1
00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:10,400
You have to suspend judgment and
seek to understand, not assume 

2
00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:13,280
that you know what's going on, 
not assume that you know what is

3
00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:15,920
right. 
You have to let it be what it 

4
00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:17,920
is. 
And that's one of the things 

5
00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:23,760
that is breathtaking to me, the 
honesty of the scriptures around

6
00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:27,680
that issue. 
Hey, welcome back to the Grace 

7
00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:30,560
Church Podcast. 
We're here in the studio this 

8
00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:34,160
afternoon and we are previewing 
an upcoming teaching series 

9
00:00:34,160 --> 00:00:37,320
actually starting this weekend. 
And so just wanted to give you 

10
00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:40,560
guys some thoughts leading into 
the weekend and the series. 

11
00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:44,400
I've got Jeff Inigenberg, who 
serves on our worship team, also

12
00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:47,960
has a role there at the Taylor's
campus, and Bill White, who's on

13
00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:49,440
our teaching team, a familiar 
voice. 

14
00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:51,320
And so welcome, gentlemen. 
Glad you guys are here. 

15
00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:54,720
Thanks for having us. 
Well, Bill, why don't you lead 

16
00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:56,880
us, tell us what we're going to 
be doing and why? 

17
00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:01,520
You know, when we get to the end
of the teaching series and we're

18
00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:05,920
always talking and dialogue and 
thinking ahead and Jim Taylor's,

19
00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:08,960
he's in charge of the schedule. 
So he, he's always feel more 

20
00:01:08,960 --> 00:01:12,120
pressure than the rest of us. 
And because we were having a 

21
00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:16,160
conversation about where to go 
next, it seemed like moving back

22
00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:20,520
into an Old Testament narrative.
We've been, of course, we've 

23
00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:23,880
been doing really kind of some 
topical thinking on biblical 

24
00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:26,280
wisdom, which has given us a lot
of freedom. 

25
00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:27,720
And I think that that's been a 
good thing. 

26
00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:31,640
We finished up a big 
expositional series of a New 

27
00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:35,760
Testament letter and some real 
practical things coming out of 

28
00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:38,400
that. 
And so there is something about 

29
00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:42,040
grounding ourselves in these 
ancient stories that are from a 

30
00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:46,400
different culture and seeing how
that orients us. 

31
00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:50,760
And it had been a while since we
had surveyed Joseph. 

32
00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:56,720
And I in particular really 
wanted to teach this section of 

33
00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:59,680
Genesis. 
I think trying to teach through 

34
00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:02,120
the whole book of Genesis and 
all the different questions that

35
00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:04,280
asked. 
It's, it's a push, it's a lot. 

36
00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:08,080
But taking a section and you 
have these cycles of narratives 

37
00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:12,000
and Joseph narrative is so 
interesting because it is the 

38
00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:16,640
maturing of the Abrahamic 
promises in many ways. 

39
00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:21,040
It is preparing the way for the 
Exodus. 

40
00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:26,640
It's getting people into Egypt 
and and you get to see the 

41
00:02:26,640 --> 00:02:29,840
brokenness, how God's powerfully
working with the brokenness of 

42
00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:31,440
the people of God and how they 
started. 

43
00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:34,240
So there's all this humility. 
It is the furthest thing from a 

44
00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:38,600
hero tale. 
It it shows just radical 

45
00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:41,600
pettiness. 
And so it's, it really is a 

46
00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:46,440
great way to see how God is at 
work doing amazing things in 

47
00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:50,360
really broken places. 
And I think the idea that the 

48
00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:54,640
mainstream of God's blessing in 
the world passes through this 

49
00:02:54,640 --> 00:02:57,760
dysfunction of this one 
generation is pretty 

50
00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:00,360
breathtaking. 
And so I think it's helpful for 

51
00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:04,000
us pastorally, is helpful for us
to think about our own lives and

52
00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:06,360
the brokenness of our own lives.
There's just a lot of immediate 

53
00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,120
application, but it's also very 
troubling. 

54
00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,000
You know, there's a lot of moral
ambiguity. 

55
00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:15,480
It requires a lot of us as 
readers, as listeners, and I 

56
00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:19,400
think that's good for us. 
But there is this gospel thread 

57
00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:22,520
that runs through the middle of 
it that people are going to see 

58
00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:25,840
as we work our way through and 
get to the end, that even in all

59
00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:29,760
the brokenness, other people may
intend things to be harmful, but

60
00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:33,160
God intends it for good, for the
saving of many. 

