The story of Job answers several questions:

1) Do bad things happen to good people? Yes

2) Is God capable of doing evil? No

3) Is Satan the real enemy? Yes

4) Does God allow evil to accomplish His purposes and for His glory? Yes

5) Can the enemy only do what God allows? Yes

6) Is walking with the Lord easy? No

7) Will it be worth it in the end? Yes

Job is a blameless man with a large family and full of possessions. Right out of the gate we see that Job intercedes for his family every morning with burnt offerings. We also see a conversation taking place in the heavenly realm that Job is unaware of. God allows Job to be tested by Satan and just like that Job loses everything! 😰 Next, Job’s three friends will come to comfort him with their terrible theology. 😏 Keep reading to see how the Lord uses Job’s life to further reveal His character to the world! Remember, it isn’t about us. It’s about Him.

(Job 1:1-4:21)

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Jacob is at the end of his life when Joseph brings his boys to his bedside for a blessing. Jacob blesses the younger brother over the older brother saying that the younger shall become greater than the older. Joseph tries to get him to bless the older one instead but Jacob is adamant about his blessing. Blessing the younger above the older would not of been the cultural norm but God is not concerned with doing the cultural norm. We already saw this with Esau and Jacob. Next Jacob blesses all of the sons (although they don’t all sound exactly like blessings). Pay special attention to Judah’s blessing in Gen 49:10. His blessing prophesies that the Messiah, the one God promised to send back in the garden (Gen 3:15), will come through Judah. When Jacob dies the brothers bury him in Canaan in the burial ground Abraham purchased. Well now that dad is dead, the brothers begin to worry that Joseph is going to take revenge on them. Joseph assured his brothers that what they meant for evil God meant for good to save many people. That’s our God…turns evil into good! Joseph dies and next we will enter the Exodus era but not before reading the book of Job. Keep reading…you almost have 2 out of 14 eras under your belt!

(Genesis 47:28-50:26)

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The Lord tells Jacob not to fear going to Egypt and says He will make Jacob a great nation there. So all of Jacob’s family, 70 Israelites, move to Egypt. The Israelites tell Pharaoh that they are shepherds and Pharaoh gives them land in Goshen. This was fertile land and the location was more isolated from the heart of Egypt which helped ensure that the Israelites would not assimilate into the Egyptian culture. So the Israelites settled in Goshen “and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly”. So much so that they become a threat to Egypt. Keep reading to see how God protects the Israelites from the Egyptians and magnifies His holy name.

(Genesis 45:16-47:27)

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When food gets scarce, Jacob sends all the sons except Benjamin to Egypt where Joseph has been storing up food as instructed by the Lord. So Joseph’s brothers come and bow down before him bringing to fruition the dream Joseph had many years ago. Joseph recognizes them but they have no clue who he is. Joseph then tests his brothers and tells them to bring Benjamin to him. Well, Jacob refuses to send Benjamin to Egypt until Judah steps in. Yep. Judah! The one who came up with the idea to sell Joseph off for profit. The Lord has used all the pain and chaos in Judah’s life to grow him into a man who is willing to lay down his life so his dad doesn’t have to bear the loss of another son and to save his family from starvation. Remember, Judah knows what it is like to lose 2 sons. So the brothers return to Egypt with Benjamin and bow down before Joseph again as predicted in the earlier dreams. When Judah is pleading for Benjamin’s life in exchange for his own, Joseph can’t take it any longer. He weeps loudly. Then the brothers reconcile and Joseph assures them that it wasn’t them who sent him to Egypt but the Lord. See, God’s plans aren’t always easy but they are always good! God’s good just isn’t defined the same as the world’s good. Next up, Jacob’s family moves to Egypt. Keep reading!

(Genesis 42:1-45:15)

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Joseph’s situation looks bleak. He was sold off by his brothers, sent to a foreign land, and now is in prison for a crime he didn’t commit BUT the Lord is with him! God gave Joseph the ability to interpret the dreams of two prisoners and Joseph takes ZERO credit for this. One thing about Joseph is that he always points everyone to the Lord. Of course God’s interpretation of the dreams comes true but the selfish cupbearer (or butler) totally forgot about his buddy Joseph once he got sprung from prison. BUT God has NOT forgotten Joseph! In the Lord’s perfect timing, 2 years later, He brings Joseph out of prison and gives him insight on Pharaoh’s dreams which promotes Joseph to ruler over Pharaoh’s house and all of Egypt. Wow! What a drastic turn around we see in Joseph’s circumstances! So Joseph was 17 years old when he was sold off by his brothers as a slave and now he is a 30 year old man and a ruler of Egypt. Joseph marries, has 2 sons (Manasseh and Ephraim), and is appointed by the Lord to carry out God’s plan to save the nations from a great famine! Keep reading bc a family reunion is coming up…

(Genesis 40:1-23, Genesis 35:28-29, Genesis 41:1-57)

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Joseph, Rachel’s oldest, is Jacob’s favorite son and that doesn’t sit well with his brothers. The Lord gives Joseph dreams about the future where one day he will rule over his family…this just adds fuel to the fire. The now infuriated brothers plot to kill Joseph but Judah says why kill Joseph when we can profit off him. So they sell Joseph to Midianite traders (descendants of Abraham’s and Keturah’s son Midian). Take note of whose idea it was to profit off Joseph’s life. Yep. Judah is on a faith journey like the rest of us.

