Genesis 23-50 covers quite a bit of history from the death of Sarah through the story of Joseph in Egypt. After Sarah’s death, Abraham sends a servant to find a wife for Isaac. Isaac marries Rebekah and they have twin boys Esau and Jacob. Isaac was blessed by God and seeks to extend that blessing to Esau; however, Rebekah wanted Jacob to receive the blessing and helps Jacob deceive his father by pretending to be his brother Esau. As Jacob flees from his murderously angry brother, God appears to Jacob in a dream and blesses him.
Jacob fled to Laban and worked for him for 7 years to marry Rachel, but Laban deceives him, and he marries her older sister Leah instead. Afterward, Jacob marries Rachel with an agreement to work for Laban for another 7 years. Between Leah, Rachel, and both of their slaves, Jacob has twelve sons. Rachel, the wife whom he loved, only bore two: Joseph and Benjamin. As Jacob worked for Laban, Laban was blessed. Enjoying the blessing, Laban requested Jacob continue to work for him. The two agreed that Jacob could take the blemished lambs and goats for himself and Laban would get the pure. God blessed Jacob with many animals through that agreement, but a dispute arose between him and Laban. This led to Jacob and his family returning to Canaan, twenty years after he had fled from Esau.
Fearing his brother’s wrath, Jacob sent gifts and messengers to Esau to prepare the way for his return. After he had sent everyone else on, Jacob wrestled with God and God changed his name from Jacob, meaning “heel-grabber,” to Israel, meaning “he struggled with God.” God blessed Jacob. When Jacob and Esau met, Esau extended forgiveness to his brother. Jacob purchased land and set up an altar to God.
As they settled in that land, Jacob’s daughter Dinah was raped by one of the Canaanites that lived in that land. In return, Jacob’s sons deceived the men of that nation to circumcise themselves in order to marry with the family of Jacob; instead, Jacob’s sons killed all the men while they were in recovery. This led to Jacob moving his family to Bethel. God blessed Jacob and changed his name to Israel.
Jacob’s love Rachel dies during childbirth to Benjamin, leaving only Benjamin and Joseph as her children. The narrative then changes focus to Joseph. Joseph was favored among his brothers and the brothers became jealous of him to the point of wanting to kill him. His oldest brother Reuben convinces the brothers not to kill Joseph, but Judah convinces them to sell Joseph to some traders. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers and ends up in Egypt as a slave in Potiphar’s house. God blesses Joseph and everything he does prospers Potiphar, but then Potiphar’s wife tries to seduce Joseph. When Joseph repeatedly refuses and flees, she falsely accuses Joseph and he is sent to prison. But God was with Joseph and he became a blessing to the warden of the prison. Eventually, Joseph is taken from prison to interpret a dream Pharaoh had been given by God. Joseph explained the dream and had a plan to ensure the survival of the people during a famine. Pharaoh made him second in charge over all of Egypt.
Joseph’s brothers were also affected by the famine and they came to Egypt for food. Joseph recognized them and tested them. Through the testing, he determined that Judah had changed, stepping up to take Benjamin’s place when he was to be taken as a slave. Joseph forgave his brothers, seeing that it was in God’s plan for him to come to Egypt to save his family. Joseph’s family moves to Egypt and begins to grow. As Joseph continued to work for Pharaoh, all land in Egypt came under Pharaoh’s rule, so Joseph was a blessing to Pharaoh. He established the law that 1/5 of everything produced in Egypt belonged to Pharaoh. Though safe and provided for in Egypt, Joseph requested to be returned to his homeland upon his death.
In reading this passage, a couple of themes begin to emerge. The concept of forgiveness between brothers, as Esau forgives Jacob and Joseph forgives his brothers. The idea of God’s divine plan leading to Jacob’s blessing and Joseph’s blessing, even though they had to go through some hard times in foreign lands to get to that point. The theme of God blessing these individuals so that they could bless others is a main theme. God blessed Jacob, but He also blessed Laban through Jacob. God blessed Joseph, but He also blessed Potiphar through Joseph. He blessed the prison warden through Joseph. He blessed Pharaoh through Joseph. He blessed Egypt through Joseph, and He blessed the nations through Egypt during the famine. God blessed other people through His chosen people.
Through the history of the beginning of the Hebrew people, God continually blessed His people, but He also blessed those with whom they interacted. Laban was blessed by Jacob. Potiphar, Pharaoh, and Egypt were blessed through Joseph. God uses His people to be a blessing to others. Jacob and Joseph both went through some long, hard times, but God had a plan for them that would bless them and would bless those around them. He also calls us to forgive one another when we are wronged. Esau had every right to be mad at Jacob, but when Jacob returned home Esau forgave him. Joseph could have hated his brothers for what they had done to him, but when he saw them, he forgave them. God asks us to forgive those who have done wrong to us. More importantly, God forgives us when we have done wrong to Him as well.
God has greatly blessed our family in many ways on the journey to Southwestern. He granted me a good job. He provided housing when we thought there would be none available. He has given us plenty of food through the generosity of His people. My tuition, fees, and books for the fall semester have already been covered due to scholarships. He even provided temporary housing for free for me before we were able to move into our townhouse. God has blessed us beyond all measure, and we thank Him and praise Him for it! Yet how am I being a blessing to others in His name?
Joel McReynolds 
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