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Genesis 41:47-57 Preparing for a Famine

08 Oct

47 During the seven years of abundance the land produced plentifully. 48 Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities. In each city he put the food grown in the fields surrounding it. 49 Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure.

50 Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. 51 Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” 52 The second son he named Ephraim and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”

53 The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, 54 and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. 55 When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.”

56 When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt. 57 And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.

Dear God, it occurs to me that I know a Joseph. Her name is Sara. You nudged Sara 19 years ago and suggested that people in our town needed medical help. You encouraged her to do something about it, which she did. Now, in a time when medical help is harder and harder to find, I see people coming to our clinic looking for medical help, much like people went to Egypt for food.

The Saras of the world are few and far between. I know that I am not a Sara and I am at peace with that. It took me a while to get to a point where I was at peace with that. People like Sara, with their entrepreneurial, “let’s see what we can make out of nothing” spirit amaze me. I have always wanted to be like that. But that is not how you gifted me. You gifted me to be an operations person. You gifted me to be a relationship person. I don’t have the vision. I have the ability to come alongside the visionary and, with your help and power, make their dreams become reality.

I guess that is why I asked Sara to have lunch with me this week. We are facing some operational challenges at the Center, and I want to get her advice. I want to get her input. I want to get her vision. I think the key for me, when it comes to all of this, is that I need to remain humble enough to look to you for guidance and then seek that guidance, no matter what it my cost me or my ego.

Father, please continue to enable us to find medical resources for our patients. I don’t know that this famine will ever end. It seems that medical resources are only going to continue to get more and more scarce. Help me to manage all of this and to be there to be your hands and feet as we serve our patients.

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2011 in Genesis

 

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Genesis 41:41-46 Joseph’s New Job

08 Oct

41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and people shouted before him, “Make way!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

44 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt.” 45 Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt.

46 Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout Egypt.

Dear God, I can’t remember how old Joseph was when the brothers sold him into slavery, but I am pretty sure he was an early teen. That would mean he spent half of his life in some form of slavery (although he had some power during the Potiphar years). I wonder how often he thought back to those dreams he told his brothers and father about. I wonder how many times he was ready to give up in despair when he would remember that you had promised him something special. I wonder how many times he wondered if the dreams were wrong or if he were wrong. Hope is an interesting thing, but I almost wonder if you didn’t give him those dreams as a child so that he could keep his faith and his hope when he was older.

It seems that you are always preparing us for the future, even when we don’t know it. You are giving us experiences now that will help us later. It isn’t until much, much later that we can look back and put it all together. I went through a three-year wilderness of sorts, although it honestly wasn’t that bad compared with what other people suffer. It feels like I am in a bit of a wilderness now with the challenges I face each day, but, again, can I really complain when I see how others suffer? The truth is, my life is pretty good and easy. You are just using some of these struggles to refine me.

Father, I thank you that you love me. I thank you that you sustain me. I thank you that you provide for me. I am not worthy of the unbelievable blessings you give to me. I am not worthy of your grace. But you give it all to me anyway because you are more benevolent than I can imagine. So help me to be a good steward of everything over which you have given me charge. Help me to be a leader, but also a servant. Help me to love others more than I love myself. Help me to sacrifice for your glory and not my own. I am not asking for anything special for me. I am simply asking that you use me as you will and help me to completely submit my life to you.

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2011 in Genesis

 

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Genesis 41:14-40 It’s About Time

08 Oct

14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.

15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”

16 “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”

17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, 18 when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. 19 After them, seven other cows came up—scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. 20 The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. 21 But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.

22 “In my dream I saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. 23 After them, seven other heads sprouted—withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. 24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.”

25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. 27 The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine.

28 “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, 30 but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. 31 The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. 32 The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.

33 “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. 36 This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”

37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?”

39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”

Dear God, I find it interesting that Joseph was so eager and intentional about giving you the credit for all of this. He didn’t have to. He didn’t have to say that you had given him the dream. He didn’t have to say that you had given him the interpretation of the dream. All he had to say was, “There are seven years of plenty coming that will be followed by seven years of famine. Buckle up.” But he didn’t. He challenged Pharaoh’s religious beliefs by being sure to give you the glory for the dreams, their interpretation, and even the control of the weather. Pharaoh was left with no doubt where Joseph was coming from.

I hope that I am that way. I think I am at times, but I don’t know that I am that way all of the time. I do think that I start to take a little too much credit for myself. I think I get to enjoying the praise that others give me a little too much. I forget to lead with you, continue with you and finish with you in what I say. Instead, I might throw a little credit to you as I go, but I could probably do a better job of wearing you on my sleeves a little more.

