Dear God,
You are so amazing! Grandpa Joseph just told me a
bunch of stories about how he grew up and they were crazy! Those brothers of
his were so naughty! I mean, I can see how they would get fed up with him
always being the favorite, but I can't imagine living with the lie that they
did for so long. See, they took his special coat that his dad gave him and
ripped it up and but blood from one of the goats on it and they threw Grandpa
Joseph in a pit (Gen 37:23-24). They sold Grandpa Joseph to some Ishmaelites
who ended up taking him to Egypt and selling him as a slave here! But the
craziest part is that they went home and took the bloody coat and told their
dad that Grandpa Joseph was dead. And he believed them. They must have been
good liars, because whenever I try to lie Mom can always tell.
So anyway, Grandpa Joseph says both his story and
his grandpa's (Grandpa Isaac) are stories of redemption. He says that You
always redeem, but I don't really understand what that means, so I'll just keep
telling You the stories.
Grandpa Joseph ended up being sold to an Egyptian
man named Potiphar (Gen 37:36). Potiphar was one of Pharaoh's officials and he
like Grandpa Joseph because he was a good worker, but his wife lied about
Grandpa Joseph and because she did he ended up in jail. Even in jail though, he
got put in charge of things, because God, You "gave him success in
whatever he did" (Gen 39:23). So, he made some friends there, because
there were other prisoners who had crazy dreams and You gave him the ability to
interpret dreams (Gen 40:8). He begged them to remember him when they went back
to Pharaoh, but they didn't. Not until Pharaoh had a dream he didn't
understand, then one of them remembered Grandpa Joseph and he was brought to
Pharaoh.
To make a long story short Grandpa Joseph became
second in command of all of Egypt! There was a giant famine that went even
outside of Egypt to the land where Grandpa Joseph grew up, and only Egypt had
food because in that dream of Pharaoh's you had warned them about the famine.
So when everyone ran out of food they had to come to Grandpa Joseph to buy
some. Here's where it gets crazy...his brothers, the ones that sold him, had to
come and buy food from him. They got really scared when they realized who he
was, but he told them not to be angry or distressed for selling him because he
could see that You were really the one who sent him ahead of them to save them
(Gen 45:5).
So that is how our whole family ended up here in
Egypt. It's pretty cool here. We are basically royalty, but Pharaoh is getting
really old, so hopefully the next Pharaoh is nice to our family too.
Oh, and great, great Grandpa Isaac's story was that
when he was a little boy his dad was told to offer him as a sacrifice. His dad
obeyed You...I don't know if I could do that! So they took the wood and the
knife and everything they would need to make a sacrifice, but no lamb...just
Grandpa Isaac. His dad actually had him all tied up and was about to kill him
when he looked up and saw a ram (Gen 22:13). That doesn't happen by accident!
I've never seen a ram just chillin in the bushes! And then he sacrificed that
and set Grandpa Isaac free.
So maybe their 'redemption' stories show that
people get into lots of trouble and get stuck in bad things, but that You are a
good God and You set them free? God, I will say, You have given me a sweet
family tree! I hope You keep working through our family! Maybe I'll even be
Pharaoh one day - I am part Egyptian after all through Grandma Asenath (Gen
41:50. Or at least second in command like Grandpa Joseph!
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