ripple effect: vacaville

Read Genesis 49:1-33

[Back to skipping some stuff...

*Joseph brings his family to Egypt.

*Jacob and Joseph are reunited.

*Jacob's family settles is Goshen.

*Joseph makes Egypt very wealthy during the famine.

*Jacob ends up giving Joseph a double-blessing by blessing each of his two songs, Ephraim and Manasseh.]

OK…so here we go with the blessings of Jacob’s sons:

1. Reuben gets a weak blessing because he decided to have sex with one of his dad’s women. Big no no.
2. Simeon and Levi get a weak blessing because they retaliated against the men of Schechem when their sister was raped.
3. Judah gets the awesome blessing. The “lion” comes up here. Jesus is later referred to as “the lion of Judah.” Lion’s are king of the jungle. Um…and it also says that rulers will come out of Judah’s descendents. Yeah…later on, that’ll be David…and even later on…that’ll be Jesus. Do you think Judah “deserved” this blessing?
4. Zebulun’s people are sea-people. Cool…the pirates of Zebulun!
5. Issachar’s people will be in forced labor? Um…I don’t consider that a blessing!
6. I don’t get Dan’s blessing. He will be a viper and bite the heels of horses? Then it says that he will wait for God’s salvation? What’s up with that?
7. Gad would have liked Oakland because it seems that he will be a “raider” nation.
8. Asher’s people will have good food. Yesssss!
9. Naphatali’s descendents will apparently be good looking?
10. Joseph gets a cool blessing. It’s like he was hit at with arrows, but he always stood firm. It says that he will have blessings that surpass his father’s. I like that Joseph gets a lot of good in the end.
11. Benjamin is a wolf? Hmm…

Yeah…so…what do you think about these blessings? Rank who you think got the best/worst deals.

Read Genesis 45:1-28

And more of Joseph…

1. Joseph clears all the Egyptians out of the room before he tells his brothers his identity. But he cried really loudly… Wouldn’t you?
2. He asks them about his dad, but they are all dumbstruck and can’t answer. Yeah, I’d be too.
3. Joseph refuses to be a slave to bitterness. He lets his anger towards his brothers go and tells them not to hate themselves for what they had done. Would you have had the strength to do that?
4. Then he tells them that God used all of it for good–to save lives. That’s perspective! He goes so far as to say that God put him in the position that he was in. What a unique perspective. Are you comfortable doing that in your life? I think of the things that blatantly seem like other people’s fault: my dad leaving when I was three and old friends betraying my trust–and I think I could so easily blame my dad or my friend for the fallout of those things. But Joseph would say that God caused my father to leave for good. Wow. Maybe it’s so I can understand the value of being a father. Maybe it’s so I can minister to teenagers (especially young guys) who are in the same boat as me. Wow. I guess Joseph’s perspective opens so much up. What do you guys think about all of that? Do you have things in your life that just seem like they were “hard luck” or “for no reason”? Could there be a reason?
5. So…Joseph tells the guys to go get his dad, so they can live in Goshen (a part of Egypt) for the next 5 hard years. His impulse is to take care of his family.
6. Then he hugs and kisses and talk to ALL of his brothers. Wow. Can you imagine?
7. Pharaoh hears about the family reunion and says he will hook up Joseph’s entire family. Extreme Home Makeover: Egyptian Edition.
8. Joseph gave Benjamin more than his other brothers. At this point, what do you think about that?
9. Check out Jacob’s reaction: his heart went “numb.” What does that mean? Does he faint? Anyway, he obviously is very excited about seeing Joseph.

So…can you comprehend the level of forgiveness that Joseph gives to his brothers?
Why doesn’t he take revenge?

