Genesis chapter 44

Just look at the amazing change in Judah here from a man who suggested selling his brother to the Ishmaelites, married a Canaanite woman and then ended up sleeping with his daughter in law thinking she was a prostitute, you now have a man who is prepared to accept responsibility, to take charge and shoulder the blame rather than have someone else suffer and cause his father grief.   A man who stands before his brothers and freely offers his own life as a slave in the place of his younger brother.  He was more concerned about his brother and his father than he was about himself.

It shows how God was at work in Judah all those years.  The changes in him were not something that happened overnight.  After all, Judah had had two of his sons marry and die.  But here he is, willing to accept a life of slavery to save his father's favoured son,  with no thought for himself .  He stepped out to face Joseph, who presumably could have had him killed just for speaking out, and offered himself as a slave instead of Benjamin.

Sometimes, God changes us immediately, and the change is apparent to everyone.  Like the drug taker who on converting to Christianity, immediately stops taking drugs, or the man who swears with every other word whose stops swearing immediately.  Other times, it takes longer, as we are changed over months, years.  We become less hard, less selfish, are more considerate of others.  Gradually, the Holy spirit changes us from within and we become filled with the fruits of the spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self control.

Genesis chapter 43

So here we have Jacob who at the end of the last chapter, flat out refused to let the brothers take Benjamin to Egypt to prove they were telling the truth and to get Simeon released from prison.

You know, you have to feel sorry for Simeon in this chapter.  Very little mention is made of him, yet he is the one stuck in prison, whilst his brothers go home and spend so much time there that they could have been to Egypt and back twice.  It would have been easy for Simeon to become bitter.  After all, he had practically been abandoned by his family, he knew the terms of his release and it would have been evident to him that his father would rather lose him than Benjamin.

But no mention is made of this in the bible, and I am pretty sure that if Simeon had come out of prison full of bitterness and hatred, it would tell us this.  Maybe, just maybe, the time alone (I'm assuming he was in his own cell in prison here, although I am sure that the prison was as comfortable as Joseph could arrange it) gave him pause for thought, gave him the chance to reflect on what had gone on over the years, how he had treated his younger brother Joseph and how he and his brothers had spent the intervening years worrying about this and regretting what they had done.  Maybe this time in prison when he didn't have to tend the flocks, see to the herds, and do all the million and one other things he was always doing when at home meant he could spend time with God, reflecting, meditating, repenting. 

I think we all need time like this, time when we are not in a rush to get to work, do the school run, sort out the children, finish that piece of work, and anything and everything that fills our lives in this busy world.  We live in such a fast paced world, where there is always something to be done and the "to do" list just keeps getting longer and longer.  I often wish I had the time to just take some time out, to spend time in prayer and meditation instead of getting up ever earlier to make sure I have enough time to do everything.  Everything always seems so rushed, and I always seem to be in such a hurry that I never truly appreciate those moments when I can just sit and be still.

I reckon we could all do with some time on our own like Simeon, not that I am advocating going to prison here mind!  But just allocating part of our day to just sit and be with God, to take time out, even if it is only a few minutes, and just spend it with God , in quiet, and just listening for what God has to say to each one of us.

Genesis chapter 42

So, on Jacob hearing there was food in Egypt, he sends his boys off to go buy some.   Love the translation in the Message:

Genesis 42:1-2 When Jacob learned that there was food in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why do you sit around here and look at one another? I've heard that there is food in Egypt. Go down there and buy some so that we can survive and not starve to death." (The Message)

Or, in other words, get up off your lazy backsides and go do something about the food shortage rather than just sitting there whingeing about it!

So off they go to Egypt where Joseph immediately recognises them but they do not recognise him.  After all, there was no reason why they should expect to see him anyway as they thought he was dead.  So Joseph accuses them of being spies, locks them up for three days and then says that he will let all of them go except one provided they bring back their youngest brother to prove the truth of their story. Interestingly, the brother who is left in prison whilst the others return to their father was Simeon, the second eldest, not Reuben, the eldest, or one of the younger brothers.  Maybe Joseph had known that Reuben had been planning to go back and rescue him, maybe it was just a coincidence that Simeon was left in prison, maybe it was because joseph knew Simeon was the second eldest and he left the elder of the brothers to take care of the others, maybe Joseph thought Simeon had been the ring leader of the plot to get rid of him. Or maybe the conversation Joseph overheard when Reuben talked about this being God's judgement on them for the murder of Joseph led him to select Simeon.  Whatever the reason, after three days in prison (one for each year Joseph was imprisoned?),  Simeon was left in prison whilst the other brothers were freed to return to Canaan and fetch Benjamin. 