Judah married a Canaanite woman and they had 3 sons. First son, Er, married Tamar but God kills Er bc he was wicked. So in accordance with levirate marriages, Judah marries his second son, Onan, to his brother’s widow, Tamar, but Onan “emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother”. Well, God found this to be wicked and killed him too.😬 Yikes! Of course Judah blamed Tamar for his sons’ deaths so he withheld the third son. But Tamar had an idea! 💡 She disguised herself as a harlot and boom…Judah sleeps with Tamar and they have twins, Perez and Zerah. King David and, ultimately our Savior, come from Pérez’s lineage. Jesus has a really messy family tree.

Ok, back to Joseph. Potiphar’s wife tries to sleep w him but then lies and says he tried to sleep w her so Joseph lands in jail. Man, Joseph has had it rough but the Lord is with him through all of it! Keep reading to see how the Lord grows Judah, elevates Joseph, and saves the nations! Our God is faithful in the mess and is always working behind the scenes for our good and His glory!

(Genesis 37:1-38:30, 1 Chronicles 2:3-6, 8, Genesis 39:1-23)

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Today we see a second example of great possessions causing family separation, first Abraham and Lot and now Jacob and Esau. Esau married a Canaanite women (remember origin of Canaanites? Ham’s cursed son Canaan). The Lord will eventually warn the children of Israel not to intermarry with the Canaanites bc it will lead them away from the Lord and into idolatry. On day 2 we read what happened when Seth’s descendants began to intermarry with Cain’s descendants who were not walking with the Lord. The hearts and minds of everyone became so wicked that God destroyed the earth by flood. God’s commandments are always for our good! Ok, back to the genealogy We learned that Edom (Esau) has kings before the Israelites (Jacob’s descendants). God’s desire since the garden has always been for his people to trust Him and walk by faith but later in the Story will we see the Israelites make another decision based on sight and ask for kings like the people around them. Also, take note of King Amalek in Esau’s genealogy. The Amalekites (descendants of Esau) become notorious for attacking the Israelites. God will instruct the Israelites to wipe them off the face of the earth but will the Israelites obey? We will find out down the road. Keep reading! Tomorrow we get a peek into the lives of Joseph and Judah.

(Genesis 36:1-19, 1 Chronicles 1:35-37, Genesis 36:20-30, 1 Chronicles 1:38-42, Genesis 36:31-43, 1 Chronicles 1:43-2:2)

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Today Jacob wrestles with his faith spiritually and physically. The closer he gets to Esau, Jacob prays for the Lord to protect him but he also seems to think he needs to help God out by sending Esau gifts to butter him up before they meet. Then Jacob physically wrestles with God and he is crippled in the hip. The Lord blesses Jacob and gives him the new name Israel. Jacob (Israel) and Esau reconcile, hug it out and depart ways but then the Story takes a dark turn. Jacob’s daughter Dinah is raped and her brothers take revenge on the whole town. So the Lord instructs Jacob to go to Bethel but before they leave Jacob has to tell his household to put away the foreign gods Throughout the Story we will see more and more how God’s chosen people struggle with sin and idolatry but God is patient and faithful to his messy, broken people. Nothing will stop the Lord from providing a way for our salvation! Right after the move, the Lord blesses Jacob and confirms all of the previous promises made to him. Lastly, Rachel dies giving birth to her second son, Benjamin. Jacob has a special place in his heart for Rachel’s 2 sons, Joseph and Benjamin. Will this favoritism cause family problems? Keep reading.

(Genesis 32:1-35:27)

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Tension arises between Laban and Jacob. God instructs Jacob to return home and says that He will be with him. We start to see spiritual growth in Jacob as he trusts the Lord. Rachel apparently doesn’t have the same trust in God with this move because she snags her dad’s household idols on the way out the door. There was another lady in this Story that had a hard time letting go of stuff in the past and moving forward with the Lord. Remember Lot’s wife? Yeah, that didn’t end well. Anyway, Rachel’s idol problem causes more family strife but the Lord intervenes and protects Jacob again. Jacob and Laban depart in peace. Did you notice before they departed that Jacob offers a sacrifice on the mountain? Jacob is coming to the Lord the Lord’s way and trusting in His promises. Everything in this Story points us to the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus Christ, who will come to take away our sins forever but for now the blood of animals is shed as a covering of sins and a picture of the Savior to come! This is a true Story all about our Savior Jesus Christ! Isn’t it marvelous?! Next up Jacob encounters Esau. Does Esau still want to kill Jacob? Keep reading.

(Genesis 30:25-31:55)

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On the way to Laban’s house Jacob has a dream where the Lord gives Jacob the same promises regarding land and descendants that He gave his dad, Isaac, and grandfather, Abraham. Then Jacob woke up and led a totally godly life! 🎉🎉Just playing. Jacob falls in love with Laban’s younger, beautiful daughter Rachel but Laban, a schemer himself, tricks Jacob into marrying the not so beautiful, older daughter Leah first. These women become jealous of each other and then the baby making contest begins!🤰🏽One thing leads to another and eventually Jacob father’s 12 sons and 1 daughter by 4 different women. 😳 Well, this chaos isn’t too much for our Lord to use to accomplish His awesome purposes. The Messiah is coming out of this mess and it isn’t through the favored beautiful one…good looks don’t get ya everything! Keep your eye on Leah’s son Judah. He has a pretty colorful story. We will get to him soon. Keep reading!

(Genesis 28:6-30:24)

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