Joseph was the youngest of twelve. His father's name was Jacob. Jacob had a long history too. Jacob's great grandfather was Abraham. And Abraham was a descendant of Shem (one of the sons to survive the great flood with Noah). Needless to say, Joseph has an interesting family tree.
Anyway, Joseph was the youngest of 12. Yes folks, I said twelve brothers. I can only imagine the kind of hazing this kid got on a daily bases. Joseph was also, openly, the favorite of his father's sons. To be honest, I think I'd hate him too. And to top it all off, Joseph had a couple of dreams that told him that his brothers would one day bow down to him. (Oh Boy.) Josephs brothers hated him so much, they sold him to slave traders headed to Egypt for a bag of gold. And then lied about it when their father asked what happened!!! "What happened to Joseph?" "Oh...uh...umm...well you see...all eleven of us turned our back for a second and then...uh....this wild boar, who didn't make much noise...uh...hmn...well it came up and uh...well it ate Joseph whole. Yeah!!! Yeah that's what happened!!!"
Oh yeah. I bet that was a tough dissision: Brother or gold...brother or gold...hmn....which will I choose...hmn....
Anyway, after he was sold to the slave trader the traders brought him to Egypt to be sold to the captain of the palace guard, Potiphar. Now Potiphar had a wife. I'll bet that as the captain gaurd's wife, I'd be a lonely soul. Military life is hard people! But Potiphar's wife was a little extreme. After Joseph had been working in Potiphars house for a while he made a relationship with Potiphar himself. Potiphar look on Joseph as a good servant.
Ah, Sa La Vi, nothing lasts I suppose. Potiphar's wife tried to have an affair with Joseph and when Joseph told her she was wrong for doing so and that she couldn't act that way with him she got angry and embarrased. Her pride then weld up inside of her and so she told her husband that Joseph tried to attack her. Well wouldn't you know? Potiphar believed his wife and sent Joseph to jail. Yep...to jail. Do you know what jail was like during that time. Let's not talk about it :/
Well, prison was an interesting time or Joseph as well (go figure, what isn't interesting in this mans life?). While in prsion he was put in a cell near two other men. They were both lock in the same as he, one was a baker and the other (for lack of a better word) was a butler. And soon they were talking. One of their conversations was about the dreams they were having. The baker and the butler were worried because they knew their dreams meant something, they just weren't sure what. Joseph told them that God understood dreams and that they should tell Joseph what their dreams were. Here is what the butler told Joseph his dream was about:
"In my dream I saw a vine with three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its grapes became ripe. I held the king’s cup and squeezed the grapes into it, then I gave the cup to the king."
"In my dream I saw a vine with three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its grapes became ripe. I held the king’s cup and squeezed the grapes into it, then I gave the cup to the king."
And Joseph replied, "This is the meaning of your dream. The three branches stand for three days, and in three days the king will pardon you. He will make you his personal servant again, and you will serve him his wine, just as you used to do. But when these good things happen, please don’t forget to tell the king about me, so I can get out of this place. I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and here in Egypt I haven’t done anything to deserve being thrown in jail."
Then the Baker hearing this was eager to tell Joseph his dream, "I also had a dream. In it I was carrying three breadbaskets stacked on top of my head. The top basket was full of all kinds of baked things for the king, but birds were eating them."
Joseph replied, "This is the meaning of your dream. The three baskets are three days, and in three days the king will have you killed.”
Ouch. Kick me, why don't you!
Three days later, while the king was celebrating his birthday with a dinner, he sent for his personal servant and the chief cook. He put the personal servant back in his old job and had the cook put to death.
Everything happened just as Joseph had said it would, but the king’s personal servant completely forgot about Joseph.
Everything happened just as Joseph had said it would, but the king’s personal servant completely forgot about Joseph.
And then quite a long time past...and then the king had a dream and it went like this:
He was standing by the NileRiver, when seven cows, fat and sleek, came up out of the river and began to feed on the grass. After them, there were seven other cows, ugly and gaunt. They came up out of the NileRiver and stood on the bank. And those ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven sleek, fat cows.
Then he had another dream:
There were seven heads of grain, good and healthy which were growing on a single stalk. After them were another seven other heads of grains sprouted which were thin and scorched by the east wind. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good and healthy full heads of grain.
The king looked everywhere for someone to interpret this dream, but he found no one. And then, "Oh yeah!' said the butler. "I know a man! He's still in jail. He interpreted my dream and the bakers and it all came true. You should go get him." So after two years the butler finally remembered.