But Joseph also returned their money for the grain to their sacks before the brothers left.  This clearly shows just how much Joseph had changed.  He could easily have charged them double or more than anyone else was paying, but instead, he chooses to return their money, ensuring the family has enough food at no cost.  He is being generous and forgiving, whereas many people in the same situation would have been hard and unyielding, having held a deep drudge for all those years.  To behave like that can only have been through the grace of God at work in his life.

Firstly, the one thing that the brothers think of when Joseph accuses them of being spies is that they are being punished for what they did to Joseph.  Years have passed since they sold Joseph into slavery and yet this is the first thing that springs to mind.  They were consumed by their guilt and had probably spent all the intervening years with that nagging sense of having done something wrong, always worrying about what they had done, whether Jacob would find out and so on.  They had had no peace in all those years.

But what a change had been wrought in the brothers.  Here, Reuben accepts responsibility, stands up to his father and promises to bring Benjamin back safely or else Jacob can kill Reuben's two sons.  Yet all those years ago, he went along with the scheme to kill Joseph and did nothing to prevent harm coming to his brother.   Just as God had been working on Joseph, changing him from the proud young man to a man who knew that God was in control, a man of responsibility, of status, working to keep nations alive through a severe famine, God had also been working on the brothers, making them appreciate the wrong they had done and turning them from jealous, insecure men to men who could be relied upon and trusted, men who would do the right thing no matter what the cost.  They could have become even more hardened, have continued to close their hearts and minds to God.  I mean, men who would do this to their brother are capable of anything, and it would have been so easy so slip down the road of always trying to get their own way, being self centred and using their strength to get what they wanted. 

In the same way, God is working on each one of us believers making us more like Jesus each and every day.  For some, this may be something that takes place very quickly, for others it takes years.  It can be a quick process or a gradual one.  What matters is that we are prepared to accept God working on us, that we allow the Holy Spirit to change us from within, and that we have the patience to wait and see what God does.

Genesis chapter 41

You look at all that Joseph has been through over the past years and it is all changed in an instant.  Instead of wearing prison garb, having long hair and a beard (I know, l'm making assumptions here!), he is taken out, given a hot bath, clean clothes, a shave and a hair cut and taken to see Pharaoh. 

It would have been so easy to tell Pharaoh that yes, he could interpret dreams and then to take the reward for himself.  Instead, Joseph puts God first, makes a suggestion about putting a  wise man in charge of the problem and does not push himself forward at all.  It just shows the reality of the change in Joseph from someone who was boasting to his brothers that they would all bow down before him to someone who trusts and relies on God rather than putting himself forward. 

This is difficult to imagine in this day and age, when it seems that it is every man for himself, that you have to always be pushing yourself forward, presenting yourself in the best possible light to get on, get moving, get rich.  Imagine what a  better place the workplace would be if everyone took this attitude?  If instead of stabbing in the back a colleague, trying to outdo others all the time, get the promotion, the favour of the boss, you actually took the time and the trouble to give the glory to God, because after all, isn't he the one who has given you the ability to do that job?  Yes you may have studied and gained the qualifications, you may have applied for the job and had the experience they were looking for, were prepared to work for that pay and do those hours, but God is the one who gave you the experience, the intelligence to pass the exams, the patience to do those hours, and so on. 

Joseph could have literally have written his own blank cheque there and had Pharaoh sign it, but instead, he gave the glory to God and was rewarded accordingly.  He could have also completely turned against God, blaming him for the situation he was in..  After all, if God had never given him the dreams in the first place, then his brothers wouldn't have thrown him in the pit or sold him into slavery.  Absolutely all God's fault……….  You may think it far fetched for people to think like this, but I know from experience with my husband that God gets blamed for just about everything………..It is far easier in some instances to sit there blaming God for everything that has happened in your life than it is to turn around and give God the glory for the good things that are happening in your life.  Living life in a pit of depression is really no life at all as all you do is continually dwell on the bad things in life and rehash things that people have said or done, mistakes you have made and so on.  I know it is not necessarily as simple or straight cut as that, but that is often how it appears to me when I see my husband just wallowing in depression (can you tell he is going through a bad patch at the moment?).

