Joseph (Genesis) Part 2

So last week we talked about Joseph. Can anyone recap what we learned about him?

[Let them answer. If they can’t, recap with:

Joseph was the son of Jacob and Rachel. Because he was Rachel’s son, Jacob favored him over his other sons. This caused resentment amongst the brothers, and they hated Joseph. So they devised a plan to get rid of Joseph. They threw him in a well and then sold him into slavery. They then lied to Jacob and told Jacob that Joseph had been killed.

Joseph was taken to Egypt and sold to a man called Potiphar, who was a trusted member of Pharaoh’s court. Potiphar trusted Joseph with taking care of all of his matters. But Potiphar’s wife lusted after Joseph and tried to force him to sleep with her. When he would not, she accused him of trying to rape her, and Joseph was thrown in jail.]

So when we left off last week, Joseph was in a pretty dark place. He had gone from being a favored son to a slave to now a prisoner. He’s basically hit rock bottom, and I bet Joseph probably felt many times along the way God had abandoned him, but did God abandon Joseph? [Let them answer.]

That’s right. God didn’t.

Can someone read Genesis 39:21-23:

21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 the keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.

Even in prison God is with Joseph. And Joseph is still the hardworking person he learned to be during his time with Potiphar. The guy in charge of the prison sees that, and is basically like “huh, I can use this guy to help me out and keep track of things.” So basically even though Joseph is a prisoner, and he cannot leave the prison, he becomes a manager of the prison.

It’s probably not the life Joseph ever wanted or envisioned himself having, but it’s probably better than sulking for years because he’s in jail for something he didn’t do.

In his new position, two prisoners come into Joseph’s care. One is the chief cupbearer and the other the chief baker for Pharaoh himself. These two guys worked directly for the head of all of Egypt and for one reason or another were sentenced to prison by him.

Now I’m pretty sure you guys know what a baker is, but do you know what a cupbearer is? [Let them answer.]

A cupbearer is literally the person who holds Pharaoh’s cup, the person who pours and holds his drinks. Why is this a job that needed to be done? [Let them answer.]

Well it’s not because Pharaoh is so powerful and opulent that he just wants someone to hold his cup for him. This is actually a really practical job. As the most powerful man in Egypt, there were probably people who wanted to kill the Pharaoh. And the easiest way to kill him would be to poison his drink. There are a lot of poisons in this world that all it takes is a little bit to kill a full grown human. Ultimately it’s the cupbearer’s job to make sure that pharaoh’s drink is not poisoned. He is to watch and keep safe the Pharaoh’s drinks. And if the pharaoh is uncertain if he can trust it, he might even have the cupbearer take a sip before him. So if the cupbearer lets the drink get poisoned he is risking his own death.

We don’t know why the pharaoh put these two in jail but what we do know is that controlling the pharaoh’s food and drink is a very important position. And if the pharaoh thought they might be traitorous in any way, that would be reason enough to jail them, if not have them killed.

So the cupbearer and baker end up in jail, and are basically put in the care of Joseph.

Can someone read Genesis 40:5-8?

5 And one night they both dreamed—the cup bearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation. 6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were trouble. 7 So he asked pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” 8 they said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, ‘Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

Basically both of these guys had weird dreams, and they thought they might mean something. But there were no priests in prison with them to interpret their dreams so they didn’t know what they meant. When Joseph went to check in on them and ask why they were upset, they told him about these dreams. And Joseph offers to interpret them, since if they have a meaning or interpretation, it would be because of God. And Joseph is the only one in Egypt who knows the real God.

Can someone read Genesis 40:9-15?

9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me, and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, it’s blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes.11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” 12 Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days. 13 In three days Pharaoh will lift you your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer. 14 only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. 15 For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.”

The cupbearer tells Joseph about this crazy dreaming having to do with like vines and grapes and cups. Joseph interprets it to mean that in three days, the cupbearer will be back in his old job serving Pharaoh. This is good news for the cupbearer! And for this interpretation, Joseph asks for one thing in return. What is it? {Let them answer}

That’s right. When he gets out to remember Joseph and plead Joseph’s case to Pharaoh. Because pharaoh is the highest law of the land and if he says it’s cool for Joseph to get out of prison, then Joseph gets out!

Now let’s see what the chief baker dreamed about and what it meant. Can someone read Genesis 40:16-19?

16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream, there were three cake baskets on my head, 17 and in the uppermost basked there were all sorts of baked good for the Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.” 18 and Joseph answered and said, “this is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. 19 In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and hang you on a tree. The birds will eat the flesh from you.”

So the baker’s dream isn’t as good is it? Joseph interprets the dream but the baker is going to be put to death, which I’m sure the baker wasn’t happy to hear.

But in the next few verses, it explains that in three days everything happens as Joseph said they would according to the dreams. The chief cupbearer is restored to his position and the chief baker is put to death.

Now if you’ll remember, Joseph asked one thing of the chief cupbearer. That he speak to pharaoh about him. Do you guys think, the chief cupbearer does this? {Let them answer}

Well let’s see. Can someone read Genesis 40:23?

23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph but forgot him.

The chief cupbearer gets out of jail and forgets Joseph. His life is great now, back in his old position. I don’t think he’s intended to be malicious, I just think he’s so happy to be alive and back in his old job and getting back into the groove of things that he just sort of forgets. I don’t know about you, but I do that a lot. I tell someone something like “I’ll pray for you” but then I get so busy with my own life that I forget to do it. I’m not trying to be mean, I’m just busy and forget. Do you guys ever do anything like that? [Let them answer.]

Yeah, it’s a very human thing to do. But the cost here is that Joseph is stuck in jail, and in the next verses it’ll say Joseph is stuck in jail for two whole years.

Because the cupbearer got busy, Joseph suffers. When you promise someone you’ll do something, it’s important that we actually remember to do it. This is an extreme example, but our thoughtlessness and forgetfulness can actually hurt people.

So for two years Joseph is in jail and the chief cupbearer is serving the Pharaoh. Let’s see what happens next, can someone read Genesis 41:1-8?

1 After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Bile, 2 and behold, there came up out of the Nile seven cows attractive and plump, and they fed in the reed grass. 3 and behold, seven other cows, ugly and thin, came up out of the Nile after them, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. 4 and the ugly, thin cows ate up the seven attractive, plump cows. And pharaoh awoke. 5 and he fell back asleep and dream a second time. And behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk. 6 and behold, after them sprouted seven ears thin and blighted by the east wind. 7 And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump, full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold it was a dream. 8 so in the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none who could interpret it.

So Pharaoh has two crazy dreams that are almost identical. In his dreams there are seven healthy and good things that are then consumed by unhealthy things. In one dream its cows in the other it’s ears of grain. Here the word ‘ear’ doesn’t mean like an ear on your head. Basically when you get a corn on the cob, that’s an ear of corn. It’s just a term used for describing the part you actually want to harvest of corn or grain.

Since Pharaoh has the exact same dream basically twice in a row, he’s pretty sure it’s important and means something. So he gathers all the important religious and wise people he knows and asks them to interpret it. But none of them can.

Why do you think they couldn’t? [Let them answer.]

Well it’s a weird dream, that’s definitely part of it. But remember Joseph said all interpretations come from God. Do you think the magicians and religious people of Egypt were very familiar with God? Yeah, probably not.

Suddenly the cupbearer, who is probably always very near pharaoh, remembers Joseph. After two years he remembers this kid who interpreted his dream. So he’s basically like ‘hey pharaoh, when I was in jail with the baker, we had these crazy dreams. And there was this young man in jail named joseph who interpreted it for us and then three days later exactly what he said would happen happened! I was restored to my position and the baker was put to death!

