At the end of our last episode, Joseph had just emerged from prison to interpret Pharaoh’s dream. After predicting years of abundance followed by years of famine, Joseph suggests that Pharaoh appoint someone wise to oversee the collection of crops to sustain the population during years of famine. After losing it all when he was falsely accused of assault by Potiphar’s wife, he now gains more than ever could have dreamed when Pharaoh appoints him to this noble position. Actually, I take that back: it’s exactly how he dreamed, because the Lord revealed to him what would take place before he was betrayed by his brothers. Once God’s plan becomes clear, the Scriptures say that Joseph forgets his former trouble.

Genesis 42 - 4:58 .

Genesis 43 - 12:02 .

Psalm 21 - 18:16 .

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Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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Today’s episode contains some adult themes, parental discretion is advised. Our episode begins with Judah’s sons who are so atrocious that the Lord puts them death, and soon thereafter we learn that their father is not quite a moral giant himself. Then we’ll return to the storyline of Joseph. It’s clear that something about the experience with his brothers’ betrayal has changed Joseph. Having been sold into slavery, he loses it all, then gains it all, then loses it all again, but time and again he maintains his integrity. Where many would have given into temptation or despair, Joseph proves to be a man of upstanding character, unlike the family he grew up in.

Genesis 38 - 1:05 .

Genesis 39 - 7:00 .

Genesis 40 - 10:40 .

Genesis 41 - 14:25 .

Psalm 20 - 20:49 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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As we continue to get to know the sons of Jacob, you’ll start to realize that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Having learned the art of deception from their father, they use it to their own advantage time and again. In our last episode, they tricked a local chieftain into circumcising every man in town, and in vengeance, they struck down the entire population of men. When Joseph, Israel’s favorite son, begins to have dreams where he is exalted above the rest of his family, he uses them as an occasion to gloat. The rest of his brothers then plot and scheme to rid themselves of their pesky brother. They sell him into slavery and deceive their own father by making it look like he was killed.

Genesis 35 - 1:02 .

Genesis 36 - 5:39 .

Genesis 37 – 12:25 .

Psalm 19 - 19:14 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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Today’s episode contains violence against women, parental discretion is advised. Jacob and his father-in-law get into an argument and go their separate ways. Soon thereafter, Jacob wrestles with a man who is also somehow a representative God, and the Lord renames him “Israel” b/c he has wrestled with both man and God and won. Jacob’s daughter Dinah is violated by a man from another tribe, and when her brothers find out about it, they devise a scheme to take vengeance, not just on one man, but on the entire population.

Genesis 32 – 8:22 .

Genesis 33 – 13:27 .

Genesis 34 - 16:32 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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Today, Jacob completes his journey and meets Rachel. Jacob and his father-in-law Laban simply don’t get along, and let’s be honest, it’s not because they are morally upstanding people with a difference of opinions, it’s because they both practice deception to their own advantage. The daughters of Laban aren’t too dissimilar, and their pettiness is made apparent in today’s text. As a means of trying to gain flocks for himself, Jacob practices strange husbandry, proving not only that he has no idea how breeding works, but that it is by the grace of God, not by Jacob’s skills, that his flocks increase.

Genesis 29 - 1:01 .

Genesis 30 - 7:29 .

Genesis 31 - 13:54 .

Psalm 18 - 17:03 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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Today, Jacob the deceiver lives up to his name. With the help of his mother Rebekah, he goes to great lengths to disguise himself from his blind and aging father, tricking him into thinking that he is older brother Esau so that he might receive his father’s blessing. Jacob and Rebekah come up with a way to trick Isaac yet again, and Isaac sends Jacob to another country to get a wife for himself, thereby escaping the wrath of Esau. Later, Jacob dreams of a stairway that reaches heaven with angels ascending and descending on it. The Lord promises to give the land to Jacob and his descendants, vowing to be with him and watch him wherever he goes.

Genesis 26 - 1:00

Genesis 27 - 6:33

Genesis 28 - 16:16

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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When concluded our last reading, we found ourselves in the middle of an account concerning Abraham’s servant and Isaac’s future wife Rebekah. Abraham didn’t want Isaac marrying a Canaanite woman, so he sent a messenger to find a wife for his son from among his own people. The servant recounts what happened in the last episode almost verbatim, so if you get a bit of déjà vu, don’t worry. We’ll see that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree as we read about Isaac and Rebekah. Later, we’ll be introduced to Isaac’s sons: Esau & Jacob.

Genesis 24:29-67 - 1:06 .

Genesis 25 - 8:39 .

Psalm 17 - 14:11 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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God calls Abraham to do something that most of us would consider unthinkable, especially because we have the privilege of knowing God’s character through the whole counsel of Scripture: He asks Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as an offering to the Lord. Abraham trusts the Lord, and as the author of Hebrews later notes, “He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.” As you listen, consider the parallels between this sacrifice and the sacrifice of Christ, who did not have a ram to be His substitute, but who, instead, was the sacrifice Lamb who became our substitute.

Genesis 22 - 1:01 .

Genesis 23 - 5:36 .

Genesis 24 - 8:52 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by the Christian Standard Bible.

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