No, really.

Since yesterday’s reading, a lot of time has gone by for Joseph and his brothers. The whole family moved to Egypt; seventeen years later, Jacob blessed the children and then died. Seventeen years is a lot of time. And yet, despite everything that happened when Joseph met his brothers again, now after Jacob is dead, [...]

Let it go!

Joseph has established that he is smart about many things. He understands dreams. He understands economics. He knows how to turn a situation to his advantage. And now we find that he is also wise about how people are likely to behave. After all this time, after all this energy and work, Joseph and his [...]

Noooo! Help! He’s… feeding us?

I think that the scene when Joseph’s brothers return to Egypt would make a great comic or graphic novel chapter.  I can just see an artist making a great big deal out of the fear the brothers have at every little thing, and Joseph and his servants maybe even rolling their eyes and laughing at [...]

Testing… testing…

If you were to think of a time when Joseph might have been tested by God, what would you pick? Would you pick his tough relationship with his brothers as a kid? When he was first sold into slavery? When he was wrongly accused and jailed for something he didn’t do? What about today’s story [...]

God can tell you what it means

My biggest disappointment in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat centers around this part of the story (and another part at the end).  I love the Elvis-Pharaoh song: But when it’s Joseph’s turn, he seems to interpret it all by himself.  Nowhere in the show does he say “Interpreting dreams is God’s business” or “It’s [...]

Joseph who? – YELLOW

Joseph is down on his luck. He’s in prison for something he never did, and just when there’s finally hope – Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer is restored to his position and can say a good word for Joseph – nothing. The cup-bearer forgets all about him. I wonder if Joseph thought the cup-bearer would say anything [...]

Do-nothing Reuben

There’s a saying that all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for enough good people to do nothing. That’s Reuben’s regret here.  Reuben knows it’s wrong to kill Joseph; Reuben has no intention of doing much to Joseph other than throwing him down a hole for awhile – unpleasant, not recommended, but not [...]

People are goofy

When I read this story, especially right after reading the Jacob stories that we’ve been reading, here is what strikes me most: These people are goofy. All of them. So Jacob has made it to Canaan, and has been sobered a little by his experience of life. He’s a little less of a traveler, a [...]