The Story Of Joseph Part 11--The Cupbearer Remembers

 Genesis 41: 9-14

We have seen that God has been guiding and keeping Joseph by using the decisions and actions and inactions of the people around him, to prepare him and have him in place for the plan God decided for him. Joseph did not know what would happen before every step happened in his life, he just kept on trusting the Lord and following His ways. 

Joseph could have rebelled and fought against all the wrongdoing and slander against him, but he never lost his footing walking in God's ways, even when it resulted in negative circumstances for himself (in slavery, in jail). This is remarkable. 

It has been quite a few years since his brothers tried to get rid of him when he was only seventeen years old. He's been a slave all this time, the property of the commander of the king's bodyguards. 

And now he's sat in jail for years, waiting ... waiting ... waiting ....

(9) Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, "I would make mention today of my own offenses. 

The cupbearer finally remembers Joseph! He has been blocking all those memories of being in trouble and sitting in the jail not knowing what would happen to him. 

(10) "Pharaoh was furious with his servants, and he put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, both me and the chief baker. 

This is what was so painful for him, that he didn't want to face. It was shameful and disgraceful.

(11) "We had a dream on the same night, he and I; each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream. 

But now he's remembering the dreams they had, that weren't just regular dreams, but important messages, that needed to be decoded.

(12) "Now a Hebrew youth was with us there, a servant of the captain of the bodyguard, and we related them to him, and he interpreted our dreams for us. To each one he interpreted according to his own dream. (13) And just as he interpreted for us, so it happened; he restored me in my office, but he hanged him." 

And he tells Pharaoh how this Hebrew slave of his captain was also in jail with them, and he was able to understand what their dreams were telling them, and he was right. He told them what would happen, and it did, exactly as he understood from their dreams; that he was restored as the chief cupbearer, and that the baker was hanged, just as he said.

(14) Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph ... 

All right, now finally God is letting Joseph out of jail. This is why He kept him there for so long, God knew when He was going to give these dreams to this king concerning his land, and He wanted Joseph there to make such a big difference, no wonder He spent so many years preparing him. 

God used Joseph's brothers to get him into Egypt; then he used Potiphar's wife"s slander to make him put Joseph into the elite jail where the king's prisoners were kept, and He even used the cupbearer's refusal to face his embarrassing episode in jail. 

God is so powerful and wise and caring that He used all these things to shape Joseph's thinking and attitudes, and to have him exactly where he would need to be for Pharaoh to summon him. 

O my Father, You are so great! You are so good! You are so wise! You care for us in ways that are beyond my understanding. You kept Joseph's brothers from killing him so that he would be in Egypt at this time, prepared and ready to change history.

And You gave us his story so that we can learn the lessons we also need to know and practice for our own stories, walking in the path You have placed our feet, so that we also will do what You have planned ahead of time for us to accomplish. 

O Father, Your strength and Your smarts and Your caring for each one of us, to prepare us and lead us along the path, the end of which will be glorious for each of us, and bring You all the credit for doing it all. 

My Father, please use me. Lead me and guide me along this rocky road my feet trod each day. I cannot see what lies ahead, any more than Joseph could; but, like him, I want to trust You, because I know that You only have my best in mind. 

Father, even when I encounter adverse circumstances, or face slander, or stumble over some stumbling block, I know that You are with me, and I will not fall, because You, as my good Father, will never let go of my hand! 

Send me out, Father; send out my words, my blog, my books, into all the world, that I might speak Your words, to influence many minds to think Your thoughts, and to realize how much You love each of them. Draw them all to a clear understanding of who You are, and what You have done for them already in Your Son. 

Send out all of Your children, Dad, to be Your messengers and Your missionaries, to share their witness and their testimonies to encourage everyone in the world to see You in Truth, and to leave the lies that have deceived them. Daddy, I emplore you with tears, bring all of Your embryonic children, my sisters and brothers, to the birth. Fill Your great house with all of Your uncountable family! 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus! 

The Story Of Joseph Part 10--Now Pharaoh Is Dreaming

 Genesis 41: 1-8

We just saw that Joseph has been in Egypt for some time now, having served Potiphar and wound up in jail for not falling for his wife's seductions. Now more time has passed, and Joseph interpreted the dreams of the Pharaoh's chief cupbearer and chief baker, which both happened just as he said; but the cupbearer clean forgot about him, so he's still sitting in the jail. 

(1) Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, 

Now another two years have passed, and Pharaoh is now dreaming. And here's his dream:

and behold, he was standing by the Nile. (2) And lo, from the Nile there came up seven cows, sleek and fat; and they grazed in the marsh grass. (3) Then behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, ugly and gaunt, and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. (4) The ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke.  

