Jacob is now blessing his other sons. The last chapter we saw Jacob saying his last words to Joseph and his sons.  

The prophecy regarding his sons.

Reuben was the oldest of the sons so naturally he would be first. Jacob told his oldest son that he is the beginning of strength but unstable like water. The reason for this is because Reuben had a problem with lust. Because of this problem you will not have importance in the future. We see that in Genesis 35 Reuben had his problem. The Reubenites in Numbers 32 were the first tribe to ask for land because they could not wait to cross the Jordan with the others. 

The next that were talked too were Simeon and Levi. They were always together as brothers and Jacob stated that they have issues with anger and hate. If we go back to chapter 34 we see they were the ones that killed all the people in a city to seek revenge for what someone did to their sister. Because of the boys who acted out in violence will be divided and scattered. We see this happen as the Levites in Joshua 21 we see that they were scattered and 1st Chronicles 15 those from the tribe of Simeon were captured.

Judah was the next son. We see that he will be mighty and warrior. His name alone means praise. He was going to be the heir for the soon to be kings of Israel. The scepter will not depart from him. How true is this as through the line of Judah we will see Christ. 

Zebulun and Issachar are the next to be talked about. Not much is said about them other then one will be a port and the other will be strong.

Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher were the next to be talked to. Dan will judge the people; which also Dan is the smallest amount of area for Israel. The tribe of Dan was also rebellious and were introduced into idolatry and spread it among the other tribes in Judges 18. Gad was able to defend their land. Asher was able to enjoy good food and Naphtali would be some swift warriors from his tribe.

Joseph and Benjamin are the last ones to be addressed and Jacob told Joseph that he is a very good fruit from a vine or a great bow from an archer. Benjamin would become a wolf. The tribe of Benjamin would be bold and great in warfare but then also cruel. In Judges 20 we see a story where the Benjamites almost lost their identity of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.

We see a great future for Israel and it is exciting to read about. I pray and hope that you are enjoying reading the book of Genesis.

Jacob was getting old and it was coming close to the time for him to die. Joseph brought his family in to kind of say their last goodbyes. Jacob though blessed Joseph’s  two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. If you remember how important the blessing of a father was look back in Genesis 27 with Isaac blessing Jacob when he meant to bless Esau. The blessing was not just God bless you and bye but a full on you will be blessed and you will be in charge. It was the anointing.

History repeats…

Jacob has his hands on Joseph’s boys and he is being prophetic just like it was prophetic about Joseph ruling over his brothers. Jacob’s eye were weak and he had his hands on the boys but was blessing the younger one as if he were the older one. Joseph spoke up and said, “Not this way dad; the older must be blessed first.” Jacob responded with, “I know what I am doing son.” Jacob meant to do it. The younger will be mightier then the older.  This reminds me of the Esau and Jacob drama that happened in Genesis 27. Jacob thought he was blessing the older son, Esau; but was deceived by the younger son Jacob. This time no one deceived anyone, Jacob was listening to the Lord even if it seemed to be against the culture’s customs. A Mountain Top..As Jacob was saying his last words to Joseph he said, “I am going to give you something that your other brothers will not get and that is a mountain top.” It was not that big of a mountain but held a special token to Jacob because he defeated the Ammorites there. This story is not found in Genesis of the fighting that Jacob had to do but he said he did it with, “His sword and bow.” He fought for this land and now was giving to his great son Joseph. He was basically telling Joseph that he was getting a double portion of land compared to the other boys.

God has conquered our enemy Satan at the cross. Jesus died and paid the debt that we could never pay. He has given us a mighty mountain and that is a relationship with him because of Jesus bridging the gap between God and us, wretched sinners. We received the blessing of eternal life. What do you do with that blessing? There was a price and a battle that took place, but Jesus is victorious, he is our king.  I hope as today we remember what Jesus went through on the cross, that you do not take it for granted?  

Joseph not only got reunited with his family in chapter 46 but we also now get to see Joseph taking care of the family. What great character Joseph had to not only meet his family again but also he is taking them in because of the family. He could have said, “I am done with you all.” “If you die because of lack of food, that’s not my fault.” He could have said numerous things out of revenge towards his brothers but didn’t. The brothers go before Pharaoh and basically thank him for letting them live in Goshen and they are protected from the famine, Pharaoh’s asked, “What do you do for a living.” They responded, “We take care of animals and we can take care of yours too.” Pharaoh did not laugh at them but said, “Cool deal” They have a job and a place to stay and food to eat, how great or what? Jacob and his sons were indebted to Pharaoh in his generosity but Pharaoh was indebted to Joseph for God’s wisdom being poured out on him. 

