the narrative about judah and tamar in chapter 38 definitely leaves me wondering what God thought about all of that. i just keep going back to the Jesus storybook bible's explanation of the men and women of the bible...so glad God uses imperfect people. we do know that Jesus was born out of the lineage of judah and tamar, from one of the twins born to her (perez)...see matthew 1:3.
on to chapters 39-42...an excerpt of joseph's long story. so...we read in chapter 37 about joseph's jealous brothers and how he was sold into slavery. and in these chapters, we see how his integrity of character caused him success in potiphar's house and then in prison where he ended up unjustly. and then...in dependence upon God's interpretation of the dreams both of the cup-bearer and baker in prison and then of pharoah's dreams, he was moved to a place of honor and influence in egypt. (please note that in chapter 41, verse 16, joseph gave all credit/glory to God for the interpretation of dreams.)
--personal thoughts--
i love the boldness that joseph displayed in pharoah's presence. it seems to me that as he shared the interpretation, he could have simply concluded his explanation at the end of verse 32. however, he continued to speak with discernment about what pharaoh needed to do with this information given him/this prophetic message about the land. joseph was confident in the presence of pharoah, and he was bold.
scott and i were recently able to take the kids to the billy graham library in charlotte. one of the things that i so admire when thinking about this international evangelist was the way he was able to interact with "important" people. he was not intimidated by celebrities in the light of important conversations...he was always about the gospel, of course. and he wasn't afraid to be bold no matter whom he was in conversation with.... i believe this boldness is characteristic of a man of God, consumed with God...so that he wasn't afraid to speak boldly to anyone who may be in a place of high position. this was a characteristic of joseph in pharoah's presence. joseph saw the big picture and was quiet enough in his spirit...and in pharoah's presence to discern and speak up about what pharoah should do...very cool.
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