The Story of Joseph

These are notes from Old Testament class, Sunday, November 25, 2007

We examined the early life of Joseph, noting his tattle-tailing on his brothers, his royal coat, and his dreams about his superiority over his brothers and his parents which caused great jealousy and hatred towards him. The brothers plotted to kill him but Reuben, the eldest, persuaded them to put Joseph in a pit instead. Reuben planned to rescue his brother and return him to his father, but his brothers sold Joseph into slavery. Several questions were discussed in small groups, including "In what ways is the soul of humanity it a pit?"

Please continue reading the story of Joseph in Genesis for further discussion next week.

Harrell

Twins, Part II

This wonderful painting depicts a very human drama in Genesis 27. Young Jacob, disguised in goat skins, trembles at the breast of his father as he engages in an act of deceit. Rebekah lurks outside the tent -- is she praying to God, or hoping her scheme will succeed? Isaac wears uncertainty on his face. He does not trust his touch, nor his ears, nor his eyes. But when Jacob leans close for a kiss, Isaac smells the outdoors on his clothing -- garb belonging to brother Esau, whom Jacob is impersonating. Finally convinced, Isaac gives his blessing.

The blessing differs from the birthright. The birthright has to do with wealth. Jacob has already taken advantage of Esau's hunger to get this, the greater and better portion of his father's estate. The blessing he seeks will give him a kind of endorsement as the head of the family; it is a conferring of the mantle of leadership. In taking this Jacob supplants Esau a second, and more painful, time. Now, not only his substance, but his place, are taken by his brother. That this is the more serious of the two dealings can be seen both in Isaac's violent trembling in learning of his error, and in Esau's palpable despair.

Read through chapter 33 for an account of the brother's lives after these events. We wondered if Jacob got what he expected. Certainly he himself experienced injustice in the household of his uncle Laban. After years of toil he is a successful man, with many children and much wealth; but the cost of attaining it has been a lot of frustration and fear. In the mean time Esau has moved on and is, himself, becoming a powerful and successful man.

In the midst of all this "life", full of human failing, passion, and redemption, God appears twice to Jacob. The first, early in his life, affirms God's covenant promise made to Jacob's grandfather. Later, as Jacob prepares to meet his brother, Jacob wrestles with an angel, is injured, and is given a new name and a new identity, "Israel". When Jacob and Esau finally meet again, they embrace as true brothers. Time has probably not healed the wounds, but perhaps the fulness of life and the greater will of God have 'supplanted' human failing.

How did God work through Isaac and Esau's weakness; in Rebekah's scheming; in Jacob's helpless passions and fear-driven life? The New Testament provides a perspective for us, if our lives feel like theirs: "All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

For this week's class on November 25, please read Genesis 37-41, the first part of the tale of Joseph.

Twins

This week we began a two-week unit on Esau and Jacob. Read Genesis chapters 25-36 for an account of these twin brothers.

The tale of these twins is evocative. There is much plausible family dynamic and disfunction -- this feels very human and very real. We chose an inductive approach to this episode by asking a couple of questions: 1) Did you ever do anything shortsighted? If so, what was it, what were the consequences to you, and what did you learn? 2) Have you ever been taken advantage of by anyone -- or yourself taken advantage of another? If so, how, what were the consequences to you, and what did you learn?

Esau and Jacob would be recognized today as fraternal twins, since they are so different in appearance and temperment. Much is made of Esau's red hair, preference for red food, and even his passionate disposition. He is the kind of person who would quickly garner a nickname like 'Red'. He is also called 'Edom' which means 'red' and is a reference to the nation ascribed to his lineage -- a country known by it's prominant red rock and landscape. Jacob emerges from the womb holding on to Esau's heel, so he is given a name which means 'supplanter'. He seems born to trip others.

Esau's birthright was his as the first born. This means he should receive the greater and better portion of his father's estate. Why would he trade this for a bowl of stew? I related how famished I felt after a couple of days backpacking in poor weather. Wet, worn out, stressed by storms and cranky moose, nothing sounded so good to me as a steaming pot of lentil stew. If you've ever been in a state of trembling, starving exhaustion you might not care about anything but feeling fed, either. But Jacob certainly did take advantage of his brother; a kinder person would have just fed him, eh?

For next week finish reading through chapter 36. This covers the incident wherein Jacob, with his mother's help, steals Esau's blessing, as well, and all that comes of this. We will ponder what happens in each brother's life, try to see how God worked through this very human circumstance, and reflect on the story's meaning for ourselves.

Thanks for a great class & hope to see you Sunday morning, 10:00 a.m. in the sanctuary.

PDTA

Abraham and Isaac

These are notes from our class of Sunday, November 4.

We had a brief discussion on Abraham as a prophet and noted that this concept of prophet was a Northern Kingdom position, where the prophet not the priest was accredited representative of the Lord.

We discussed the exile of Hagar and Ishmael and the treaty with Abimilech. Related issues included the role of women and the justification of slavery.