The famine was bad…

The famine was getting really bad in all of the land that people not only wanted food but needed food. Joseph was so smart that he saved plenty of food to last these seven years of famine that people were coming from all over to get food. They would give their money in exchange for grain. Since everyone gave Egypt all their money now they were giving all their animals and all their stuff. Egypt was getting wealthy. Not Egypt but Pharaoh was receiving everyone’s land. What they had to do was give Pharaoh a fifth of the harvest that they would grow from the seed they received from Joseph. This was how Joseph and his family were able to eat. God took care of them. I personally think it was because God blessed Pharaoh because he heeded the advice of Joseph and this was God’s plan. The family of Israel was growing and Jacob lived to be 147 years old.  

By our love- 

 I am reminded of love throughout the story of Joseph but not just any love an Agape (unconditional, no strings attached) type of love. Joseph demonstrates it on his cruel, undeserving brothers. He had true love on them. I know I have said this in the past blogs but I could not help but to say, “I would have had to vent somehow by yelling at them, or ask why, or something.” He never did.  John 13:35 tells us, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” True love is denying yourself even when you have been wronged and someone needs to pay for it. I know this is always a hard thing to grasp because I always have to remind myself. The price has already been paid by Jesus on the cross. He loves me, a wretched sinner, saved by Grace. He loves you. I challenge you to share that love by how you are to those who have wronged you. I challenge you to show forgiveness. I challenge you to even go out of your way for those people so they may know God by our love. 

Here we see Jacob packing everyone and leaving to go to Egypt. From Canaan to Egypt was about a 200 mile journey. They did not have cars or motors, they just had camels and donkeys for transportation. Have you ever been on a long trip with a big group of people? When you stop everyone stops, and it takes some time getting food, stretching, and rested for your journey. Imagine now adding animals and over 66 people on this 200 mile journey.

Beersheba..

Jacob takes a quick break from the trip and wants to offer God a sacrifice in this area called Beersheba. This is where Abraham made a oath with Abimelech in Genesis 21 and Isaac made an oath as well in Genesis 27. Now it is Jacob’s turn to talk to God in this spot. God reassures Jacob that he was not going to leave him and that he will be safe on this journey. He will be able to see his son and God is in control.

The Reunion..

Joseph got word that his father was arriving so he loaded up his chariot and set off to meet his father. Once Joseph saw Jacob he got off and grabbed his father and clung to him. He wept on Jacob’s neck for some time. How great this must have been for Jacob to see his son that he thought for all those years was dead.We too are alive now because of what Christ did for us on the cross. We were a slave to sin and were a prisoner to it, but the death of Christ has set us free. We now have access to the father and can cling to our heavenly father.Joseph then told Pharaoh that his family was there and their occupation was shepherds. To the Egyptians a shepherd was despised. This was good in the long run because that meant that Israel did not have to adapt completely to Egyptian culture. They received their own land called Goshen and we will see God’s plan for Israel in the next few chapters.

Joseph could contain it any longer, he revealed to his brothers that he was Joseph the young brother whom they sold into slavery. His brothers could not quite believe it. Joseph told them in verse 5 by saying, “Do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.” He could have said, look my dreams when I was younger are true, you are bowing down before me. He could have said, man you guys owe me so much. Joseph went on to say that it was God’s plan for him to be in Egypt, it was God’s plan for Joseph to be thrown into slavery, it was God’s plan for him to be thrown into prison, it was God’s plan for him to interpret Pharaoh’s dream, and it was God’s plan in the beginning for Joseph’s brothers to come to Egypt because of the famine.

Joseph then tells his brothers to go get his father and do not take long, hurry. You shall live in the land of Goshen, and I will provide for you and your children’s children. Even Pharaoh heard about Joseph’s family and he desired for them to come into the land and have the best of the land. He provided wagons for the journey and Jacob was moving to Egypt to see Joseph before he died.

The Right Perspective:

In reading this passage it not only shows God’s sovereign plan for Israel but also we see how God used the right person at the right time. As we have seen Joseph has been through a lot but he never complained to God, he never complained about his circumstance. Even when he could have gotten revenge on his brothers and had them thrown into slavery and prison he had the right outlook on the circumstance. When something goes bad what kind of outlook do you have on it? Are you a complainer? Do you think you could have done what Joseph did? I don’t think I could have, that would have been hard to not want to do something against them. Joseph is a great example on how we should have the right perspective when it seems like there are bad things in our life. Just like James tells us to have joy in our trials, just like Paul when he was in prison wrote about having joy in the Lord and rejoicing in his name all throughout the book of Philippians. I challenge you next time something does not go your way or it seems like something bad happened, ask God what is the right perspective and just think about the story of Joseph.

