Genesis 41:37-57 - God Intends Suffering for Good

Genesis 41:37-57

Joseph’s Rise to Power

37 So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. 38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?”

39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”

42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” 45 And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-Paaneah. And he gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

46 Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. 47 Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth abundantly. 48 So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. 49 Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.

50 And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. 51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.” 52 And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

53 Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended, 54 and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55 So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, do.” 56 The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt. 57 So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands.

Here we see the good meant by God (Genesis 50:20) for the suffering of Joseph after being sold into slavery by his jealous brothers who initially wanted to kill him for the dreams of greatness by God for his life.  He suffered by false accusations by the immoral desire of his master Potiphar’s wife that landed him in jail and then left ignored by the butler who did not do the crime as revealed in another dream and left in prison for another two years in despair.  Now Joseph begins to see the sovereign predetermined plan of God to allow all these things to culminate in this moment, for such a time as this (Esther 4:14) as it was also in Esther’s case to deliver His people through these times of suffering.  The Pharaoh observed the hand of God on Joseph in his wisdom as well as his prophetic dreams.  He had the dreams that revealed the fates of the imprisoned chief baker and butler, and now had revealed the king’s dreams of famine and plenty with the wisdom on what to do to alleviate the situation and provide a way through the suffering trials to come for the nation.  The times of impend tribulation had been revealed and shown through Joseph His servant to be publicly acknowledged and acted upon.  The Pharaoh recognized and spoke of God’s Spirit in Joseph who was a servant of the Most-High and acknowledged as no mere court magician.  He recognized that nobody else there in the kingdom had this God and God-given wisdom and discernment as Joseph, so he put him in power just beneath himself over all the land.  All had to bow down to Joseph and he was made rich with honor, a wife, and possessions for being faithful to the LORD and helpful to the nation.  He was but thirty years old!  Joseph went throughout the kingdom to organize the gathering and storage of immeasurable amounts of grain in all the cities the seven years of plenty, bearing two sons of fruitfulness after his affliction.  Then he began doling out the grain in the following seven years of famine just as the LORD had told him.  The famine was so widespread that Joseph’s family would soon join the other nations in the trip to Egypt to buy food from him, just as he was selling to the native people of the land of Pharaoh.  The lesson here above all other is to suffer in hope as we acknowledge that our affliction is meant for good in the end (Romans 8:28, 2 Timothy 1:8-9, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18) if we follow faithfully and obediently along the struggles of life in the way to the deliverance and entry into the eventual promised land of the Celestial City of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:11-12, 1 Peter 5:10-11) for His glory and praise to come.  God truly intends our suffering for our good and His glory just as we see in the case of Joseph here. 

Genesis 41:17-36 - The Meaning of the Dreaming

 Genesis 41:17-36

17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Behold, in my dream I stood on the bank of the river. 18 Suddenly seven cows came up out of the river, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow. 19 Then behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, such ugliness as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt. 20 And the gaunt and ugly cows ate up the first seven, the fat cows. 21 When they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were just as ugly as at the beginning. So I awoke. 22 Also I saw in my dream, and suddenly seven heads came up on one stalk, full and good. 23 Then behold, seven heads, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them. 24 And the thin heads devoured the seven good heads. So I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do: 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years; the dreams are one. 27 And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine. 28 This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. 29 Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt; 30 but after them seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will deplete the land. 31 So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe. 32 And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

33 “Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. 35 And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. 36 Then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine.”