And at this point pharaoh is desperate, so he’s like “Okay! Let’s get this kid out of jail and bring him before me!”

Can someone read Genesis 41:14-16?

Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh. 15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, “it is not in me; god will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.’

In order to come before Joseph, they have to clean him up. Because jail back then would not be like jail now. There would be no showers or way for Joseph to shave or anything like that. He would smell like he hadn’t taken a bath or had a new set of clothes in two years. So they clean him up and give him new clothes so that he is presentable to come before Pharaoh.

Once Joseph is there, Pharaoh explains the situation. Now remember, Pharaoh is the ruler of everything. He is the ultimate authority in all of Egypt and probably the single most powerful person in this area of the world at the time. There was no one in the Middle East more powerful than him. And he has come to Joseph for help.

It would be really easy for Joseph to claim that he can interpret the dream and that he is special, but does joseph do that? No. He points everything he is doing to God. It is not Joseph who is interpreting the dreams but God. Joseph is giving all the credit to God.

So then Pharaoh explains the dream to Joseph. The seven healthy cows being eaten by the seven unhealthy ones and the seven healthy ears being eaten by the unhealthy ones. Now it’s Joseph’s turn to interpret what it means. Let’s see what he says. Can someone read Genesis 41:25-36?

25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 the seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one. 27 The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also seven years of famine. 28 It is as I told Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 there will come seven years of great plenty through all the land of Egypt 30 but after them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land, 31 and the plenty will be unmown in the land by the reason of the famine that will follow, for it will be very severe. 32 And the doubling of pharaoh’s dream means the thing is fixed by God, and god will shortly bring it about. 33 Now, therefore let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt 34 Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plentiful years. 35 and let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store of up grain under the authority of the Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. 36 That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.”

Joseph interprets the dream and says the dream is God warning Pharaoh about what is to come. There will be seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. Let’s talk about famine for a moment. Do you guys know what that is? [Let them answer.]

Right it basically means a lack of food. Famines usually happen when the weather is bad, and there is drought or excessive rain—either of those things can be super bad for crops. And without crops there is no food. Now, here in America, we don’t’ experience famine a lot do we? You can just go down to the store and buy a box of crackers, right?

In America we are really lucky for a number of reasons. We have a large nation that crosses a variety of climate zones. New Mexico’s climate is drastically different from New England’s, and if we’re experiencing a drought that doesn’t mean New England is! But most of America’s food comes from our middle states, the area that’s generally considered to be the breadbasket of our country: the Midwest and the plains states. These are long flat stretches of land that get just the right amount of water and sunshine for plants to grow! Which doesn’t mean we don’t have droughts. But we have modern irrigation technology. Which means with our ability to pipe water and with sprinklers it almost doesn’t matter if it rains, because we can get the water to the crops.

I say almost doesn’t matter, because all the water has to ultimately come from somewhere. And if it doesn’t rain for a long time that can be a real problem. But it doesn’t have to rain exactly over you for you to get water. If it rains down the street or a town over, you’re probably going to be fine.

Things didn’t work like that back then. They only had the most basic understanding of irrigation, which was mostly creating downhill ditches to run water from the Nile River to other places, or to capture water when the Nile River flooded.

And the Nile River was the only reason why Egypt was fertile. Every year the Nile River would flood—I believe it’s due to snow and rain waters in the mountains that the Nile originates in [maybe look in the map to see if you can find it]. When all the snow in the mountains melt, it runs into the Nile and floods all the land with the nutrients the Nile carries, making the soil fertile for planting once the Nile recedes again.

But if there isn’t enough snow in the mountains? The Nile might not flood at all.

If the Nile doesn’t flood, there are no nutrients and things won’t grow like they should.

If things don’t grow like they should, then there is no crops, which means no food, and people go hungry.

Remember this is a long time ago. People didn’t have trucks to ship food across the nation. They didn’t have ships to send food from America to other countries. If your country didn’t produce enough food, your people died.

And that is what God is warning Pharaoh about. If Pharaoh doesn’t do something, his people will die. Egypt will die. Do you think Pharaoh wants that? [Let them answer.]

Yeah I don’t think so either! There is no Pharaoh without people! Even if he didn’t care for them at all, without them he has no job! But I think Pharaoh probably cared, because he would consider running Egypt his job, his sacred duty.

So Joseph tells Pharaoh what the dream means, and he doesn’t stop there. He also tells Pharaoh what to do to solve the problem! During the years of plenty they should hoard food so that during the years of famine they have food. And he tells Pharaoh that in order to do that he’s going to need a very trustworthy person to oversee it, as well as trustworthy overseers. Because all it would take is one person stealing food from the stores and selling it or keep it on the side and it could mean they don’t survive the famine.

Now Joseph is taking a risk by advising pharaoh like this. Joseph is a nobody. Pharaoh just asked him for an interpretation. It’s not really Joseph’s place to tell Pharaoh what to do. But God has given this insight to Joseph, and joseph cares more about doing what god asks him to do than he does about his own life. Which is why he tells pharaoh everything.

How do you guys think Pharaoh is going to react? [Let them answer.]

Well let’s see. Can someone read genesis 41:37-44?

37 This proposal pleased Pharaoh and al his servants. 38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. 40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. 43 And he made him ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, “Bow the knee! Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Moreover Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”

Pharaoh hears Joseph’s proposal, and then makes Joseph is second in command in all of Egypt. Pharaoh makes his foreign slave more important than anyone else. Joseph answers to no one except Pharaoh. That’s insane! Pharaoh barely knows this guy! But he sees God in him. And he sees he can trust Joseph, Joseph who since he has come to Egypt has only ever worked hard. But it’s not Joseph’s hard work that got him here. It doesn’t say Pharaoh interviewed Potiphar or the guy in charge of the jail to see if he’s fit for this job. It’s because Pharaoh sees God in Joseph that Joseph gets the job.

Joseph didn’t earn it. God through Pharaoh gave it to him.

So Joseph is put in charge and the years of plenty come. During this time Joseph gathers food and stores it away. He also gets married to an Egyptian woman and has two kids. These are a good seven years for Joseph. But let’s see what happens when the famine comes.

Can someone read Genesis 41:53-57?

53 The seven years of plenty that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end 54 and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do.”

56 So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 57 Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.

So the famine comes and Joseph is in charge of the food. The people cry out in hunger, and the Pharaoh sends them to Joseph. Now imagine if Joseph hadn’t stored food. People would cry out for food, and the Pharaoh has nothing. What do you think would happen? [Let them answer.]

Governments get toppled over this sort of stuff. You can google “bread riots” and find out all sorts of stuff about times when common people didn’t have food and because of it they took down the rich and the wealthy. Starving people only have one concern in life, and that is feeding their families and surviving. And if they think the nobility is hoarding the food for themselves, that usually results in violence and the downfall of that nobility.

But pharaoh heeded God’s warning and he wasn’t storing the food just for himself. Joseph stored the food to dispense to the people so they would not go hungry.

And according to these verses, this famine is everywhere. Now it says it’s all over the world, but back then they really weren’t aware of much of a world outside of the Middle East. So was there famine in China? Well if there was, I doubt they were sending people to Egypt to pick up more food. That’s like a two to three year journey, not really worth the risk. But the Middle East—which would’ve been all the world they basically knew about? The famine was everywhere there. All the places we’ve talked about in the past few weeks; Ur where Abraham is from, Haran where Laban lives, and even Canaan, were suffering from this famine. They had no food. But Egypt did.

So people from all of those places were traveling to Egypt in hopes to find food.

