidnapped from my homeland, the land of the Hebrews, and now I’m here in prison, but I did nothing to deserve it.”

16 When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given the first dream such a positive interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I had a dream, too. In my dream there were three baskets of white pastries stacked on my head. 17 The top basket contained all kinds of pastries for Pharaoh, but the birds came and ate them from the basket on my head.”

18 “This is what the dream means,” Joseph told him. “The three baskets also represent three days. 19 Three days from now Pharaoh will lift you up and impale your body on a pole. Then birds will come and peck away at your flesh.”

20 Pharaoh’s birthday came three days later, and he prepared a banquet for all his officials and staff. He summoned[a] his chief cup-bearer and chief baker to join the other officials. 21 He then restored the chief cup-bearer to his former position, so he could again hand Pharaoh his cup. 22 But Pharaoh impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had predicted when he interpreted his dream. 23 Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought.

Footnotes:
40:20 Hebrew He lifted up the head of.

Dreams. They can be a reflection of the day to come or the day just passed. Or they can contain symbols and imagery that makes no sense at all. I know there are seers out there that interpret and guide, but maybe those interpretations truly are for the Lord. It's hard sometimes though. We want to know what our minds are trying to tell us... or do we?

Here we have one given hope, but the other? What is he given? A way out? No. He could not escape what was to come. A time of preparation? Probably not. How do you prepare for something like that? My guess is, the baker either stewed for three days, mad at Joseph for giving such good news to the cupbearer, while giving nothing but despair to him or he did not even really believe what Joseph had told him anyway. Would we really beleive if our dreams were all interpreted and tied with a pretty bow for us? 

Sometimes I think we want to know more than we need to know. Yes, our psyche continues to work and yes, there are times it actually gives us a glimpse of all it is trying to work out, but most of the time, it is really more than we can deal with. So instead of wasting a lot of money on a reader or interpreter of some kind, we simply go to the One who knows. We bow before God and we ask "Should I know more? Is this dream worthy of interpretation or should I just let it go with the morning sun?" And then we wait... and we listen.

If we hear nothing more, than we say "Thank you!" for we are likely being prevented something we really don't want to know anyway.  And if we get more clarification, then we ponder those words and continue to ask more questions, like "What would you like me to do with this? Is there a change you would like from me? Is there a lesson I am missing here?" 

Otherwise, we enjoy the view when we fly in our sleep, and we are thankful when we wake before hitting the bottom of the ravine when we feel ourselves falling...  And we know there are times our dreams mean nothing more than an overactive brain inside an overly tired body, or we ate too much jalapeno dip.