Joseph was given the meaning of the dreaming of Pharaoh by the LORD.  He listened to the potentate describe the two parallel events that he had dreamed of and which disturbed him so much.  The first was the seven fat well-fed cows that seemed content until seven starving waif cows followed after them, “poor and very ugly and gaunt,” as never seen or imagined before in prosperous Egypt.  These cows of skin and bone then devoured the fat cows but remained thin and ugly.  The king awoke then dreamed right away once more of the seven heads of lush grain on a single stalk followed by seven opposite looking withered heads dried up by a dry wind.  These then devoured the plump heads of grain as the lean cows had done with the robust ones in the prev dream.  When the Pharaoh told these things to his astrologers and wise men of occult occupations, they were utterly helpless and clueless to offer any explanation or interpretation.  This is why the Pharaoh had sent for Joseph in prison because the chief butler had told him how the God of Joseph had precisely interpreted the dreams and outcomes of him and of his fellow prisoner the baker (Genesis 41:11-13).  Now Joseph stood before the king of the realm after being made presentable from his unjust imprisonment and boldly gave the God-given interpretation of the two parallel events of the dreams given by God to Pharaoh.  He described the seven prosperous cows and grain heads as years of plenty and the following seven gaunt cows and withered grain heads as the corresponding years of famine to follow in the mirror image of prosperity afterwards.  The dream was repeated for emphasis to highlight the critical importance of taking action to avoid starvation from the severe consequences of the famine to come in seven years.  Not only did Joseph give the understanding from God to him, but he also then provided practical wisdom as to how to deal with this situation.  He provided godly counsel to choose a wise man to oversee the collection of grain during the first seven plentiful years that would sustain the kingdom for the seven lean years of famine to follow.  The Pharaoh was to use his authority to make this happen as a matter of law for the good of the people.  Thus the food reserves would be stored and distributed to keep them alive through the coming famine over the unseen horizon.  God sees over the horizon as described in the word for predestination in the New Testament that describes how He sees over the boundaries of time to the fulfillment of His determined purpose that He will certainly bring to pass in His determined time.  God sovereignly planned the famine and the deliverance from it and used Joseph to deliver both his people and the nation of Egypt in the process.  He also planned the deliverance of all His children from sin’s curse we inherited from Adam by providing His Son to atone for our sins by dying for us to take our punishment of the consequences of our inherited and ongoing sin and giving grace in eternal forgiveness to deliver us from the famine of His acceptance and presence for all time over the horizon of what we can see or imagine.  God satisfies the soul with fullness from His word and hope in the face of destruction in the tribulation of the judgment on the world and the famine for His word that is coming.  We have the interpretation of scripture like this in the Bible as His whole counsel and hope of the promise of eternal life in knowing Him and His Son (John 17:3, 1 John 5:20) who delivers us from this famine of the lack of understanding and the wrath to come through the gospel.  This is the meaning of the dreaming. 

Genesis 41:1-16 - The Dreamer and the Dream

Genesis 41:1-16

Pharaoh’s Dreams

1 Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river. 2 Suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow. 3 Then behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river. 4 And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke. 5 He slept and dreamed a second time; and suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, plump and good. 6 Then behold, seven thin heads, blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them. 7 And the seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads. So Pharaoh awoke, and indeed, it was a dream. 8 Now it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.

9 Then the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying: “I remember my faults this day. 10 When Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker, 11 we each had a dream in one night, he and I. Each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream. 12 Now there was a young Hebrew man with us there, a servant of the captain of the guard. And we told him, and he interpreted our dreams for us; to each man he interpreted according to his own dream. 13 And it came to pass, just as he interpreted for us, so it happened. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him.”

14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; and he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh. 15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.”