This includes Joseph’s brothers, the ones who sold him into slavery. Do you think Joseph is going to be happy to see his brothers? [Let them answer]

Do you think his brothers are going to be happy to see him? [Let them answer]

Well, we’ll see next week. Because this is a long story, and an important one. So next week we’ll finish the story of Joseph and see what happens from there.

But I think the moral for this week, the moral of this part of the story, is that God used Joseph wherever he was, for God’s purpose. Joseph’s time in jail and his time as pharaoh’s right hand man are all used to God’s purpose. All parts of Joseph’s journey help him to get to where he is, Pharaoh’s right hand man, saving the Middle East from famine. And that was God’s plan.

We’ll see next week how this saga of Joseph finishes up.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Note: This review was originally posted on my blog "Shelf of Friends" on March 6, 2012.

Statistics:
Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Pages: 576
Genre: Dystopian
Age Range: YA
Publication Date: 5/3/2011
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers

What’s it about?

Beatrice, Tris for short, lives in the city of Chicago, but a Chicago of the future, and a Chicago that seems isolated from the rest of the United States. In her society, people are divided into five factions. The selfless and serving Abnegation, the honest and candid Candor, the artistic and caring Amity, the knowledgeable and studious Erudite, and the brave and fearless Dauntless. Every citizen is a member of a Faction, and those without a faction—the Factionless—are an untouchable caste.

Tris grew up in Abnegation, but every teenager is tested for which faction will best suit them and allowed to choose. The test is a simulation where several scenarios are presented and the reaction shows whether they are selfless, honest, caring, studious, or brave. Tris must choose to either stay with her family in Abnegation—where she has never felt she fits in—or to choose her own path—which will mean she will never truly be with her family again.

When Tris chooses to follow her heart and become a Dauntless, she must face the consequences of leaving her family and jumping into the dangerous initiation rituals of the Dauntless faction. And she must also keep secret the true results of her test, a secret that if revealed would be even more dangerous than the often deadly Dauntless initiation.

It’s YA. Tell me about the boy!

Four (yes, his name is a number) is everything you expect from a cliché YA boy….at first. He’s mysterious, aloof, unpredictable, and dangerous. But he’s a member of the Dauntless Faction so “dangerous” pretty much characterizes everyone in that faction. And I was really afraid for a good half of the book that Four was only going to be that dangerous, cliché boy—the one that you cringe to think about any girl being with. However, as the story progresses and our main character gets to know Four better, we see that all this cliché expected stuff is a very surface interpretation of him by a girl who barely knows him. The more we learn the more we discover that Four is anything but cliché. He’s a fully realized character, and if anything seems like a real boy in his late teens. (And really making a character seem real is the highest compliment.)

What makes Four real is not only his characterization but the relationship he develops with Tris. This is not your standard dangerous boy that girl is mysteriously drawn to and can’t help it. And it’s not your standard, boy completes girl by being awesome and being so much stronger than her at everything. Four is good and strong in some areas, and in some areas he really needs someone like Tris in his life—someone to be strong for him, to protect him. I really can’t say more than that without being spoiler-y, but I thought the relationship that developed between Four and Tris was amazing.

What makes this dystopian different from all the rest?

In most dystopias—especially YA dystopias—the main characters somehow know or quickly learn there is something innately wrong with the world they live in. One day they find an old document that describes how the world used to be and the main character thinks “What freedom people used to have! We are so oppressed. I’m dissatisfied! Argh!” Now in some dystopias, this response makes sense (example: Dark Parties. I don’t really think there is any other reaction you could have upon learning what she learns.). But this response doesn’t make sense in every dystopian situation.

A dystopia by definition is the opposite of a utopia, a land that is not a perfect idyllic place. Well, I love my country and I’m so glad I live in America, but let’s be honest. We don’t live in a utopia. Star Trek is a utopia. Modern America is not. But most of us don’t look at our world and think “I must overthrow all of this now!” Instead we look at our world and say, “I see the good intent here. I see the beauty and strength of the Constitution. But we as a society are missing something. We need a course correction.”

That is exactly the response Tris has to her world and it’s beautiful. It fits perfectly. She doesn’t look at her society with horror, seeing it as a place of restrictions and oppression. She looks at her society the same way we look at ours. She sees the intent behind the society, understands it, and wishes not to completely alter her world but to bring it back to its roots and intents. Is she correct? Should she want to completely alter her world and make it our own? Some people probably think the answer to that is yes. I think that’s a little ethnocentric. Our own society of freedom has its downfalls, it’s aspect of dystopia, just as hers does. Perhaps we’ll discover in sequels that her society is even darker than we think and the answer is to overthrow it. But for now, I think her desire not to overthrow but to fix is more realistic, and I love that. It’s a different perspective than most dystopias have, and honestly I think it’s the more realistic one. And that makes this book worth reading.

If this was a movie, what would its rating be?

This book is pretty safe when it comes to sexual situations and language. At the most there is some kissing and I can’t recall any bad language. But there are a couple of other things for parents and readers to be aware of.

Tris is encouraged to do many things that in our society would be viewed as reckless (jumping on and off of trains, jumping off buildings….). She also gets multiple tattoos, and I know some people don’t like tattooing in general, so just be aware of that.

However, the worst thing rating wise is undoubtedly the violence. The students are trained in hand to hand combat—which overall I wouldn’t say is a bad thing, but the hand to hand combat takes a turn for the worse when one of the instructors basically encourages the students to beat each other to a pulp. There are also some rather violent assaults (people being stabbed, people being threatened with being dropped over a cliff) and a suicide. There is also basically a massacre. I’m not talking a war. I’m talking people being lined up and shot. So yeah. Violence wise this probably gets an R. However, I think it’s important to note that none of the violence is gratuitous. It all makes sense in the world that Tris lives in and the story that is being told. And the violence isn’t glorified; most of the violence is viewed in a negative light.

So even though violence is R, I would say everything else is around PG or PG-13. This book is more than appropriate for teen readers (who are the target audience) and even advanced younger readers. I could have read this in fifth grade with no emotional scarring.

Overall, how was it?

Overall I loved this book. It was quick, fast paced and it sucked you in. It had great tension and characters who readers can relate to. If you love dystopians or just YA in general, you will love this book. I give it two thumbs up!

Joseph (Genesis) Part 1

Last week we talked about the wives of Jacob, Rachel and Leah. Jacob favored his wife Rachel over his wife Leah, but it was Leah who had the most children. Rachel for a long time couldn't, until finally she had a son. Does anyone remember that son's name? [Let them answer]

That's right. Joseph. Today we're going to talk about Joseph, and we'll see how Jacob's favoritism of Rachel affects his children. Please go get your Bibles.

Now can someone read Genesis 37:1-4?

37 Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan. 2 This is the story of the family of Jacob.

Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.

In verse 2, Joseph is described as being seventeen, so a teenager, and a helper to his other older brothers, because remember he was younger then all of them by a lot. But it seems he also would report back to his dad what the brothers did, and he brought back a bad report. It doesn't say what happened or whether the brothers were doing bad stuff, so why do you think the Bible mentions this? [Let them answer.]

Well if your brother told on you--even if he was right--would you feel good about that? Wouldn't you resent him for it? So we're laying the ground work here that Joseph's brothers may not be very fond of him.

Then in verse 3 and 4 this is made more explicit. Because Jacob--who remember is now called Israel--loves Joseph the most. Because Joseph is the son of his favored wife and because Joseph is the baby. So he makes him what your Bible calls a "long robe with sleeves." My Bible calls it a "varicolored tunic." Another translation of the Bible I have calls it an "ornamental tunic" and also "a coat of many colors." Does this sound familiar to you guys?

So Joseph's dad makes him this very special coat to wear, and doesn't give one to his other children, which makes them all very jealous of Joseph. Have you guys ever been jealous when your siblings got something they wanted? [Let them answer.]

