Joseph the dreamer

Today's reading from Genesis contains the first part of the story of Joseph in Egypt (Genesis 37). The part where he alienates his brothers, to the point that they plan on killing him, but then decide to sell him into slavery instead.

I had remembered from the last time I read this that Reuben was the one who saved Joseph's life, by suggesting they leave him in a pit, rather than killing him outtright. What I saw for the first time in this reading was his motivation: he was planning on coming back later to save Joseph, to win favor with Jacob. When the other brothers messed up his plan by selling Joseph, he was upset. He had no involvement in the selling.

This all seems to go back to the theme of living by your wits, and by deception, which has been going on for a while now. God ends up using it for good later on, but not before the whole family pays a price. I'm reminded of the passage (can't remember where) that talks about the sins of the father passed on to future generations. I think that's what we're seeing here. Not so much God punishing Jacob's children for Jacob's errors, but rather that attitude being passed on to the children. Sort of like the way children of alcoholics tend to show addictive tendencies themselves.

One more thing: Mike asked about the show "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." As somebody who's been in the show (I played Naphthali) I can tell you that it's a fun show, but don't expect a great deal of deep theology. ;) It's one of the earlier works by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, before Jesus Christ, Superstar. It's got some good music, and some cute "bits." For instance, Pharoah is played as Elvis. You know - "The King." ;) There's been a movie made of the stage production, staring Donny Osmond, but I wouldn't recommend it. Stage plays rarely translate well to the screen, and this one does a particularly bad job of it.