Numbers in the Joseph Story

You've been patient with me during a very busy week at Seneca Presbyterian Church. My apologies for not posting this week. But - as we finished up with the Joseph story this morning, I posed the following number questions from the Joseph story. Check and see if you knew the right answers.
What is the number of:

• Jacob's sons - 12
• Joseph the dreamer (age) - 17
• Joseph, second only to Pharaoh (age) - 30
• Joseph forgotten by Pharaoh's butler (years ) - 2
• Years of abundance - 7
• Years of famine - 7
• Number of dreams - 6 
• Number of sons who travel to Egypt from Canaan - 10
• Number of portions for Benjamin at Joseph's feast - 5
• The span of Joseph's life (years) - 110 

Thank you for your gracious attention to this series. The stories of Joseph the dreamer are fascinating - and open to a variety of interpretations. Feel free to post YOUR reflections on "the end of the story." 

The Saintly One

This Sunday, October 23, when we gather for worship at Seneca Presbyterian Church, we will find Joseph facing a moral challenge. Potiphar, the captain of the guard, has made Joseph overseer of his household. It is a position of authority and responsibility. Read Genesis chapter 39 to get the entire story, then consider these questions:

• Has the "self-centered brat" we met in chapter 37 changed? If so, why and how?
• The rabbis call Joseph "the saintly one." Do you agree? Why or why not?
• Why do you think Joseph refuses "Mrs. Potiphar"? Are you surprised that he does?
• God's presence seems to imply success and blessing. We read in verse 3: "The Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands." How does that formula fare when applied to your life and the lives of those you know? How do you discern and even measure signs of God's presence in your life, even in the ordinary days of your life?

I am reading Richard Rohr  Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life in conjunction with this sermon series. Rohr is a Franciscan priest who has written and spoken extensively on spirituality. This is his latest book and it traces the development of our spiritual lives through both the tasks of the first half of our lives, our transition to the second half - often through shadows, darkness, and stumbling - and into the fullness of the second half of life. It's interesting read! Some questions that it prompts for me:

• What are the challenges that deepen faith? 
• Does it take a challenge so deep that it could destroy faith in order to strengthen it?  

Rohr thinks so: He writes: 'There must be, and, if we are honest, there always will be at least one situation in our lives that we cannot fix, control, explain, change, or even understand." What do you think?
 
Let me hear from you! 

Joseph: Day One

Today the saints of Seneca Pres started a journey with Joseph. I was impressed with the knowledge base of my congregation - for I heard many correct answers to these basic questions about Joseph and the book of Genesis. The questions, with answers, are:

1) The history of the Hebrew people is told through the lives of the Patriarchs whose stories are found in Genesis. Name them. 

• Abraham
• Isaac
• Jacob

2) All the following happens in the book of Genesis except:  
Abram leaves home. yes (Abram and Sari leave both Ur and Haran.) 
The Hebrews leave Egypt: no (That happens in Exodus);
Twins are born: yes (Jacob and Esau);
A firstborn son is sent away from home: yes (Abraham's firstborn son Ishmael and along with his mother Hagar)

3) Name 12 persons from the book of Genesis, including at least four women.
The possibilities are numerous, but here are some of the most intriguing ones:
Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah (and his wife), Shem, Ham, and Japheth (and their wives), Abraham and Sarah (also known as Abram and Sarai), Lot, Melchizedek, Hagar and Ishmael, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Esau, Rachel and Leah, Laban, the twelve sons of Jacob (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin), Dinah, Tamar, Potiphar (and his wife), and Pharaoh.

4) Name at least one dastardly deed done by Jacob.
For starters, he tricked his brother into selling his birthright, deceived his father, and stole his brother's blessing. 


5) Joseph is the son of Jacob and Rachel. His only full brother was Benjamin.

6) Joseph is famous for two reasons. He knew how to interpret dreams, and his father gave him a coat of many colors.