Yeah, me too. I think we all have, that's human nature. But for these brothers this was just one of many things that represented the fact that Jacob loved Joseph more than all the rest of them put together. And they resented Joseph for that.

Okay can someone read now Genesis 37:5-11

5 Once Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream that I dreamed. 7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright; then your sheaves gathered around it, and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Are you indeed to have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more because of his dreams and his words.

9 He had another dream, and told it to his brothers, saying, “Look, I have had another dream: the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him, and said to him, “What kind of dream is this that you have had? Shall we indeed come, I and your mother and your brothers, and bow to the ground before you?” 11 So his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

So Joseph has a dream and goes to tell his brothers. Do you guys know what a "sheaf" is? It's a bundle of grain stalks that are tied together after a reaping. Here let me draw it for you. [Draw a rough semblance on the board. I did a google search of sheaves of grain for my reference for drawing it.]

In his dream the brothers are all binding together their grain into these sheaves. But then basically the other brother's sheaves bow to Joseph's, like this. [Draw rough semblance of the sheaves bowing down to Joseph's on the board. Basically the other sheaves sort of leaning or blown over towards his.]

Joseph's brothers don't react well to being told this, why? [Let them answer.] Right, because it sounds like Joseph is predicting they will all bow to him one day and he will rule over them.

Joseph, however, doesn't seem to see that his telling of these dreams makes his brothers unhappy--or if he does he doesn't care, because he tells them about another dream, in which the Sun, the Moon, and the stars all bow down to him.

Now this time his dad is there when he says this, and his dad reprimands him. Why do you think his dad is upset with Joseph for relaying this dream? [Let them answer.]

Joseph is basically implying that his whole family will bow to him. And they don't necessarily know if this is a dream from God or just the delusions of a teenage boy who thinks he's special. But even if it is from God--even if these are visions of the future where God is telling Joseph his plan for him--do you think Joseph should have told his brothers? [Let them answer.]

I think there is a time and a place for everything, and an appropriate way to share information. I think there would have been an appropriate way for Joseph to share his dreams. Probably by going to his father in private to share and maybe discuss with his old wise father what they mean. But announcing them to the whole family? Announcing these dreams that highly indicated that they will all serve Joseph one day? That’s boasting and arrogance.

Joseph was sharing his dreams out of arrogance and pride, out of a desire to look better in front of his brothers. Which is why I think Jacob reprimands him for it. He calls Joseph out on this arrogance. But the damage is done. Sharing the dreams just makes his brothers hate him even more.

So after this, Joseph’s brothers go out into the fields with the sheep, and a little while later, Jacob asks Joseph to go check in with them. Basically Jacob is asking Joseph to go check on the status of everything and come back. This does show that Joseph is given some sort of special job. All of his brothers are in the field except him. Jacob is definitely giving Joseph special treatment, the brothers aren’t wrong about that. But instead of working through these problems with their father, and trying to handle it like grown-ups, they hatch a plan. Can someone read Genesis 37:18-22?

18 They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father.

They see Joseph coming and they want to kill him. Seems a little extreme don’t you think? Have you guys ever been so mad or jealous of your siblings that you wanted to resort to violence? [Let them answer.]

I know I have. I’ve hit my siblings when I was mad or jealous. But that’s definitely not right. And what these brothers were planning was even more extreme then just hitting or punching. They wanted to murder him. And the only brother who at all seems alarmed is Reuben. Now remember, in the birth order Reuben is the oldest. He is the son of Leah and the first she had—making him Jacob’s oldest son. So by all accounts really, he should be the favored the son—the one who is getting the birthright and the blessing, all of that. But Reuben is also the leader because he is the oldest, and he is concerned by this idea of killing Joseph. He doesn’t want to do that—but he does still want to punish Joseph a little. Shake him up a bit, maybe humble him. I think there is a temptation with a lot of older siblings—and I know we have several of you who are the oldest in the room—to kind of view yourselves as having authority over your siblings. You’re the oldest and the one left most often in charge. But it is not Reuben's nor is it your place to punish your siblings for you parents.

Now if Rueben had wanted to have a talk with Joseph, brother to brother, and try to explain how Joseph’s actions are hurting his brothers? That would be reasonable. If Rueben had a talk with their father about how he thought Joseph was a little out of control and it was also hurting the other brothers? Also reasonable. But allowing the other brothers and himself to decide Joseph deserves to be punished? That is a step to far. It is not your place to punish your siblings. And as Rueben is going to see, it quickly gets out of hand.

23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; 24 and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

25 Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers agreed. 28 When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

So Joseph shows up and his brothers steal his special robe and through him in a pit. It’s not a well—which is why the Bible clarifies there was no water in it. Just a hole in the ground that he wouldn’t be able to climb out of.

After that they decide to have lunch. It’s later in this verse implied that Rueben is not around at this part. Was he there when they put Joseph in the pit? Probably? But we’ll see in a later verse he’s not present for what one of the brothers is about to suggest.

They see a caravan traveling to Egypt and Judah—who is also one of Leah’s sons—has the idea that they should sell Joseph to the caravan, as a slave.

Now Judah might have thought he was sparing Joseph, because he might have thought that even though Rueben told them not to, they were still going to kill him. Or it’s possible he wanted to kill Joseph but since Rueben told them they couldn’t, he thought this was a way to get around that. Getting rid of their brother without dirtying their own hands.

So they sold Joseph into slavery.

They gave their own brother to strangers to take to a far away land and sell to strangers. I don’t think I’ve ever been so angry at my siblings that I wanted to do that.

Alright can someone now read Genesis 37:29-30?

29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes. 30 He returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy is gone; and I, where can I turn?”

So Rueben comes back and sees Joseph isn’t there and is surprised. But does he say “Oh no what happened to my baby brother, whom I love?” No! He basically says “Oh no! What’s going to happen to me? I lost my dad’s favorite son.”

Which kind of shows that Reuben's concern over Joseph wasn’t for Joseph’s life, but how Joseph’s disappearance might affect Reuben.

He’s also worried about what they’re going to do. They can’t tell their dad they sold his favorite son into slavery!

Can someone read Genesis 37:31-35?

31 Then they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 They had the long robe with sleeves taken to their father, and they said, “This we have found; see now whether it is your son’s robe or not.” 33 He recognized it, and said, “It is my son’s robe! A wild animal has devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his garments, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and all his daughters sought to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father bewailed him.

Basically, the brothers fake Joseph’s death. They kill a goat and cover Joseph’s special coat in the blood and take it to their father. And the worst part is perhaps that they don’t say “Hey, we found Joseph and he’s dead.” No, the act like they stumbled upon this bloody coat and are like “see if it belongs to your son.” Not our brother but your son. Have you guys ever done that? When you’re mad at your parents maybe and your talking to your sibling and you’re like “your dad is so awful” but he’s both of your dad. You’re just distancing yourself with your language. Or maybe you’ve heard your parents say that about you when you’re misbehaving. Your mom says to our dad “Your daughter” instead of “our daughter” because she’s irritated. It’s a verbal way of distancing yourself from someone. Of being like “this person isn’t mine, they’re yours.”

So Jacob sees the bloody robe and thinks Joseph is dead. And everyone tries to comfort him but he can’t be. His favorite son is dead. He says in verse 35 “I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Do you guys know what Sheol is? [Let them answer.]

Sheol is basically the Jewish place of the dead. It is NOT hell and it is NOT heaven. It’s more like a place of sleep. When a Jewish person died they would go there and basically sleep, regardless of whether they had been good or bad in life.