Joseph is like the 2nd in charge over all of Egypt. There is a great famine in the land and he is in charge of distributing the food to those who need it. In the last few chapters we see that Joseph’s brothers come to him for food. He sent them away with some but kept Simeon in Egypt. They were told to bring back the youngest brother Benjamin back with them to Egypt. The famine kept on getting worse and Joseph’s brothers had to go back to Egypt because they needed more food. This time they did bring Benjamin back just like Joseph requested and they ate with Joseph. In all of this, Joseph never retaliated against his brothers for what they did to him. He actually had compassion on them and wept for them. His brothers did not know that the man they were dealing with was Joseph. Joseph wanted to see how they would be towards the youngest now and to see if their hearts have changed. In this chapter we will see how they have changed. 

The Test:

Joseph told the steward of the house to put the food in the sacks and the money back in the mouth of the sacks just like he did in chapter 42, but this time he had his own silver cup put in the sack of Benjamin. This was to see how the brothers would react over the this set-up crime. Joseph told the steward to overtake them and ask them why would they steal from the master’s house. Remember Joseph was not doing this to get back at them and make their lives miserable; he wanted to see if their hearts have changed. The cup was found in Benjamin’s sack, the youngest, whom Israel loved. Joseph saw them and said the guilt is on the one who stole the cup, he shall surely pay the price. Judah begged for Joseph to not do this to Benjamin but instead take him. He told him that if his father (Jacob/Israel) found out he would die because the news would be too much.

This test that Joseph gave was to see if they would even desire for Benjamin to be safe and live. He remembered his brothers as jealous and desired for his life to end. Now we see his brothers willing to give of their life for the life of the younger. Their hearts have changed.

Joseph never had hostility towards those whom harmed him. If I can go through my life and remember all the times that I was wronged or hurt by someone and how many of those times did I not desire to get revenge is very minimal. I wanted people to be hurt just like I got hurt or they would be upset just like I was upset. I wanted to get even sometimes and if not more have their life miserable too. The Bible is clear about revenge and that when we are wronged by someone else then we need to let the Lord take control of it. I know that is hard because our nature is to get even, but God is the judge and the one who will take your matters and repay who needs to be repaid what. When reading the life of Joseph it is hard to see not reflect a little about Jesus Christ. He was wronged, beaten, bruised and then killed because he is God in flesh. He did not retaliate on his accusers and even more so he went through all that because of the love for mankind. Thank you Jesus for your love which I can easily take for granted.

Joseph was thrown into prison for something he did not do. He was raised to a responsible position in the prison. He was used by God to interpret two dreams and now the story of Joseph takes a new twist. In chapter 40 he told the cupbearer to remember him while he was in prison. Nothing happened for some time. Joseph was in prison for another two years after the incident with the cupbearer. This time Pharaoh had a dream and it disturbed him greatly. He asked for all his wise men to be able to interpret this dream but none of them could. The cupbearer who had his dream finally remembered about Joseph. He told Pharaoh about that and Pharaoh called for Joseph. Joseph told Pharaoh, “I is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.” Joseph interpreted this dream by telling Pharaoh there will 7 good years of growth of food and then there will be 7 years of famine. This famine will be very severe. Joseph then told Pharaoh he better get a wise man to be able to handle the good years wise and be prepared for the 7 bad years.

God’s Plan in Joseph’s life

Pharaoh realized that it was God who is with Joseph and Pharaoh gave Joseph a great position in Egypt. Joseph was going to be over the house of Pharaoh and everyone will listen to his command. Joseph was like second in command just like that. Pharaoh gave him his ring as a sign to show he was serious and to show other people that he was serious. Joseph was 30 years old. He spent over 13 years in prison or in slavery. God’s plan meant for him to spend 13  years trusting him to have him in the place where God wanted him. Joseph did a good job with his position and saved the food for the 7 years of famine. God’s timing is perfect, he puts those in position at the right time for his cause even when we do not think so. Joseph kept on giving credit to the Lord even when he was forgotten by the chief cupbearer. He trusted the Lord even when he lost his whole family. He trusted the Lord even when he was thrown into prison by a false accusation. Do you trust the Lord when life is not going that well? Do you trust the Lord even when you get mistreated?  

Joseph is in prison for a crime he did not commit. We now get to see a scene from inside that prison. Joseph who was good at being a servant is now good at being a prisoner. He was faithful and full of integrity. Because of his faithful attitude God brought him up into another important position in prison. As Joseph was doing his prison thing he received a good reputation and people would go to him that needed help. There were two guys who had dreams and they went to Joseph for him interpret them. It was the cupbearer and the baker who both were thrown into prison for different things. The cupbearer’s dream was a good dream and in three days he was going to be restored to his previous position for pharaoh. The baker had a dream that was not so good. In three days you will be hung and die. Three days went by and what Joseph said would happen happened. 

