Here's a riddle for you: If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, where does the road paved with bad intentions lead? If you've read this final chapter of Genesis, you know what Joseph would say. In God's care, even bad intentions can lead to good, indeed, to the salvation of an entire people (50:20).
As our study draws to a close, I thought it might be fun to notice how this last reading draws together many of the themes we've noticed throughout the book of Genesis. I'll offer a few thoughts, but I'd invite you to reflect on your own as you find some coherence in this rather scattered and somewhat mystifying story.
From beginning to end, Genesis affirms God's goodness and its reflection within the created order. Despite human failings, missteps, deceit, and violence, God keeps at the goodness project from day one, and invites us to join it as well.
From beginning to end, God's goodness project involves reconciliation and restoration. Here, Joseph forgives his brothers, but throughout Genesis, God works to build bridges between those who are somehow alienated.
From beginning to end, Genesis blurs the lines between "us and them," offering consistently positive portraits of the "other." Here, the Egyptians and Canaanites join in solidarity with Jacob's family as they mourn his death.
From beginning to end, God uses frail human characters to provide for the vulnerable. A consistent invitation not to fear but to trust in God's provision rings out through this foundational story.
- Does the ending of Genesis "work" for you? How does it resolve the story? What unfinished business does it leave?
- If you had to name the most powerful theme you've encountered throughout Genesis, what would it be?
- What other details did you notice in today's reading?
Prayer: Thank you for these ancient stories, O God, and for their timeless truths. By your spirit, give them staying power as we seek to live faithfully today. Amen.
Breath Prayer: So have // no fear.
