FaithFormation@Home Bible Background and Encouragement - Joseph Pam Shellberg

This week’s story is the story of Joseph. Joseph, the son of Jacob and Rachel; grandson of Isaac and Rebekah; and great-grandson of Abraham and Sarah. Joseph’s story is a large chapter in the larger story of the Old Testament, the story of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness throughout the generations.

I’d encourage you to read the whole story. Start with Genesis, chapter 37. You’ll skip chapter 38, but then the story picks up again in chapter 39 and runs through the end of Genesis. Try to read at least through chapter 46. It sounds like a lot – but the chapters are short. It’s an easy read as biblical stories go – very easy to follow. It’s got a lot of drama and intrigue, guilt and treachery, sibling rivalry, and powerful parent-child bonds. You’ll be more easily able to pick out the scenes and dialogues that might be interesting for your family members. Some of the story also lends itself nicely to taking on roles and reading different character parts.

Here’s a synopsis of the story. Joseph is one of twelve sons born to Jacob and his wives. Because he is the firstborn of Rachel, whom Jacob loved most, Joseph received extra measures of his father’s favor. He had the gift of dreams and the ability to interpret God’s purposes from them. He was also a bit of a braggart – all of which made his brothers more than ready to get rid of him, even kill him if necessary. They threw him in a pit and sold him to some travelers. He ended up in Egypt as a servant in the Pharaoh’s house where, under the influence of God’s protection, he rose in stature and power. His gift for interpreting dreams ultimately saved Egypt from the devastation of a famine. The great storehouses of grain Egypt secured at Joseph’s direction drew people to it from the surrounding famine-stricken lands. It drew Joseph’s brothers to Egypt when they come hoping to buy grain to save their father and their families from starvation. There are some really good scenes where the brothers do not recognize Joseph, where he toys with them, where he exacts a bit of revenge. But ultimately Joseph forgave them, and brought his father and all the members of his brother’s tribes to the safety and security of his care in Egypt. The brothers were overcome by Joseph’s generosity of spirit, and were so guilt-stricken that they fell all over themselves in apology, begging and pleading for Joseph’s mercy, and offering to be his slaves.

Joseph answered with one of the greatest lines of the Joseph story. He said to his brothers, ‘Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. So, have no fear.’

So, here are a few suggestions for how you and your family might enter this story.

First, it is a story of sibling rivalry and various conflicts within the family. There is a sense of one child being “the favorite,” and some competition for that spot. There is frustration when Joseph talks about dreams he’s had which he interprets to mean that his eleven brothers will bow down to him. He brags and thinks more highly of himself than his brothers can tolerate. There are also arguments among the brothers about what should be done with Joseph. Some brothers actually want to kill him. Other brothers are the voices of reason and conscience – they won’t kill him, but they will rid the family of him. While Joseph ends up forgiving his family and saving them from famine, it is not until after he yanks their chains a little bit and exacts a measure of revenge for their earlier treatment of him. There are also gestures of self-sacrifice, tender desires to protect the father from more heartache than he’s already had, and deep heartfelt apologies and expressions of remorse between Joseph and the brothers.

It seems that some good questions to consider as you read and talk about the story with your families might be things like this:

What are the consequences of the sibling rivalry and violence for the other members of Joseph’s family. How are any of the other brothers affected? How is the father affected? What are the consequences for the whole family when there is this kind of conflict?

It might be fun to imagine yourselves as Joseph, but maybe even more interesting to imagine yourselves as any of the brothers. In this way, you may get your families talking a little bit about the consequences for each other and for your family when there is competition and rivalry. It can also be helpful to know, from the biblical perspective, that those feelings are real. And that God can still work with them, and through them.

A second thing that might be of interest is to pay attention to the expressions of emotion throughout the story. We don’t get too much of a sense of Joseph’s feelings when he is thrown in the pit and sold into slavery. But when he is finally reunited with his family, even in the midst of his taking revenge, the story tells us several times how Joseph is overcome with emotion, how he weeps into the neck of his father and his brothers – meaning they are in long, tight, hugs. I imagine Joseph actually sobbing in these moments.

What might those emotions be that overcome Joseph? Maybe relief or sorrow (has he been holding in his feelings all these years about having been betrayed?); maybe joy at being with his own people after years of living with the Egyptians in Pharaoh’s house? Does he have a sense of really being “home” after all these years? You might talk about what makes “home” a home; was Joseph maybe overcome with gratitude that he still has a chance to see his aging father? Could he maybe be feeling his own guilt at taking revenge on his brothers? It seems like many of these things might find some connection in your own family contexts. I know they do in mine!

The brothers are also often overcome with emotion. It is both the agony of feeling guilty, but also the sweet release of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Finally, remember that the overarching theme is that God is steadfast in love and faithful through all generations. This is the hope and promise for all of us as we see our own less than beautiful parts in the emotions and treachery of Joseph’s brothers. God still works for good! And God works for good because we also carry within us the beautiful part of love, with our capacities to heal as well as harm, to care for as well as to betray, and to forgive as well to hurt.

Questions? Want to just talk about the story? [email protected] ☺