Prosperity: Tales From A Dysfunctional Family Part 3 -Genesis 39

This picture represents a popular and inaccurate view of God and prosperity. To many people, the purpose of God is to make their life prosperous and comfortable. God is the one that gives them the health, wealth, and prosperity they, "deserve." Although I don't hold to this faulty view of God and prosperity, my own view of prosperity was challenged after studying Genesis 39 in preparation for teaching it at Trek.


There are two distinct times in Genesis 39 that the narrator clearly states God has chosen to prosper Joseph. The first is found in 39:2 following Joseph’s enslavement and the second is found in 39:23 following Joseph’s imprisonment. Even an unrealistically optimistic person would view their life as not “prosperous” if they found their feet in Joseph’s sandals.


Not only would one feel deprived in Joseph’s sandals, they would be frustrated with God. Yet, after being sold to Potiphar as a slave, Joseph had a good attitude and worked hard. With God’s blessing Joseph was given the responsibility of overseeing Potiphar’s household. Joseph’s tuff life becomes even more challenging after he turns down multiple sexual advances by Potiphar’s wife and finds himself being falsely accused of rape and sent to prison. Joseph’s life seems to shout everything but “prosperous.”


What if God’s definition of a prosperous life is not marked by comfort, but instead denoted by one’s closeness with God? A close examination of 39:2 & 23, which speak of Joseph’s prosperity, reveal a connection between Joseph’s prosperity and Joseph’s closeness to God. This reminds me of the words of Paul found in Philippians 3:8-11.

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Redemption: Tales From A Dysfunctional Family Part 2 -Genesis 38

Redemption is a theme that echoes deep within every human being. I recently viewed a movie in which the character that does the most despicable act within the storyline ultimately does the most heroic deed. I was left to ponder whether the character’s great act of heroism was enough to redeem him of the evil act previously committed.


This evening I taught Genesis 38, which is part of an expositional series I am teaching on the Joseph Narrative (Genesis 37:1-47:26). Genesis 38 is a passage that clearly demonstrates God’s power of redemption.


The main character in Genesis 38 is Joseph’s older brother Judah. In Genesis 37 it had been Judah’s idea to sell Joseph into slavery. If Genesis 38 where made into a movie, Judah would be labeled the, “bad guy.”


Genesis 38 begins with Judah getting married and having three sons. His oldest son, Er, marries Tamar. Er was so evil that shortly after the marriage, God kills him. Judah’s second son, Onan, marries Tamar to fulfill the obligation of levirate marriage. Shortly after the marriage God also kills Onan because he deals immaturely with Tamar (i.e. wanted sex without the responsibility of caring for her). Once Judah sees his two oldest sons die, he is afraid to let his youngest son marry Tamar. Therefore he deals treacherously with Tamar by choosing to not fulfill his obligation of giving his final son to her for marriage as required by the custom of levirate marriage. If Tamar was not able to marry Judah’s youngest son, she had little chance of finding someone else to marry her. This would mean that she would have to provide for herself in an agrarian culture where her only means of provision would be begging or prostitution. The story continues a number of years later with Judah going up with his buddy Hira to Timnah for the sheep shearing. On his way to Timnah he sleeps with a prostitute. Little does he know that the prostitute is no prostitute at all, but instead his daughter-in-law Tamar. Three months later Judah is pleasantly surprised, when he gets word that Tamar is pregnant through prostitution, not realizing that this was his own child she was carrying. He is the first to call for her death, not because of his righteousness but because this would free him from the obligation of giving his final son to her for marriage as required by the custom of levirate marriage. At this point within the story the reader can’t wait for God to strike Judah, the bad guy, dead as He had previously done with Judah’s two oldest sons. The story continues as Tamar brings forth the evidence as to who the, “baby’s daddy,” is. To the reader’s surprise, rather than God striking Judah down, he is given the opportunity of redemption. Judah responds with remorse as he states, “She is more righteous than I, inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah for marriage.” Unlike the film I previously spoke about, which leaves the audience guessing whether the bad character’s heroism is enough to bring about his redemption, God leaves no question as to whether Judah, the guy who sold his own brother into slavery and dealt treacherously with his daughter-in-law, is redeemed. God’s love and preservation in the midst of craziness is made abundantly clear through this story. For in the New Testament we find that it is through the line of Judah that God chooses to become flesh through. Through Judah’s line Jesus Christ comes to earth bringing about the ultimate redemption of mankind through His sinless life, death on the cross in our place, burial, and resurrection.

Where Does Jesus Want To Fit Into My Life?

“Where does Jesus want to fit into my life?” This is the question that will be discussed at the Gathering on Sunday. This question has a couple of problems. First it infers that one might have a compartment within life where Jesus is to be…almost suggesting that in my graciousness I find room with in my important busy life to fit Jesus. The second problem with the question is the term, “my” which denotes personal possession of one’s life.


The real question is where do look for meaning in life, how do you try to fulfill that meaning, and does that meaning fill the emptiness within the depths of your soul. To give an example, one might choose to find meaning in a relationship. They go about fulfilling that meaning by making decisions that will always place that relationship at the top of the priority list (in other words they worship that relationship). All is great until the relationship lets you down, you screw the relationship up, or it doesn’t excite you like it used to. Then you are left with a deeper loneliness and emptiness than before the relationship as you realize that your investment of time, energy, and resources were all for naught.


The right question to ask is not, “Where should Jesus fit into my life,” but instead, “Why should Jesus be the meaning of my life?”