He woke up right after the dream so that he would remember it.  

(5) He fell asleep and dreamed a second time; 

Then he rolled over and went back to sleep, and had another dream: 

and behold, seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, plump and good. (6) Then behold, seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them. (7) The thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.  

He woke up again after this dream, too, so now he will remember both of these dreams. But it was still the middle of the night, so he went back to sleep again.

(8) Now in the morning his spirit was troubled, 

When he got up in the morning, he was still thinking about those two dreams; they seemed important somehow.  

so he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, 

So he asked them for help in understanding what they could mean.

but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

None of his intelligentsia had any idea they could proffer. This will take more than mere intelligence. 

Is this why God left Joseph in the prison for so many years? Is this why the chief cupbearer forgot about him? Tune in tomorrow for the next episode in this exciting saga!

O my Father, You know that we like to listen to stories, and You put so many good stories in Your written Word for us to enjoy and learn about You and ourselves. 

My Father, You even tell us what to expect down the road where we can't see, so that we will prepare for what is coming. Then when it happens, just as You said it would, then our faith in You is strengthened, and we can trust You with more of the things we try to handle ourselves. 

O Father, help Your children to grow up to maturity, so that Your Church will attain the full stature of the Son of God, whose body we are. Send us out into the world, Father, to tell everyone how much You love us all. Let every living person hear and understand that You sent Your own Son to save us from ourselves and from the power sin has over us, and to wash us in His blood, so we can be Your own children! Bring all of Your pre-born babies to the birth into Your family, and fill Your great house with all of Your uncountable progeny. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, do come quickly, Lord Jesus! 

The Story Of Joseph Part 9--More Dreams

 Genesis 40: 1-23

The story so far has Joseph sold by his own brothers into slavery in Egypt. He is an honest man, who worships the Lord God, Who gives him grace in the eyes of his master Potiphar, who puts him in charge of his whole estate. Then when Joseph refuses his master's wife's seductions, Potiphar has to put him in jail to protect his family's reputation. And the chief jailer also recognized Joseph's abilities and gave him responsibility for taking care of the other prisoners.

(1) Then it came about after these things, the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt. (2) Pharoah was furious with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. (3) So he put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, in the jail, the same place where Joseph was imprisoned. 

This was the elite jail where they would put the servants of the king who offended him, not the common jail full of criminals. And the royal chief cupbearer and the royal chief baker did something that angered the king, so he put them into the jail where Joseph was.

(4) The captain of the bodyguard put Joseph in charge of them, and he took care of them; and they were in confinement for some time. 

The captain of the bodyguard was Potiphar, and he knew Joseph, so he made sure that Joseph had charge of these king's servants, to take good care of them.

(5) Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in jail, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation. 

They'd been there for some time, which could have been several months. Now these two officials each have a significant dream in the same night.

(6) When Joseph came to them in the morning and observed them, behold, they were dejected. (7) He asked Pharaoh's officials who were with him in confinement in his master's house, "Why are your faces so sad today?" (8) Then they said to him, "We have had a dream and there is no one to interpret it." Then Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell it to me, please."

Joseph is serving the servants of the king, who are in the jail with him, and as he prepares their morning routines, he notices how dejected they were, even more so than usual; and they relate to him that they each had a dream. 

Joseph tells them that only the Lord God can give a dream that has an interpretation, and he encourages them to tell him their dream.

(9) So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, "In my dream, behold, there was a vine in front of me; (10) and on the vine were three branches. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out, and its clusters of ripe grapes. (11) Now Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh's hand." 

The cupbearer goes first, and tells his dream to Joseph, which relates to his job for Pharaoh in being his cupbearer.

(12) Then Joseph said to him, "This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days; (13) within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and and you will put Pharaoh's cup into his hand according to your former custom when you were his cupbearer. 

This is good news. In three days, Pharaoh will give him back his job.

(14) "Only keep me in mind when it goes well with you, and please do me a kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh and get me out of this house. (15) For I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon." 

And, since he will be serving Pharaoh in a very personal way, Joseph asks him a favor, to put in a good word for him to the king, since he never should have been in that jail in the first place, to give him justice.

(16) When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to Joseph, "I also saw in my dream, and behold, there were three baskets of white bread on my head; (17) and in the top basket there were some of all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head." 

Since the cupbearer got such good news, the baker was encouraged to also tell him his dream; and it also was about his job for the king.

(18) Then Joseph answered and said, "This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days; (19) Within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you." 