61
00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:36,080
That's kind of the main thing 
that runs through here. 

62
00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:39,320
And I think the idea of being 
able to get ourselves oriented 

63
00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:43,200
to that would be helpful for us 
as a people in the midst of what

64
00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:47,320
legitimately is a turbulent time
in our society. 

65
00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:49,920
And especially for people who 
are dealing with some broken, 

66
00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:51,920
some generational brokenness in 
their own life. 

67
00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:55,080
And they're living in a very 
unsettled political time. 

68
00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:58,040
Right. 
And I just think this story is 

69
00:03:58,040 --> 00:03:59,880
very comforting. 
Yeah. 

70
00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:01,480
OK. 
If you're in that kind of 

71
00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:02,360
context. 
Yeah. 

72
00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:05,680
And so, Jeff, you know, people 
think Joseph, they probably have

73
00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:09,400
a couple images, whether it's 
could have many colors or him 

74
00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:12,360
interpreting dreams, there's a 
lot of lot of narrative there. 

75
00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:14,680
But what would be the best 
starting point? 

76
00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:16,440
Where would we want people to 
start really, in their 

77
00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:17,839
understanding of the story, 
Joseph. 

78
00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:21,600
I think it's helpful to at least
rewind back to the Abrahamic 

79
00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:23,240
covenant, the promises God makes
there. 

80
00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:27,200
This is in response to what has 
happened earlier in Genesis with

81
00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:29,880
the rebellion of Adam and Eve 
bringing sin into the world. 

82
00:04:30,280 --> 00:04:33,400
And so how is God going to deal 
with the sin infecting this 

83
00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:35,480
broken world? 
It's through the promises he's 

84
00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:38,280
making to Abraham. 
He's promising Abraham to make 

85
00:04:38,280 --> 00:04:40,560
him a great nation. 
And really it's through 

86
00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:43,040
Abraham's descendants, this 
nation that he's going to build,

87
00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:46,160
that he's going to bring great 
blessing not only to Abraham's 

88
00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:48,360
family, but to all families on 
earth. 

89
00:04:48,840 --> 00:04:53,880
And so as as this is the promise
that God has set out, he is 

90
00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:57,040
taking it upon himself, the way 
that he ratifies that covenant, 

91
00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:00,520
that he's going to make sure 
that this happens no matter what

92
00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:03,760
Abraham's participation is in it
or not, you know, he's going to 

93
00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:05,480
make sure this happens. 
Going to be true to his word. 

94
00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:06,520
That's right. 
That's right. 

95
00:05:06,840 --> 00:05:10,000
And so then we, as we're going 
through Genesis, getting to the 

96
00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:13,200
point of Joseph, we're tracking 
with Abraham's family and seeing

97
00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:16,520
how these promises are passed 
from Abraham to Isaac, from 

98
00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:20,040
Isaac to Jacob, and then from 
Jacob to his his sons. 

99
00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:24,120
And it's just fascinating 
because these, this family, 

100
00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:28,600
there are many moments of great 
faith of, of some great examples

101
00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:31,680
for us of, of how they respond 
the Lord and to his promises. 

102
00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:35,320
But there are also a lot of 
times where they are taking 

103
00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:38,120
matters in their own hands, 
trying to manufacture God's 

104
00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:41,800
promises on their own. 
They have all kinds of rivalry 

105
00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:44,800
and strife within their family, 
a lot of contention. 

106
00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:48,520
And, and all this is, is the 
context and climate into which 

107
00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:51,560
Joseph appears on the scene in 
right in Genesis. 

108
00:05:51,840 --> 00:05:56,000
And so that that is the backdrop
and I, I think it starts to 

109
00:05:56,000 --> 00:06:00,120
raise questions about how is God
going to accomplish his promises

110
00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:04,280
and his purposes when this 
family is in oftentimes this 

111
00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:06,560
kind of disarray. 
Yeah, and I'm sure this will be 

112
00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:09,000
in the reading plan and we do 
encourage you to follow along 

113
00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,760
with the reading plan each week.
But we could go back and we're 

114
00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:13,960
talking Genesis 12 for Abrahamic
covenant. 

115
00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:18,240
That's right make your 
descendants is number as many as

116
00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:21,200
the stars in the sky. 
There's there's promises there 

117
00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:23,840
of land and all kinds of good 
stuff. 

