In this episode we look at how Joseph is brought out of prison, and how his experience of navigating different positions of leadership, as well as different seasons of suffering, develops and qualifies Joseph for the assignment God has for him. Specifically, Joseph's relationship with God deepens through each stage of his life, as opposed to weakening. Most notably, he is recognized by Pharaoh as being wise and discerning, which are things Joseph developed through the various stages of his life up until that point.  But Joseph has also not developed a bitter, hateful posture toward Egyptians, or the nation of Egypt, even though Egyptians were responsible for some of his most painful experiences. This is quite remarkable considering what Joseph has experienced in Egypt, and is potentially a clue about the kind of relationship Joseph had with God - he allowed God to nourish and sustain him in such a way that he did not allow the pain of his rejection and misfortune to overcome him.  

We then look at how this same developmental dynamic in Joseph's life is also present in Jesus' life, specifically with his relationship with the Father, the Spirit, as well as people, too. Jesus himself goes through a developmental process that qualifies him for the assignment God gave him to be a blessing to the nations.  And while we don't know for sure, it is most likely that Jesus was wounded by family members, experienced rejection, and has personal encounters with misfortune, which in turn required him to struggle against succumbing to harness of heart, unforgiveness and bitterness. The good news is that he overcame those struggles, and allowed God to, like Joseph, sustain him in God's developmental process. 

Key Passages:

Genesis 40-41:40

Luke 2:52

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In this episode we continue to take a look at the story of Judah and Joseph, and how the story of Joseph's temptation with Potiphar's wife compares and contrasts to Judah's temptation with Canaanite women and Tamar. Joseph handles his temptation in a competely different way, and this is one of the many situtations that, because of how Joseph resonds to it, contributes to Joseph's developmental progress in becoming the kind of person God can promote to higher levels of leadership in his kingdom.

A simialr principle is at work in the story of Jesus, and we get a snapshot of this in the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus' response to this temptation, like Joseph, contributes to Jesus' developmental progress in becoming the faithful "son" God always wanted.     

Key Passages

Gensis 39:1-23

Matthew 4:1-11

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In this episode we look at how Joseph's story of resisting sexual temptation with Potiphar's wife compares with the story of Judah not having any restraint in his sexual life. The writer of Genesis uses these two stories to compare Joseph and Judah, and how their choices created very different outcomes in their lives. God used these experiences in Joseph's life to develop and mature him for his role in God's plan to not only rule over his brothers, but to also bless the nations through Joseph's leadership.  

Matthew, in his Gospel, does something similar by comparing the story of Jesus with the story of Israel, casting Jesus as the one who has come to fulfill God's desire for a son who allows God to Father him into maturity.  

Key Passages

Genesis 38:1-30

Matthew 2:13-15

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In this episode we look at how Joseph's brothers betray him, throw him into a pit, and sell him to some Midianites and Ishmaelites who "just happen to be passing by" on their way to Egypt. We talk about how God, while not being mentioned, is clearly working in Joseph's life to turn the evil choices of his brothers into something good. 

We then draw some parallels between the story of Joesph's betrayal, and the story of Jesus' betrayal by Judas. In both cases, they were betrayed by their "brothers", but God worked in both situations to turn the evil choices of their "brothers" into something good. 

Key Passages:

Genesis 37:12-36

Luke 22:47-53

Acts 2:22-23

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In this episode we transition from the story of Jacob to the story of Joseph. We take note of several contrasts between the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the story of Joseph, and how God changes the way that he interacts with people in those stories. But we also emphasize the overarching themes throughout the book of Genesis of God meeting with people and working through the seed of Abraham to bring about a blessing to all the nations.

A particular point of interest in the episode is how the story of Joseph overlaps with the story of Jesus, specifically, as it relates to them both being betrayed by their "brothers", and envy being the primary cause of that betrayal.

Key Passages:

Genesis 35:22-26

Genesis 37:1-11

Matthew 27:18

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In this episode we have a special guest come on to talk about their experience of wrestling with God, and why it's so important be authentic and real with God in our relationship with him. JT shares his own unique perspective about why this story of Jacob wrestling with God has been so meaningful to him, and what it tells us about God that he is willing to wrestle with someone all night long.   

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In this episode we take a look at the story of God meeting with Jacob after his two sons, Simeon and Levi, take revenge on the family of Shechem for violating their sister. Jacob is nervous that the surrounding cities will hear what they have done, see them as an invasive threat, and form an alliance to wipe them out. God meets with Jacob and tells him where to go, and what to do when he gets there. 

Since this is the last story in Jacob's life we are going to look at, we look back on some themes and patterns of Jacob's relationship with God, and how that relationship was radically different from Abraham and Isaac's relationship. We explore the implications for our view of God as a good Father who knows how to father his children differently, according to their personality, and stage of spiritual development.  

Key Passage:

Genesis 35:1-14

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In this episode we look at the strange, yet revealing encounter between Jacob and God. Jacob wrestles with God all night long, and the amazing thing about this encounter is that God does not overpower him. In other words, God does not use shear strength to overcome Jacob in the wrestling match. Instead, God weakens Jacob by touching his hip. God does this because Jacob will not let God go until God blesses him. Jacob is a very competitive person, and is determined to get what he wants. 

This story of Jacob wrestling with God is mentioned in Hosea 12, and it is there that we discover Jacob came to a point of tears with the angel as he pleaded with God to bless him. Apparently, the wrestling match seemed to be all about Jacob getting a blessing, but the angel apparently did not want to give it to him at that time.