This was not so good a prospect. Again, in three days Pharaoh will decide about this servant, too, and execute him.

(20) Thus it came about on the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; 

It's Pharaoh's birthday and he gives himself a party with all his servants.

and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. 

Pharaoh used the party to lift up the head of his servants in jail, too. He called them out of the prison to the party, and pronounced sentence on them both. 

(21) He restored the chief cupbearer to his office, and he put the cup into Pharaoh's hand; (22) but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them. 

Possibly, the king had been doing some investigating while both men were confined, and deduced that the blame for whatever went down accrued to his baker.

(23) Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. 

Now that the cupbearer is again serving the king at his side, in all the excitement of getting his job back, he completely forgets all about Joseph. He gets into the regimen of his old workday routine, and never even thinks about his time in jail any more. 

Joseph is still sitting, unjustly but patiently, in the jail.

O my Father, Joseph still was not released from confinement. But if he had been let out then, and allowed his freedom from the unjust slavery, he would have gone back home to his father Jacob, and not been there in Egypt to save his family from starvation! You knew he needed to be right there, and You remained with him to encourage him and keep him patiently serving the other prisoners while he waited for Your time. 

O Father, help me also to continue to be patient, and lead me to be in the right place I'll need to be when my time comes, too. Just as Joseph didn't know what You were planning for him, I also do not know what You have planned for me, either. So I will continue to do what You lead me to do each day, looking for opportunities to share Your love with others. 

My Father, let my words and my stories and my testimony of You go out to all the nations of the world, so that others will get to know You through my insights, and be drawn to seek you. Bring all Your embryos to the birth, and fill Your great house with all of Your uncountable children. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus! 

The Story Of Joseph Part 8--In Jail

 Genesis 39: 20-23

Joseph's brothers had hated him for being their father's favorite, sold him to a caravan headed for Egypt, and Potiphar bought him as a house slave. Since Joseph was faithful to God, He blessed whatever Joseph did, and Potiphar made him manager over everything he owned. 

Then Potiphar's wife threw a monkey wrench into Potiphar's works, and accused Joseph unjustly in being rejected by him.

(20) So Joseph's master took him and put him into the jail, the place where the king's prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail. 

Potiphar didn't put him in the common jail where criminals were incarcerated, but in the elite jail for those who offended Pharaoh, the king. 

By this time, most likely several years have passed and Joseph must have been in his twenties by now.

(21) But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. (22) The chief jailer committed to Joseph's charge all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that whatever was done there, he was responsible for it. 

Just as the Lord was with Joseph in Potiphar's house, now He is blessing what Joseph does in this prison house, and the chief jailer made him a trustee, with responsibility over the other prisoners.

(23) The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph's charge because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made to prosper. 

Just as Potiphar was able to leave him in charge, so now the chief jailer could also see that Joseph was capable, honest and responsible, so he also could give Joseph a free hand in what he needed to do in the jail, just as Potiphar did over his property. 

Joseph is still maintaining his faithfulness to his God, even in the midst of all the idols and idolatrous attitudes of the people around him, who didn't know about his God. And God's influence in Joseph's views and attitudes gave grace in the eyes of his authorities over him, to grant him more freedom of movement and action. 

But he was still in jail, unjustly, for maintaining his integrity. 

O my Father, even when Joseph was unjustly incarcerated, You were still with him, and His trust in You did not wane. And Your blessing on everything he did also did not diminish. Which was noticed. 

O Father, may Your blessing be on what my hands do, also, that others will see my trust in You, and realize how good You are. Send out all of Your children, Father, to tell everyone about Your love. Only love can counter the hatred that has been so prevalent lately in our societies. Open their ears and hearts to receive Your love, and their minds to understand Your ways for their own good. 

My Father, please help every living person have the opportunity to seek You, and to accept and receive Your gracious and generous gift. Let them all have a clear choice, and draw all of Your embryonic children to the birth. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus! 

The Story of Joseph Part 7--He Ran From Temptation

Genesis 39: 6-20

We have seen how Joseph's skillful management of Potiphar's estate has been so successful that Potiphar left him in charge of everything, and didn't have to bother with any of it with Joseph there.  

(6) ... Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. (7) It came about after these events that his master's wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, "Lie with me." 

Oh-oh, now comes some intrigue! Let's see what is going down here. 

He's a very handsome and capable and confident young man, and Potiphar's wife has a roving eye! Joseph would be a prize catch for her, if she can seduce him! 

(8) But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge. (9) There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?" 

This is going to mean trouble for her. She is the master's wife, and can do whatever she wants, but now this slave is not going to obey her and give in to her seductions. 