It’s rather complicated and off topic as to how this relates to our New Testament view of heaven and hell. And I’m not really smart enough on theology to talk about it in detail. But remember the Jewish people are God’s chosen people—through Abraham—and they had the Old Covenant. The rules were different for them under this Old Covenant than it is for us now under the New Covenant.

All that to say, Jacob was really sad and would rather be in death with his favorite son then up there living with his other sons.

I also want to mention that here, Jacob is deceived by his sons. This is a little bit of poetic justice, since Jacob deceived his own father when he stole Esau’s blessing—as we discussed a couple of weeks ago. He is now on the receiving end of a deception, and unlike Isaac who realized almost immediately he had been deceived, we’ll see that Jacob will think Joseph is dead for years, if not decades.

But let’s see what’s happening with Joseph. Because we’ve been talking about the brothers here and their reactions to Joseph and selling him. But if you were Joseph, how would you feel if your brothers sold you into slavery? [Let them answer.]

So let’s see what’s going on with Joseph. Let’s flip forward to chapter 39. Can someone read Genesis 39:1-6?

39 Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man; he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 His master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him; he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. 5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. 6 So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge; and, with him there, he had no concern for anything but the food that he ate.

Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking.

Joseph reaches Egypt and is sold to a man named Potiphar. Potiphar is described as “an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.” Another version I have says “a courtier of Pharaoh” and “a chief steward.” Either way, it’s clear this is someone way up on Pharaoh’s government and is someone Pharaoh trusts.

Remember the Pharaoh is the rule of Egypt, the head honcho. Pharaoh is the most important person in Egypt and Joseph is now a slave to someone Pharaoh trusts.

In verse 2 it says the Lord was with Joseph. Do you guys think Joseph felt like God was with him when his brothers sold him into slavery? [Let them answer.] Yeah, probably not. He probably felt abandoned and betrayed by everyone, and that might have included God for a time. But God did not abandon Joseph. He was with him even in Egypt—which wasn’t the promised land he was supposed to be living in.

These verses explain that God prospered Joseph in Egypt, while he was under Potiphar. Joseph worked hard and Potiphar noticed. So he put Joseph in charge of everything, basically making Joseph his right hand man. And the Bible says in verse 5 that Joseph was so good at taking care of everything, that Potiphar didn’t have to worry about anything except his food!

Joseph was in a crappy situation, a really crappy one. He had been sold as a slave. No one wants to be a slave and it’s one of the worst things I can imagine. His freedom, his ability to choose, his agency over his own life had been taken away. But Joseph worked hard despite his crappy situation and earned his master’s favor. For now.

Because these verses end in a way that seems kind of random. “Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.”

Okay…what does looking good have to do with being a hardworking servant who is in charge of Potiphar’s whole house?

Well let’s see. Can someone read Genesis 39:7-10?

7 And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” 8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my hand. 9 He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” 10 And although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not consent to lie beside her or to be with her. 

Joseph was handsome and Potiphar’s wife notices, and she wants Joseph to sleep with her.

Joseph is a slave. Potiphar is his master’s wife. Now in ancient Egypt Potiphar’s wife sleeping with a slave may have not been viewed as wrong by the Egyptians. I don’t know. From her perspective, she may not have thought she was doing anything wrong. It’s even possible she and Potiphar could have some sort of agreement that they could sleep with whoever they want. Marriage contracts that dictated those sorts of things weren’t that uncommon in ancient Egypt. But from Joseph’s perspective, this was not the case. He lists two reasons why he can’t do it. (1) It would be an abuse of the trust his master has placed in him. (2) It would be an offence against God. This is adultery, which is not something God approves of.

There’s also a third reason why this is wrong in our modern sensibilities. Potiphar’s wife is in a position of extreme authority over Joseph. Remember Joseph is a slave. His life can be forfeit if he missteps. And Potiphar’s wife has the ability to ruin his life, as we’ll see. This is coercion—which basically means getting someone to do something through threats and force. And if you get someone to have sex with you through threats or force, that is rape. Potiphar’s wife was trying to rape Joseph.

So with that in mind, do you think Potiphar’s wife is going to settle for an answer of no? [Let them answer.] Well, let’s see. Can someone read Genesis 39:11-15?

11 One day, however, when he went into the house to do his work, and while no one else was in the house, 12 she caught hold of his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. 13 When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, 14 she called out to the members of her household and said to them, “See, my husband has brought among us a Hebrew to insult us! He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice; 15 and when he heard me raise my voice and cry out, he left his garment beside me, and fled outside.”

So one day Joseph is alone in the house with Potiphar’s wife and she basically jumps him and tries to demand he sleep with her. He flees to get away from her, but she had grabbed onto his outer coat, so when he escapes, his coat gets left behind because she’s holding onto it.

Since she has his coat and she’s angry with him and no one saw what happened, she gathers all of her servants and basically tells them that Joseph tried to rape her, instead of the reality that it was the other way around. But she’s very mad at Joseph for defying her and wants to punish him. When Potiphar comes home, she tells him the same story. She lies.

Who do you think Potiphar is going to believe? His most trusted servant? Or his wife? [Let them answer.]

Well, let’s see. Can someone read Genesis 39:19-20?

19 When his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, saying, “This is the way your servant treated me,” he became enraged. 20 And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; he remained there in prison.

Potiphar becomes enraged and he has Joseph put in the pharaoh’s prison.

That’s not usually what we expect will happen when we follow God, right? Joseph did the right things in this scenario. He wasn’t arrogant or prideful like he was with his brothers. He was a good servant. He followed God’s commandment not to commit adultery, and does he get rewarded? No, for that he gets put in jail.

Joseph follows God not because there is a reward at the end, but because it’s the right thing to do, what God wants him to do. Sometimes we do the right thing, and we don’t get rewarded. Sometimes we tell the truth and we get punished. Sometimes we do no wrong and we get penalized. We live in a fallen world, and God doesn’t promise us prosperity.

So Joseph goes from being a favored son to a slave to a prisoner. At this point, it couldn’t get much worse. Sure they could kill him, but then he would just be dead, like his father already thinks he is.

Things are looking pretty grim for Joseph.

But we’ll see next week where this story goes. Because Joseph’s story doesn’t end in a jail cell. Remember those dreams he had at the very beginning, of all his brothers bowing to him. That is yet to come. And we’ll continue the story of Joseph and see how that all comes to pass next week.

A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans

Statistics:
Title: A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband 'Master'
Author: Rachel Held Evans
Pages: 352
Genre: Faith, Biblical Living, Woman's Issues, Feminism
Age Range: Adult
Publication Date: 10/29/2012
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Medium: Audiobook

What brought this book to your attention?

When I read non-fiction it's usually because either (a) a book has been given to me by someone else, (b) a book has been so highly recommended I can't ignore it, or (c) it covers some issue I'm struggling with. For me, this was definitely an option c.

I got married a little over a year ago, and leading up to my marriage I was concerned by a couple of issues. The theological idea of "complementarianism" was something I had been raised in, the idea that the man is the head of the household and a woman should subjugate herself to him. This wasn't an idea that had ever sat well with me--strong, independent, headstrong me. And if complementarianism was true, where did we draw the line? Was I supposed to cover my hair when I prayed (1 Corinthian 11:5)? And if I was supposed to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17), did that mean I was always supposed to keep my hair covered? Suddenly I was wearing hats to church every other Sunday, unsure if I was supposed to be doing this or not, but at least seeing what it felt like.

But wasn't Christianity about freedom? Wasn't always wearing a hat legalism? How's a modern Christian girl to navigate these waters?