The heart of the lesson was the Abraham/Isaac sacrifice story. We discussed two aspects of the story:

1. God moves in mysterious ways and sometimes we cannot initially understand them. Ultimately God's will is found to be consistent with the purest emotions planted in the human soul.
2. Message is that only an all-out religion is supremely real. Sooner or later each of us will be challenged with a situation where one must decide whether he/she is willing to pay the utmost price for what conscience compells one to do. Small group discussions focused on this issue.

Notes by Harrell Guard

Sodom and Gomorrah Revisited

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is worth a fresh look. What did the story mean in it's own context, and to Jesus? Here would be a good place to begin:


“Go . . . to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff: for the worker is worth his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.”

Jesus, Matthew 10:6-15

Jesus interpreted the story in the context of an ethic and duty of providing hospitality to strangers, especially those bearing a message from God. In Genesis 18-19, we see a clear contrast between Abraham's and Lot's behavior, and that of the people of the condemned cities. Abraham rushed out to meet and welcome the stranger guests, pleading with them, in good form, to take rest, comfort, and food within his tent. In that welcoming place he and his wife, Sarai, received good news from God that they would, after all, become parents, and God's promise would be fulfilled. Lot likewise welcomed the guests, though in a setting where his protection of them was paramount. Both Abraham and Lot fulfilled their duty as hosts, and pleased God. Jesus, likewise, is prepared to be pleased with people who receive his messengers, and displeased in the extreme toward those who, because of their hard hearts, reject them and God's good news.

Jesus also held up this expectation of providing hospitality in Matthew 25 -- "I was a stranger, and you welcomed me." Such who do so are ushered into the joy of their master; those who refused such hospitality are condemned.

It is clear that ideas of sex are very different in Genesis 19. The men of the city wanted to rape the guests of Lot, not because they were homosexual, but to demonstrate their contempt. In is fact a brutal reality that men in some cultures would employ their sexual capabilities as a weapon of humiliation, forcing, in effect, a man to take the part of a mere woman.

Yes, a mere woman. I think we miss this disconnect from Biblical culture: women were property. This is clear in the ten commandments, where men are ordered not to covet anything belonging to their neighbor -- such things as beasts of burden, and wives. This explains why Lot felt it better to offer his girls to the men than to release his guests from his protection. Girls and women simply did not have the same human value as men, and could be seen as dispensable. In our time Lot's behavior would be considered abusive; certainly when he fathers his own grandchildren at the end of Genesis 19 he would be found guilty, or should be, in our time and culture.

So here is another example, I think, of a severe mistake we can make if we automatically, without reflection, view an ancient story through the lense of our own culture. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah, made to be the perfect proof text against homosexuality, isn't about homosexuality. It is about God's expectation that we, too, will welcome strangers in our midst, treat them with respect, and be open to what God may say to us.


Perhaps Hebrews 13:2 provides a better application for us: “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”

The Tower of Babel

Here are class notes from Sunday, October 21:

We studied the new rules (Noah's law) following the flood:

1) "Golden Age", when man and beast lived in harmony, was over.
2) Meat was now available for food BUT blood was NOT.
3) A divine prohibition against taking human life

SUMMARY: It is OK for animals to be killed for food (no blood) BUT human life is sacred.

We also examined the covenant God made with his world: "No more elimination of all life by flood" which was unconditional: no requirement is laid on mankind. The sing of the covenant was the rain BOW (weapon) put in the clouds.

The last days of Noah as a farmer and vinegrower was symbolic since his name means "one who settles down". In his drunken stupor he was belittled by his youngest son. Ham was cursed for his sin with his children being made slaves.

We also examined Noah's descendants and noted that the various nations (tribes) were the later inhabitants of the Fertile Crescent area, with Nimrod (Ham's descendant) being the probable founder of Babel. Each had their own language.

The Babel Tower story is a retelling of the dispersion (probably from a priestly viewpoint) that affirms God's role in the scattering.

-- Harrell

Noah and the Flood

The following notes are from Harrell's presentation and class discussion on Sunday, October 14.

The time from Seth's birth to that of Noah was noted with the explanation that much of the Old Testament is a documentation of the Jewish heritage.

A brief discussion of the "sons of gods" marrying the "daughters of men" noting possible interpretations: Angels (sons of gods), the Greek view (gods themselves) as recorded in the Homeric Epics. It was suggested that this reference had no relation to the Noah story other than the resulting sins faced retribution, unlike the Greek version whre the gods simply returned to their Olympus.

The Gilgamesh Epic (Sumerian version -- much older than the Biblical version) tells a similar story to Noah and the ark. The flood was probably not world-wide (not enough available water) but was confined to Tigris/Euphrates Valley (which was THE!! world to that civilization.) The question of how many species of animals were loaded on the ark is limited in terms of space, for the animals and for the food and water and the time it would have taken to load very large numbers. The actual species were probably those in their culture (plus "clean" animals: three pairs for breeding and one for sacrifice).

Some thoughts for consideration: 1. What are our "giants" which create fear in our hearts? 2. If the ark is a symbol of God's grace (salvation for the remnant), how big does our "ark" need to be (reaching out to those in need)?