Read Genesis 44:1-34

More of Joe and his bros…

1. Joseph pulled the ol’ money in the sack trick again, but this time he stuck the fine china in Benjamin’s sack. Why do you think Joseph feels like he has to be deceptive here?
2. So…the steward is sent out to “catch” them on the road with the cup. Weird little detail: Joseph says to tell him that he uses the cup for the practice of “divination” (maybe by seeing how tea leaves land in the cup). That was something they did back in the day to study the will of the gods, like tarot cards. Anyway, it’s kind of weird that this godly guy is behaving in a ungodly way and that he is basically saying that he uses the cup for horoscopes.
3. The brothers spoke too soon (kill the guy you catch with the cup) because Benjamin was set up. It says that the brothers tore their clothes (a sign of great mourning or anguish). Why do you think the brothers were so upset?
4. Joseph messes with their heads a little more, and he basically says that he is going to punish Benjamin. Then Judah steps up to the plate and tells why Benjamin is so special. He also explains why Israel’s heart would be completely broken. Then he asks to be a servant in Benjamin’s place. He steps up to take his punishment. And his motivation seems to be pure– it seems that he is most concerned with breaking his father’s heart.

What do you think about (at this point in the story)…

Joseph?
Benjamin?
Judah?

Read Genesis 43:1-34

More from the life of Joseph…

1. So…they run out of food, and Jacob (Israel) tells them to go and get more. Judah explains that they can’t go back without Benjamin. It’s all about the Benjamin.
2. Israel (yeah, they’re calling Jacob Israel now) then says that they basically should have lied and not said that they had brother #12. Think about it, though, what would have happened if they did that?
3. Judah steps up to the plate and pledges for Benjamin’s safety. He might have been in on the plot to get rid of Joseph, but he’s redeeming himself now.
4. Israel tells him to bring a bribe and double the money that they still had.
5. So…Joseph makes a feast for the brothers (because he sees Benjamin). I like what the brothers are scared of…he might “assault us…make us servants…and SEIZE OUR DONKEYS?!?” Random.
6. So..freaked out, they tell the truth about the money. Why is it that we sometimes wait until we are about to fall off a cliff to tell the truth?
7. The steward tells them it must have been a miracle because they got their money the first time. I guess he doesn’t know what Joseph has been up to or is he in on it?
8. So…all the boys are eating (Simeon is free), and they are preparing to butter him up with their gift. Hey, I like pistachios.
9. Bowing to the ground. Sounds familiar.
10. Joseph starts to lose it: he asks about his dad, he sees Benjamin and blesses him, and he goes off and cries. How would you feel if you saw Benjamin grown up, so many years later? Do you think they looked alike?
11. So…Joseph still plays some head games. He won’t eat with them (because Egyptians didn’t eat with Hebrews), and he served Benjamin 5 times as much as the older guys (normally, the oldest would get at least twice as much as the rest…not the youngest!)

So…what do you think about?

Israel?
Judah?
Benjamin?
Joseph?
The rest of the brothers?

Read Genesis 42:1-38

So now we all of a sudden remember that life went on without Joseph back in Jacob’s house, and we see what they are up to…

1. That’s how widespread the famine is. These guys live in Canaan and they need the food from Egypt too.
2. Notice that Jacob would not send Benjamin. Why do you think he held back Benjamin specifically? (I know the Bible says that harm might happen to him…but that could have happened to any brother…so why Benjamin?)
3. Joseph’s brothers bowed themselves to Joseph. Does this remind you of anything?
4. So…Joseph chooses to be rough with his brothers. What would you have done in this situation?
5. The brothers say they are “honest men.” Again, what do you think Joseph was feeling when they said this.
6. The brothers say that brother number twelve is “no more.” Again, what do you think Joseph was thinking when they said that?
7. Interesting scene here…Joseph says that he wants to see Benjamin, to prove they are not spies. Then the brothers discuss amongst themselves, in Hebrew (thinking that Joseph only spoke Egyptian), about that this is all because of what they did to Joseph back in the day. Reuben busts out a little “I told you so.” Notice who Joseph chooses to imprison. Any guesses on why it was him?
8. Then Joseph sets them up by giving them the grain but also hiding the money in their sacks. Why do you think he did that?
9. Interesting that when these guys are panicking, they finally mention God’s involvement in their life. Things suck…oh, it must be God’s fault! Do you know people who do that…give God the glory…when something goes wrong?
10. What occurs from here out is pretty dramatic. In a cartoon, this is skipped over. Realize that, when Jacob is told of what’s going on, he acknowledges that Joseph is dead and Simeon is as good as dead. He is not wiling to send Benjamin to die too. So…he is willing to accept the fact that Simeon is gone. Whoah.
11. Also notice that Reuben offers two of his own sons to be killed if he can’t bring back Benjamin and Simeon. Wow.