118
00:06:23,840 --> 00:06:25,040
So that's it. 
That's a great place. 

119
00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:27,640
If, if you're if you're hearing 
that and you're like, I feel 

120
00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:29,400
like I should know what Jeff 
talking about here. 

121
00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:32,240
Just go just as 12. 
You can start there, do a little

122
00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:36,760
preview. 
So then as we think about some 

123
00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:39,320
of these characters, think about
some of the, I think you both 

124
00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:42,000
talked about kind of messiness 
and taking matters in their own 

125
00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:43,840
hands. 
What, what kind of stories are 

126
00:06:43,840 --> 00:06:44,600
we? 
Are we seeing? 

127
00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:47,200
What kind of a preview for us? 
What, what that might be? 

128
00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:49,680
You look alike. 
Yeah, Even leading up to just, 

129
00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:52,880
if you have, what's happened 
between Jacob and Esau, their 

130
00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:57,040
rivalry, the way that Jacob's 
deception brought such hatred 

131
00:06:57,040 --> 00:06:59,640
from Esau toward him. 
And so Jacob has to flee. 

132
00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:04,280
You know, when you think about 
Jacob, he goes to his his uncle 

133
00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:09,280
Laban and ends up marrying those
daughters, Leah and Rachel. 

134
00:07:09,280 --> 00:07:11,440
And there's a crazy story of 
deception there. 

135
00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:14,520
And now you have Jacob's wives, 
Leah and Rachel. 

136
00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:18,880
They are in contention and rival
with each other, trying to win 

137
00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:21,800
Jacob's love. 
And so even the way that the 

138
00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:25,720
brothers, Joseph and his 
brothers come about is through 

139
00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:29,480
their competition to win Jacob's
love by bearing Jacob's sons. 

140
00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:33,800
So all kinds of a mess there. 
So, I mean, it presents a little

141
00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:36,560
bit of challenge because, you 
know, we're sitting here in our 

142
00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:40,040
nice, you know, air conditioned 
homes at the, you know, middle 

143
00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:44,240
of the summer reading, showing 
up at church with our Western 

144
00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,320
mindset. 
Are we looking for heroes, Bill?

145
00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:51,560
I mean, you're going to be 
discouraged if you are. 

146
00:07:53,560 --> 00:08:00,560
And but the encouraging thing 
and all of that is if if you can

147
00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:04,280
suspend judgment. 
And I think this is one of the 

148
00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:06,920
most difficult things about 
understanding any good 

149
00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:11,680
literature, getting any story, 
even being in a healthy 

150
00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:15,920
relationship, is you have to 
suspend judgment and seek to 

151
00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:20,200
understand, not assume that you 
know what's going on, not assume

152
00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:23,880
that you know what is right, not
assume that you know how much 

153
00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:28,760
sin is in what someone else 
does, how much weakness plays 

154
00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:31,480
into that. 
You just, you have to let it be 

155
00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:33,679
what it is. 
And that's one of the things 

156
00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:39,559
that is breathtaking to me, the 
honesty of the scriptures around

157
00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:42,159
that issue. 
So yeah, I mean, you, you have 

158
00:08:42,159 --> 00:08:44,720
this family that is torn by 
rivalry and strife. 

159
00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:48,520
You have women who are competing
with one another, who have a 

160
00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:50,960
basically an arms race of 
children. 

161
00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:55,200
You have women who are taking 
their handmaids and and using 

162
00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:58,160
them. 
So you know, you have men 

163
00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:00,440
abusing women and treating them 
as sexual objects. 

164
00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:03,560
You have women treating women as
sexual objects in order to gain 

165
00:09:03,560 --> 00:09:06,640
favor and layer leverage within 
a family because children will 

166
00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:12,640
wealth in that culture, 
especially sons and and then you

167
00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:15,840
have men. 
I mean, the story of Judah is a 

168
00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:19,800
great story right at the 
beginning of, of this cycle of 

169
00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:23,480
narratives who start chapter 37.
And then in chapter 38, we have 

170
00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:26,160
this story about Judah. 
And you wonder why is this story

171
00:09:26,160 --> 00:09:29,240
in here at this point? 
And it's a story about Judah and

172
00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:33,000
how ungodly his sons are, how 
ungodly Judah is. 