So the Pharaoh sent for Joseph and Joseph interpreted his dream and said to him:
"The two dreams mean the same thing; God has told you what he is going to do. The seven fat cows represent the seven years, and the seven full heads of grain are also seven years; they all have same meaning. The seven thin cows which came up later and the seven thin heads of grains scorched by the desert wind on the other hand represent the seven years of famine. God has shown to you what he is going to do, just like what I have told you. There will be seven years of great abundance all over the land of Egypt. There will be seven years of famine after that and all the good years will be forgotten, because the famine will ruin the country. The years of abundance will be totally forgotten, because the famine which follows will be so terrible. The recurrence of your dream means that the matter has already been fixed by God and He will make things happen in the near future."
And now the Pharaoh should choose some man with wisdom and insight and put him in charge of the country. During the seven years of plenty harvest you must also appoint other officials and take a fifth of the crops. During the good years that are coming, you have to order them to collect all the food and give them authority to store up grains in the cities but have them guarded. The foods that were stored will be reserve supply for the country during the seven years of famine which are going to come on Egypt. The people will not starve in this way.”
And do you know who he chose to put in charge of those things?
Joseph.
Yes Joseph became second only to the king....
O.O
Crazy.
So of course the famine came and Joseph made Egypt ready. They stored all their food and gave out food during the famine. But the famine reached passed Egypt. Reached all the way back to Josephs family. And now comes the brothers again. The brothers were sent to Egypt to get some food. The youngest of them (Benjamin) was left behind with their father. Joseph invited them in. And wouldn't you know? They didn't recognize him. Long story short (although this is my favorite part, but this post is just getting so long. Go read the rest of it in Genesis) After they came back the second time, they bowed down to him and he revealed himself. He hugged them and wished them only good will. In Josephs mind his brothers sold him into Gods will.
So what do you think? Can God use the sins of the whole world to fulfill His great works? Gee. I wonder. :]
20 comments:
This the funniest retelling of the story of Joseph ever. :)
:] Do you get what I'm saying though?
Absolutely. Or, at least I think I do. It's basically the idea of things happening for a reason. If Joseph's brothers hadn't literally sold him out, if Potiphar's wife hadn't been such a harlot, then Joseph would never have become the man he was meant to be. His dreams were one the impetuses to his brothers mistreating him but they were also a vision of his future. He needed to go through a crucible, spurred on by the sins of those around him, in order to fulfill his destiny.
WOOT! You got most of it correct.
I say most of it only because I'm trying to explain that he didn't necessarily have to go through a crucible but he did and God's glory was still brought forth through it all. The summa question that I was answering through this story was, "How can God accomplish His Purposes through sinful actions of human beings and still be holy, just and good?" So even though we as humans are full of sin and such His perfect plan still shines through no matter what.
What's your take on this? Do you think you would answer the question differently?
Of course! The story of Joseph is a perfect example of this. God can, and does, use anything and everything for His glory. God uses even our sin for His glory by proving to be a mighty savior and saving us from our trespasses! :)
I don't know if I would answer it differently, just maybe from a different perspective. Coming from a non-religious standpoint, there are still times when things go wrong and people come out changed for the better at the end. The wrongs of this world--war, devastation, injustice, murder, inequality--produce some of the bravest, strongest, and kindest people, people who don't let what has happened to them or the people they love make them bitter or hurtful. Instead, they rise above the situation and come to a better place. They become leaders, parents, teachers, activists, doctors; they use their troubled past to create a brighter future and to spur them to help others.
Obviously, this doesn't always happen but it's really inspiring when it does.
I wouldn't say that Christianity was religious. A religion is humans trying to work their way to God or a god, through works. Christianity is God coming to men and women through Jesus Christ, offering them a relationship with Himself.
I like how you put that. I guess at that point of view I would totally agree with you. But would we even have to go through these trials if we didn't first fall? Or do you, coming from a non-religious stand point, have another idea?
Thanks Jane for your comment. I kinda figured you would understand. The story of Joseph was on the reading list for the previous lesson. The brother bit is my favorite...but I felt like the whole post was getting really long. But you've read the whole bit about the youngest brother getting framed and all and them coming back with the gold.
I'm not really sure how to answer that. I think that man, God or no God, is a mixture of good and evil and that circumstances, chance, outside influences, what have you, push us in one direction or another. There are those of us who are pure enough to be Gandhi and there are those of us who are black-hearted enough to be Hitler. I think which of us is which is determined by complex personality, psychological, and societal factors.
That having been said, it is not just those of us who are evil who face trials and tribulations, it is everyone, even the most goodhearted of people. I can see your point about the Fall, even if I don't necessarily agree with it, but I'd like to take it one step further. Can we really be sure--and this is supposing that there is a higher power, for the sake of argument--that it is not *us* who bring about our own misery, good or bad?
Joseph bragged about his dreams, which is what tipped his brothers toward getting rid of him. Granted, Jacob was kind of to blame too with that whole "you're my favorite, here's a really sweet coat" thing, but even that action was performed by a human being and not a higher power. I guess what I'm saying is that people have a way of doing what's worst for themselves. Does God, or any possible higher power, really need to concern himself with punishing us when we're so good at bringing punishment on ourselves?