OK…at this point, what do you think about:

Joseph?
Simeon?
Jacob?
Reuben?

Read Genesis 41:37-57

1. Of course, Joseph would get the gig. He had just proven that God was in him. Did it probably tick off his magicians and “wise” men? Sure. But, by listening to God’s voice, Joseph rose above those guys. Are you confident in the wisdom that comes from God; or, as seems to be the case more and more in this culture, do you think that what God thinks is just another opinion?
2. Signet rings, gold chains, second chariots…awww…brings back freaky memories from Promise Keepers. He he he…inside joke.
3. Quick question: what do you think about the Egyptianizing of Joseph? Pharaoh gave him an Egyptian name, Zaphenath-paneah and an Egyptian wife (who was the daughter of an Egyptian priest).
4. So…Joseph had two kids with that Egyptian lady: Manassaeh (which means “forget,” like he forgot all the pain of his past) and Ephraim (which means “fruitful,” like he’s being now). These two names will be very important later.
5. Because Joseph had stored up all that grain (and no one else was expecting it), Egypt survived the famine and every other country came to Egypt to get grain during those seven years. Just imagine how powerful they became because of God revealing the meaning of Pharaoh’s dream.

What do you think of hte following in this passage:

Joseph?
Pharaoh?
God?

Read Genesis 41:1-36

OK…so, last time we checked, that cupbearer forgot about Joseph. Sheesh.

1. Weird dreams about 7 ugly things eating 7 healthy things. I used to have a dream that I was on Wheel of Fortune, and I guessed every letter in the alphabet, and none of them worked.
2. Two years. It’s one thing to forget to take out the garbage. The house might stink for a day. But this dude forgot about Joseph and he was stuck in prison for 2 years. Wow. Think of what you were doing two years ago at this time. I was getting ready to marry Mary Kate!
3. In one of the biggest “oops” parts of the Bible, the cupbearer remembers that Hebrew who could interpret dreams. Oops…almost forgot…two years! Dude was in a pit.
4. Joseph gives credit to God for his skillz. Amen.
5. So…God gives Pharaoh a preview for what is going to happen. Obviously, his dream was like a lock that only Joseph could unlock. So God wanted Pharaoh to have Joseph stand before him for this very reason.
6. Joseph tells Pharaoh to put someone in charge of the grain storing process. They will take 1/5 of everything in the seven good years to have enough food for the seven bad years.

For me, this passage reminds me of the need to always be asking God for a “heads up” to the future. As much as I enjoy the victories of today, I’m always trying to think about what God might have in store for the future. And I want to set things up to make the future awesome. Hey…in honor of that. Take some time to pray for the seniors who are going to graduate soon. I’m sure you know of a couple. Then, pray for those 6th graders who are going to be coming into the ministry next year. Also, pray for the 5th graders because they are going to be able to go to the middle school camp at Mt. Hermon.

Read Genesis 40:1-23.

No skippies!

So…Joseph’s succeeding in prison. Let’s check it out.

1. In case you’re wondering, a cupbearer was actually the guy who would drink from the king’s glass first in order to make sure that there wasn’t any poison in it. A baker could also poison a king if you think about it. So…these, althought they seem like unlikely conspiracy members, actually could be hired to wack the king!
2. One thing to notice, Joseph paid attention to the feelings of these two guys. Maybe some people wouldn’t have even noticed that they were “troubled,” but he did enough to ask. Do you notice people? When people look upset or like they are having a hard day, do you pass them by because it might be too much work, or do you care enough to ask what’s up?
3. Check out Joseph’s thought process. He says, “Don’t dream belong to God?” And then he says, “Tell them to me.” What does this mean? I think it means that Joseph is confident in the fact that God is still close with him, that God could use him to interpret these dreams. Are you confident in the gifts that God has given you, or you do you shy away from them?
4. OK…so the cupbearers dream was a good one. And Joseph is so confident in his interpretation that he says WHEN you are out of here, put in a good word for me! That’s confidence, too.
5. OK…is it me, or would you be able to put two and two together if you had a dream about birds stealing your bread? I dunno. Maybe I just think that would be a no-brainer. Anyway, the baker gets a bad dream. Can you say poisoned donuts? Anyway, he’s going to die.
6. Classic line, “and the cupbearer forgot Joseph.” Crap.

