The new year comes with a wave of new ideas and an opportunity for a fresh start. This year, I decided to embark on a closer walk with the Lord and come to know him more intimately through His manual here on earth; the Bible. I grew up in a Christian home with the word of God but have found out that there is a need for direct knowledge from the Lord. I started the year by following Tara Leigh Cobble on the Bible Recap. I hope to share my insights each day as we delve deeper into the understanding of the Bible
25th of January 2024- Genesis 38-40
Today, our focus is on Jacob, now called Israel after reaching a new covenant with EL Elohim Israel. He has twelve sons and Judah is his fourth son. Judah went and married an Adullamite and had three sons. Judah’s two elder sons sinned and died leaving Tamar a widow twice over. Judah decides to send Tamar home to her family because his last son is too young. God however redeemed Tamar and she became one of the great-grandmothers of Christ.
The passage that excites me today is that of Joseph. Remember that he is the son of Jacob’s favorite wife – Racheal, this favor was transferred from mother to child and Jacob showed his preference by giving him a coat of many colors. This preferential treatment causes his brothers to detest him even more, so they proceed to sell him to the Ishmaelite who in turn sell him off to a top Egyptian official- Potiphar. Joseph had always been a dreamer, he dreamt that the sun and moon and the stars bowed to him and told his brothers; this made him even more unpopular among them. Just when we almost lose all hope about Joseph’s slavery, God shows up and blesses Potiphar’s house because of Joseph. This causes Potiphar to set him over all the affairs of his estate. Potiphar’s wife sees this young, hardworking man and casts her lustful eyes on him. I believe the physical exertions of work must have given him a well-toned body. She proceeds to pester him daily and one day she holds fast to him, but Joseph in Genesis 39: 9-12 says “how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” Notice that he doesn’t call it a sin against his master but a sin against God, he is aware of the omnipresence of God and seeks diligently to please the Lord. This infuriates Potiphar’s wife, and she takes his shirt that he left as proof against him. Potiphar promptly throws Joseph in prison.
If I were in Joseph’s shoes, I likely might have given up on those silly dreams. Sometimes, the journey looks nothing like the destination. Many believers today face arduous journeys with so much pressure to give up on the way, and then the devil throws in depression which comes as a result of rejection. We feel that God has forgotten us or is too busy with the other billions of people on earth to care about us. His Word says that he cares about the little sparrows, and He provides for them, even the very hairs on our heads are numbered! (Matthew 10:26–31). Imagine that! The Lord cares so much and Joseph did lose sight of the vision that had been shown to him. He was thrown in prison and God was still with him. Isn’t it marvelous to know that all these trials were leading him on the path to destiny while whipping him up to shape physically, emotionally, mentally, and in all aspects of life? He was ‘tried’ in the fire. In prison, Joseph found favor. He was made an overseer there too. He meets two prisoners of Pharoah who have dreams and interprets the dreams to them. The King’s cupbearer was reinstated while the baker lost his life just as Joseph had interpreted.
My conclusion today is that God takes shame and disappointment and turns it into glory as in the case of Tamar.
Joseph was able to maintain character in a strange land with the knowledge that God is everywhere, He never lost sight of the vision that God had given him
