Genesis 48—49: The Life of Faith

Warming Up to God

Paint a picture of God in your mind. What is he like? Write down what you see. Let God come to you now and broaden your perspective.

• God is bright, robed, kind, loving, large, powerful, wise, everywhere

Discovering the Word

In what ways is Jacob's faith evident as he blesses Ephraim and Manasseh (48:8-20)?

• He acknowledges God's guidance and providence.
• He recognizes that God will continue to fulfill his promise through his offspring.
• He put Ephraim before Manasseh just as God put Jacob before Esau.

In 49:3-7 how are the blessings given to Reuben, Simeon and Levi related to their past actions (see Gen 34; 35:22)?

• They murdered many men from revenge and in their anger.
• And so, it appears that that will be their future as well.

OK! Well, so much for that! IVpress.com has changed their website, so my questions are no longer available. So! I will be looking for a new bible study.

Genesis 45:16—47:31: God Preserves His People

Warming Up to God

After years of separation and trials, Jacob and Joseph are reunited. What relationships or areas of your life seem untouchable by God's grace? Pray for God to renew your hope—and to answer your "hopeless" requests.

• My siblings' salvation. They just keep carrying on in vanity and sin not ever showing interest in the truth. Renew my hope for them, save them into your kingdom.

Discovering the Word

What is Pharaoh's reaction to the news that Joseph's brothers have arrived (45:16-24)?

• PARTY! Bring everyone to Egypt and Pharaoh will give them the best of the land. 
• They will also be given wagons and provisions to ease their journey to Egypt from Canaan.

Beersheba had been Isaac's center of worship. As God confirms this move to Egypt, what encouragement does he give Jacob for both the immediate and distant future (46:1-4)?

• God tells him that he will become a great nation in Egypt. God will also return him to the land he was promised.
• And Jacob will be reunited with Joseph.

How do verses 5-27 of chapter 46 underscore God's faithfulness to the promises he made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?

• God provided a way to preserve not only the people, all of them, but also the livestock and goods.

How does Joseph's skill as a planner and administrator continue to show itself as he arranges for his father's family to settle in Goshen (46:28-34)?

• He sent a messenger ahead of them to get his father's family ready.
• Then he went on ahead to tell Pharaoh that his family had arrived.
• And he told his family exactly what to say to Pharaoh. 

What does 47:13-27 reveal about God's purpose in bringing Joseph to Egypt?

• Well, it was to preserve the people, but also, it seems, to give Pharaoh TONS of power. He not only owns all the land now, but he also rents it out to the people for 1 fifth of the profit.

How does Jacob's last request of Joseph show his faith in God's promise regarding his descendants and their own land (47:28-30)?

• Jacob asks Joseph to take his bones back to his homeland when they return to it. Though, I wonder why they did not simply return to it after the famine was done...Perhaps Jacob was to weak for the journey. But then, why didn't they go after Jacob had died? Comfortable, I suppose.

Applying the Word

Has God ever allowed you to see how seemingly unrelated events fit into the tapestry of his will? Explain.

• Well, I have thought about how Brian has come across his totally awesome job. He doesn't have any college training for his current position. He started dabbling in website development 7 years ago on his own, trying to find something anything else he could do besides teaching (which is what his degree is actually in). He started his own business and 4 years ago he just barely made enough money to quit his teaching job. We struggled through the next few years as he made the bare minimum with his business. I struggled with being the "bread winner" since I have a teacher's salary (which is not exactly sustainable for a family to grow with) and he continually struggled with self worth. I would try not to judge him but to encourage and support him. It got to the point where I would not openly say things in judgement of him, but I certainly thought them. Then about a year ago, Brian applied for his current position. He had been applying for jobs to find something, anything to help pay off our debt. (He even worked for a catering company for a short time.) And when he got his job it was like an instant weight had been lifted from both of our shoulders. We have both discussed how if he had not spent all that time learning on his own, he would not have been accepted for his totally awesome job. I don't know how long God will have him stay with this company, but I would not be upset if it were forever!