173
00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:37,120
And in the middle of all of 
that, there's this woman Tamar, 

174
00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:43,120
who gets victimized and she has 
to trick Judah in order to get 

175
00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:46,120
justice that's due to her. 
I mean, and it's super, super 

176
00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:52,040
complicated and shameful. 
And yet God works through that 

177
00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:58,360
to accomplish all these great 
things and you're wanting like 

178
00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:01,880
Judah is, is despicable, right? 
And what he deserves. 

179
00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:02,800
Right. 
Yeah, Judah. 

180
00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:06,560
No, Judah wants to burn her, 
which even in that context back 

181
00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:11,560
then, you know, and then Judah 
finds out because his his 

182
00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:15,440
daughter-in-law who he had 
dishonored is pregnant and 

183
00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:17,240
people had said she's played the
whore. 

184
00:10:17,560 --> 00:10:21,280
And so then he goes and says, 
bring her out and burn her. 

185
00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:25,240
And she says, well, the man by 
whom I'm pregnant is the owner 

186
00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:29,600
of these and it's his signet 
ring, his staff, the symbols of 

187
00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:34,080
his person and his authority. 
And he says she's more righteous

188
00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:36,080
than I am. 
And so he don't burn her. 

189
00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:41,840
And it's through that line that 
God brings blessing and 

190
00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:46,040
authority is through that moment
of shame that was, I mean, it's 

191
00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:48,960
just and we'll, you know, as you
get to the end, we'll talk about

192
00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:51,480
how all of that plays out 
because it's through Judah. 

193
00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:54,880
Judah is the one through whom 
ultimately the Messiah comes. 

194
00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:59,560
And in Matthew's Gospel, Matthew
calls out Tamar by name and this

195
00:10:59,560 --> 00:11:02,080
event by name and says it came 
through one of the sons of 

196
00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:06,400
Tamar, which is a child that she
conceived by pretending to be a 

197
00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:10,320
prostitute and seducing Judah 
because Judah wouldn't do what 

198
00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:12,800
he should do and give his son to
her and his next son in 

199
00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:15,120
marriage. 
It's a crazy, crazy story. 

200
00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:18,080
And so it's inserted right at 
the beginning of all beginning 

201
00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:22,880
of all of this. 
And so I think this idea that in

202
00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:26,360
all this difficulty and in all 
this shame, as Jeff has said, 

203
00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:30,240
the messiness of all this 
brokenness in this family, God 

204
00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:32,560
is moving towards a place of 
redemption. 

205
00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:36,920
That's a really amazing thing 
that God's doing what he's 

206
00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:39,920
doing. 
And so, yeah, if you go here 

207
00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:43,040
looking for heroes, you aren't 
going to like it. 

208
00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:46,040
Yeah. 
Yeah, you got to be looking for 

209
00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:48,000
the story behind the story. 
That's right. 

210
00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:52,360
And I like the fact that you 
brought us into the context of 

211
00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:58,480
everyday living. 
But because we why do we not go 

212
00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:02,440
to our relationships with that 
kind of curiosity, you think? 

213
00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:11,320
I just think it takes a bunch of
humility to suspend judgement 

214
00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:15,280
and live and the discomfort that
provide. 

215
00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:16,160
Right. 
Yeah. 

216
00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:21,160
I mean, this story makes you 
uncomfortable and now Judah has 

217
00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:27,360
this wonderful redemption story 
later and where he offers 

218
00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:28,680
himself. 
Right. 

219
00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:31,200
For Benjamin to protect 
Benjamin. 

220
00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:33,760
We'll see that. 
I think it's in chapter 44. 

221
00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:40,200
And but I just think that's one 
of the things that reading these

222
00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:43,000
Old Testament narratives will 
force you to do is it'll force 

223
00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:46,960
you to suspend judgment, to live
within that tension, right? 

224
00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:49,640
And even to believe that God 
could be working in this. 

225
00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:52,400
Because we like, we like 
guarantees, like certainty. 

226
00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:54,040
We like promises. 
We like being right. 

227
00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:58,240
Yeah. 
And when you are living in 

228
00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:01,360
relationship with folks, you're 
playing the long game, you're 

229
00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:04,280
living in tension. 
It's what dependence on God 

230
00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:08,000
looks like. 
And so, yeah, I mean, it's in 

231
00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:12,080
some ways, if engaging this Old 
Testament narrative over the 

232
00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:16,440
fall draws out some of that 
curiosity and empathy and 

233
00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:20,520
suspending judgement, then that 
that will be a huge spiritual 

234
00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:22,640
formation goal. 
So Jeff, what are you thinking 

235
00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:23,080
about? 
And I. 