16 So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, ”It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

The dreamer (Lit. master of dreams, Genesis 37:19) was given insight from the LORD to interpret dreams of others.  This is how God had allowed his siblings to sell Joseph into slavery and be falsely accused after faithfully serving Potiphar and thrown in jail.  It was for a time like this that he was placed in the king’s prison to interpret the dreams of the head cupbearer and baker to then be there to interpret the dreams of Pharaoh to deliver his people through the famine while saving the Egyptians along the way.  How intricate and precise are the plans of our sovereign God that defy any attempts of our own to orchestrate and bring to pass!  Pharaoh had this dream about fat and starving cows as well as plump and blighted heads of grain, both thin ones being devoured by the full ones before them.  The dream was so real and persistent after the pharaoh awoke that he could not shake the troubling nature whose meaning escaped him and all the wise men of Egypt that he told in hope of an interpretation to calm his unrest and confusion.  He sought peace from a dream that God had given him and did not understand that only the Living God could provide an answer.  Some of us have experienced some like this in a recurring dream that begs an answer and oftentimes is not seen for the meaning until years later when the events unfurl in our lives.  This supernatural dream of Pharaoh was directly from God for His people in saving Egypt that His own children could be saved from famine and become a great nation after the four hundred years of enslavement prophesied before (Genesis 15:7-8, 13-14) to Abram before he was Abraham and as a promise to inherit the promised land by taking God at His word in true faith such as we have (Galatians 3:9) in God’s work in Christ.  When nobody could be found to interpret the dream of a king, the King of kings jarred the memory of the chief cupbearer to recall how Joseph was able to rightly interpret his dream and that of the baker in prison, and how each came to pass exactly as the Hebrew had said.  They brought him out of bondage to face Pharaoh who told him he heard that Joseph could interpret dreams.  The man of God made it clear that this was no prideful ability of his own, but that God Himself was the only one to give the understanding of the perplexing dream’s revelation of the truth.  The dreamer would now be used by the LORD to unravel the meaning of Pharaoh’s night vision and give all the glory to the revealer and not to the servant of the Most-High who deserves all the credited honor.  Likewise, if we have a dream that we think is from God, only He can reveal the true meaning to us in line with His word.  Too many people pretend to be great and draw great attention to themselves instead of the Lord in their supposed abilities as prophets and seers when the only glory to be given is when the Lord is seen as the source and receiver of all knowledge and understanding of these things.  In Joel 2:28 as quoted in Acts 2:17-18 we see how the Lord at Pentecost revealed the coming of Christ and the gospel of salvation through dreams as His Spirit moved some to speak and unravel the gospel hidden in plain sight in the Old Testament for us (Acts 2:22, 36) to know.  Jeremiah 23:28-29 is a reminder to speak God’s word and not make our own interpretations of dreams.  Remember the dreamer Joseph and the dreams he was given the opportunity to give God’s interpretation of the dreams of others and of his own dreams understood in part by his brothers as to the LORD choosing and using him for His glory, honor, and praise alone.  This passage tells us of The Dreamer and the Dream to direct our thoughts on God’s honor and glory and not that of any man.

Genesis 40:1-23 - Dreams Revealed by the LORD

Genesis 40:1-23

The Prisoners’ Dreams

1 It came to pass after these things that the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt. 2 And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker. 3 So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. 4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; so they were in custody for a while.

5 Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream, both of them, each man’s dream in one night and each man’s dream with its own interpretation. 6 And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were sad. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?”

8 And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.”

So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.”

9 Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine was before me, 10 and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. 11 Then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”

12 And Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days. 13 Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler. 14 But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. 15 For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.”

16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and there were three white baskets on my head. 17 In the uppermost basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”

18 So Joseph answered and said, “This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days. 19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head from you and hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you.”

20 Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. 21 Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. 22 But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. 23 Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

While innocent Joseph was incarcerated in pharaoh’s prison, two convicted men joined him there.  They were the king’s chief of the cupbearers and the chief of the bakers.  Since Joseph had been blessed by God and put in charge of the prisoners as he had been over the household of Potiphar, he attended to these two.  After a while, both of them had dreams on the same night and were perplexed at their meanings.  Joseph observed that they both were down and out that morning when they awoke from their respective dreams and found out that they could not understand and needed an interpreter.  Of course, we know that this is only possible if the Lord provides the interpretation because only He knows (Acts 15:8, Matthew 9:4) the minds and hearts of men and women, including their dreams, some of which He gives us as in these cases.  Joseph knew this and told them that the interpretation of each was only in God’s power to reveal and that he would be able to tell them if God told him.  They told their seemingly unrelated accounts and Joseph was given the meaning to tell them, one at a time.  The chief cupbearer and butler was to be reinstated in three days to Pharaoh’s good favor.  By revealing this to the butler, Joseph hoped to have his own case brought up to the potentate by the head butler as he asked him to.  The second man, the baker, eagerly wanted to hear the same good interpretation of his own dream, but unfortunately found out he would be hanged and eaten by the birds as bread on his head in a basket.  On the third day all came to pass as God had planned and revealed.  But the restored chief butler forgot all about Joseph’s case and failed to bring it up as promised most likely because he was happy to be alive and back in his position.  May we look to the Lord for guidance and understanding of hidden truths and events, not seeking to spiritualize every dream and event, but being open to God’s revelation when it is in His will for His glory when the time arises.  We need to be attentive to God’s Spirit for guidance (Isaiah 30:21) but not make ourselves the focus when He does show us things to come as in dreams revealed or the meaning of things (1 Corinthians 14:30-33) we or others are in at the time. 

