9.15.2023

Genesis 37-41; John 20-21

Genesis 37 - Jacob favors Joseph, who dreams of ruling over his family.  His brothers sell him as a slave, and lie to Jacob that he died.

38 - Judah marries a Canaanite (!) and has 3 sons, but the first 2 die.  Judah doesn't give Tamar, the first son's wife, to the 3rd son, when he is old enough.  (Which he should have done, codified later in Deuteronomy 25:5ff.)  So she pretends to be a prostitute and gets pregnant by Judah.  (That she thinks of this plan, and it succeeds show his sexual morals were loose, at best!)  Judah accuses her, but not himself.  She calls him on it, and he repents.  She has twins, the "noble" line of covenant succesion from Abraham to Jesus (Matthew 1).

39 - Joseph's competence as a slave to Potiphar promotes him to chief of the house.  Potiphar's wife frames him for attempted rape when she can't seduce him.  "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."  In jail Jacob also gets promoted, and put in charge of everything.

40 - in jail Joseph interprets dreams of 2 servants to Pharaoh.  They come true.

41 - when Pharaoh dreams and no one can interpret it, the cupbearer tells of Joseph's success at this.  He predicts 7 good years, then 7 bad, and advises Pharaoh to save 20% of the crops to use in the lean years.  Pharaoh makes Joseph his second-in-command over all Egypt!  Joseph has Manasseh and Ephraim by an Egyptian wife, and sells the saved grain when the famine starts.


John 20 - Mary finds the tomb empty.  Peter and John rush there, and leave unsure what to make of it.  Mary stays and Jesus appears to her.  He appears to them that night, though they had the door locked.  Thomas wasn't there and doesn't believe until Jesus appears to them again the next Sunday.  He calls Jesus his God - John wrote this book so the reader would believe this, too.

21 - Back in Galilee, the disciples go fishing but catch nothing.  Jesus appears on shore and miraculously gives them a boatload of fish.  When they get to shore, he already has breakfast ready for them.  Jesus restores Peter with 3 questions, as he denied Him 3 times, and predicts his death.  John identifies himself as the author of the book, and says lots more could be written about all Jesus did.

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