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Summary by Darrin Koehler

Continued from Epic 4…

Abraham’s son Isaac then had a son, and he named him Jacob. It was through Jacob’s line that God continued his plan of redemption, promising that the whole world would be blessed. Jacob, having wrestled with God, was given a new name – Isreal. His twelve sons would become the twelve tribes of Isreal.

However, Israel loved his son Joseph more than all the others. When Joseph had a dream implying that he would rule over all his brothers, they were filled with envy, and they plotted to kill him. Instead, they sold him into slavery hoping to never see him again, thinking that he was as good as dead.

From there, he was sold to Potifer. who trusted Joseph and put him in charge of his whole house. But Potifer’s wife admired him and tried to seduce him on more than a few occasions. When Joseph ran from her for the last time, she grabbed his coat and used it as evidence to accuse him of forcing himself on her. For this, Joseph was thrown into prison where he interpreted a dream for the cupbearer. He asked the cupbearer to remember him when he returned to serving Pharaoh, but he does not. Joseph, then, sat in prison for two more years. One night, however, Pharaoh had dreams that he could not understand. He asked if anyone could interpret them, but to no avail. It is then that the cupbearer remembered Joseph and mentioned him to Pharaoh. Joseph was able to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, and predicted that Egypt would experience seven years of plenty before enduring seven years of famine. At this, Pharaoh made him second in command over all of Egypt. Soon enough, Egypt was the only country with food.

It is during this time that Joseph’s brothers come to buy grain. Though they meant evil buy selling him into slavery, God meant it for good; the dream that Joseph had about ruling over his brothers would be fulfilled, and the line of Jacob would be saved because of it. Throughout his life, Joseph’s view of God always remained clear; he considered God sovereign and good, even though he experienced toil and pain for a great share of his life. Even so, this story is more so about God and how he fulfills his promises. If Joseph hadn’t endured this, Israel would have been stamped out of history and the promise of a savior along with it. Jesus’ line would have never been established and the salvation of the world forgone.

These events take place in Genesis chapters 37 through 45. Read the full story

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Sermon Synapses by Darrin Koehler

In Chapter 2 of Genesis, we see God establish headship as he gives Adam dominion over all creation. He puts him in the garden to “work it and keep it.” He then commands him, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

In chapter 3, both Adam’s headship and God’s word is tested. We see the very first question in the bible from the serpent in the garden, when he asks, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’” He also directly disputes God’s word by saying, “You shall not surely die.” It was at this point that Adam, as head, should have used his authority to protect Eve from the lies of the serpent and to make a stand for the word of God. As it turned out, God’s word held up true, but Adam did not.

In addition to the knowledge of evil, Adam and Eve gained two other things in this transaction: guilt and shame. This is why in verse 8 Adam and Eve hide from the presence of God. He calls out to them, and in their nakedness they attempt to shift the blame from themselves. Yet God still holds each of them accountable for their sin – first to Satan, then to Eve, and lastly to Adam, through whom the whole earth was cursed.

These are but a few of the consequences which still remain today:

»Death The first death is the spiritual death, which happened immediately. This is the separation of God and man. The second death is just as certain, but comes later. This is the separation of body and spirit.

»Marital Strife Before the fall, Adam and Eve lived in perfect marital harmony. When God said to Eve, “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you,” he describes what the affects of sin will be on marriage. This is the beginning of both feminism and chauvinism.

»Toil This is the only curse that extends beyond mankind, affecting the entire earth. God said to Adam, “Cursed is the ground because of you,” because Adam was made head over all creation and was responsible for it. Now the work that God intended to bring joy and fulfillment in man will be filled with pain and toil instead.

God’s justice is sure to be carried out. Yet in these opening few chapters of the bible we already see at least four instances of God’s great mercy:

»The Invitation Even though God already knew that Adam and Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit, he still came looking for them in the garden, calling out, “Where are you?” He had the right to destroy them instantly, yet he chose to call out to them in mercy. (Gen. 3:9)

»Protoevangelium or the “first gospel.” God promises that through the offspring of the woman Satan will be crushed. (Gen. 3:15)

»Atonement Though it was not yet revealed that the sin of man would be atoned for by the blood of Christ, God foreshadows atoning sacrifice by shedding the blood of an animal and making for them clothing to cover the shame of their nakedness. (Gen. 3:21)

»Release In more literal translations of the Bible it is clear that God is grieved at the thought of Adam and Eve living in their sin for eternity. The ESV reads, “The the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever–’” God does not even finish his sentence. By preventing Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of Life he spares them the consequence of living forever in their shame and guilt.