The other day in Walmart, I had an interesting conversation with the cashier. I was buying some Bibles for camp, and the cashier commented on my purchase. I explained that I worked for a church camp and we like to give out Bibles to campers who are interested in taking one home who don't have them, and I usually don't find non-King James versions in the discount shelf at Walmart. He asked me what the difference was, because he didn't know there were different translations. I explained that the Bibles I was purchasing, New International Version, are a lot more reader-friendly than King James and a lot easier for kids and modern readers in general.
He then told me that he had tried to read the Bible, but gave up at Genesis. I said he should try to read John in the New Testament, because its all about love, but he told me he actually really liked Genesis, and was content to just keep reading that over and over. He liked the stories, and the down-to-earth humanness of the book. There's a lot going on, but yet it was relatable and understandable.
This story of the Walmart cashier was a reminder to me that God ministers through all parts of the Bible. Even if we don't sit down and read the whole thing, God uses what we see to reveal His character to us in the glimpses we do see. Genesis is a powerful book that sets up the entire story line of humanity in a simultaneously glorious and gritty telling of the origins of life, society, and humankind. Below is a short analysis of the key themes of Genesis, and a key character that embodies these themes:
Genesis Theme
The blessings and promises of God will stand, despite any obstacles or seemingly impossible situations.
Gen 1:1-10:32 - God establishes creation and mankind, but at the fall of man, alongside God’s curses, He blesses and provides for Adam and Eve as a framework for God’s purposes to bless and redeem humanity until the great flood.
Gen 11:1-50:26 - As the faithful people of God prevail, the blessings of God follow and are passed down as deeper expositions of the ways God moved in the lives of the fathers of faith are explored.
Genesis Thematic Character - Joseph
Although Joseph is not the direct inheritor of the blessing of Abraham, he displays an incredible life and character of faith. Through many twists, turns, and trials, it seems that his first reaction is to always turn to God, and the blessings that come to him and his family as a result of that faith are evident. Joseph started as the second youngest of twelve brothers, and when sharing his dreams is seen as prideful, in resentment his brothers want to kill him, but instead settle for a more “humane” solution and send him into slavery in Egypt instead. Joseph works honestly and diligently as a servant of a high ranking official in Egypt, Potiphar, but when his wife accuses Joseph of making advances, he is thrown in jail. There, he helps some of his cell mates by interpreting their dreams, and urge them to speak to Pharaoh on his behalf. Eventually word gets to Pharaoh, and after Jospeh interpret his dream, he is put in charge of all the land in Egypt, putting him in the perfect position to provide for his family when they are in need and come to Egypt for food during the famine. Joseph is reunited finally with his family and forgives them for the wrong they did to him all those years ago.
There are several key moments in Joseph’s life that display his incredible faith. After Joseph is taken to Egypt and has spent some time in Potiphar’s house, his character is recognized by those around him, and he is given more responsibility than the other servants because his honor as a man of God is evident (Gen 39:2-6). But those who attract attention for being honorable also become targets to bring low, as evidenced by Potiphar’s wife’s behavior. When she is making advances towards Joseph, Joseph refuses. However, the reason for his refusal is markedly characteristic of a Godly, faithful man. He does not refuse these advances simply because he does not want to dishonor his master, but more so, he does not want to dishonor God (Gen 39:9). In a moment of potential temptation, Joseph’s eyes are fixed unshakeably on God. This was the right choice, but nonetheless, it landed Joseph in jail when he rejected Potiphar’s wife.
The next display of Joseph’s faith comes in his dream interpretations. Both in prison and before Pharaoh, he takes the honor of interpreting dreams with extreme humility, always prefacing his interpretations with honor and glory to God (Gen 40:8, Gen. 41:16). What’s interesting here is that when Joseph is first introduced speaking about dreams, they are not peppered with the same humility, at least in the eyes of his brothers. He simply spoke his dreams, and that’s what landed him in trouble in the first place. The sins of Joseph are not expounded upon in great detail, but one knows from context that Joseph was guilty of gossip (Gen 37:2) and not giving God glory when speaking about God-given dreams (Gen 37:6-7, 9). Now, seeing how Joseph talks about dreams, it is clear that he has grown and matured in his faith, speaking carefully and honorably.
The third faithful display of Joseph is found towards the end of his story when his family comes to Egypt. After putting them through gruelling tests of loyalty, he finally breaks down and reveals himself when he sees that his brothers, too, have grown and matured. When he reveals himself, one of the first things he says is “Now, don’t be… angry with yourselves that you sold me here. Actually, God sent me before you to save your lives” (Gen 45:5). He had every reason to wallow in betrayal and anger, but instead, with eyes turned upward, Joseph saw that God was at work in even the worst parts of his life to bring him to Egypt for a greater plan. To confess this shows the greatest faith of all. Joseph’s whole heart was committed to God and trusted God at every step. Even when Jacob dies and his brothers are obviously still full of guilt for what they put Joseph through, he reassures them again that God took a bad situation and brought good from it. Joseph’s faith preserved the blessing and promise of God through his family line in a situation that seemed hopeless, thus displaying the great faith of Joseph and the grace of God.
A couple small, yet important details should be highlighted in the story of Joseph to show how it connects to the generation about to enter the promised land. The first is Jacob's burial request. After he blesses his sons, Jacob pleas several times to be buried in Canaan at Machpelah with his ancestors. This is very important because this is the very land that was promised to Abraham and his descendants, and maintaining roots in the land, even when living in foreign territory, was the most important thing to Jacob, and his dying wish.
This is juxtaposed by a theme that arises between Joseph and his brothers. When Jacob requests to be buried in Canaan, Joseph and his brothers see that their fathers dying wish is granted. However, Joseph’s brothers do not have the same track record for listening to his requests. In the beginning of the story, they don’t believe Joseph’s dreams (Gen 37:8, 10), they blatantly ignore Joseph’s advice to not identify as shepherds before the Egyptians (Gen 46:31-34, Gen 47:3-4), and even to the very end, when in Joseph’s dying breath, he makes the same plea of Jacob to his brothers, they again disregard his request and instead embalm and bury him in Egypt (Gen 50:25-26). In this request, Joseph demonstrates faith that is affirmed in Hebrews 11:22, and even though his request is not granted, the theme of Genesis is the faithfulness of God’s promises despite obstacles, often obstacles that are man-made. Even though Joseph’s brothers denied his request to be buried in the promised land, did not nullify the promise. Even though many Israelites lived and died in Egypt through a man-made obstacle of slavery in a land that is not their home, does not mean hope for the promised land is lost. God took Joseph’s slavery and brought good from it, and God was going to do the same for the Israelites.
As a previous beloved Dallas Theological professor, Dr. Allman, said repeatedly as a theme of Genesis - "What good are the promises of God?" (2018), a rhetorical question that he brings up when there is a situation that a character faces that seems contrary or opposite of the promise God had given them. But nonetheless, the barren woman has a son (Gen 18), the ram is in the thicket (Gen 22), wells are found in the desert (Gen 26), an angry brother forgives (Gen 33), and salvation comes from slavery (Gen 37-50). The story of Joseph is the perfect message of hope to summarize the lessons of faith thus far in Genesis, and to speak directly into the situation of the Israelites while they were captive in Israel, and encouragement to never lose hope in times of despair, and like Joseph, to trust that God is working all things for good.
James Allman, “Lecture Video from BE102-2018, unit 3, video 2", 2018, Dallas Theological Seminary Media.
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