Genesis
Genesis 48:1–50:26
Agents of divine blessing remember the blessings of the past, pass on the blessings in the present, and expect the consummation of blessings in the future.
This pericope concludes the Joseph Story and the book of Genesis.
The first section, Gen 48:1–49:27 describes Jacob’s blessings upon his sons and grandchildren.(Though their lives may have overlapped, none of the other patriarchs before Jacob are shown to have any interaction with their grandchildren.) And, three
Genesis 46:1–47:31
Agents of divine blessing, obediently trusting God for blessing in their own lives, extend God’s blessing to others.
Divine promises—of presence, of return, of greatness of nation, and to be unafraid (46:2–4)—all encourage the patriarch Jacob in his decision to leave Canaan. What is interesting in God’s word of exhortation is that he promises to make Jacob “a great nation there,” in Egypt, in a foreign land (46:3). That would also remind Jacob that this move
Genesis 44:1–45:28
Self-sacrificial solidarity with the suffering, recognizing God’s overriding sovereignty, promotes divine blessing.
This section describes the remainder of the events on that fateful second trip to Egypt made by Joseph and his brothers. Benjamin had been brought along. Joseph, still incognito to his brothers, invites them to a grand feast and everything appears to be fine and dandy, at least till they get ready to return to Canaan.
Then comes the test that will reveal
Genesis 42:1–43:34
God’s discipline and their selflessness and submission to God, lead agents of divine blessings to resolve past sin.
This section begins with the famine of 41:57 being assumed as the background. So the brothers (without Benjamin, Jacob’s favorite) are dispatched to Egypt for food.
When the brothers arrive in Egypt, one cannot but wonder how their path intersected with that of Joseph. That a tiny group of people, among the many hungry foreigners and natives in Egypt looking
Genesis 40:1–41:57
Trusting in God’s working even when it is indiscernible results in divine blessing.
Joseph is in jail, falsely accused of rape. But God is always at work, even if one cannot see him working. Though God is not mentioned in this section, the literary absence of God is not a literal absence of God.
Joseph has with him in prison, the Pharaoh’s baker and butler, in detention for unknown crimes. These two fellow prisoners have a pair of dreams (40:8–19). Joseph interprets
Genesis 39:1−23
Integrity in every situation enables one to be an agent of divine blessing.
Genesis 37:36 makes a seamless connection with 39:1; in 37:36, Joseph is sold (and Egypt is mentioned), and in 39:1, he is bought (and Egypt is mentioned again). In a little more than a decade, the kidnapped slave, Joseph, would rise to be the Prime Minister of all Egypt, second only to the Pharaoh. Andh God’s word to make the descendants of Abraham a blessing to all nations (12:3; 18:18; 22:18;
Genesis 38:1−30
Agents of God’s blessing are selflessly concerned about others and humbly aware of their own fallibility.
In Genesis 34, Simeon and Levi, because of their impetuosity and bloodthirstiness had disqualified themselves from leadership; in Genesis 35, Reuben—the mandrakes and incest guy—also had been disentitled. The next in line was Judah. And in Gen 37, it appeared that Judah’s brothers had begun to follow his lead over Reuben’s. It appears that in Gen 38 Judah
Abe Kuruvilla is the Carl E. Bates Professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), and a dermatologist in private practice. His passion is to explore, explain, and exemplify preaching.