How often do we do that - blame God for things that have happened or just try to sort things out ourselves?  More often than not, it is a case of forgetting God, of trusting in our own abilities to get the job done, whatever the job may be, and ignoring God in the process.  All too often I try to do things on my own, giving God barely a look in yet all things are possible through faith.  When do I recall my faith?  When do I trust in God to sort things out rather than get up and get doing myself?  Joseph didn't really  have much of a choice in the matter when he was serving Potiphar and then in prison.  He was completely dependent on others so he just had to trust God.  It seems so much harder today when we have the internet, a fast moving world where we can get just about anything instantaneouosly (or at least as quickly as Amazon will deliver;) ).   It is easier to do the job ourselves (or in my case lock myself away in my office so I don't have to listen to my husband sighing continually, moaning at anyone and everyone, being in a permanent grump and letting us all know this) rather than wait on God but maybe doing the job is something God doesn't want us to do, or maybe wants us to do in a different way.

I reckon we all need to slow down, to take the time to wait on God and to see what He would have us do.  I know this is really true of me as I always rush in to solve one problem after another without even asking God although I know this comes in part form having a family who always turn to me for help, not their father (in fact, they all come to me, hubbie as well….).  Joseph had an enforced waiting on God where he grew as a person, and really developed in his relationship with God whereas we have the choice nowadays to live life as everyone else does (rushing around, being busy, trying to achieve our own goals, our own agendas, being taken up with everything this world has to offer) or to live life focusing on God, to put Him first in our lives and to seek His will, not ours.

Genesis chapter 40

I found it interesting that the first thing Joseph said to the two men was "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams." (Genesis 40:8b, NIV).  He didn't tell them that he could interpret dreams, that he was the greatest thing since sliced bread when it came to dream interpretation and that he was always right.  No, instead he told them that dream interpretation came from God, giving God the honour and the glory.

After all he has been through, when he could have ranted and railed against God or spent his days bemoaning his lot, Joseph keeps God at the centre of his life.  He knows his own limitations and that God is the one who has all the answers, to whom all the praise is due, no matter what the situation.

How often do I do that?  Turn to God no matter what is happening around me and look to him for the answer, the solution the help and guidance?  All too readily I always try and sort things out on my own, focus on what I can do, how I can solve the problem instead of asking God.  I need to rely on God more rather than my own capabilities.

Joseph has grown so much whilst in slavery - he has changed from a boy who proudly tells his brothers his dreams in which they come off worse, and gladly tells his father what his brothers have been up to, to a man to whom others turn to for help and guidance, a man who trusts in God and knows that all he has and all he can do comes from God alone.

This is such an example of faith, of trust in God despite all the circumstances being against him, and one day, maybe I will have a fraction of the faith Joseph had.

Genesis chapter 39

 The Lord was with Joseph both when he was a slave in the house of Potiphar and also when he was falsely accused and imprisoned.  They say that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and here we have Potiphar's wife being scorned in no uncertain terms.  After trying unsuccessfully to seduce Joseph, she then accuses him of rape, presumably hoping to get in first with her explanation rather than have Joseph tell the other servants and, worst of all, her husband, what she tried to do.  Basically covering up one evil act with another.

Joseph, having been sold in to slavery by his brothers  was watched over by God and all that he did was blessed so that he became Potiphar's right hand man.  As The Message says, Potiphar was blessed as well as Joseph so much so that all he had to do was eat three meals a day!  He was blessed by association.  But when his wife came to him with the story of the attempted rape, he quite naturally believed her.

Joseph was thrown into prison but even there God blessed him and he was soon running the prison on behalf of the gaoler.

Sometimes, bad things happen to Christians - we or a loved one gets sick, we have marital problems, financial problems, problems with the children (or maybe we don't have children but long to have a child), job problems and so on as well as spiritual attack from the enemy (which may also take the form of illness, financial problems and so on).  We may also be persecuted for our faith, depending upon where we live in the world. 