 Joseph used-

Joseph was placed in a good position as a prisoner. He had a big responsibility of overseeing the other prisoners. He saw these two men who were in distress and he asked why they were so sad. He saw a need and did not overlook it. He was not better than these men but desired to help. They confided in him what was the problem and he spoke truth. Joseph was faithful to what he was called to do even when it was a bad situation. He could have become bitter at God for him not only being thrown intro slavery by some jealous brothers or thrown into prison for something he did not do, but instead he just kept his integrity and God used him. This was not it though, we will see that there was a reason why he was thrown into slavery and why he was thrown into prison. God’s timing is perfect even when we are impatient or do not understand what is going on. Remember God’s timing is perfect and trustworthy.   

 Our story now focuses on Joseph, the young guy who was mistreated by his other brothers and sold into slavery. It turns out Joseph is sold to a man named Potiphar. Potiphar was actually the captain of the guard for Pharaoh. This was a very high position in Egypt to have. Joseph was a very good slave and was successful at what he was put in charge of. He finally became overseer of the house for Potiphar. This meant that all that Potiphar had was left in charge to Joseph, he was responsible for all of that. The Bible made it clear that Joseph succeeded because God was with him.

Trial #2

The Bible says Joseph was handsome in form and appearance meaning he was not only good looking but had a good body. Potiphar’s wife (no name is ever given) liked Joseph and wanted him more than just a servant boy. Joseph was a godly man who desired to please the Lord. He said no to whatever Potiphar’s wife was trying to get from him and she would try to tempt him day in and day out. It was a continual temptation and actually he ran away from the situation so he would not do what was evil in the sight of the Lord.  Potiphar’s wife decided that she would lie about Joseph and that he did something wrong against her. Joseph then was arrested and put into prison. Think about it, Joseph did everything that was right. His brothers sold him into slavery, and now he is thrown into prison. He was innocent on both accounts and yet was treated like he was guilty. God had a bigger plan that involved being over a head of a household. We will see this unravel in the next few chapters.

Verse 21 reminds us of this mistreated by saying, “But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love” God was with him and showed love on Joseph who was mistreated. God sees those who are mistreated and has steadfast love on us. He has steadfast love on us even when we do not deserve it; we are wretched sinners and yet his love on us was the cross and dying for us. May we go through our trials and have joy because God does have steadfast love for us.  

Sometimes politicians will make a public address over an issue and they will say, “Mistakes were made.” They make mention of it because something happened that should not have. The Bible mentions humans mistake but they were allowed to happen for a reason. God uses these mistakes for a reason. As we will continue with the story of Joseph the next chapter but now we focus on Judah. Judah is the heir of the messiah. This story is interesting because Judah is not at home living or in the area with his family. It might have been because he was guilty and disturbed about what they did with their little brother Joseph. It is easy to want to run away when you did something wrong. He moved to far away but married a Canaanite women named Shua. She had three sons. Er, the oldest, was born and then Onan and Shelah. 

In the culture it was common that the oldest needs to be married. That is why Jacob was to be married to Leah first even though Laban neglected to tell him that. Judah decided to find Er, the oldest son, a wife and as he took his time he finally found Tamar. The parents would try to arrange the marriages for their children because they wanted the best for them. Remember Abraham had the servant find Isaac a wife.  But somehow and the Bible does not say how Er died but he died because he was rebellious against the Lord. It says he was wicked against the Lord. The culture rules were if the oldest son died and was married the next son in line, if not married, was to marry the wife of the dead son. So Onan was to marry Tamar and they were to have children together. Another rule of the culture was if the son who married the wife and they had a child, the child was considered the heir of the dead son. Onan did not want to have a son that would not be considered his. This was considered wicked in the eyes of the Lord and he died. The next son in line was going to be Shelah to marry Tamar. 

There was a mistake that was made by Judah the father in law of Tamar. He saw a women in the distance that was attractive. He did not know it was his daughter in law for her face was covered. He had relations with her and became pregnant. It was told to Judah that Tamar has been immoral and was pregnant and he was furious and was ready for her to be put to death. She then brought certain things to his attention and he realized that he was in the wrong. She bore Judah two sons who were twins Perez and Zerah. When we read this we can not only be disgusted with how these people lived and treated each other but we also need to realize God uses people and through the line of Judah Christ will be. You could read this and say Judah did not know and was ignorant or you could say how come Tamar did not say anything. These questions may come up but the Bible is silent in these details but what we do know is that God is going to use this bad situation for his glory. We are going to see how God is going to use the bad situation of Joseph for his glory. God can use unfortunate bad situations for good. He did in the history of the Bible as well as the history of the church and will do so even now. Throughout any bad situation always ask God what he is going to do in it.