What important promise or prayer request are you patiently waiting for God to fulfill?

• The salvation of my siblings.

Responding in Prayer

Thank God for his loving control over the lives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Praise him for ordering your steps according to his benevolent will.

Genesis 43:1—45:15: Family Reconciliation

Warming Up to God

Why does it seem so hard to freely accept God's forgiveness? Today, let yourself rest with confidence in the truth that God's forgiveness covers over every one of your sins. Jesus forgives you now.

• Rest. I feel that rest is so out of reach. Every day I do something wrong in my parenting. I yell at my kids, I don't play when I should, I don't do dishes, I...there is so much. I know that I am not enough for this job. I want more than this life, which, I suppose is why I started my business.
• Well, forgive me today and help me slow down. I shouldn't have to hurry, even if I do have 925,600 things to do!

Discovering the Word

As Jacob instructs his sons and takes the risk of losing Benjamin, where does his confidence lie (43:11-14)?

• In God Almighty. Though he also sends the finest gifts he can send.

What insights do verses 26-34 of chapter 43 give us into Joseph's character?

• He must be a sensitive man. He seems willing to forgive his brothers from the start, even if he does want to test them first.
• He also must be very generous.

The stage is now set for the climax of this drama (chapter 44). What final strategy does Joseph devise in verses 1-17?

• He not only returns their money back to the men's sacks, but he places his personal silver cup inside Benjamin's sack.
• After they leave for home, Joseph sends men to bring them back. 
• When the brothers are stopped, they all open their sacks and the cup is found in Benjamin's sack.
• Joseph tells them that he will take the thief as his servant and then all the other brothers may go home.
• The plan is meant to test whether or not they will repeat history and abandon their brother.

Judah's appeal is one of the great intercessions in the Bible. How does his attitude differ from that shown by him and his brothers twenty-three years earlier (44:18-34)?

• He is desperate.
• He is selfless (self sacrificing, actually). He thinks not only of his brother Benjamin, but also of his father.

How does Joseph explain to his brothers the reason for his being sold into Egypt and the purpose of his sufferings (45:1-11)?

• God sent him to preserve their lives and to ensure that they do not go to poverty...although, in the next book they will be slaves...

Applying the Word

Think of a difficult situation you are currently facing. How can you entrust it to God Almighty, the one for whom nothing is impossible?

• I  can entrust it to him, but it's hard because it seems easier to think that we are out here on our own and we need to find our way. That is what the devil seems to be whispering now.
• I have many decisions to make in the coming months. We've already bought a house in a location that is going to completely change our lives. Now it remains to be seen whether or not I continue working down here, and where we take Emmett to school, and where to take the boys to daycare. 
• It is too easy to worry about it and go back and forth on the decisions and worry some more.
• But I do think that the house was the right move, even if it does make my life inconvenient in many ways.
• Lord, help me to trust you and not worry. Help me come to you every time I feel the worry coming on. I believe that you are moving us back to Wichita for a reason. You are the orchestrator of our lives and you will see us through. Help me to have perspective, to have no guilt, but to bring my eyes to heaven when I feel anxious or insecure. 
• For everything you created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. It has been made holy by the word of God and prayer.

Restoring a relationship fractured by injustice and injury requires repentance, confession and acceptance of responsibility for the consequences. In what way have you, like Joseph's brothers, been involved in such a process?

• Not really. I wish I could. I have a friend that I need to reconcile with, but it is difficult because she shows no wish to talk.

How can this perspective toward your own suffering make it possible for you to forgive someone who has grievously wronged or hurt you?

• I guess it makes the process much less about me, which makes it a bit easier to cope with the process.

Responding in Prayer

Think of one step you need to take to encourage reconciliation with someone you know. Ask God to give you the love, patience and courage to follow through.

• I could just give her a call and ask to meet sometime. God, give me love, patience and courage to know the timing of this call, and then to follow through.