So…today would be a good day to reflect on Joseph’s confidence in God and his confidence in the abilities that God has given him. Like I said, who did God make you? Are you cool with that?

Read Genesis 39:1-23.

[What we're skipping:

*Tucked in the midst of the Joseph story is a story about Judah (boy #4). If we're keeping score, boy #1 messed up (slept with one of daddy's women, boys #2 & #3 also messed up (slaughtered the men of Shechem, bringing trouble to Jacob's family). So...maybe 4th time's the charm? Not quite.

*OK...Judah marries the daughter of a man named Shua (foreign girl!), who has three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah.

*He hooked his first son, Er, up with a girl named Tamar. It says that God killed Er because he was wicked. Then Judah told Onan it was his duty to marry his older brother's widow (back in the day, this was how they rolled. Also, any descendents would be considered Er's descendents). So...Onan had sex with Tamar but would "pull out" before he could get her pregnant (because he didn't want her to have a kid that wouldn't benefit him). Yeah...I know, weird. So...God put Onan to death for being a punk, too. At this point, Tamar's out of luck because boy #3 (Shelah) is too young to marry; so Judah just tells her to stick around untill he's old enough to get with her. Weird, I know.

*OK...so Judah's wife dies. And he goes to shepherd. Tamar hears about him going off and disguises herself as a prostitute (because Shelah was all grown up by now, and Judah wouldn't let him marry her). So..she dresses up like a prostitute, and Judah takes the bait.

*Tamar asks what "payment" he'll give, and he asks for credit. She says ok, but he has to let her keep his staff (which is like his social security card) until he brings her a goat.

*He goes back to find her with the goat, but she's gone. Uh oh, and she's got his staff...

*Three months later, Tamar is "showing" because she's pregnant. Judah is about to BURN her (literally), and she says, "Whoever own this stuff is the guy who got me pregnant." Of course, it's his staff. Judah backs off because he knows he should have offered her the youngest son to marry, so he doesn't burn her or have sex with her again. She ended up having twins.

Yeah...what a story!]

OK…so, back from the dead, here we go.

1. Joseph is successul because God is with him. Hey…I have to correlate this to the youth auction last night. We prospered, guys, because God is for us. He wants us to pursue Him, to take risks for Him. If you feel like Joseph today, remember that it was God who fueled all of this.
2. Being overseer of the house is a big deal for a slave. Do you think that the way Joseph acted had anything to do with his promotion?
3. Joseph was a looker. And Potiphar’s wife left no room for speculation about how she felt about him when she said, “Have sex with me!” Subtle, those Egyptians. Subtle. Most guys would dream of a situation like this, but he realizes this would be wrong to do to Potiphar and that it would be wicked in God’s eyes. Joseph had integrity.
4. It basically says that everyday, Potiphar’s wife was relentless: “Sleep with me!” “Look at how skimpy my robe is!” “Doesn’t my perfume smell nice?” To most guys, I know this culture is tough to live in…it almost feels like Potiphar’s wife…constant, day after day temptation. What things in our culture are like Potiphar’s wife, constantly begging to be noticed (even though we know we shouldn’t)?
5. So…she grabs his robe, and he runs off half naked to avoid sinning. Please note the Joseph approach to avoiding sin with the opposite sex: RUN!
6. And, you know what, it doesn’t even “pay off” for Joseph– he gets framed and thrown into prison! Youth pastors use this chapter all the time about how to avoid sin, but they usually fail to mention that Joseph is not immediately blessed. Quite the opposite…it seems like he’s being punished for following God! Does it sometimes seem like this is the case in our culture? I know, for me, for example, that I do sometimes get frustrated about all the nudity and sex scenes in movies. I would love to see movies like “300″ or “The Wedding Crashers,” but I also know that I really don’t need to see those things. So…sometimes I feel like I’m not “normal” or that I’m being punished for caring about being pure. Does anyone else ever feel that way?
7. I like the last part, though, it said that God was with him still. “With him” must mean more than having the gangsta lifestyle because he still is in prison. But God is with him, and he gets promoted in there too! God helps him to succeed.