He tells her that his standards are very high, and that his master trusts him, he will not take for himself what his master has reserved (or must have reserved) for himself alone, and he also does not want to commit this grievous sin against the Lord God who he worships.  

(10) As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her. 

Potiphar's wife does not understand his standards, and she thinks she can wear him down, ragging on him every day, day after day after day. She just doesn't get that he is faithful to his God, she's probably never seen this kind of resolute before. He doesn't even want to be in the same room with her. 

So she is going to force his hand. 

(11) Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside. 

Where was everyone else? She's sent all the other servants out so she can be alone with him; then he'll give in, because he'll think that he won't get caught. I wonder how many times she's done this! 

(12) She caught him by his garment, saying, "Lie with me!" And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside. 

And she makes her play for him. She grabs him and tries to force him to her bed! But he won't fight to get out of her clutches, he just slips out of his garment she's gripping tightly, and runs away from her. He's got to get out of there as quickly as he can. He knows to run from temptation! 

(13) When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, (14) she called to the men of her household and said to them, "See, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to make sport of us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I screamed. (15) "When he heard that I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went outside." 

Now she has to give all the rest of the servants the story they are to back her up with, and you know they'll have to stick by her or she's slander them, too. 

(16) So she left his garment beside her until his master came home. 

Now she'll play the "poor, pitiful me" game, for Potiphar's sake. 

(17) Then she spoke to him with these words, "The Hebrew slave, whom you brought to us, came in to me to make sport of me; (18) and as I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled outside." (19) Now when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, "This is what your slave did to me," his anger burned. 

He realizes that his wife just caused him a lot of grief. He has to protect the reputation of his household, but it means losing the best manager he's ever had, and probably also the blessing of his God that prospered the estate so much. No wonder his anger burned! 

(20) So Joseph's master took him and put him into the jail, the place where the king's prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail. 

Potiphar didn't send him to the common jail, where the criminals went, but to the elite jail where the king's prisoners were put. But he was still fired from his job, and in jail. 

We know that God is guiding and directing and leading Joseph in every step of his journey, and we see that Joseph has such a grounding in his faith in God, that he trusts Him enough to be faithful to His high standards of conduct. 

Joseph had the sense to run away, and not try to argue his way out of temptation. We can read in I Corinthians 10: 13 and 14, that God will "make a way to escape" and that we are to "flee" the temptations that come over us. Contrariwise, we are commanded to, "resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4: 7). 

So Joseph was wise, even in his youth, to run away when he was cornered. So we all are to run away when we are faced with the temptation to do anything against ourselves, each other, or our Lord God we worship. This calls for discernment, to discern what would really be loving, and what would be only co-dependent. 

But when we face bare evil, this is not a temptation, it's war; and we are to be wearing the Armor of God to take our stand in the battle, and after having done all, we will be able to stand (Ephesians 6: 13). 

O my Father, thank you so much that Joseph was able to withstand the constant barrage of Potiphar's wife, and to flee the situation before he would be compromised. Thank You for his strength and his faithfulness to You, Father, even when circumstances looked contrary to him. You were purposefully placing him where he would need to be, to fulfill Your plan for him. 

My Father, You have planned out each of our paths we are to walk, and You also strengthen us when our circumstances seem contrary to us. You are worthy of our complete trust, so that we also can maintain our integrity without being compromised when we are cornered. You have said that there would always be a way out, so that we can be confident in every temptation, that we never have to give in, to look for the way out to run away. 

O Father, You are so good to us! Please send out all of Your children into all the nations of the world, so that every living person everywhere will be introduced to You, in Your Love, and Your provision in Your Son to rescue all of us from ourselves. Bring every one of Your embryonic children to the birth into Your family, Father, and fill Your great house with all of Your uncountable progeny. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, do come quickly, Lord Jesus! 

The Story Of Joseph Part 6--Success In Egypt

 Genesis 37: 36; 39: 1-6 

We've seen how Jacob's sons hated Joseph for being Dad's favorite, so they were going to kill him, but they sold him instead, to the caravan that just happened to be passing by. And the Ishmaelites who were from Midian put him on the slave-block in Egypt. 

(36) the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh's officer, the captain of the bodyguard. 

This is the last verse in chapter 37, which sets up resuming this story in Chapter 39 after talking about Judah in chapter 38. 

(1) Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there. 

The man, Potiphar, who bought the slave, Joseph, worked for Pharaoh; he was the commander of the military bodyguard for Pharaoh himself. 

(2) The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. 

So Potiphar bought Joseph to be a house servant. 

