Crystal Writes A Blog

Before There Were Soap Operas

Soap Opera in the Kitchen by Flickr user Mike Licht of NotionsCapital dot com
Click image to visit his Flickr page.

Before daytime dramas on television, we had Bible stories. I know, that sounds kind of funny, but I think some writers might have a hard time competing with some of the family drama that has been recorded in The Word of God. Today’s reading from Genesis 43:30 through Genesis 44:17 has some pretty dramatic events and emotions.

We start out with Joseph running out of the room so his brothers will not see him cry. He goes to his room and weeps over seeing his youngest brother, and then he washes his face and returns to have dinner with everyone. And then we get into the divisions of people at the dinner table. Joseph, I’m guessing because of his position, eats by himself. The brothers eat at their own table. And the Egyptians that were part of the meal ate by themselves because they considered it an insult to sit at the same table with Hebrews. It was like a dinner from Westside Story with the gang members from The Jets at one table, The Sharks at another table, and the police chief sitting by himself.

Now, at the table of brothers, each was amazed at the food set before him, but Benjamin got five times the amount of food as anyone else. There’s no mention of what effect this had on the brothers or on Benjamin, but I know I would have been wondering what the deal was with that. Never-the-less, everyone ate, drank, and enjoyed themselves.

After dinner, Joseph did as before in sending the brothers away with their money and the grain they came to buy. This time, however, he also told his servant to place his silver goblet in Benjamin’s pack. After they were partly down the road, he sent the servant to question them about the missing goblet. They were so sure they did not take it that they said the thief could be put to death, and the rest of them would remain as slaves if it was found with any of them. When it was found with Benjamin, the other brothers tore their clothing as a sign of grief. And then they all loaded up their donkeys and returned to the city.

When they arrived back in Joseph’s presence, they fell on their faces, and he confronted them. He tried to tell them that he had mystical powers to reveal things, but they replied that God had revealed it that they should pay for their bad behaviors. Joseph told them it was not all of them that would have to stay, but only the one who actually took the goblet. He sent the rest of the brothers home to be with their father.

As sands through the hourglass, these are the days in the lives of Joseph and his brothers. We are ending the portion with this reading and we begin a new portion tomorrow. I don’t know how long this story will stretch out, but at least I know it won’t be as long as the usual soap opera story line. So, stay tuned and remember that the stories are real, the people are real, and the names have not been changed to protect the innocent. But in these stories, God will make a way and be glorified, and if we have more questions, we can ask the cast members all about it when we get together in our home in Heaven. Shabbat Shalom Y’all!

December 6, 2013 - Posted by Crystal A Murray (aka CrystalWriter) | Bible Study, Nonfiction, Torah Commentary | Adonai, Almighty, Benjamin, Bible, Bible Gateway, Bible reading, Bible study, brothers, Complete Jewish Bible, Creator, crystalwriter, dinner, drama, Genesis, goblet, God, Holy Bible, Joseph, Lord, Old Covenant, Old Testament, Parashah, Portions, Scripture, setup, soap opera, The Complete Jewish Bible, thief, Torah, Torah Portions, Torah Reading, Word, Word of God, Word of the Lord, www.biblegateway.com, Yahveh, Yahweh