Father, help me to give you glory for everything that I do and everything around me. Help me to reveal your presence to others and to show them how you are working to love and support them. I have some friends who are struggling financially as well as other ways, and I hope that you will reveal yourself to them. Use me however you will in their lives. The same goes for patients that we come across. And my wife and children too. Help me to a revealer of you to them. Help others to see you, and use me however you will to reveal your presence to others so that they might be drawn closer to you and worship you.

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2011 in Genesis

 

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Genesis 41:9-13 Joseph Remembered

08 Oct

9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. 10 Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. 11 Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. 12 Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. 13 And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was impaled.”

Dear God, of course, it is hard to know what the cupbearer actually said, but I like this first line: “Today I am reminded of my shortcomings.” Wow, ain’t that truth? But I would say that the redeeming side of this story is that the cupbearer probably actually did what he was supposed to do. None of us are big enough to mess up your plans. You know us and you know our “shortcomings”. You know where we will succeed and where we will fail. In this case, you knew that the cupbearer would forget about Joseph until this moment. It was okay. It was part of your plan.

I read an interview with Phil Vischer, the creator of VeggieTales, last night and he kind of said the same thing. I forget what the interviewer asked him, but he said that he now knows that he can’t do it all so he works as hard as he can and then he rests. He knows there are things being left undone, but that is okay because you know that he can’t do it all so you have provided the church to do the rest.

I get pretty wrapped up here in trying to make sure everything gets done by me as much as possible. Actually, I would say that I was that way until a few months ago. More recently, I have been broken a bit and understand that I have to rely on others because there is simply too much for me to do. There are too many variables. Too many tasks. I need to focus on my part and then let the others do their parts. That is how you designed it all.

Father, help me to turn my palms upside down, let go of all I am holding on to, and then flip them and raise them up to you so that you can fill them. If I am holding on to things then I cannot grasp what you have for me. So help me to work hard, work as unto you, allow you to bless my work, and pursue you diligently.

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2011 in Genesis

 

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Genesis 41:1-8 Dream Weaver

08 Oct

1 When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, 2 when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. 3 After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. 4 And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

5 He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. 6 After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—thin and scorched by the east wind. 7 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.

8 In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

Dear God, wow, two years. I wonder how Joseph was doing, sitting there in prison for a long time. I wonder what his prayers were like. I wonder if he had stopped praying altogether, or if he was even more strengthened in his faith. I also wonder how things were going back home with Jacob and the fam during this time. We know what was happening with Judah. I wonder what was happening with the rest of them.

Then there is Pharaoh and his dream. Every time we enter a drought like we are in now, I think of this story and wonder if we didn’t just finish the seven good years and we are now in the seven lean years. Did anyone get a dream warning them? Are we prepared if things really go south?

I think that one of the messages of this story is that, it might not be pretty, but you find a way to provide for us. Not only were you showing the Israelites your provision through this story, but you were showing the Egyptians your provision too. You really do give us a way. All we have to do is find it. You know, now that I think about it, you even used the cupbearer’s imprisonment as part of your plan. And who is to say that, if he had told Pharaoh about Joseph earlier that Pharaoh would have done anything about it. Maybe Joseph had to sit in jail those extra two years in order for the plan to unfold the way it did.

Father, I am blessed beyond measure, and I am grateful. Thank you. Please help me to be at peace in my circumstances, and to know how you are guiding me at any given point. Right now, I feel a little lost in the middle of everything, but perhaps that is where you want me. Perhaps you want me to close my eyes, reach out for your hand, and have you lead me. If that is so, then I will relish in this sense of being lost and let you show me each step I should take.

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2011 in Genesis

 

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Genesis 40 Good News and Bad News

08 Oct

1 Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them.

After they had been in custody for some time, 5 each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.

6 When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?”

8 “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.”

Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.” 

9 So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, 10 and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup and put the cup in his hand.”

12 “This is what it means,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days. 13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. 14 But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. 15 I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”

16 When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread. 17 In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”

18 “This is what it means,” Joseph said. “The three baskets are three days. 19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and impale your body on a pole. And the birds will eat away your flesh.”

20 Now the third day was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: 21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand— 22 but he impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.

23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

Dear God, I wonder what it would be like to know the day you will die. I heard a statistic just within the last week that something like 90% of the people, when asked if they would want to know the day or moment of their death, said they wouldn’t want to know. I can buy that. I know I wouldn’t want to know. So the question remains, why then do I try to hard to figure out my future and what is next? Isn’t it better if I don’t know? Isn’t ignorance bliss?