236
00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:27,720
I feel like it is so helpful as 
you read to just put yourself in

237
00:13:27,720 --> 00:13:30,120
some of the place of the 
characters, you know, to imagine

238
00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:33,320
some of the things that they're 
experiencing, to think about 

239
00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:35,680
what it felt like for Joseph to 
be betrayed by his brothers and 

240
00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:39,480
what kind of weight that was on 
his life. 

241
00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:43,080
And how it seems like, you know,
time and time again, the worst 

242
00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:46,240
thing that could happen to him 
happens to him, you know, and 

243
00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:49,080
you would imagine that he would 
be discouraged, that he would be

244
00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:53,080
embittered by that. 
And yet God works in his life in

245
00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:56,800
a way that allows him to be 
ready to reconcile with his 

246
00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:00,080
brothers, you know, And so it it
holds open some some redemptive 

247
00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:04,040
possibility for us as we look at
what he suffered and went 

248
00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:06,560
through. 
And yet how the Lord worked in 

249
00:14:06,560 --> 00:14:09,760
his life to bring him to a place
of redemption in the end. 

250
00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:14,320
Do you have personally, do you 
have a favorite story in the 

251
00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:17,480
narrative of Joseph? 
Oh man, that's a good question. 

252
00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:21,240
I think just having read through
it recently, what really struck 

253
00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:24,520
me was the moment where he and 
his brothers reconcile. 

254
00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:27,200
I, I think there's something so 
powerful about that. 

255
00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:31,920
It's, it's easy for us in our 
day and age to write people off,

256
00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:34,200
to say, this person has hurt me 
this much. 

257
00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:35,840
I don't ever want to go back to 
them. 

258
00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:41,280
And something powerful about the
way that Joseph was willing to 

259
00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:43,880
to go back to those brothers 
that had betrayed him so deeply 

260
00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:47,560
and yet to experience 
reconciliation. 

261
00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:50,520
Yeah, Yeah. 
When he gets to the point where 

262
00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:54,120
he could, could, could conceal 
his identity no longer. 

263
00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:56,920
Yeah, that's great. 
Yeah, and it is cool in that 

264
00:14:56,920 --> 00:14:59,960
there's that's probably the most
poignant moment. 

265
00:14:59,960 --> 00:15:04,160
And it's, it's interesting how 
Joseph and Judah, the, the arc 

266
00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:08,680
of their stories come together 
there because Joseph is being 

267
00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:12,000
scheming and whether it's 
legitimate or not legitimate, 

268
00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:14,640
whether it's petty or whether 
it's wise, it's difficult. 

269
00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:16,640
It's difficult to understand. 
It's really difficult to say. 

270
00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:18,800
Again, to your point about 
suspending judgment. 

271
00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:20,560
That's right. 
And so it's hard to know what's 

272
00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:23,680
happening, but but in the 
process of all of that, their 

273
00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:27,560
hearts are revealed. 
And Judah has his moment where 

274
00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:32,400
Joseph had made it look like 
Benjamin had been called red 

275
00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:36,000
handed and Benjamin was his 
biological brother by the 

276
00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:38,840
preferred mother, you know, So I
mean, you have to think about 

277
00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:43,400
all these other all the other of
the 10 tribes, they all felt 

278
00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:48,760
like they were second class 
citizens because all all Jacob 

279
00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:51,920
really wanted out of his 
relationship with Laban was 

280
00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:54,680
Rachel. 
That's all he wanted it. 

281
00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:59,080
Leah got imposed on him and then
he had to work to get Rachel. 

282
00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:02,680
And then and everybody knows all
of that. 

283
00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:05,000
So they've been living in the 
shame of all of that. 

284
00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:08,320
And Benjamin and and Joseph have
been were treated like favored 

285
00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:10,280
sons and everybody else was a 
set class citizen. 

286
00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:15,240
And so the tension in that 
moment and Judah, who's been 

287
00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:18,280
trying to protect himself, like 
he was trying to protect his 

288
00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:20,760
lineage from Tamar because he 
thought, well, she's cursed. 

289
00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:23,200
And in reality, it was his sons 
that were cursed. 