Genesis 39:1-23 - A Good and Faithful Servant

Genesis 39:1-23

Joseph a Slave in Egypt

1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. 2 The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. 3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. 5 So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house and in the field. 6 Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate.

Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.

7 And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.”

8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. 9 There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

10 So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.

11 But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, 12 that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. 13 And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside, 14 that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in to us a Hebrew to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15 And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.”

16 So she kept his garment with her until his master came home. 17 Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me; 18 so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.”

19 So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his anger was aroused. 20 Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison. 21 But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. 23 The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.

Joseph was nearly murdered after jealousy of his brothers led him into a pit of literal despair, then he was sold off to wandering traders who sold him into slavery in Egypt.  The man who bought him was an officer of Pharaoh, his captain of the guard, named Potiphar.  Quickly the captain observed how good and prosperous Joseph was in his service that Potiphar put him in charge of his household!  Joseph was the overseer of everything in the officer’s house and was entrusted with authority to run it all, unheard of for a foreigner, a non-Egyptian.  The man saw that the LORD was with Joseph and that the success was felt in the blessings on his house and field alike.  It was a prosperous arrangement with a slave who was much more because of his God, and all was well for a while until sin (Genesis 4:7) crept in and had to be overcome by a righteous response.  We read that “Joseph was handsome in form and appearance,” and that his master’s wife began lusting for him.  When she asked Joseph to sleep with her, he overcame the temptation by being true to the LORD and refusing her outright.  He told her that he could not betray his master’s trust not sin against his God with such wickedness of adultery with her.  She likely was very beautiful herself, but that did not change his resolve to honor the LORD in righteousness.  She persisted day by day until she caught him alone in the house with her and tried to force herself on him.  When she grabbed his clothes and tried to pull him into bed, he ran wisely away as fast as he could, thinking that would keep him safe.  Unfortunately, Potiphar’s wife was so angry at not getting what she desired that she loudly accused him of attempting to rape her when it was the other way around.  The lie was told and believed by her husband and the good and faithful servant was sacked and thrown in the king’s prison for a crime his own wife committed.  The foreigner had to be guilty and she had to be believed.  Even incarcerated, God showed mercy and was blessing Joseph His good and faithful servant.  There the prisoner keeper recognized Joseph’s abilities under God’s hand and gave him authority to run things there just as Potiphar had done in his household.  All these things were because the LORD was with Joseph, not because he was so smart or had such great abilities of his own.  We are wise to learn from this account that all our success is the blessing of our Lord and not of our own ability or wisdom or good looks.  Only then will we truly prosper in all we do as we give Him the credit of honor and praise to enable us in our endeavors in life.  We may not be put in charge of high government or low places like prisons, but we are put in the places He has predetermined for us to glorify Him by acknowledging that all we have and are enabled to do is by His hand of grace and wisdom in His mercy of sovereignty in giving works for us to accomplish (Ephesians 2:10) here in His name.  He will exalt us in due time as we faithfully serve and willingly obey in righteous response in the direction of our lives lived for Christ to honor the Father (John 5:23).  We are to flee such sin (1 Corinthians 6:18) as faced Joseph and follow the Lord as good (Matthew 24:45-46, Titus 3:8, 1 Peter 4:19) and faithful servants no matter the slanderous consequences that may follow. 

Genesis 38:1-30 - The Wages of Sin

Genesis 38:1-30

Judah and Tamar

1 It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah. 2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her and went in to her. 3 So she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. 4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. 5 And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah. He was at Chezib when she bore him.

6 Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD killed him. 8 And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother. 10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD; therefore He killed him also.

11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house till my son Shelah is grown.” For he said, “Lest he also die like his brothers.” And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.

12 Now in the process of time the daughter of Shua, Judah’s wife, died; and Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And it was told Tamar, saying, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14 So she took off her widow’s garments, covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, because she had covered her face. 16 Then he turned to her by the way, and said, “Please let me come in to you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.

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

17 And he said, “I will send a young goat from the flock.”
So she said, “Will you give me a pledge till you send it?”

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

So she said, “Your signet and cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” Then he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him. 19 So she arose and went away, and laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood.