Well I found the blog of Rachel Held Evans and discovered I wasn't the only modern woman asking these questions. In this book, Rachel tries to follow the different aspects of being a woman, as expressed across the Bible or encouraged by certain belief systems. A modern twenty-first century woman was asking the same questions as me and trying to follow through--for a whole year--and then seeing if there were any conclusions to be drawn. The book isn't quite the scientific methods by any means, but it had enough of that idea to draw me in. So I got the audiobook to listen to on my drive to and from work.

Did you learn anything?

I was actually surprised how much I learned. I consider myself pretty well learned when it comes to things of the Bible, which is probably a mistake since the Bible is such a diverse and controversial book.  I always thought I knew what Proverbs 31 was about: a description of a woman we should all aspire to be. But I learned in this book, that's not true. Proverbs 31 has been used too often in churches as some sort of measuring tape all women have to stack themselves again, instead of what it truly is: a poem of praise of wise women, women of valor, "eshet chayil" in the Hebrew. The woman in the poem is just an example of a wise woman--but she comes from a very specific economic and social bracket. Should we all be holding ourselves to the standard of a wealthy, ancient Jewish woman? No! We should be seeking to be women of valor in our lives and that looks different ways! MIND BLOWN.

Also I had never before heard of the apostle Junia. Was it because I had Bible translations that misgendered her as Junias? Was it because my Sunday School teachers and complimentarian pastors just never wanted to point out that a woman was given the highest honor the apostle Paul could give her? I have no idea. But I learned she was a woman, "outstanding among the apostles" who Paul considered his equal and friend.

I also learned a lot about the many ways different Christian and Jewish faith traditions have interpreted the role of the woman. Rachel went and met with Amish women. She made friends with an Orthodox Rabbi's wife. She didn't limit herself to just one faith tradition but really tried to dwell in how women across the Christian spectrum have interpreted these different verses. And it was enlightening for me. I learned so much.

Did you disagree with anything?

I honestly don't remember disagreeing with anything in any visceral way, and that's probably because Rachel's end claim really that there is no one single prescriptive way to be a Christian woman. I maybe disagree with some of the woman she spoke with on their particular beliefs, but these beliefs aren't put forth by the book as things we should all believe, but rather different interpretations of the same faith. I think the only people who will disagree with this book are people who do believe there is only one distinct way to be a Christian woman and all other women are wrong. Which is an opinion people can have, but not one I maintain. So no, I didn't disagree with anything the author said really.

How did you like the book overall?

I loved this book. I learned a lot, and the audiobook narrator was very good. It was a perfect book to listen to on my commute to work. And I highly recommend this book to any woman who is struggling with what it means to be a "Biblical woman." 

Rachel and Leah

Last week we talked about Jacob. Jacob had a twin brother named Esau that he basically tricked out of his inheritance and blessing, and Esau got so mad that everyone was worried Esau might murder Jacob. So Jacob was sent away to his uncle Laban.

Remember if you look at our family tree, Laban is Jacob's mother's brother. But if you remember our lesson on Rebekah, she left her brother and never went back, to marry Isaac. So Jacob was leaving his family and the only place he'd ever known to go live with an uncle he'd never met. But he thought he might die if he stayed so he had to go.

Today we're going to talk about this time period that Jacob spent with Laban--which we skipped last week--because today we will be talking about Jacob's wives, who are Laban's daughters. Please go get your Bibles.

So Jacob makes it all the way to Haran and finally sees a bunch of people. They are shepherds with flocks of sheep. But he notices that they're just kind of all milling about this well, which has a big stone over it, basically to keep it closed and protect it. Probably to keep stuff from falling into the well when they're not using it. But the effort of moving the stone is so great that basically they wait for all the flocks to arrive before they remove it. Because they would need a couple of strong people to do it and they don't want to have to do it more than once.

Jacob approaches these guys and asks them if they know his uncle Laban. And basically they're like "Yes, and his daughter is coming here with her sheep!"

Can someone now read Genesis 29:9-14

9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep; for she kept them. 10 Now when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of his mother’s brother Laban. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and wept aloud. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman, and that he was Rebekah’s son; and she ran and told her father.

13 When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him; he embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things, 14 and Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” And he stayed with him a month.

So when Jacob sees Rachel, he removes the stone blocking the water, even though it wasn't his job. Why do you think he did that? [Let them answer.]

He could have been trying to impress her. He could have been trying to do something nice for her to show he was a nice guy. We don't know. All we know is that he does that first and then he goes to greet her. And he greets her with a kiss. Now when Jacob is described as kissing Rachel here, don't think of it as a romantic kiss. Think of it more like a customary greeting, like how the French greet each other. Basically he sees her and is so happy to meet a family member and finally be at his destination that he cries.

So he tells her they're related and she runs home to her dad, Laban. And Laban is very happy to see him. Remember, he probably hasn't heard anything of his sister since she left all those long year ago, and now here is her son! It would probably be a reassurance to him that he didn't make the wrong decision sending his sister off, and Jacob's existence was proof she was still alive. So Laban invites Jacob into his home to stay.

Now can someone read verses 15-20

15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah’s eyes were lovely, and Rachel was graceful and beautiful. 18 Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.

Basically Jacob is staying with Laban and helping out around the family business. And Laban thinks it's unfair not to pay him. So after that first month, when it's now clear that Jacob isn't going back home, Laban asks Jacob what a fair wage is. And Jacob offers to work seven years in order to marry Rachel.

Why Rachel? Because she's beautiful. It's interesting your versions of the Bible say her eyes are lovely, but every other version of the Bible I've read says it's "weak eyes" which is not meant as a compliment. So I checked my commentary and it seems the words used in the original language can go either way. However, most interpreters use the previous sentence that contrast the sister's age to say that this whole section is comparing and contrasting this sisters. If so, then this would be a contrast. Rachel was beautiful, and Leah was not [1].

However, even if we take it positively, that Leah really does have beautiful eyes, it's clear that for Jacob Rachel's overall grace and beauty out balanced Leah's eyes. After all, he loves Rachel not Leah.

Laban agrees to give Rachel to Jacob--you'll notice they don't ask Rachel her feelings at all on this matter. But Jacob has to work the seven years agreed. And in that last verse it says that the seven years only seemed a few days to Jacob because he's so in love. Have you guys ever experienced something like that? Where a long period of time seems short? [Let them answer.]

Generally when I'm looking forward to something, the time seems to take even longer for me! But clearly I'm not as patient as Jacob.

Alright, now let's see what happens after these seven years, if Laban holds true to his promise. Can someone read Genesis 29:21-27?

21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” 22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place, and made a feast. 23 But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. 24 (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.) 25 When morning came, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” 26 Laban said, “This is not done in our country—giving the younger before the firstborn. 27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.”

So does Laban hold up his end of the bargain? [Let them answer] No! Instead of marrying Jacob to Rachel, he marries him to Leah!!!!!

Now how did he pull that off? Well you guys know what wedding veils are, right? Now days those veils are pretty lacy and you can see right through them. But back then, that wouldn't have been the case! The veils they wore were heavy and would have masked her entire face!

Also there would have been a lot of drinking during the wedding feast, so by the time Jacob and his new wife got back to their room and it would be time to lift the veil, Jacob might have been so drunk he wouldn't have known the difference anyway.

Needless to say Jacob is really upset, but how do you guys think Leah felt? Were not told what she agreed to or if Laban just did it. But I imagine it would be rather demoralizing for your new husband to wake up the next morning and be devastated to see you instead of your sister.

The Bible doesn't tell us how Leah felt, unfortunately. But for Jacob, it was just not acceptable. So he went to Laban and yelled at him. It's too late for them to do anything about it, once Jacob was married to and slept with Leah, there was no going back. There wasn't really divorce back then, and if Jacob did decide to leave her over this--to not continue the marriage--no one else would want to marry her. And for women in these ancient times, you couldn't really make a living on your own. But fortunately, it doesn't seem like Jacob even considered that. Instead he was just mad because he wanted to marry Rachel, and fortunately for him--I guess--he could have a second wife.