There are so many variables that lead to what tomorrow brings that there is no way I can account for them all. It is worse than predicting the weather, which is obviously hard enough. I try to do the same for my children too. I try to figure out how this decision will impact future decisions. Even today, I talked with my son about a decision that will impact his future. I know that he cannot conceive of the future and what tomorrow will hold, but I have an inkling of what it will be. I know that the decision will impact his life 15 years from now. So do I pull rank as a dad or do I trust him to make his own decision?

I guess I have totally overlooked the part of this passage where the cupbearer “did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.” Wow, that is unfortunate. He was the one who got the good prophecy. Now, he has forgotten Joseph’s role in giving him hope, and the power of what Joseph did (from you). Perhaps Joseph wasn’t that kind as a jailer. Perhaps he resented Joseph for getting a position of authority while he was a prisoner. There are any number of reasons he could have forgotten Joseph, but the fact is that he did and, at least for the time being, Joseph was stuck.

Father, help me to turn loose of the future and what I THINK it brings, and help me to not forget those who strongly support me. My first step in remembering those who have blessed me is to thank you. Thank you for my life. Thank you for my parents. Thank you for my wife. Thank you for my kids. Thank you for my job. I really want to treat each of these as well as I can. I want to love each of them as much as I can. Be glorified through me as I live my life, and help others through me so that you might be glorified in their lives as well.

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2011 in Genesis

 

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Genesis 20b-23 Favor in Prison

08 Oct

But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Dear God, I have always wanted to be thought of like Joseph is here. I want people, no matter what my responsibilities are, to not have to pay attention to what I am doing because I have proven myself and they trust me so much. I was thinking about Joseph being a prisoner and eventually becoming the unofficial assistant warden and how he earned that trust over time. It reminds me of a piece of wisdom my dad gave me one time. He told me that, if you are ever promoted in a company, on your first day in your new job you will probably find that your responsibilities haven’t changed that much because you have been instinctively doing those duties all along. While that hasn’t been true all of the time in my career, it has been true most of the time.

Right now, this morning, I feel like I am in a bit of a funk. Not sure what is causing it, but it is a little scary. I almost wonder if I didn’t throw my body chemistry off a little with my long ride on Saturday. Regardless, I need to figure out a way to pull out of this because I have a lot of work to do. I have several things going on in several areas, and I have to get busy. In essence, people have counted on me to be as trustworthy as Joseph, and I need to get going.

Father, help me to work faithfully. Help me to do it with your strength and your power. Help me to adjust to the way I am feeling, and strengthen me to do the absolute best job I can do in all of these areas. Do it all so that my family will feel your love, our patients will receive your care, and the Center will experience your provision.

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2011 in Genesis

 

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Genesis 39:6b-20a Too Much Favor with Potiphar’s Wife

07 Oct

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, 7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”

8 But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. 9 No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.

11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. 12 She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

13 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, 14 she called her household servants. “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. 15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

16 She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him this story: “That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18 But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. 20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.

Dear God, I heard a story three days ago from a friend who manages a large chain. He said that he has had to fire several people, and he was going to fire yet another one later that day. Why? Because this one woman kept having sex with different coworkers in the office at night. And she was married. Apparently, she had done this at least five times, and what she told the HR person was, “We start drinking and then when I drink I get horny.” Wow. Well, there is something about this story that reminds me of that. It’s hard to imagine that someone would do that. And I am sure that these different men, who have now lost their jobs, would not normally have instigated the behavior (maybe one or two of them would have, but not all five), but they were lured into it by someone who obviously has issues.

I can see where Potiphar’s wife must have had issues too. Maybe she hated her husband. Maybe he cheated on her or had other wives and didn’t give her much attention. Maybe he was great, but she just wanted Joseph. Whatever the case may be, Joseph was able to do something that the five men in my friend’s business didn’t do—resist temptation.

What kinds of temptations do I face? I don’t work in a sexually-charged environment, so I wouldn’t say that is an issue. I guess I am seeing one of my weaknesses coming out this week, and it is in avoiding conflict. We had something happen between a staff member and a volunteer this week that wasn’t good, and both were in the wrong. Now, how do I handle this conflict constructively? I suppose if I were a different type of person I could just blow in and challenge both of them, but that isn’t my personality. So I have been mentally laboring over what to do in order to have the least amount of conflict in this situation. It is my biggest weakness as a manager, and it really frustrates me.

Father, help me to lead this place the way you need it to be led. Help me to lead my staff and volunteers. Help me to lead, to a certain extent, the board. Help me to have vision for our patients. Help me to also lead the local doctors when it comes to charitable services for our patients. Healthcare is getting harder and harder to figure out for people, and I am really starting to hit the ceiling of what I know to do to help people. So help me to navigate all of this with your power, wisdom, and love.