Also, in terms of Benjamin, Joseph's youngest brother, and the "theft" of which he is accused, what is it that changes the brothers? I mean this in a "was it the famine and therefore a rather disingenuous change?" way, but I'm also curious as to whether or not it explains their change in the text. How were their sins and the resulting consequences used to better themselves?
(I hope this makes sense. It reads like it does, so I'm hoping that you understand my meaning.)
I do believe that circumstances sway a persons vision on the right course of action, but there is always a chance to do right in everything. We simply fail to take it. I don't know much about Gandhi, but I don't believe any spirit is completely pure until it reaches heaven. But that's just a small detail. I just wanted to make that clear.
I'm not going to comment just yet on the whole what determines if your black hearted or pure. I think it's something much deeper and yet simpler than those things that determines your sensitivity to good or evil.
Have you ever known an overly "popular person" who is a strong Christian? Just a thought and I'll make my point after you answer.
Also, that was sort of my point before when saying "the fall". We fell. We sinned. Not God. We put ourselves in this position. And just to make a point, I brought the anger of God upon the people in Noah's time, I provoked the great flood, I enslaved the Israelites, I nail Jesus to the cross. Because my forefathers sinned, I sinned. Because they fell, I fell. And it's my fault. So you see? The whole point of this entire post was to basically say that even though I never get it right (ever, because I'm clueless compared to God), He does get it right (all the time). So no matter what I do, I can't stop God's plan from falling into place. So yes. I brought myself to misery. Funny, there's actually a catechism question for that...I think it's number
19. What is the misery of man's fallen condition?
A: All mankind by their fall lost communion with God,a re under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all miseries in this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell for ever.
The whole point of Jesus' death was to forever cleans sinners. Or at least those who received it. If you don't take the gift, well God's not going to shove it in your hands. Like I said before, God is a God of relationship. He wants to know you on a personal level. So after the fall, everyone had to give a blood sacrifice, "for the wages of sin is death". And God is a just God. Sin cannot not go unpunished and He still be just. But that was not enough. There needed to be a pure sacrifice to wash aways all sins. And lambs just weren't cutting it. Seriously, why do you think the bible harps so much on the temptation of Christ?? Because He never gave in! That just proves that only He could be the pure sacrifice, because all others had failed where had succeed on earth. Therefore! Jesus became the very essence of sin to wash away my sins. Which just goes back to my last point: I nail Jesus to the cross, because it was my sins that were paid for.
What do you mean how was it use to better themselves? I don't understand. Their sins weren't used to better themselves. If anything it slowed them down considerable. Had they not sinned, life would have been much smoother for them. As far as I'm concerned (which I'm not really:) Josephs brothers acted like a bunch of idiots and nothing they did helped anyone, not even themselves. Does that answer your question. :/ Sorry if doesn't. Maybe you could rephrase the question?
Thank you so much for commenting!!
I'll start with Joseph's brothers: what I meant was how they had changed by the time they returned to Joseph and were reunited with him. When Joseph unknowingly puts the cup in Benjamin's possession and claims that he is a thief, Judah tells him (although he does not know it's him) to let Benjamin go and to keep him instead. I was just wondering if the pain that they had suffered because of their sins against Joseph had helped them to become better people or if it was, perhaps, simply the trials of the famine that had brought about their change. Or, at least, what your take on it is.
If by "popular" you mean in the "he's the quarterback and he's so hot" way, then I can't speak from experience because I tended to stay away from people like that in high school. Some of them were Christian, although I can't say how strong their faith was as I didn't know them that well. If, instead, you mean people who are in the public eye, like singers and athletes, then I can answer mostly in the negative. There are some who are strong in their faith, whether it's Christianity or Buddhism or Judaism, etc, but for the most part they usually aren't.
In terms of what you said about sinning and about being responsible for Christ's crucifixion, wouldn't his cleansing all sin also eradicate the need for Christians to suffer? I hear people saying that they are being tested, but if their sins are forgiven through Christ, where does the need for suffering come from? And I mean this in the most respectful of ways. It would seem that those who have not come to Christ would be the ones to undergo hardships, while those who have had their sins washed away by his blood would be less prone to famine, disease, poverty, etc. I'm curious as to what your thoughts are on this. (I actually have my own answer, but I'm anxious to see what you say, so I'll wait.)
Gabriel:
Regarding your last paragraph, Christ did not come to make our life perfect. We still live in a fallen world. Our reward is in heaven, not on earth.
Joseph did not place the cup there unknowingly. He place a gold cup in the bags so that he could send a servant out and call them thieves so that he might have the right to demand whatever he wanted. And in this case he want to keep one of the brothers with him so that the brothers had to come back to claim him again. At least I think so. I'd have to go back and check again.
