Daily Bread, Bible in a Year — Day 15

Today is Sunday, November 1st, and this is Daily Bread, Bible in a Year, thanks for tuning in.

Welcome to Daily Bread, Bible in a Year. It's Sunday, day 15, and this is your look at the week ahead.

Ben: Grace, this might be my favorite stretch of Genesis. We finish Jacob's story and walk straight into Joseph's.

Grace: Same! It reads almost like a novel. So where are we in the big picture?

Ben: God promised Abraham that his family would bless the whole world. Now that family is twelve brothers who can barely stand each other. By the end of the week they're in Egypt, which sets up the Exodus. And over in Matthew, Jesus is in Galilee, teaching and healing, and people are starting to divide over who he is.

Grace: Okay, first moment not to miss. Jacob is about to meet Esau, the brother he cheated twenty years ago.

Ben: And he's terrified. He sends gifts ahead and splits his family into groups in case Esau attacks.

Grace: But Esau runs to him, hugs him, and they both weep. And Jacob says seeing Esau's face is like seeing the face of God.

Ben: Which is striking, because he's just wrestled with God the night before. He's been forgiven by God, and now he finds grace in his brother's face.

Grace: Second moment is Joseph. He's seventeen, his dad's favorite, he has the robe, he has the dreams...

Ben: And he tells everyone about the dreams.

Grace: Not his wisest move. His brothers sell him for silver and tell their father he's dead. Then he's a slave, then falsely accused, then forgotten in prison. And through all of it the text keeps saying, the Lord was with Joseph.

Ben: That line is the backbone of the whole story. Even in the pit, God hasn't left.

Grace: And third, the reunion. The brothers come to Egypt for grain and don't recognize him. He tests them, and finally he can't hold it in. He sends everyone out and weeps so loudly the Egyptians hear it.

Ben: And he says, come near to me. I'm Joseph. You sold me, but God sent me ahead of you to save lives.

Grace: Gets me every time. Can we talk about something that might trip people up, though?

Ben: Please.

Grace: Right after Joseph is sold, the story suddenly cuts away to Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar. It's messy. There's deception, Judah sleeps with her thinking she's a prostitute... a first-time reader might wonder why this is in the Bible at all.

Ben: Fair question. First, describing something isn't the same as approving it. Genesis is brutally honest about this family. But watch Judah. When the truth comes out, he says, she is more righteous than I. That's the first crack in his hard heart.

Grace: And it pays off later, doesn't it?

Ben: It does. The same Judah who suggested selling Joseph ends up offering himself as a slave so his youngest brother Benjamin can go free.

Grace: Wow. So the detour is really about Judah being changed.

Ben: Exactly. And here's the surprise. Matthew names Tamar in the very first chapter, in the family line of Jesus.

Grace: So God works even through that broken story. Okay, let's talk Jesus. Joseph practically begs for it.

Ben: He does. A beloved son, rejected by his brothers, sold for silver, counted as dead, then raised to the king's right hand, where he feeds the world and forgives the very people who betrayed him.

Grace: And this week in Matthew, Jesus goes home to Nazareth and they reject him. A prophet without honor in his own town.

Ben: Just like Joseph's brothers. And here's one I love. Joseph says to his brothers, come near to me. In Matthew, Jesus says, come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Grace: Oh, that's beautiful. And the famine! Everyone comes to Joseph for bread, and in Matthew Jesus takes five loaves and feeds thousands.

Ben: Right. And the parables help too. A tiny mustard seed becomes a great tree. Joseph's story looks hidden and small, a boy in a pit, and then God's purpose grows into something that saves nations.

Grace: And that night on the lake, when the disciples see Jesus walking on the water and they're terrified, he says, take heart, it is I.

Ben: Kind of like Joseph telling his frightened brothers, it's me, don't be afraid.

Grace: So the thread this week is God being present in the dark places. The pit, the prison, the storm.

Ben: And then a face that turns toward you with grace. I can't wait.

That's the week ahead. Tomorrow we start reading, so we'll see you then.

Thanks for listening. Please subscribe to this podcast if you find it helpful, and please tell your friends. This reading plan repeats every two weeks so anyone can start on their own timeline, for all shows and plans, please check the show notes.