290
00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:28,920
Judah has a moment where Joseph 
says, well, I'm going to keep 

291
00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:31,680
Benjamin as my slave because 
he's the one who was called red 

292
00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:33,680
handed. 
And Judah's like, you can't let,

293
00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:36,320
I can't do this to my father. 
And he offers himself as a 

294
00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:38,880
slave. 
And that's the thing that makes 

295
00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:43,840
Joseph just break apart. 
He couldn't stand it anymore. 

296
00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:48,400
But the even cooler part in some
ways in that culture that's easy

297
00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:55,120
to miss is Joseph brother. 
Joseph's brothers thought in 

298
00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:58,400
Chapter 50 that once their dad 
was dead, there was going to be 

299
00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:02,160
a reckoning still that I'd 
respect for the dad. 

300
00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:05,920
He's put up with all of this. 
But then at the end of that, 

301
00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:09,200
they come to him after their dad
has died and they're like, look,

302
00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:11,560
we know we did you wrong. 
We're so sorry with that. 

303
00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:14,720
And there's this reckoning. 
And that's where Joseph has his 

304
00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:17,680
great line that's turned him 
into a hero in so many ways. 

305
00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,440
Is that what you intended it for
evil to harm me? 

306
00:17:20,839 --> 00:17:23,240
God intended it for good, for 
the saving of many. 

307
00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:27,720
And already in that there's a 
little proto fulfillment of the 

308
00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:33,440
promise to Abraham because the 
Egypt was saved by the gifting 

309
00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:35,320
of Joseph. 
Right. 

310
00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:39,200
The the 12 tribes were checked 
were saved by the gifting of 

311
00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:42,440
Joseph in providing for everyone
in a famine. 

312
00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:47,000
His ability to interpret dreams 
and and Joseph has let all that 

313
00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:48,560
go. 
He's like that's God's business.

314
00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:51,680
Whatever you got you guys swing 
you and God God's doing 

315
00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:53,520
something. 
I'm good with what God is doing 

316
00:17:54,360 --> 00:17:58,480
and I and to just point it has 
become popular today for us to 

317
00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:02,640
write people off. 
We we love or like rage, certain

318
00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:07,840
kinds of rage and in particular 
certain types of sins we love to

319
00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:10,320
write people off about and we 
love to write families off and 

320
00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:12,120
people off is toxic. 
That's toxic. 

321
00:18:12,120 --> 00:18:13,480
I have to get away from all of 
that. 

322
00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:16,200
And I'm not saying that there 
aren't people that you need to 

323
00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:19,840
separate yourself from, but I'm 
pretty sure that selling me into

324
00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:23,960
slavery, telling my dad, tearing
up my clothes and telling my 

325
00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:26,480
dad, putting ghost blood on and 
telling my dad that I'm dead, 

326
00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:28,920
that that's toxic. 
Yeah, he he didn't follow his 

327
00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:30,880
therapist's advice. 
Exactly right. 

328
00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:35,880
And yet in the center of all of 
that, like the humility to 

329
00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:40,000
realize, yes, what you did was 
wrong, but that's also what God 

330
00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:42,160
was doing. 
Like the freedom that that gives

331
00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:45,560
us as the people of God to not 
vilify one another, to not self 

332
00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:47,120
protect. 
I don't have to self protect. 

333
00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:52,000
God is protecting, God is doing 
good, and I'm just a I'm a part 

334
00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:53,480
of what he's doing. 
And yeah, that's what you 

335
00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:56,120
intended, but it's not for me to
judge what you intended. 

336
00:18:56,120 --> 00:18:59,280
I mean, that that message of 
grace, I mean, that is a world 

337
00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:02,960
transforming message. 
And that's a fulfillment of the 

338
00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:06,440
Abrahamic promise where through 
all this vile stuff that was 

339
00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:11,560
done by God's people, Egypt was 
saved, the 12 tribes were saved,

340
00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:15,320
other nations came to Egypt and 
got what they needed. 

341
00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:18,600
And God's people are, are a 
source of blessing. 

342
00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:21,320
I think that's a pretty, I mean,
that's an amazing thing. 

343
00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:23,200
And that's the ending of the 
book of Genesis. 

344
00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:27,320
So it runs a full art from where
in the garden to now the garden 

345
00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:31,720
is gone, but God is working 
through a group of people to be 

346
00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:35,360
a source and a blessing. 
And he can do that even in the 

347
00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:37,480
ways that they're imperfect and 
sinful and broken. 