20 And Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand, but he did not find her. 21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, “Where is the harlot who was openly by the roadside?”

And they said, “There was no harlot in this place.”

22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I cannot find her. Also, the men of the place said there was no harlot in this place.”

23 Then Judah said, “Let her take them for herself, lest we be shamed; for I sent this young goat and you have not found her.”

24 And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; furthermore she is with child by harlotry.”

So Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!”

25 When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man to whom these belong, I am with child.” And she said, “Please determine whose these are—the signet and cord, and staff.”

26 So Judah acknowledged them and said, “She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.” And he never knew her again.

27 Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb. 28 And so it was, when she was giving birth, that the one put out his hand; and the midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and she said, “How did you break through? This breach be upon you!” Therefore his name was called Perez. 30 Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand. And his name was called Zerah.

The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) as we read in scripture, and that is played out here in of Judah and his descendants.  He married a Canaanite woman who gave him a wicked son named Er who the LORD simply took off the earth and then another named Onan who was told to give his widowed sister-in-law a child to continue his family line.  He pulled out at the last moment in defiance after having his pleas with her in defiance of the LORD and also face the divine sentence of death as his wages earned by his sinful works.  The now bereft and fruitless Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, was promised a husband by Judah’s third son named Shelah when he was old enough to marry her, as he was younger than Er and Judah did not want him to die like his older brothers.  Shelah had grown up and was still not given to her as promised, so when Judah’s wife died she took the opportunity to force the issue to get an heir by deception. She posed as a prostitute along the way that Judah would travel and disguised herself to get a child as promised, but in a sinful manner from her father-in-law since he refused to honor his promise of his son to be given in marriage since he was finally full grown.  She took a pledge as down payment like an IOU for Judah to later redeem when he brought her the payment for her services.  He was in the dark until he saw her pregnant out of wedlock and wanted to have her put to death for disgracing the family.  That is, until she revealed the truth of his own sin by bringing out his signet, cord, and staff to identify who the father of her child was.  He only then admitted his sin with her as well as the broken promise of his son to marry her and of course did not have her killed be he was just as guilty if not more so.  Judah even said out loud that Tamar was more righteous than he was in this affair.  She then gave birth to twins who vied and jockeyed for position of the firstborn and this Perez and Zerah were born.  From Perez came the Hezronites from which came the royal line of King David and the Christ Jesus to us.  Even from sinful people comes the plan of God to pass over time according to His sovereign will and power!  Truly with us we see that the wages we earn and deserve from our sin is the death of body and soul due to us, but God’s grace and plans call us in this Christ to the redemption of forgiveness to grant us what we do not deserve, eternal life in His presence (Psalm 16:11) forevermore.  He reveals our deception and makes our ways straight by calling us to turn from sin (repentance) to receive (John 1:12) and follow Him in this grace in which we stand.  These things were written for our example (1 Corinthians 10:11, Romans 15:4) as both warnings and encouragement in Christ.  We are called, chosen, and saved (Romans 8:29-30) from the penalty of sin to live in the direction of the righteousness of Him as His spiritual heirs to multiply and fill the earth with this eternal inheritance.  This then is a picture of The Wages of Sin which we all must face in the reflection of God’s grace.

Genesis 37:12-36 - Jealousy leads to Hatred and Murder

Genesis 37:12-36

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

12 Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.”

So he said to him, “Here I am.”

14 Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.

15 Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?”

16 So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.”

17 And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.

18 Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. 19 Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! 20 Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”

21 But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.

23 So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. 24 Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.

25 And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. 26 So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

29 Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. 30 And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?”

31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. 32 Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?”

33 And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. 35 And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.

36 Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.