(3) Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. 

Right away his master saw that whatever he did worked out really well, and it looks like he recognized that it was the Lord God that Joseph worshiped who was causing him to be successful. 

(4) So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge. 

This success had Potiphar promote him to being his personal assistant, and he even had him decide matters concerning everything he owned, both in the house  and even in the fields he owned. 

(5) It came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house on account of Joseph; thus the Lord's blessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field. 

Potiphar noticed that since Joseph was advising him in whatever matters he asked him about, whenever he did what Joseph said, it turned out profitable, no matter what area the expertise was in. 

(6) So he left everything he owned in Joseph's charge; and with him there he did not concern himself with anything except the food which he ate. ...

So Potiphar let Joseph directly manage everything he owned, and he didn't even need to hear about anything, because he knew it would go well with Joseph in charge. The only thing he decided for himself was what to tell the cook to make for dinner! 

It looks like Joseph made life a lot easier for Potiphar, taking care of everything for him. This is the attitude that every successful employee has toward their employer, to make them look good, to prosper them, not thinking of themselves. 

I think this bode well for Joseph when trouble occurred. 

O my Father, You love us so much, and You want us to love You back and to love one another as You have loved us. Please help us to love our employers and serve them as Joseph served Potiphar. He is such a good example to follow in our work careers. 

My Father, teach us how to love one another in all of our relationships with one another, to learn what would be actually loving compared with what would only be co-dependent. We are so susceptible to the lie that helping someone when they are capable of helping themself is loving, when it is actually only serving our own self-image as someone who "helps." 

O Father, send out Your children to share with the whole world how much You love us. You love us so much that You will hurt us, though You will never harm us. And You sent Your own beloved Son to hurt on our behalf, to die in our place, so that we could live. Please bring all Your embryos to the birth into Your family, and fill Your great house with Your uncountable children. 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation, to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus! 

The Story of Joseph Part 5--Jacob Mourns

 Genesis 37: 29-35

Reuben saved Joseph's life by talking them out of killing him as soon as he approached, so they threw him into the pit and had lunch. Now Reuben comes back from wherever he's been (taking care of the flock?), unaware that his brothers sold him into slavery. 

(29) Now Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he tore his garments. 

He must have thought that they'd killed him anyway!

(30) He returned to his brothers and said, "The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?" 

He's dreading facing his father Jacob without Joseph! 

(31) So they took Joseph's tunic, and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood; 

Now here's what they did: they staged a show for their father. 

(32) and they sent the varicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, " We found this; please examine it to see whether it is your son's tunic or not." 

Here they can claim that they didn't lie--but they did deceive him, so that he would come to a false conclusion. 

(33) Then he examined it and said, "It is my son's tunic. A wild beast has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!" 

Which he did, just as they wanted him to do! 

(34) So Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 

Jacob went into deep mourning at the apparent loss of his favorite son. This is how his other sons loved their father, to break his heart like this! Their hatred for Joseph overshadowed everything else.

(35) Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, "Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son." So his father wept for him. 

They all tried to console him, but the loss was just too great for Jacob. He concluded that he would never get over this grief, he would always miss this son of the wife he loved, and would die and go to the place of the dead (Sheol) still grieving. He didn't think it would ever get any better. 

O my Father, I pray for all those who have lost a child. That must be the most grievous grief, as children are not to go before their parents. Jacob's heart was rent into tiny bits, and he didn't think it would ever mend. 

But You are a God of comfort! You comfort the brokenhearted, and You were gracious and You gave Jacob another son by Rachel, the twelfth son. 

O Father, Your ideal is for one man to have one wife for life, but when Jacob's double-dealing was turned back on him by Laban, he ended up with two wives, which wasn't fair to Leah. But, Father, this family's dysfunction is a lesson to all of us, that Your way is best, after all. 

And this story of Joseph is a very interesting journey You led him through. You prepared him, even at the tender age of seventeen, to be able to spend many years of turns in the road, before his dreams came to pass. 

My Father, You have given us the whole story, the whole Big Picture of Your great Plan of the Ages for Mankind, and You have given us Your Spirit to teach us Your Truth so we need not be surprised when we encounter what You have told us will come. 

Strengthen us, Father, to persevere and endure as all the anger of the devil is unleashed against us, and as we stand and see Your wrath poured out on the world around us without touching us. 

That is what You said would happen, and I see so much of it beginning to take place already. Keep me strong with my feet on the Rock, and I will not be moved. 

Father, send us out while there is still time, to share with every living person how much You have loved us, and sent Your own Son to save us from ourselves! 

And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen. 

Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!