 
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Posted by on October 7, 2011 in Genesis

 

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Genesis 39:1-6a Favor with Potiphar

07 Oct

1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.

2 The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. 6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

Dear God, I would love to be a Joseph in the sense that I would want anyone who puts me in charge of something to be able to trust me completely. The idea that Potiphar “did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate” fascinates me.

On the other side of the coin, I would say that one of the real blessings of my job is that I can completely trust the people I have working for me so that I am able to not concern myself with how they are doing their jobs and treating the patients, but focus more on my job. I really don’t know what I would do without our volunteeer director and her conscientiousness. Our clinical director works so hard for our patients, even visiting them in the hospital. Our diabetes educator really cares about our diabetics and wants so badly to do a good job for them. Our healthcare providers are proving to be an excellent team for our patients’ care. The dental assistant has proven to be trustworthy and patient. Our dentist is an asset to the team. Our office administrator works hard and does her absolute best to do a good job. Even our custodian is seemingly above reproach in how he cares for our building. Operationally, I am truly blessed here.

I hope I am instilling these values in my children. It’s funny, but, as a dad, outside of getting them to submit their lives to you, this is probably the most important character trait I want to teach both of my children. I want whoever is over them to find them trustworthy and to not have to concern themselves with anything in their care.

Father, help me to be a man who my bosses can trust. Help me to completely trust those who work for me who have earned that trust. And help me to instill that sense of trustworthiness in my children. I want the kids to be able to be trustworthy for all those they encounter. I want to reward trustworthiness among the staff. And I want to reward the trust put in me by others. As you accomplish all these things, please bless our efforts for your glory’s sake and your plan. Help people to feel completely loved here in our clinic. Help them to feel your presence. Help to provide for their needs and comfort them in their crises.

 
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Posted by on October 7, 2011 in Genesis

 

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Genesis 38 Judah’s Weird Path

07 Oct

1 At that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah. 2 There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He married her and made love to her; 3 she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er. 4 She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan. 5 She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah. It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him.

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

8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. 10 What he did was wicked in the LORD’s sight; so the LORD put him to death also.

11 Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s household until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household.

12 After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him.

13 When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,” 14 she took off her widow’s clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.

15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 16 Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.”

“And what will you give me to sleep with you?” she asked.

17 “I’ll send you a young goat from my flock,” he said.

“Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?” she asked.

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

“Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand,” she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him. 19 After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow’s clothes again.

20 Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get his pledge back from the woman, but he did not find her. 21 He asked the men who lived there, “Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?”

“There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here,” they said.

22 So he went back to Judah and said, “I didn’t find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, ‘There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here.’”

23 Then Judah said, “Let her keep what she has, or we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn’t find her.”

24 About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.”

Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!”

25 As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. “I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.”

26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not sleep with her again.

27 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 28 As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist and said, “This one came out first.” 29 But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out, and she said, “So this is how you have broken out!” And he was named Perez. 30 Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist, came out. And he was named Zerah.

Dear God, this seems to be one of those stories that we just conveniently skip over when telling the Genesis story. We just kind of go from Joseph being sold to Joseph in Potiphar’s house.

What intrigues me about this story is that Judah left after the incident with Joseph. Was he freaked out by it? Was he disgusted? Was he afraid for his own life? Was he planning to leave anyway? I have a feeling that it was the first one. I have a feeling that the guilt over doing what they did to Joseph pushed Judah just a little too far and he freaked out. And then, he went and lived his life with other peoples and had an adventure that I don’t even know what to do with.

I wonder how the Joseph event changed everything for the brothers. I wonder how it changed their relationships with each other. I wonder how it changed their personal lives and their relationships outside of the family. I wonder how it changed their relationships with their father. I am sure that it all seemed like a great idea at the time, but then they were left to live with the knowledge that they were each capable of doing something pretty heinous.

Father, gift me wisdom and insight as I come across different choices in my life. Each action I take causes a reaction in some way. Help me to not overreact to anything, but to be completely measured in what I do in response to the events in front of me. This probably shows up the most in my parenting. I have seen mistakes I made as a father come back to haunt me and my relationships with my children years later. Help to heal the wounds from what I have done in the past, and help me to not make any further decisions that will alienate either of my children, my wife, my family, and my friends. I want to be your man, and I can’t do it if I am recklessly going around and hurting people because of something that seemed the right thing to do at the time.

 
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Posted by on October 7, 2011 in Genesis

 

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