Joseph’s brothers were so full of jealousy over his dreams from God that they ignored what the LORD might be saying and plotted instead to get rid of their younger sibling and his preferential treatment by their father.  Wrath is cruel and anger an overflowing of hate, but who can stand before such jealousy (Proverbs 27:4)?  Israel had sent Joseph to his brothers who were out in the fields to check on the heath of his flocks and bring back word to him.  When Joseph tracked them down, they saw him coming and spitefully sneered at the dreamer who dared consider him above them and immediately conspired to murder him in their jealous rage that they had been feeding since they heard the two dreams that seemed to demean them.  They planned to kill him, throw him in a pit, and blame a wild animal attack on his disappearance to their father.  Such a burning wrath stokes jealousy into weaponized spite as a tool to wound and kill to eliminate the competition!  Only one brother, Rueben, cooled their collective rage by redirecting their intent to leave Joseph alive and just throw him into the pit.  He secretly planned to then take his little brother out and return him home, but the other brothers tore off his coat of many colors gifted by Israel to him and then took the opportunity to sell him off into slavery to a passing band of businessmen headed towards Egypt.  Judah came up with that idea to spare his life.  When Reuben returned, he saw his brother gone and they collectively made it look like wild animals attacked and killed Joseph by tearing the coat of many colors and putting blood on it for effect.  All they had to do is show it to their father; he assumed on his own that it was death by animals as they planned it to look like.  Their jealousy led to rage and then to murderous intent and deception to rid them of their competition to their father’s love and attention.  It backfired and Israel fell into a deep sad and depression over the loss and they did not get what they wanted.  Mean, the Midianites had sold Joseph to an officer of Pharaoh and captain of his guard.  They intended this for evil in their jealousy and hatred, but God’s sovereignty had another plan to deliver them all (Genesis 50:19-20).  He sometimes uses even our sinful nature to work righteousness. 

Genesis 37:1-11 - Joseph had a Dream

Genesis 37:1-11

Joseph Dreams of Greatness

1 Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2 This is the history of Jacob.

Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.

5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. 6 So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”

8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”

10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

Israel’s history of beginnings is seen here, how he lived in Canaan where his father Isaac had sojourned as a wandering stranger and pilgrim as we are in this world in Christ (Ephesians 2:12, 19, Hebrews 11:13), seeking the homeland of a lasting country of promise.  His son Joseph the younger was the child of Rachel along with Benjamin the youngest was loved most by Jacob (now Israel) because he was the son of his old age and of his most-loved wife, and the other brothers were exceedingly jealous of the attention he received from their father.  They went out of their way to slander him to their father as if to make him less loved, but that did not seem to work at all.  The brothers got to the point where just seeing Joseph in the light of their father’s love made them furious with rage to the point that they were no longer able to speak peaceably with him.  How jealousy can tear the fabric of a family apart!  We are to guard against this sin with all our hearts to avoid what the brothers of Joseph were about to do in their hate.  The tipping point was when the LORD spoke to their brother in a dream which he told them in good faith to share the mystery of God’s revealed will to them all through Joseph.  He told,of how the sheaves of bundled grain from the harvest were in the field and how his stood up while the others bowed in submission to him.  They really had their blood boil in the pride of being older brothers and having to bow to the younger like this.  I imagine they thought he made up the dream and missed the point of what God was going to accomplish (Genesis 42:6, 27:29) through Joseph who would be in a position to later deliver them in the days he reigned by pharaoh’s side.  The brother’s hatred was incensed even more at the dream revealed to them as they unwittingly fought against God Himself.  They looked at his special coat of myriad colors and envied the love of their father for him, and now this dreamer dared to exalt himself over them!  It was just too much for their pride.  The second dream of Joseph just added fuel to the fire of their rage.  Joseph saw the sun, moon, and stars all bow down to him as if signifying that his parents and brothers would all bow down to his authority over them.  The sibling rivalry had peaked in wrath and jealousy, but Israel secretly pondered the meaning to him much like when Mary heard of the wonderful things of her divine child who was given to her to save the world (Luke 2:18-19), no doubt because he realized it was too wonderful to not be from the LORD God.  When the Lord moves one of His servants to speak or do something marvelous for the gospel’s sake, do we react in envy or in awe and give glory to God and thankfulness for the faithfulness of the ones He chooses to use instead of us?  Joseph had a dream.  We have His word, Spirit, and individual callings as members of His body that should work together and not in discord (Philippians 2:1-2, 3-4, 4:2) to serve our head who is Christ over us and working through us all individually (Romans 12:5, 1 Corinthians 12:11, 27) for His glory and the sake of the gospel of grace and peace.  What is our dream, calling, gifting, or leading to serve one another?  What is our motivation, jealousy or unity?