So Laban says he can marry Rachel, and even lets her marry her within the week! But he has to work another seven years. Does that seem very fair? [Let them answer]

Alright let's see what happens next, can someone read Genesis 29:28-31.

28 Jacob did so, and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife. 29 (Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her maid.) 30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. He served Laban for another seven years.

31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.

So Jacob gets to marry Rachel, and now he has two wives. And he loves Rachel more and favors her, which doesn't seem very fair to Leah, does it? As far as we know she didn't do anything wrong, just did what her father told her to. And God sees that. So he lets Leah have children and doesn't let Rachel. Why do you think he did that? [Let them answer]

Yeah because he saw it was unfair for Jacob to treat Leah like this, and knew that he gave her children Jacob would at least give her some attention. Whereas Rachel was going to get attention whether she had children or not.

But remember as we spoke talked about with Sarah, for women back then, a lot of their self worth was tied up in their ability to have children. So do you think Rachel was very happy about this situation? [Let them answer.]

Well let's see what the Bible says. Can someone read Genesis 30:1-5?

30 When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister; and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” 2 Jacob became very angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” 3 Then she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, that she may bear upon my knees and that I too may have children through her.” 4 So she gave him her maid Bilhah as a wife; and Jacob went in to her. 5 And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.

Even though Rachel is the wife that is loved, she is jealous of her sister. And she gets angry at Jacob, "Give me children, or I shall die!" This might seem like an over-reaction to you, but remember back then a woman who couldn't give birth was a shameful thing. The world was not at all as it is today. Now we know women are equal to men, and women are allowed to do all the same things men are. I don't have kids, and I'm not ashamed or sad, or thinking I would rather die! But for Rachel, having a baby would have been her only job. And she's failing at it and her sister is succeeding. It wouldn't even matter that Jacob loved her. His love isn't enough in the face of what seems to her to be this huge failure.

So Rachel does the same thing Sarah did. She gives Jacob her maid. Because remember, the child of her maid could basically be considered her child.

Rachel's maid, as we can see on our family tree, actually has two children. You would think that would be the end of this, yes? That Leah at this point already has four sons, and now Rachel has these two sons by her maid, that everyone would be happy, right?

Well let's see what happens.

9 When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her maid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Then Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

Leah has four sons. But she doesn't seem to be having any others. So does she say "Well four is enough! Let's stop here!" No! Instead she gives her maid to Jacob, so that her maid's kids can be counted towards her. It's like Rachel and Leah are having this Cold War arms race of babies, but Leah is clearly winning. Why would Leah want to continue to have more kids, do you think? [Let them answer.]

The Bible doesn't tell us what Leah was thinking, but I think for Leah it was about having Jacob's attention. Without her children, without having more, Jacob would just hang out with Rachel all the time. After all, he loves Rachel not Leah. So if she stopped having more kids, would Jacob want to spend time with her? He could just spend time with his sons and not her. But mothers have a lot of control over babies, and for Jacob to hang out with a baby he has to hang out with it's mother.

It's all about who gets Jacob's attention and we'll see this in the next passage. Can someone read Genesis 30:14-17?

14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him, and said, “You must come in to me; for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. 17 And God heeded Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.

Alright so what is happening here? Reuben is one of Leah's sons. He finds a plant called a mandrake. Now back in the day, mandrakes were believed to have some special properties that could help a woman get pregnant. I don't think this is true--like I don't think anyone today believes that--but back then women might use the plant to help them. When Rachel sees it then, of course she wants it! She still wants a baby! But Reuben takes it to his mother, Leah. So Rachel has to go to her sister and ask for it.

Leah responds rudely, though perhaps understandably. She says Rachel has stolen her husband, which is true when you consider Jacob technically married Jacob first. But Jacob loves Rachel, and therefore probably spends more time with her. So to Leah it seems that Rachel is taking everything away from her, though of course Rachel would feel the other way. That Leah has stolen Rachel's husband, since Jacob had worked those original seven years for Rachel, not Leah.

But Rachel is desperate so she barters. She offers Jacob. Basically when you had multiple wives like this back in the day, a husband would alternate which nights he was with which wife. So that night he was probably supposed to be with Rachel. But Rachel gives the night to Leah.

In the end, Leah gets pregnant, and Rachel is still not pregnant. So this deal doesn't really work to Rachel's benefit. But it does show how competitive these sisters are, and how even when it seems that everything should be okay, because they each have kids associated with them, it's not.

So Leah actually has two more sons and then a daughter. And Rachel still has no children. Until finally, can someone read Genesis 30:22-24

22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God heeded her and opened her womb. 23 She conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach”; 24 and she named him Joseph, saying, “May the Lord add to me another son!”

Finally Rachel has a son. And when Joseph is finally born, when she finally has a child of her own, is she like "Thank you, God! I'll stop asking now because you gave me this one precious child and that's all I need?"

No. She's not. Instead she says "May the Lord add to me another son." She just had a kid and she's already worrying about whether she'll have a next one!

We'll study much later, stories in the Bible where there are women who God only gives one child and they are extremely grateful, but remember Rachel is in a child bearing Cold War. She needs to catch up with Leah, and right now she's like six behind.

But I'll give you a spoiler, Rachel is never going to catch up. Rachel only has one other son and it's not for many years later, after she thinks Joseph is dead. But we'll study that next week.

Perhaps if Rachel had been more grateful God would have given her more children? We may never know. But she does at least have this one son, Joseph, and we'll study next week what happens to him.

So all this time Jacob is still in Haran, with Laban and his family. But eventually we know, as we studied last week, he returns to Canaan, right? Can someone read Genesis 31:1-3.

31 Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s; he has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.” 2 And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him as favorably as he did before. 3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your ancestors and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”

Jacob has been in Haran for a long time, and he's gained a lot of wealth in that time. But now it's time to go back. But Jacob is also married to both of Laban's daughters. Do you think he's going to be happy to see his daughters and all his grandchildren go away? [Let them answer.]

Yeah, I don't think so either. Can someone read Genesis 31:17-21?

17 So Jacob arose, and set his children and his wives on camels; 18 and he drove away all his livestock, all the property that he had gained, the livestock in his possession that he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

19 Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father’s household gods. 20 And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. 21 So he fled with all that he had; starting out he crossed the Euphrates, and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.

This section basically says that Jacob leaves without telling Laban, because he's afraid of what Laban will do if Jacob tries to leave. Laban may never let him go back to his father's family, back to his homeland, back to the land God has promised him. So Jacob leaves sneakily in the night. And everything would have been fine except what does verse 19 say? "Rachel stole her father's household gods."

So remember, back in this day no one followed God--our God--except Abraham and his descendents. Most people believed in many gods and spirits, and it was fairly common to have these household idols that you would worship as representations of these gods. This sort of practice even existed all the way to the Roman times. And people took these idols very seriously, because worshiping them was their only connection to their gods. So stealing them would be tantamount to grand larsony, stealing the most priceless and sentimental things people had.

Why does Rachel do it? Why would she steal her father's gods? Why do you guys think she did it? [Let them answer.]

I don't know and the Bible doesn't say. There are many theories. Perhaps they were made of gold, and Rachel wanted to sell them for money. Jacob seems to have a lot of money, but maybe she was worried something might happen on this long journey to a strange place. Maybe she didn't really believe in God--after all she had never seen them--and these idols held special meaning to her? Or maybe she was just really angry at her dad. Remember this is the man who made Leah marry Jacob instead of letting Rachel do it. Maybe she was so angry, she wanted to steal the most precious thing he had.