Genesis 41—42: Faithful Service Rewarded

Warming Up to God

What are some tangible ways that God has blessed you recently? Thank him for each gift. Rejoice that every day is full of his blessings.

• House! We own a home!!! God knew the timing and made everything work out so that we would be where he wanted us, when he wanted us there. Thank you for your providence! Everyday IS full of blessing!

Discovering the Word

How does Joseph's sudden opportunity come about (41:8-14)?

• Joseph was an afterthought in the mind of the cup bearer, and only when his gift (dream telling) was needed, was he remembered. The cup bearer then told Pharaoh about Joseph.
• Immediately, Joseph was brought out and cleaned and presented to Pharaoh.

How do Joseph's interpretation and proposal demonstrate discernment and wisdom (41:15-36)?

• FIRST, he gives all credit to God.
• He continually tells Pharaoh, what God wills and what God has revealed to him.
• Pharaoh perceives him to be wise for his words and confidence.
• Joseph's solution is practical and logical.

Describe Joseph's new position and the responsibilities Pharaoh gives him (41:37-49).

• Joseph is second in command in Egypt. Only Pharaoh has more clout than he. He is in charge of everything in Egypt. He is bathed in jewels and is given all the privileges of the most wealthy person.

Twenty years have elapsed since Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery. He is now about thirty-seven (see 37:2; 41:46). Trace the events which lead Joseph's brothers into his presence and fulfill his earlier dreams (42:1-9).

• Joseph was sold into slavery.
• He was sold to Potiphar.
• He was lusted over by Potiphar's wife and thus thrown into jail for something he did not do.
• He was given a high command in the jail.
• He interpreted dreams for Pharaoh's high ranking servants.
• He was forgotten for 2 years.
• He was brought out of jail.
• He was given the highest command in all Egypt.

Do you think the brothers are genuinely repentant at this point (42:21-22)? Explain.

• Yes. I think this because they have seen what it has done to their father. They are in great distress at the moment, anyway.

How does Reuben's response to his father's despair show his willingness to shoulder family responsibility (42:35-37)?

• He will go to great lengths to keep Benjamin safe. even sacrifice his own sons. Not sure how I would feel if I were his sons, though.
• Reuben sounds very confident, however.

Applying the Word

How have you seen God use a difficult assignment to prepare you for a later responsibility?

• My biggest assignment ever: children. But, I was much more prepared to have two after I had had 1 for a while. In fact, having a second was like a cakewalk in comparison. 

How has adversity or pressure helped you become more mature in your responsibility for others?

• I understand how people work a bit better and I realize that some things are not worth getting upset over. I am able to "bounce back" a lot faster than I used to because I can take their feelings into account when they speak ill words to me. I also listen to people a lot more than I used to, at least I am making an effort to do so, instead of waiting for the moment when I can say my piece. 

Responding in Prayer

Ask God to help you strive for excellence in all that you do to the glory of his name (1 Co 10:31).

• In all that I do, help me do it to the glory of your name. Whether I sit here and type to you, or I go and get ready for work, let it be to the glory of your name.
• Whether I stay home next year, or I go back to work, let it be to the glory of your name.
• Whether I keep the boys in daycare down in BP or find a place in Goddard, let it be to the glory of your name.
• Whether we send Emmett to preschool in BP or take him to Goddard, let it be to the glory of your name.
• However we go about helping Hudson sleep at night, let it be to the glory of your name. (ps. PLEASE help Hudson not wake up at 5 anymore. Help us find the reason that keeps waking up and help him stay asleep.
• Whether or not we buy more stuff for the house, let it be to the glory of your name.

Genesis 39—40: Performance Under Pressure

Warming Up to God

Like Joseph, we sometimes face hardships we don't understand. Tell God about your worries, and ask him to remind you of his faithfulness to you, his child.

• Today I am feeling anxious about our decision to buy a house...30 minutes away from work. I know, it's not that far...BUT, right now, I live 2 minutes away from work...
• We have been praying about this for a long time, it feels like the right move, God, help me have perspective.