Well I would say it's likely that it was a little bit of both. Having to starve in he middle of a famine is a pretty quick way to get humble if you know what I mean. Nothing like begging for food to make you sorry for acting like a jerk. But I also think that starting from the oldest (because the bible tells of the oldest being sorry) that there was a deep conviction between the brothers.
And by popular, I do not mean the quarterback. Unfortunately, the need to be popular reacher above and beyond high school. I meant popular as in a deep need to be accepted by piers...and you can be any age and feel this way. Those people who care so much they've lost themselves in some artificial image (alien like).
As to you question "In terms of what you said about sinning and about being responsible for Christ's crucifixion, wouldn't his cleansing all sin also eradicate the need for Christians to suffer?". This is an excellent question. And it would be excellent for you if I knew it might change your thinking a bit, but because you have already made it quite clear that won't happen...it's excellent for me because I'm having trouble answering. Mainly because I'm trying to find the perfect wording. But I don't have the perfect wording so here goes:
Suffering is a part of being a Cristian. You cannot have one without the other. As a matter of fact, I have many Christian brothers and sisters who can attest to their lives actually becoming more difficult after they gave their lives to God. (And that's an understatement). Now this isn't to say that I don't smile and laugh and have fun. But it is written in the bible that Jesus said as a Christian, you don't belong to this world. And He doesn't mean "world" as in the planet earth, but "world" as in what the world has become from the moment after sin entered it. Therefore, a Christian will never feel completely at home. We will never belong. That in it's self is one form of our suffering. Another is that we see who we really are. Everyday we have to wake up and look at ourselves in the mirror and know in our hearts that we have already failed. Let me just tell you...that sucks. But I remember where I get all my strength from and I realize that I'm not looking at myself in the mirror anymore, I'm looking at the one who has replaced me (Jesus). This probably doesn't make sense. That's okay! Just ask me more questions about what doesn't make sense to you. I'll figure out a way to say it.
About your trials comment. There is yet another why we, as Christians (And everybody else in the human race) suffer, and it's through our trials or our consequences. So people like to call their consequences their trials so they don't look stupid. Don't fall for that. Half the time they made a mistake and are now suffering through their consequences. At that point, they suffer because you can;t stop a consequence from coming :]
I meant unknowingly to the brothers. Sorry, that was worded funny.
So much to reply to, gah! :)
I see what you mean by "popular" now. I don't know if I believe that people give up their faith in order to be popular, although it's been a while since I've been around people who have cared. In college I made a decision to only befriend people who were interested in being themselves, regardless of what other people thought. It was nice because I had friends who were Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Atheist, Agnostic, Pagan, etc. and none of them felt the need to hide their faith or to be shy about it. We were able to be who we were without being judged by the people dearest to us.
No, what you said actually does make sense. I know people of faith, regardless of denomination, who feel the same way. Maybe not that they don't belong here but that they are somehow outsiders. A lot of them who are very open with their religion find that they are sometimes judged by those who either don't share their beliefs or who don't have any beliefs. This is, in my mind, one of the greatest injustices in the world.
When I said that I had an answer, I meant that suffering is a part of being human, that not even being a religious person saves you from hardship. I also meant that by suffering, Christians strengthen their faith and learn to turn to God when things go wrong. Furthermore, if Christians were to be exempted from suffering they would, in a way, be disrespecting Christ and the sorrows he endured by being crucified.
Just saw on my phone that you hadn't seen a notification about me posting, but never fear, it's because I was still writing my response. :)
well savanah i finally am commeting on this,
and i love ur retelling of jacob:):) i think
i get what ur saying though but it still confuses me a little
:]
Lydia: Thanks for giving it a try.
Gabriel: Well, I no longer feel like I need to comment back. This conversation can't go much further I fear. However, I'd like you to take a crack at answering those freedom questions. Go back to the original Summa post and scroll down to the end to find them. Tell me what you think. I'll be posting soon about it and the questions are sort of like an introduction.
I think I'm pretty good as well. No questions from me. :)
I'll go take a look at the other post.
ur welcome!!!!!!!:)
Okay! Gabrielreads: It's my turn.
A Christian does not turn to God only when things go wrong. That is what the tribes of Israel did in the Old Testament. (Notice where it got them.) Christians should always be turned to God. They don't use him like a good luck charm or an escape plan, so that when things go wrong they can say "Lord I believe you, now save me from my enemies!" Christian should always be following and believing God. Not using him as an escape pod.
Also, in your previous statement about, if Christians were to be exempted from suffering. How would they, in a way, be disrespecting Christ and the sorrows he endured by being crucified?
I'm really starting to think you're crazy awesome debater Jonathan. You pretty much said everything I wanted to say in like, what? six sentences??
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