Being a Christian is not necessarily easy.  I can't imagine for one minute that Joseph felt good being shoved down a well by his brothers, sold into slavery, working for Potiphar, being falsely accused and then thrown into prison.  Yet the bible doesn't tell us that Joseph moaned and groaned.   What it does tell us is that The Lord was with Joseph.  When he was dragged off to slavery, probably beaten and starved on the way, the Lord was with him.  When he was made to work for Potiphar, probably starting off with the lowliest, dirtiest and most unpleasant jobs (cleaning the toilets has got to be one of the worst jobs as far as I am concerned), the Lord was with him.  When Potiphar's wife accused him of rape, the Lord was with him, and when he was thrown into prison, the Lord was with him.  At no time was God absent from Joseph's life, even when Joseph was having a hard time.

Joseph may well have thought that he had been abandoned by God.  After all, how much else could go wrong in his life?  It was just one thing after another, stating with his own family, the ones you would expect to look after him, help him, support him.  But Joseph did not give in to his baser instincts.  He did not rant and rail against God, his brothers, Potiphar's wife and everyone else who had a hand in him ending up in prison.  It would have been so easy to just sit and stew, to be so mad, so unforgiving with everyone, to basically allow hate and anger to rule his life, dwelling on past (and current) misfortunes and the ones who had put him there.  Instead he just got on with life and did the best he could.  There isn't a hint of anger, hatred or unforgiveness.  Instead, Joseph gets on with the job and is blessed by God.  You have to wonder whether God would have blessed him if he was filled with anger and hatred but maybe all that had happened to Joseph was a reality check and it made him aware of how his behaviour with his brothers had let to them treating him the way they did.  Maybe he grew from his experiences, rather than letting his experiences push him down, keep him in that pit of despair and depression that so many fall into.

I reckon this is the same for each one of us.  When we get ill, when people close to us are in pain, when we have problems paying the bills, when the children get into trouble, when we have problems with college/school/work, when people mock and ridicule us because of our faith, the Lord is with us.  In the darkest hours, our deepest needs, even when we feel so lost and alone and as if no one cares, the Lord is with us, just as he was with Joseph.

We may not have the miraculous healings, the abundance of blessings in our bank account, the promotion or job we so desperately want, top marks for that exam or piece of  homework, we may still be ridiculed or persecuted despite all our prayers, but we are never, ever alone and the Lord is always, but always, with us.

Genesis chapter 38

I  read Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers and one of the stories in that is about Tamar.  Having read that story, it certainly explains, to me, the motives here and made this whole episode far more understandable.

Judah moves to Canaan, as Adullam was one of the royal cities of Canaan and was near Gath.  He married a Canaanite woman, just as Esau did, and she gave him three sons.  The first one was wicked and God took his life.  The second one refused to give his brother's widow a child, so God took his life too, and the third one was still a child at the start of this chapter.  In those times,  it was tradition that when a man died, his brother would marry the widow and that the first born child would be the heir of the deceased brother.  This is to ensure that the childless widow would have a son who would receive her late husband's inheritance.  By refusing to give Tamar a child, Onan was depriving her of her rights.  Then in not allowing her to marry his third son, Shelah, Judah was doing exactly the same thing.

So Tamar took things into her own hands and dressed as a prostitute and seduced Judah.  She became pregnant, and when accused of prostitution, confronted Judah with his act and he acknowledged that she had acted more rightly than he had in this situation.

Judah is clearly demonstrating double standards here by making use of a prostitute himself and then saying she had to be burned when accused of acting like a prostitute.  One rule for him, and another for a woman.  It was only when confronted with evidence that he was the father, that he realised what had happened. A lot of people show double standards and it is so easy to criticise someone for doing, for instance, as Tamar did, yet not criticising Judah for making use of a prostitute.  It is easy to find fault with someone for gossiping, when you actually tell another person the news of what someone has been up to, just passing on news, definitely not gossiping yourself, no way….What about when someone close to you acts very selfishly, demanding their own way all the time, and then you go and get cross when someone pushes in front of you in a traffic jam, or in a queue at a shop?  Isn't that the same thing?  It’s far easier to spot the sin in someone else's life than it is to see it in ourselves.

Interestingly, Jesus is descended from Judah through Tamar, so it shows God used this even though prostitution is condemned as a serious sin.  Judah did a turn around in later chapters, and became the son Jacob must surely have been proud of through his later behaviour.