Discovering the Word

Trace the development of Joseph's ability and responsibility from the time he enters Potiphar's house (39:1-6).

• Well, first he appears to get the posh job of serving inside the master's house instead of working in the fields or some other undesirable job.
• Then he became Potiphar's personal attendant.
• Then he became the overseer of all that Potiphar owned.
• And finally, Potiphar gave Joseph complete responsibility and Potiphar didn't even double check Joseph's accounts.

Describe the temptation and increasing pressure Joseph now experiences (39:6-12).

• Because Joseph was handsome, a beautiful woman (Potiphar's wife) pursued him ruthlessly.
• Joseph has to continually dodge her.

Notice the symmetry between verses 1-6 and 20-23 in chapter 39.

• Bad things happened, but the Lord was with Joseph and loved him, therefore Joseph was successful.

From the latter description of Joseph's activities, what can we surmise about his attitude toward his new, more humiliating situation?

• The text doesn't say anything about Joseph being upset or anything.

Describe the new situation in which Joseph finds himself (40:1-8).

• He is now attending some high officials of the King of Egypt.
• He is an expert dream interpreter (with God's help, of course).

In 40:9-19 what similarities and differences do you find in the cupbearer's and baker's dreams and Joseph's interpretations?

• Both of them had 3 things (branches, cake baskets).
• Both of them represent 3 days.
• They both had desirable food to serve to Pharaoh. 
• But where the cup bearer's dream had Pharaoh eating, the baker's dream had birds eating.

What are the consequences for the three men (40:20-23)?

• I don't know how to answer this...there are not 3 distinct men...
• The cup bearer doesn't seem to get a consequence,
• The baker is hanged,
• and Joseph stays in jail.

Applying the Word

In what situation have you been treated unjustly for taking a moral stand or refusing to do something wrong?

• People make fun of or despise the things that condemn them. I have never said to someone "What you are doing is wrong," (Except for my children.) but people think less of me sometimes when they find out what I believe.

What impresses you about Joseph's performance under these incredible pressures, reverses and disappointments?

• Everything. He seemed to have it all figured out. He seemed to have the right reactions and instincts.

Responding in Prayer

Ask your heavenly Father, your shield and protector, to give you moral courage and stamina during those difficult days.

• I do! My feelings are so very uncertain. I don't know what I should do half the time! We are moving soon and I have a lot of decisions to make:
• When should we move?
• Should I keep teaching in Belle Plaine?
• Should I keep teaching at all?
• Should I wait to buy stuff for the house until we are actually in the house?
• Where should we send the kids to daycare/preschool?
• Will I be sane after driving the kids to Belle Plaine every day for the next 2 months?
• Well anyway, I do need to have the moral courage to say what needs said, and do what needs done! 

Genesis 37—38: Pride and Prejudice

Warming Up to God

How have you seen the harmful effects of "playing favorites" in your family?

• My brother and sister might say that I was the favorite...but I always thought that they treated us fairly. But my brother was pretty bitter that my parents were more lenient with me than they were with him. Bitterness. Resentment.

Discovering the Word

Describe the family relationships at the outset of the story (37:1-4).

• Joseph was a "tattle tail".
• Jacob loved Joseph best, and Joseph's brothers hated him for it. In fact, nothing they ever said to him was nice.

We have already seen in the examples of Abimelech, Jacob and Laban that dreams are a medium through which God reveals his will. This time, however, the communication is not through words. How are the symbols in Joseph's two dreams interpreted by his family (37:5-11)?

• They think that Joseph is boasting his superiority over them. His brothers are jealous of him.

What are the varied reactions of Joseph's brothers when they see him approaching (37:12-22)?

• Most of them have great hatred for Joseph. But Ruben, likely out of fear for his father's reaction, does not hate Joseph so much to want to kill him.