348
00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:39,960
That's amazing. 
And so, you know, Jeff, we 

349
00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:42,760
started with Abrahamic covenant 
and we are going to eventually 

350
00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:49,120
wind up with the Messiah 
obviously and Matthew, Oliver, 

351
00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:52,000
New Testament Gospels. 
So you would expect Joseph to be

352
00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:53,760
the key the key figure there, 
right? 

353
00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:57,520
Yeah, I mean, in these chapters 
that we're looking at, he is the

354
00:19:57,560 --> 00:19:59,760
the most prominent character. 
You know, we could get more, 

355
00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:02,240
more detail about him and his 
his story. 

356
00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:06,480
And so it seems like it would be
natural for the promise that God

357
00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:09,280
has made there, Abraham to be 
passed from Abraham to Isaac to 

358
00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:10,440
Jacob to Joseph. 
Yeah. 

359
00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:13,800
But Genesis does a very Genesis 
thing. 

360
00:20:14,360 --> 00:20:17,600
You know, you, you sees that 
it's not Abraham's first born 

361
00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:20,480
through Hagar, Ishmael, that is 
the through the line of promise.

362
00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:23,240
It's to Isaac, not Esau, the 
first born of the twins. 

363
00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:25,840
It's Jacob. 
And now it's not Joseph, the one

364
00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:29,240
who's feels most prominent in 
the story, but it's Judah. 

365
00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:31,680
It's going to be Judah the the 
one who had all the shame 

366
00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:35,360
through his his family 
circumstances with Tamar and 

367
00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:37,840
with his sons and his Canaanite 
wife and everything. 

368
00:20:38,360 --> 00:20:40,840
And yet through God's 
Providence, he's deciding to 

369
00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:43,520
work through through Judah. 
And we can do get a hint of that

370
00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:47,520
at the end of the of the book as
Jacob is blessing his sons. 

371
00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:52,320
He he gives a pretty strong 
blessing to to Judah to talk 

372
00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:55,520
about the scepter not departing 
from his hand and how that that 

373
00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:58,880
authority to rule will will 
carry on through his line. 

374
00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:01,560
There's a there's a pretty 
special blessing to given to 

375
00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:04,440
Joseph too. 
But as we as we trace it out 

376
00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:07,600
further in the scripture, we do 
see that that what God is doing 

377
00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:10,160
to bring about Messiah comes 
through Judas line. 

378
00:21:11,360 --> 00:21:16,520
Well, hopefully as we've teased 
this out, maybe you're thinking,

379
00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:19,560
wow, there's, there's stuff 
there that I don't remember in 

380
00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:21,200
the past. 
Or maybe this is the first time 

381
00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:23,360
you've you're, you're being 
introduced to Joseph in the 

382
00:21:23,360 --> 00:21:26,960
story, particularly in its 
fullest form, going all the way 

383
00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:30,400
back, as Bill mentioned, the 
garden, as Jeff mentioned, to 

384
00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:34,320
the Abrahamic covenant. 
And so I guess, you know, and 

385
00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:36,720
just invite you along for the 
journey. 

386
00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:40,080
I think it's going to be a, a 
great fall of study. 

387
00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:43,520
And then let's not moralize 
these stories. 

388
00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:48,640
Let's not take them and turn 
them into children's books or 

389
00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:50,720
Veggie Tales for all of our Gen.
Xers. 

390
00:21:51,360 --> 00:21:53,320
Let's let them. 
Let them live and breathe and 

391
00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:56,360
put yourself in their position 
and let them be. 

392
00:21:56,880 --> 00:21:59,760
And let's make sure that we see 
the God that's working behind 

393
00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:01,160
the scenes, like you said. 
Bill. 

394
00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:04,440
Any last thoughts for our 
audience before we get into it 

395
00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:07,360
this weekend? 
I just want to encourage you to 

396
00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:10,280
to read the stories. 
For some of you, if you've not 

397
00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:14,160
read this story, then just go 
back and read the story several 

398
00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:15,560
times. 
You, you can get it. 

399
00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:19,240
I mean, for me, I have to work 
to keep things fresh. 

