Genesis 39-41

Genesis 39

39:1 Back to Joseph's story

39:2 I wonder about this phrase "The Lord was with..." It's not like He WASN'T with others.  But at the same time I suppose it just means He was extra-present in Joseph's life.  We all know people like that. (And want to be people like that).

29:3 There's a direct correlation between the Lord being with Him and His success.

39:5 Joseph is fulfilling the "blessed to be a blessing promise.

39:9 Joseph is the voice of logic here.

39:10 She's persistent.

39:20 I heard it taught once that he probably didn't believe his wife.  She probably had a history of being overly dramatic.  If he had believed it, he would have killed Joseph, not merely tossed him in prison.  It does say that he was furious though.

39:21 God's being with Joseph and bringing him success continued in prison.

39:23 repeat of this concept number 3 God being with Joseph made him successful.

Genesis 40

40:4 Joseph was the "personal attendant" of the prisoners?  Isn't that sort of like a slave?

40:8 He's aware that God is with him, so he figures that maybe God will tell him the meaning of the dreams. 

40:14 Joseph is asking for people's help to get out of prison. (I assume he also asked for God's help, but it doesn't say whether he did).

40:23 It seems hard to think that the cup-bearer would forget, but my guess is that there was a lot to do, and a lot of busy-ness.  It makes us forget.

Genesis 41

41:1 Joseph is still in jail two more years.  I wonder what made some dreams special and worthy of interpretation, as opposed to just normal dreams?

41:8 If I had such a dream and believed that it meant something, I'd be disturbed too.  I'm surprised that no one just made up something to tell him.

41:9 At last someone remembers Joseph.

41:16 Joseph gives God credit before he even hears the dream.

41:29 The years of abundance take a special discipline to set us up for the years of famine.

41:33 Joseph veers out of dream interpreting to advice-giving.

41:36 The goal: the country not be wiped out by the famine.

41:38 Joseph goes from prisoner and slave to head of the country in what, one day?

41:43 I'm guessing this was a big change.

41:45 Joseph finally gets married.  

41:46 He's still only 30.  But he'd probably been gone for ten years or so?

41:49 They had too much food to measure.

41:51 Interesting that the hardship was in his father's house, not in Egypt in prison or as a slave.

41:52 And yet Egypt is the land of his affliction.

41:56 Joseph starts selling the grain that he'd taxed the people to get.