Day 1 (Monday)
Genesis 41:46-57; 42:1-17 (Joseph Stores up Grain, Jacob’s Sons Go to Egypt)
Last time we saw Joseph brought from the prison to interpret the dreams of the Pharaoh, as the butler remembered his true interpretation from two years before. Joseph made clear that he himself had no power of interpretation, but that such things lie with God alone, whom he served faithfully, and then interpreted the dream, telling the Pharaoh that God had revealed to the king of Egypt that there would be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of intense famine. He further recommended to the Pharaoh that a wise man be selected to manage the storage of the grain from the plentiful years, to guard against the years of famine, and Pharaoh selected Joseph himself to fulfill this task, making him the second most powerful man in Egypt, after the Pharaoh only. This week, we will see what follows in the years of plenty and how the famine begins.
The Years of Plenty
46 Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went through all the land of Egypt. 47 During the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth abundantly, 48 and he gathered up all the food of the seven years when there was plenty in the land of Egypt, and stored up food in the cities; he stored up in every city the food from the fields around it. 49 And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured.
50 Before the year of famine came, Joseph had two sons, whom As′enath, the daughter of Poti′phera priest of On, bore to him. 51 Joseph called the name of the first-born Manas′seh, “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.” 52 The name of the second he called E′phraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
53 The seven years of plenty that prevailed in the land of Egypt came to an end; 54 and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55 When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; what he says to you, do.” 56 So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 57 Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.
Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt
42 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” 2 And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live, and not die.” 3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might befall him. 5 Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
6 Now Joseph was governor over the land; he it was who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came, and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. 7 Joseph saw his brothers, and knew them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” 8 Thus Joseph knew his brothers, but they did not know him.
9 And Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed of them; and he said to them, “You are spies, you have come to see the weakness of the land.” 10 They said to him, “No, my lord, but to buy food have your servants come. 11 We are all sons of one man, we are honest men, your servants are not spies.” 12 He said to them, “No, it is the weakness of the land that you have come to see.” 13 And they said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more.”
14 But Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you, you are spies. 15 By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while you remain in prison, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.” 17 And he put them all together in prison for three days.
Reading 5 – 725 words
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should point out how the names that Joseph gives to his sons indicates that he is conscious of the consolation that he has received in his wife and sons in his exile from his father and his family, and yet even that consciousness indicates to us that he misses them. This point becomes significant when the famine begins and his brothers show up before him, asking to purchase grain. Their presence is the resurfacing of his old life, and is also a moment of crisis, of judgment, for him, as they have now come into his power, and he could do anything he likes with them. It is therefore striking that what he does is test them, to see how they behave under pressure. It may be, too, that he is tempted to treat them worse – indeed, it would be shocking if he weren’t – but in the end, he makes that ill treatment a test, and directs them to bring their youngest brother, his own full brother Benjamin, with them the next time, so he can see how they are treating him. We will see what happens as they return home next time.)
2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?
3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?
4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )
5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?
Day 2 (Wednesday)
Joseph and Asenath – 2
Last time, we began this very popular work from the early Christian world, in which we find a dramatization of the courtship and marriage of Joseph and Aseneth. This story gives us a nice sense of the context and backstory that the Jewish world at the time of Christ, and the Christian world in its first centuries, understood and assumed when they read the later chapters of Genesis. We should remember, of course, that there was a substantial and active Jewish community in Egypt at the time that this story was composed, and therefore the context may well be anachronistic, and reflect more the reality in Egypt at the time Christ was there. But that, too, is valuable and fascinating to us, and gives us a beautiful window into how the Faithful at the time of the Lord read the Torah.
II. PENTEPHRES’ ATTEMPT TO GIVE ASENETH TO JOSEPH IN MARRIAGE
Joseph’s visit to Pentephres is announced
3 1 (1) And it happened in the first year of the seven years of plenty, in the fourth month, on the eighteenth of the month; Joseph came into the territory of Heliopolis and was gathering the surplus grain of that region. 2 (2) And when he had come close to that city, Joseph sent (3) twelve men ahead of him to Pentephres the priest, saying, “I will lodge with you because it is the hour of noon and the time of lunch, and the heat of the sun is great, and (I desire) that I may refresh myself under the shadow of your house.” 3
(4) And Pentephres heard this, and rejoiced exceedingly with great joy and said, “Blessed (be) the Lord, the God of Joseph, because my lord Joseph thought me worthy to come to us.” 4 (5) And Pentephres called (6) the (steward) of his house and said to him, “Hurry and make my house ready and prepare a great dinner, because Joseph, the Powerful One of God, is coming to us today.”
Aseneth dresses up to meet her parents
5 (7) And Aseneth heard that her father and mother had come from the field, which was their (8) inheritance, and rejoiced and said, “I will go and see my father and my mother because they have come from the field which is our inheritance.” For it was (the) time of harvest. 6
(9) And Aseneth hurried into the chamber, where her robes lay, and dressed in a (white) linen robe interwoven with violet and gold, and girded herself (with) a golden girdle and put bracelets on her hands and feet, and put golden buskins about her feet, and around her (10) neck she put valuable ornaments and costly stones which hung around from all sides, and the names of the gods of the Egyptians were engraved everywhere on the bracelets and the (11) stones, and the faces of all the idols were carved on them. And she put a tiara on her head and fastened a diadem around her temples, and covered her head with a veil.
