This week’s “Wednesday Word” is a summary of an exposition of Genesis 37-50 by Dr. Wellum from Sunday June 8, 2008.

Before turning from this study of Genesis toward the book of Psalms next week, we conclude the closing 13 chapters (37-50) with a brief summary and analysis of the life of Joseph, a key figure in the history of Israel and in the fulfilling of God’s promises to Abraham.

After telling his brothers of a dream he had in which all of their sheaves bowed down to his sheave, his brothers began to hate him (37:7). A similar dream involving his parents would lead to a rebuke by his father (37:9). The animosity that these events developed resulted in Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery to Midianite traders who would eventually turn Joseph over to Potiphar (37:46). Once in Potiphar’s hands the Lord would prove to be with Joseph as he found favor in the eyes of this new master, eventually setting him in charge of his entire estate (39:3). His success with Potiphar would not last long, however, after the wife of Potiphar lied in regards to Joseph’s ill-treatment of her (39:17). The lies of his wife would lead Potiphar to having Joseph thrown in jail. Now in captivity a second time, the Lord would prove to be with Joseph yet again, allowing him to find favor in the eyes of the chief jailer, and eventually in the eyes of Pharaoh himself. With the favor of Pharaoh, Joseph was set in charge of the entire land of Egypt (41:41). A famine in the land would eventually place Joseph’s brothers at his service, marking the fulfillment of Joseph’s dreams envisioned in chapter 37. However, Joseph would not subject them to the same treatment with which they had subjected him when they sold him to slavery; rather, he would show them mercy (Gen 50:19-20).

Gen 50:20 serves as a crucial text in the unfolding plan of God. In the person of Joseph exists an individual who had been sold into slavery, slandered, and imprisoned; however, none of these evil events would prove to be his end. Instead, according to Joseph, all that has happened to him, including the evil committed against him by his brothers, was completely in line with the sovereign purposes of the Lord: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (50:20) Joseph’s rise to power now meant that the nation of Israel would be sustained even through a severe famine in the land. In this closing chapter of Genesis, indeed, it would have been evident to the original hearers that the Lord God alone is responsible for the perseverance of their nation and would serve as a guarantee that He would bring about his promises to Abraham. To us, as well, we who find our identity in Jesus Christ may rest in knowing that the God of the patriarchs is our God as well. The faithfulness he has shown to these of old, he shows all the more today to those who find themselves heirs of Abraham in Christ Jesus.

Audio from this week’s lesson: Genesis 37-50.

~TDG