Jacob's encounter with God has some overlapping similarities with the encounter Jesus had with God in the garden of Gethsemane. There Jesus struggled with God as he asked for God to lead him down a different path. A passage that describes this encounter from a different perspective is Hebrews 5:7-9. There it says that Jesus prayed to God, made loud cries and came to a point of tears as he asked God to rescue him from death. Jesus, as a human, genuinely struggled with God, and the struggle was real. This gives us an important window into the human nature of Jesus, but also into his relationship with God and Israel. Jesus steps into the human condition, not just as any human, but as an Israelite. Jesus enters into Israel's struggle with God and prevails, but not over God, but over the forces of evil in his own flesh and the spiritual world that resist God and frustrate our progress along God's developmental path. Jesus rules over those forces and completes God's developmental path, becoming the source of healing - salvation - for all who will respond to his voice. 

Key Passage:

Genesis 32:22-32

Hosea 12:2-5

Hebrews 5:7-9 - the word for "heard" and "obedience" in this passage is from the same root word that essentially means to be responsive to what you hear. The imagery here is that Jesus wanted God to hear and respond to him, and God did hear and respond to Jesus' request to be saved out of death - through the resurrection. But Jesus was also discerning and responsive to God's voice throughout the whole course of his life. Now, those who are responsive to the voice of Jesus can be saved, too. In this passage, hearing and responding is a pattern that is woven throughout the relationship between God, Jesus, and us.  

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In this episode we look at the story of Jacob returning from his 14 year absence from the Promised Land, and how he proactively seeks to meet with his brother Esau. Jacob anticipates Esau will treat him badly, so he sends messengers ahead of him to offer Esau gifts so that he can "kippur" Esau's "face" in hopes that Esau will "accept" him. The meaning of the Hebrew word "kippur" is most often translated as "atone", but the actual meaning of the word is debated. Some say it only means to wipe, to cover, to purge, or cleanse. But some say it only means to pacify, appease, or satisfy. 

Those who say it means to "pacify" or "appease" look to this story of Jacob offering Esau gifts as a way to "kippur" Esau's "face" as an illustration of the penal satisfaction model of atonement where Jacob represents us, Esau represents God and his anger towards us, and the animals offered to Esau by Jacob represent Jesus offering himself to God as a way to "pacify" or "appease" God's wrath. 

In reality, the story illustrates an entirely different scenario. First, let's start by noticing that the text says in Genesis 32:20 that Jacob wants to "kippur" Esau's "face." It sort of reminds us of the idea of someone who has a smirk on their face, and someone looks at them and says, "wipe that smirk off your face." Apparently, when Jacob imagines seeing Esau's face he imagines an unpleasant image. And he is hoping his offering of gifts to Esau will somehow "wipe that look off of Esau's face". 

It's also really interesting that when Esau meets Jacob in Genesis 33:1-17, Esau's reaction to Jacob is the exact opposite of Jacob expects - Esau runs to Jacob and embraces him, falls on his neck and kisses him! They both burst into tears and crying with one another. When Esau asks Jacob about all the herds of animals, Jacob tells him they were intended to be given to Esau as a way of gaining favor in his sight. But notice what Esau says to Jacob, "I have enough." This is quite profound if we follow the proposal that this story somehow represents Esau as God, Jacob as us, and the gifts as Jesus somehow offering himself to "appease" or "pacify" God's anger. 

What's even more interesting is that Jacob goes on to tell Esau that seeing his face was like seeing the face of God. As it turns out, not only does this story illustrate the exact opposite of a penal satisfaction model of atonement - that God does not need to have the anger "wiped off his face" by the sacrifice of Jesus, but Jacob himself assumes that to see the face of God is somehow similar to seeing the kind of face that Esau has just shown him. Far from reinforcing a penal satisfaction model of atonement, this story actually illustrates a more fundamental truth - God always wants to meet with us! 

We then go to the New Testament where the Greek translation of this Hebrew word "kippur" is used in 1 John. There Greek word is hilasterion, and the interesting thing is that John uses this term in the context of cleansing, and purging - not pacifying or appeasing. 

Key Passages:

Genesis 32:1-21; 33:1-17

1 John 1:7-2:2

For a detailed article on how the Hebrew word "kippur" is used in the Old Testament, see the chapter "God's Reconciling Work: Atonement in the Old Testament" in the book T&T Clark Companion to Atonement. For a pdf copy, click here

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In this episode we look at Jacob's dream of the ladder that connects heaven and earth, with angels ascending and descending on it. Jacob has this dream as he is on his way out of the promised to land to find a wife in Haran among Abraham's extended family. But before Jacob left the promised land, God appears to him in a dream and reveals Jacobs future as it relates to the Abrahamic covenant. It's almost as if God wants Jacob, before he leaves the land, to have an unforgettable experience that will lead him to return back to the promised and continue to walk in the foot steps of his father Abraham. 

Jacob is so amazed by this encounter with God that he names the place Beth-El which means The House of God. He said to himself, "God is in this place and I didn't know it." This is is somewhat of a strange thing to say because we would think that if God was present somewhere we would automatically know it. But apparently, it's possible for God to be present somewhere and us not be able to perceive that presence. 

The writer of the gospel of John picks up on this story of Jacob's experience when he tells us the story of Jesus interacting with Nathaniel. Like Jacob, Jesus says that Nathaniel will, in the future, come to the realization that Jesus himself is that ladder that connects heaven and earth, and upon which the angels are ascending and descending. The implication is that Jesus' disciples will one day come to the same realization about Jesus that Jacob came to realize about Bethel - that God was present among them, and they came to realize it only after the fact.  

Key Passages

Genesis 28:10-22

John 1:43-51

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