Tracy's Blog

Joseph is in prison and there is an interesting twist..... two of Pharoah's servants- the chief cupbearer and baker - are thrown in there with him. Both men have dreams and Joseph is able to interpret them. But where does it get him? Nowhere yet. To read the full account see Genesis 40 . What caught my attention in this chapter was Joseph. Three things in particular: When Joseph saw that the men under his care woke up one morning looking dejected, he approached them and asked “ Why are your faces so sad today .” (Genesis 40:7) Joseph's compassion stands out. Even though he is in a place he doesn't want to be in, he is thinking about others. Not only did Joseph have dreams ( Chapter 37:5-9 ), he is also able to interpret dreams. He links the interpretations directly to God. In 40:8b, Joseph says, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams .” God works through Joseph in a very tangible way. Confident in the interpretation God h...

What a roller-coaster! Joseph was in a pit in Chapter 37 and sold as a slave. He rises to becoming the overseer of Potiphar's household and then his life takes an extreme nose-dive as he is falsely convicted of sexual assault. This lands him in the king's prison where he ascends again to a position of responsibility – being in charge of the other prisoners. (see Genesis 39 )   How long did this whole process? We don't know. The text tells it in a very succinct manner. How does Joseph feel through all this? We don't know that either. The text doesn't tell us. It focuses on something else: the LORD's presence with Joseph and the success he experiences because of God's blessing. When I read through Genesis 39, I noticed that “ The LORD ” is mentioned 6 times by the narrator and “ God ” is spoken of once by Joseph ( 39:9 ). So I looked back at Chapter 37. Interestingly, there is no mention of God in Chapter 37. That's when Joseph is livi...

Hatred, murderous thoughts, lying, and jealousy: that's how the story of Joseph starts. Although Genesis 37:2 states “ This is the account of Jacob ”, it is told as the story of Joseph - Jacob's “Number 1 Son”. But Joseph is not the number one son technically. He is really number eleven biologically considering Jacob had children with Leah, her maidservant Zilpah, Rachel, and her maidservant Bilhah.  He is, however, number one in Jacob's heart as Joseph is the first born son of Jacob's beloved wife Rachel. Joseph is very special to Jacob. He demonstrates this by giving Joseph a special gift – a robe. (The famous “Coat of Many Colours” that you coloured in Sunday School.) But that is not the only way that Joseph stands out. It seems that God has also given him a gift – dreams. Dreams of bowing sheaves, stars, sun and moon. Sharing these dreams with his family has a big impact on his brothers as they “ hated him all the more ” (37:5) and “ were j...

Ever since I preached a Sunday evening series on Joseph at Sunnyside Wesleyan, I've wanted to spend time reflecting on this dramatic story.  I decided this past week that today I would start a blog series from Genesis on the life of Joseph.  So, I woke up today thinking, "Yikes!  I need to spend some time studying Genesis 37 ."  And then I didn't.  Instead, our family did a major reorganization of two bedrooms (it is Labour Day after all!) and I resigned myself to not meeting my goal. This got me thinking about Joseph.  His life didn't go as he would have planned or expected.  His story has so many twists and turns, challenges and opportunities, depths and heights.  It's very emotional and very interesting as God works in fascinating ways. I'm looking forward to these next 3 months and where reflecting on this story takes us.  I hope you'll join me for the journey and ask for your input and prayers along the way. in Christ, Tra...