Darash Chai Experiment

Joseph has been on a downward spiral into the depths of shame for the past few chapters. Taken from honor to slavery to prison. Into this place of shame two new men are introduced. Two new dreams appear. Two new symbols that upon examination are not really new. The baker symbolizing bread. The cup bearer symbolizing wine. Symbols that take on a life of their own throughout scripture. What can we learn from these symbols, and what do they mean for Joseph in the depths of his shame?

I was invited to give a breakout session at Sukkot with Founded In Truth. It was a wonderful time with a great group of people. Here is the recording of that session. If you wanted an update on Darash Chai, this is it. I am nearly a year into making this experiment my focus. Let’s see where we are. What is the “Nature of Life?”

We are all familiar with the story of Joseph in Potiphar’s house in Egypt. Raised to a position of authority and then an accusation. If we are paying attention, we will recognize that the previous chapter contained a similar story of an accusation against an innocent. This parallel in these chapters opens up for us a topic of human justice. The process that the Bible gives from accusation to conviction. This is vitally important today. A day and age of weaponized accusations.

In Genesis 38 the text takes a detour that has caused a lot of discussion in theological circles. We know who Judah becomes. We know what Judah just did. And for one chapter we get a Judah centered narrative that tells us of his life between those two points in time. But why this narrative? It is confusing and confounding all at once. What is it about this chapter that it would be the one and only chapter of all of scripture that is focused only on the character of Judah?

The story of the sons of Jacob begins in full in this chapter of Genesis. Once again, we find that as young men, there is a baseline of evil that runs through there hearts. But if we examine this episode of Joseph being sold into slavery from a perspective of life, we may discover an amazing example of just how the path of life is not the same as either good or evil.

Genesis is a book of origins. The origin of the world. The origin of the covenant. The origin of the family of Abraham. The origin of the…gospel? How do a trip, the death of two women, a blessing, a coup, and a genealogy reflect the gospel?

For the past few chapter, we have witnessed the fact that Jacob is a changed man. He is at peace with all of his neighbors. It doesn’t last long. Something happens in Shekhem that will shape much of what is to come. But do we truly understand this episode? How can an honor and shame perspective change our understanding of the tragedy of the destruction of Shekhem?

This episode is our second podcast exclusive holiday special.  This is a rerecording of a teaching that I gave at a local Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets) gathering in Easley, SC. Yom Teruah is a celebration of the Kingship of God. Once we acknowledge His kingship, it follows that we are servants to the king. What does it mean to be a servant?

Jacob has successfully withdrawn from the house of Laban. Now comes the confrontation with Esau. But Jacob is not the same man who left Canaan. His time in Haran has changed him, and before he meets Esau, comes a challenge. A man. In the dark. A contest of strength and will. And before he confronts Esau, Jacob becomes Israel. What did it take? Was this a process that occurred overnight, or has this been something that has been building us for the past 20 years?

The time has finally come for Jacob to leave Laban’;s house, but knowing Laban, it is not going to be easy. Jacob is no longer defined by the deception that was once his nature, and yet, it is still a tool in his arsenal. In order to overcome Laban, Jacob will need Integrity, but before that, in order to leave, Jacob needs to deceive Laban one last time. How can this be? Can deception be a tool used by the righteous?