Pentephres proposes to give Aseneth to Joseph in marriage, but she refuses
4 1 (1) And she hurried and went down the stairs from the upper floor, and came to her father (2) and mother and greeted them and kissed them. And Pentephres and his wife rejoiced over her daughter Aseneth (with) great joy, because they saw her adorned like a bride of God. 2 (3) And they brought out all the good (things) which they had brought from the field which (4) was their inheritance, and gave (them) to their daughter. And Aseneth rejoiced over all the good (things), the fruit, and the grapes, and the dates, and the doves, and the pomegranates, and the figs, because they were all handsome and good to taste.
3 (5) And Pentephres said to his daughter Aseneth, “My child.” And she said, “Behold, (here) I (am), my lord.” 4 And he said to her, “Sit down between us, and I will tell you what I have to say.”
2 (6)(7) And Aseneth sat between her father and mother. And Pentephres, her father, with his right hand grasped the right hand of his daughter and kissed it and said to her, “My child Aseneth.” 6 And she said, “Behold, (here) I (am), lord. Let my lord and my father speak up.”
7 (8) And Pentephres, her father, said to her, “Joseph the Powerful One of God is coming to us today. And he is chief of the whole land of Egypt, and the king Pharaoh appointed him king of the whole land, and he is giving grain to the whole land, and saving it from the oncoming famine.(9) And Joseph is a man who worships God, and self-controlled, and a virgin like you today, and Joseph is (also) a man powerful in wisdom and experience, and the spirit of God is upon him, and the grace of the Lord (is) with him. 8 (10) Come, my child, and I will hand you over to him for (his) wife, and you will be a bride to him, and he will be your bridegroom for ever (and) ever.”
9 (11) And when Aseneth heard these words from her father, plenty of red sweat poured over her face, and she became furious with great anger, and looked askance at her father with (12) her eyes, and said, “Why does my lord and my father speak words such as these, to hand me over, like a captive, to a man (who is) an alien, and a fugitive, and (was) sold (as a slave)? 10 (13)
Is he not the shepherd’s son from the land of Canaan, and he himself was caught (14) in the act (when he was) sleeping with his mistress, and his master threw him into the prison of darkness; and Pharaoh brought him out of prison, because he interpreted his dream just like the older women of the Egyptians interpret (dreams)? 11 (15) No, but I will be married to the king’s firstborn son, because he is king of the whole land of Egypt.” 12 (16) Hearing this, Pentephres was ashamed to speak further to his daughter Aseneth about Joseph, because she had answered him daringly and with boastfulness and anger.
906 words
Reading 2
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should note that the accusations which were often made against the Jews AND Christians in the final centuries before Christ, and in early centuries of the Church reflected a great deal of prejudice against uncultured outsiders, those who refused to participate in the “civilized” (that is to say polytheistic) rituals of the dominant society. Aseneth is being presented as a princess indeed, as an exemplar of her time and her prejudices, and perhaps also as very young. She is wealthy, and pious according to the religion of her ancestors, and inclined to view anyone who is not like her as worthy only of being despised. She will not remain in this frame of mind, of course, as we shall see.)
2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?
3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?
4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )
5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?
Day 3 (Friday)
Acts 4:5-22 (Jewish Rulers Examine Peter & John)
Last time we saw Peter speak to the crowd that assembled in amazement when the lame man was healed, and call them once again to repentance for the part that they had personally played in the rejection and crucifixion of the Lord. Many of the people who heard him were struck to the heart, and about 5,000 of them believed. Meanwhile, however, the party of the high priest had Peter and John arrested and imprisoned, because they were preaching publicly in the Temple, and especially because they were preaching the resurrection of the dead, which the Sadducees opposed utterly, although the Pharisees believed that it was a true doctrine.
Jewish Rulers Examine Peter & John
5 The next day their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.
11 This Jesus is
‘the stone that was rejected by you, the builders;
it has become the cornerstone.’
12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”
13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus. 14 When they saw the man who had been cured standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 So they ordered them to leave the council while they discussed the matter with one another. 16 They said, “What will we do with them? For it is obvious to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable sign has been done through them; we cannot deny it. 17 But to keep it from spreading further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.”
18 So they called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; 20 for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.” 21 After threatening them again, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people, for all of them praised God for what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.
Reading 6 – 418 words
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should point out that the Council of the Jewish leaders here is opposed to the preaching of the Gospel, but perhaps not so violently, at this juncture, at least, as they had been to Jesus. Why this is so is worth considering; it may be that they were simply surprised to see the Disciples of the Lord still active after His execution, or it may be that they feel less threatened by people who are preaching in the name of another than they did by Jesus, Who was Himself the object of the loyalty and expectations of the people. The fact that they are about to begin violently persecuting the Church in a few chapters indicates to me that, while it may be some of both, the relatively mild response here is only their initial, surprised reaction. Seeing the people so amazed by the miracle limits their immediate options, but they will certainly grow in their opposition, even as many of them will abandon their opposition and choose to follow Christ. The rest of the book of Acts will be a time of crisis, and decision, for all the leaders and people of the Jews, and they will never be the same again, whatever they decide.)
2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?
3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?
4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )
5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?