BUMPY RIDE | Mary Snowden

Get ready, you’re in for a bumpy ride! The life of Joseph is one roller coaster of events, so settle in. 

But let’s backtrack a little. In Chapter 36, we get a peek into Isaac’s elder son, Esau’s descendants. I know, I know, it can be so easy to skim that looooong list of names, but one thing I try to remember as I try to sound out the tricky ones is that each of these people were real, and each were known completely by God, just as we are. 

Then, in Chapter 37, we jump back into Jacob’s family, who were introduced in Chapter 35. And it’s here we meet Joseph, the dreamer, who thought it would be a good idea to share with his hateful brothers the dreams he’d had about them bowing before him! Read the room dude. Fast forward a little, and Joseph’s brothers sell him into slavery. Yep. Talk about bad blood.

Here we have an interlude in Joseph’s story, with the (slightly shocking) story of Judah and Tamar. Don’t be afraid to dive into the research to understand this better! Katie Haldane has listed a whole bunch of resources in the Genesis Part Four Deep Dive on the TYB site for you. Now remember, Jesus was from the line of Judah, so if Tamar hadn’t continued His lineage, where would we be?

Back to Joseph, who, after his boss’s wife lied about Joseph trying to rape her (yep, drama!), was thrown in prison. Poor Joseph, he can’t catch a break! But don’t lose hope, there is a golden thread throughout these chapters: the Lord was with Joseph! Give your highlighter a workout by underlining every time you find this said.

No matter what happened to him, the Lord was with him, His favour causing Joseph to float to the top like a corgi’s bum in water (look it up) wherever he was, even in prison!

Whilst there, God continues to show Joseph ‘His faithful love’ (v 21), and Joseph uses his dream-interpreting gift to explain the dreams of the cup-bearer and baker (just wait til you read the baker’s dream interpretation — what do you do with that?!).

We finish Chapter 40 with Joseph still in prison, heartbroken and forgotten. But just wait, in a couple of years, the tide will turn, and that little corgi bum will rise higher than ever before! God is faithful!