What motive do you see in the way the brothers report the news of Joseph's disappearance to their father (37:29-35)?

• Well, it appears that they don't have the gall to take it to Joseph themselves. They are trying to cover their guilt.

In spite of having three sons, how does Judah find his lineage to be in jeopardy (38:1-11)?

• He thinks, for superstitious reasons, that his son will die with Tamar as the other sons did. I can see why he fears it, but Judah fears the wrong things. The evil of his sons is what did their undoing.

What strategy does Tamar work out to establish her status as matriarch of Judah's line (38:12-30)?

• Tamar was supposed to be given Judah's last son to make babies with, but Judah withheld him from her.
• She went to a place where she could observe them and kept her face hidden. it doesn't appear that she planned it. Judah assumed that she was a prostitute and she went along with it. Either way, she did get pregnant, which is a little incredible to me, since there are only a few days a month that a woman can even get pregnant.
• When she was brought out for her indecency, she told everyone that Judah impregnated her and presented her evidence. 

Applying the Word

Jacob's favoritism, Joseph's arrogance and the brothers' envy contribute to this tragedy of rivalry and hatred. To what extent are you involved in a family situation, either your own or that of a friend, with some of these elements?

• Envy can do terrible things to relationships. I had a friend that had a miscarriage. It was emotionally crushing for her and very hard to work through. I had one kid and one on the way and I think it was too much for her. We haven't spoke much since.
• I get into funks where I am comparing myself to other moms at church, it never goes well. Usually I think, "I'm not like that and nobody likes me." It's not exactly the "church experience" that one expects.

Perez (38:29) is listed in the genealogies of David (Ru 4:18-22) and Joseph, the husband of Mary (Mt 1:3). How can this fact help us to appreciate God's grace?

• God works through broken people.

Genesis 34—36: The Cost of Discipleship

Warming Up to God

What expectations do you place on this time with the Lord? (Do you feel pressure to "accomplish" something?) Allow yourself to just be with Jesus today.

• I only feel pressure to actually sit down and do it. I put very little expectation on what I will accomplish through it. Still, Lord help me to...focus! Thank you for this opportunity to spend this time with you. 

Discovering the Word

What is Shechem's attitude toward Dinah (34:1-4)?

• Lust at first. But then he fell in love with her and tried to win her over with words. I imagine it was not an easy thing to do after he raped her.

In Genesis 35:1 God renews his call for Jacob to settle in Bethel. What is the cost of this commitment for Jacob and the members of his household (35:2-7)?

• They had to 
• abandon their idols.
• purify themselves
• get rid of their earrings

What specific promises does God reaffirm to Jacob and to his descendants (35:9-13)?

• God will always prevail.
• Nations will be made from Jacob's descendants.
• Kings will come from his line.
• His descendants will own lots of land.

What new griefs come into Jacob's life (35:16-29)?

• His Father and Rachel die.

What do the comments in 35:29 and 36:6-8 show about the relationship between Jacob and Esau?

• It seems to be fine. They are just moving apart because they both own too much stuff.

Applying the Word

In what way does this tragedy illustrate the dangers of spiritual compromise or disobedience?

• Jacob was supposed to not stop in the land where his daughter Dinah was defiled. Because he stayed there, she wondered out to make friends and along the way, she was discovered by an evil man and he had his way with her. 
• The choices we make now will determine the kinds of things that will happen to us later. Pray! Always pray for direction.

Have you become aware of any "foreign god" in your life, something which is taking the place of God? Explain.

• Online shopping. I want to always be looking for something. I think this stems from the fact that we are house shopping.
• Even now, I am itching to switch over to Craigslist and see what I can find!

How can we, like Jacob, transform the pain of losing someone we love into confidence and courage for the future?

• Of course! Especially if we know that that person has gone to be with the Lord. That doesn't mean its not going to hurt, though.

Responding in Prayer

Praise God for the remarkable example of his faithfulness to his chosen children through the life of Jacob.

• Thank you! You love to work through broken people.