VIC – Genesis 37 – Coat of Many Colors starts a two part Bible study on the life of the patriarch Joseph. How dysfunctional can a family get? Kardashians, hold my coat of many colors! Jacob’s family is a train wreck. How can God’s grace cut through all of the generational sinful behavior? God can take situations that look terrible and work them out for our eternal good.
Tough Choices
In the opening quicky quiz I ask the question – T/F It’s better to sell your brother than to kill him. That’s – admittedly – not a great question to ask; neither is a God pleasing answer. It does betray just how dysfunctional this family is. God doesn’t hide the sins of the patriarchs or their family. AND who’s surprised? This is generational! Jacob was his mom’s favorite child. Jacob had schemed and cheated his way to everything he had. That’s not a great culture to raise kids!
Sister Wives
Then add in polygamy and you have a sure fire recipe for disaster. There wasn’t just favorite children, there were favorite wives! What does that do to the relationships with the kids? There was animosity from six different directions. It might seem obvious, but it needs to be said that this is not God please behavior. Nowhere does God endorse polygamy. God’s design is one man and one woman in a marriage.
Grace Abounds
The real story line in all of this is God’s grace. None of these people deserves God’s love, but God opens his hands. All of the dreams, the sale of Joseph, even the sorrow of Jacob, worked towards God’s plan of sending a Savior.
Want to hear more? Watch this week’s study, the first of a two part series on the life of Joseph, VIC – Genesis 37 – Coat of Many Colors.
Please click HERE for Bible class slides.