Some people, after reading this passage, might say, yeah, he’s doing well for a guy in PRISON! But, maybe they don’t get the fact that God (since he was WITH him) must have wanted him to be in prison. For what? Let’s see…

Read Genesis 37:1-36

[Wow...we're skipping like crazy...

*Jacob finally got settle back in Canaan (the land promised to his grandpa) in a place called Shechem.

*Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob, was raped by one of the local guys of Shechem. This guy, whose named happened to be Shechem (the prince of Shechem), told his day to arrange a marriage with Dinah for him. Jacob tried to keep this from Dinah's brothers; but, while the king was there with Jacob, the boys came in from the fields and heard about the rape. Schechem wanted to make a deal for her to be his wife. The guys had a trick up their sleeves and told the men of Schechem that the only way they'd go through with it was if the men of Schechem were all cicumcized. They agreed; so, after they had cut their stuff, Simeon and Levi went into the city and killed all the men while they were "sore." Jacob was mad that they took revenge like this; but, in a famous line in the Bible, they said, "Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?"

*God spoke to Jacob directly and told him to purify himself and his family (get rid of idols, etc.). God blessed Jacob and told him that his new name would be Israel. The cool thing about this is that HE gets the blessing directly.

*Rachel died shortly thereafter, giving birth to her second son (Jacob's 12th son), Benjamin.

*Out of nowhere, we get a litle anecdote that Rueben (the oldest son) decides to sleep with Bilhah, his father's concubine (a couple of his brothers' mom...weird!).

*Jacob finally visited his father again, and Isaac died soon after that.

*Esau's family got huge, so he went off to live farther away from Jacob in Edom. Have fun reading the list of all the people in his family. I'm sure this would have meant a lot to the people at the time...it'd kinda be like, "Oh, so that's where Louisianna came from!" But, to us, we don't really care.]

It just so happens, that I have an expert in the Joseph story with me today as I do this…so…I will infuse my thoughts with Logan’s (since he was in “Jospeh and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”):

1. Joseph was a bit of a tattle tale.
2. Preferential treatment…Jacob loved Joseph more. I don’t know how that coat became a “technicolor” dreamcoat in the musical. My favorite version of the Bible says it was a “varicolored tunic.” Have you ever had a sibling with something cooler than what your parents gave you?
3. So, yeah, the brothers are ticked at Joseph…
4. I wonder why the brothers hated these dreams? Yeah…so…they’ll all bow down to me! What’s the problem? No problem if you’re Joseph.
5. Interesting that dad chewed him out for telling the dream, but it says that he kept it all in his mind. Hmm…I’m sure he doesn’t like the idea of bowing to his son, but at least he respects God enough to know that it could be from him (he did have a wrestling match with God…B.W.E.)
6. Joseph gets sent to check on his brothers…where? In Schechem. Where were they? In Dothan. What were they doing there?
7. Nice brothers, they want to kill him. Reuben rises up and says not to kill him (he was planning on going back to get him later). But, they mugged him and tore up his varicolored tunic and threw him into the pit. Geez. I used to get in fights with my brothers…but not this bad!
8. They sat around and had a meal while their brother was sitting in the bottom of a pit! That’s cruel!
9. Ishmaelites (yeah…the descendants of Ishmael) rolled up, and they decided to sell him to them; and Joseph was on his way to Egypt.
10. Apparently, at some point, Reuben didn’t stick around for lunch, because he went back to rescue Joseph; and he was already gone. One, he was trying to rescue him. But, two, as the oldest brother, he is responsible. So…they hatch the plan to dip his robe in blood and say that it was a wild beast that got him.
11. When they get back, it’s CSI Shechem…Jacob looks at the robe and they ask if it is “[his] son’s robe.” Not our brothers…his sons. They didn’t even acknowledge him as their brother.
12. You don’t even want to visualize what an old man in sackcloth looks like. But…it means that he was mourning for his dead son. When he says that he will go down to Sheol mourning–Sheol is like Hades or Hell…he’s basically saying that his life is over now that Joseph’s life is over.
13. To be continued…Joseph is sold to an Egyptian nobleman, Potiphar.

That’s a lot.

What do you think about?

Jacob’s treament of Joseph
The way Joseph handles his dreams
The way Reuben handles the “plot”
The behavior of all the other brothers