400
00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:22,600
The, the more I study, I, it's 
just a discipline that I've 

401
00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:27,240
learned have to get new take. 
So I, I got on Audible a, a 

402
00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:29,840
translation of a guy that I 
don't agree with about a lot of 

403
00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:35,280
things, but I got a new 
translation of the Hebrew Bible.

404
00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:41,680
And, and I've already listened 
to this multiple times, you 

405
00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:48,040
know, just as a, as a story. 
Yeah, and not trying to study 

406
00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:50,040
it. 
It wasn't written to be studied 

407
00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:51,880
inductively. 
You know, I think it's where 

408
00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:54,400
some of our Bible study 
methodology can get us. 

409
00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:56,800
Yeah. 
Nobody was studying these 

410
00:22:56,800 --> 00:22:58,240
stories. 
These stories were written to be

411
00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:01,320
read out loud to people, for 
these to be formational for you 

412
00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:04,600
to find yourself in them. 
And children had them read to 

413
00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:06,200
them as they are. 
Right. 

414
00:23:06,360 --> 00:23:09,640
OK, so children. 
So you made a statement about, 

415
00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:13,040
you know, these are not just 
Bible stories for children like 

416
00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,240
back in the day. 
They read these stories the way 

417
00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:18,760
we read them, they read them, 
they read those stories to those

418
00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:21,360
children and that way they were 
identity forming. 

419
00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:23,720
And I would encourage us to do 
the same thing. 

420
00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:26,760
Let's not dumb them down. 
Let's not sanitize them. 

421
00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:28,640
Let's just read them. 
And so if you haven't read 

422
00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:32,880
these, so these are amazing 
stories and instead of reading 

423
00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:34,600
them and be all, what does this 
mean or what does that mean? 

424
00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:37,120
Just read them. 
Hang with the story. 

425
00:23:37,120 --> 00:23:41,200
It'll get clear like in Genesis 
chapter 50 where you see God's 

426
00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:45,160
sovereign hand guiding all this 
like that is putting a bow on. 

427
00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:47,720
But you have to live with all 
the tension to get to that 

428
00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:50,880
moment, right? 
That moment is the resolve of 

429
00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:54,640
the tension. 
And so you, you got to feel all 

430
00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:57,040
that tension and go through it 
and let yourself feel what the 

431
00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:00,400
characters are feeling, you 
know, let yourself feel their 

432
00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:03,800
woundedness rather than judging 
them and let them deal with 

433
00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:07,040
them, feel their shame and then 
get to the end. 

434
00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:08,880
And I think that would be the 
thing that I would say if you, 

435
00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:11,640
if you would read the salty 
stories to become a part of our 

436
00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:16,240
people because they're 
formational and just just read 

437
00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:17,600
it. 
And even now before you get 

438
00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:22,160
there this weekend, you can 
easily read or listen to this 

439
00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:25,960
story two or three times all the
way through from chapter 37 all 

440
00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:28,560
the way through to chapter 50. 
That does not take long. 

441
00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:32,440
You know, get on the treadmill, 
you know, and, and just listen 

442
00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:33,760
to it. 
Let's do it a couple of times 

443
00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:37,160
and get in the flow of it. 
I think that'd be super helpful 

444
00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:39,800
for you. 
And Genesis is written in a way 

445
00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:43,520
that helps us with that. 100%. 
Because it often gives us 

446
00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:46,000
insight into what a character is
thinking or feeling or what 

447
00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:47,800
their motives are. 
It's telling us when they're 

448
00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:50,360
afraid. 
It's showing us a peek behind 

449
00:24:50,360 --> 00:24:52,560
the curtain when Joseph goes 
away from his brothers and he's 

450
00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:55,840
weeping in his room over the 
weight of what he's facing, 

451
00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:58,640
facing them. 
And so I think if we pay 

452
00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:01,360
attention to those, it really 
helps us enter into the story 

453
00:25:01,360 --> 00:25:03,080
and see it the way the story's 
being told. 

454
00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:07,560
I love it, I love it. 
So come this weekend with 

455
00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:11,720
expectant heart prepared, you 
know where we're headed and 

456
00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:15,720
we're just grateful for you guys
listening and just giving us a 

457
00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:18,880
just a little bit of your time 
and hopefully that's this has 

458
00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:23,040
increased your own curiosity. 
So we will see you Sunday at 

459
00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:24,320
church. 
Thank you men for coming in. 

460
00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:25,440
Welcome. 
Thank you. 

461
00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:26,240
All right, see you soon.