Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis - Day Thirty
Weird is the New Normal: A Lenten Walk Through 40 Questions in Genesis
Weird – “of strange or extraordinary character.”
Normal – “conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern”
Anger and jealously among siblings…does it ever end well? If you remember back when we first started the Lenten journey, on day four our question was from God to Cain: “Why are you angry, and why do you look so resentful?” Cain resented his brother Abel and was jealous of him. God told him to get his anger under control, because “sin was crouching at his door.” Unresolved anger and jealousy destroys… Cain killed his brother. The same thing almost happened to Joseph at the hands of his brothers.
Let’s set the scene. Remember that Joseph’s role in the family was that of “mall cop,” or “hall monitor”…you know, “observe and report.” The older brothers took care of the flocks. Joseph spied on them for their father. On one occasion, the older brothers had taken the flocks to graze near Shechem (the place, not the man), and Jacob said to Joseph, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” (Gen. 37: 14) (observe and report, Officer Blart)
When Joseph was approaching his brothers, they saw him coming in his coat of many colors, and they plotted to kill him. “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.” (Gen. 37: 20) Sin is crouching at their door. Reuben, the oldest brother, had a cooler head. “Let’s stop short of killing him. Let’s just throw him in one of these empty cisterns.” (He was planning on coming back and pulling him out and taking him back home to their father)
They beat Joseph up, stripped off his coat of many colors, and threw him in an empty cistern. After doing this to their younger brother, the older brothers… (A) Felt guilty over what they did? (B) Posted a picture of Joseph in the cistern on their social media? Or (C) Sat down to eat their meal? The answer is (C). They sat down to eat. And along came a caravan of traders, headed toward Egypt. Judah saw an opportunity…hence today’s question. “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?” To put it another way – “We could make some money from this!”
I can hear the echoes of Judas Iscariot. “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” And they counted out 30 silver coins. (Matt. 26: 15) Joseph’s brothers sold him for 20 shekels of silver. A cynical person might say, “Everything (or everyone) has a price.”
Reflection: Does everything (everyone) have a price? Where do YOU draw the line?
Action: Read Matt. 16: 24-26. Write down your thoughts.
Weird – “of strange or extraordinary character.”
Normal – “conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern”
- Merriam Webster
Anger and jealously among siblings…does it ever end well? If you remember back when we first started the Lenten journey, on day four our question was from God to Cain: “Why are you angry, and why do you look so resentful?” Cain resented his brother Abel and was jealous of him. God told him to get his anger under control, because “sin was crouching at his door.” Unresolved anger and jealousy destroys… Cain killed his brother. The same thing almost happened to Joseph at the hands of his brothers.
Let’s set the scene. Remember that Joseph’s role in the family was that of “mall cop,” or “hall monitor”…you know, “observe and report.” The older brothers took care of the flocks. Joseph spied on them for their father. On one occasion, the older brothers had taken the flocks to graze near Shechem (the place, not the man), and Jacob said to Joseph, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” (Gen. 37: 14) (observe and report, Officer Blart)
When Joseph was approaching his brothers, they saw him coming in his coat of many colors, and they plotted to kill him. “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.” (Gen. 37: 20) Sin is crouching at their door. Reuben, the oldest brother, had a cooler head. “Let’s stop short of killing him. Let’s just throw him in one of these empty cisterns.” (He was planning on coming back and pulling him out and taking him back home to their father)
They beat Joseph up, stripped off his coat of many colors, and threw him in an empty cistern. After doing this to their younger brother, the older brothers… (A) Felt guilty over what they did? (B) Posted a picture of Joseph in the cistern on their social media? Or (C) Sat down to eat their meal? The answer is (C). They sat down to eat. And along came a caravan of traders, headed toward Egypt. Judah saw an opportunity…hence today’s question. “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?” To put it another way – “We could make some money from this!”
I can hear the echoes of Judas Iscariot. “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” And they counted out 30 silver coins. (Matt. 26: 15) Joseph’s brothers sold him for 20 shekels of silver. A cynical person might say, “Everything (or everyone) has a price.”
Reflection: Does everything (everyone) have a price? Where do YOU draw the line?
Action: Read Matt. 16: 24-26. Write down your thoughts.
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