We don't know Rachel's motivation, we can only guess. What we do know is that Jacob didn't know she stole them, and Laban was furious when he found out. Can someone read Genesis 31:25-32?

25 Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsfolk camped in the hill country of Gilead. 26 Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You have deceived me, and carried away my daughters like captives of the sword. 27 Why did you flee secretly and deceive me and not tell me? I would have sent you away with mirth and songs, with tambourine and lyre. 28 And why did you not permit me to kiss my sons and my daughters farewell? What you have done is foolish. 29 It is in my power to do you harm; but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Take heed that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’ 30 Even though you had to go because you longed greatly for your father’s house, why did you steal my gods?” 31 Jacob answered Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. 32 But anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live. In the presence of our kinsfolk, point out what I have that is yours, and take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods.

So he chases after Jacob, and when he finally catches up to him, he's like "You didn't even let me kiss my kid's goodbye!!!! And on top of that, you stole my gods!" And Jacob owns up to the running away like a thief in the night because he was afraid of what Laban would do, but he's adamant he didn't steal the idols. Because he doesn't know Rachel did it. So he says that if someone did, it's the death penalty for that person! Uh-oh. Jacob just signed a death penalty for his favorite wife, without even knowing it. Anyone think this is going to end well?

Well let's see. Can someone read Genesis 31:33-35?

33 So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and into the tent of the two maids, but he did not find them. And he went out of Leah’s tent, and entered Rachel’s. 34 Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. Laban felt all about in the tent, but did not find them. 35 And she said to her father, “Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me.” So he searched, but did not find the household gods.

Laban searches the tens and finds nothing in Jacob, Leah, or the maid's tents. Finally he ends up at Rachel's. But she hides the gods in a camel saddle and sits on it. And when Laban enters, she should rise to greet him but she says to him, "I can't because I'm on my period."

Back then they didn't have all the feminime products we have. A woman basically used rags and stayed away from everyone else during her period. And anything she touched would be considered unclean. So Laban wouldn't even want to touch the camel saddle, basically thinking it would be covered in her blood.

So he doesn't find them and Rachel doesn't have to die.

And that's basically the story of Rachel and Leah. We'll talk more about their sons next week, and how Jacob's favoritism trickles down through his children and causes ramifications he couldn't imagine. But for Rachel and Leah, there is only this competition for their husbands affection.

There really isn't some sort of pat morale. Though I will say, thank goodness in modern American society a woman's worth is not tied to her ability to bear children and no one has more than one wife. Because it sure seems that both of those things just led to a whole ton of drama!

February 2017 Memory Verse

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”

— Deuteronomy 6:5

Hopefully in the month of February, we will reach the story of Moses in the class and begin to talk about the Law. And since this is the greatest commandment, we will definitely want to talk about it. 

Mostly I chose this verse for two reasons. The first reason is: it's a foundational Bible verse. Like John 3:16 this is one of those often quoted verses that is central to not only our faith tradition, but others. The second reason is less noble. All of the Middle Schooler's complained that January 2017's verse was too long, and in the end no one memorized it. So I'm hoping with a shorter verse, more of them will actually participate.

Hawkeye: A Truly Terrible & Brilliant Idea

Hawkeye, Issue #1

Note: This post was written by me, but originally posted on the website Spellbound Scribes on January 6, 2014. It is a review of Hawkeye #1 by Matt Fraction and David Aja.

There are some ideas that are so amazing, so beautiful that you can’t help but grab the book and say, “Yes, this is the story I’ve been looking for all my life.”

And then there are some ideas where you just find yourself thinking, “What the hell was the creator on that he thought this was a good idea?”

A comic based on Hawkeye is one of those truly terrible ideas.

Hawkeye is probably the most mocked Avenger, and for good reason. Captain America is a freaking super-soldier--the peak of human capability and awesomeness. Thor is a good. Tony Stark describes himself best as a "genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist." The Black Widow is a super-spy, a combination of super-soldier serum and KGB training. The Hulk is the Hulk. And then there is this regular human with a bow and arrow running around. Yeah, Hawkeye's got nothing other than a carnie past to recommend him.

He’s the one Avenger who time and time again has not been able to support his own individual comic title. Everything about a Hawkeye comic was a bad idea.

Except…this isn’t really a Hawkeye comic. As in, it’s not about Hawkeye doing missions for SHIELD or the Avengers. Matt Fraction had another idea, the tag-line that would be on the title page of every issue:

Hawkeye, Issue #1

A comic about what Hawkeye does with his downtime is not something anyone had ever seen before, and it turns out, it’s a completely brilliant idea.

Clint Barton isn’t Special

Clint Barton is not a super-soldier, he’s not a god or a genius, he doesn’t come from money, and he sure as hell has no idea what he’s doing.

Hawkeye is the Avenger who is trying to pay his rent, deal with life, and not die.

Hawkeye, Issue #1

Basically, he’s who you and I would be if we were an Avenger. And since we’re not Avengers, he’s the Avenger you and I could hang out with and not feel completely out of our depth.

And this issue shows us that in detail. Clint Barton needs weeks to recover from injuries in a battle that any of the other Avengers would have walked away from. He’s a guy who lives in a run-down apartment building and knows all of his neighbors. He’s a guy that sees a dog get hurt and can’t leave him there to die.

He’s just a good guy. Your average guy, sure, but he tries his best to do his best.

And that’s something we can all relate to.

“Paleolithic. I looked it up.”

Voice in comics is a much harder thing to pin down than it is in novels, because in comics you can have multiple voices: the narrator’s, the character’s, the artist’s, etc. But in the best comics they all meld together into something perfect and beautiful. Like in Hawkeye.

Hawkeye, Issue #1

Clint is our narrator, and his voice is spot on: it’s the compelling voice of the every-man do-gooder that he is. A guy who came from nothing and in many ways still views himself as nothing. Perfectly underscoring that we have David Aja’s art and Matt Hollingsworth’s coloring. I can very much believe this is the world as Clint sees it: a world where he isn’t anything special to look at and a world that has perhaps a little more purple than it should. (I mean that last bit literally. Purple is Hawkeye’s favorite color, and man, the colorist for this comic is a master of coloring entire scenes using only varying shades of purple).

And that’s what a truly great voice does. It’s not just slang or word choice that pops off the page. A great voice filters the entire world as the narrator sees it. We come to understand the world as the narrator understands it. And that it was the creative team behind Hawkeye does. They give us the world according to Clint Barton.

Basically…

Hawkeye had everything going against it. This was a comic that when it first came out, people heard about it and laughed because who the hell thought a Hawkeye comic was a good idea? It is now the most popular Marvel comic, the one that everyone is talking about.

Every issue is as good, if not better, than the first. It’s one of the few comics where truly interesting things are being done with the medium. But none of those other issues would exist if the creative team behind Issue #1 hadn’t stuck the landing.

And stick it they did.

If I write a first chapter half as good as Hawkeye Issue #1, then I will have done a good job indeed.

Feed by Mira Grant

Note: This review was originally posted on my blog "Shelf of Friends" on February 28, 2012.

Statistics:
Title: Feed
Author: Mira Grant
Pages: 571
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic (Zombie)
Age Range: Adult
Publication Date: 5/1/2010
Publisher: Orbit
Series Name: Newsflesh Trilogy

What's it about?

It's been twenty years since the zombie apocalypse, and zombies are now a way of life. Georgia and Shaun Mason are siblings who can't even remember a time before zombies. They live in a world that's been changed, but not that much. There is still politics. And candidates still go on campaign tours for the job of America's president.

When the Masons are selected to follow the campaign of a presidential candidate as reporters, they jump at the career-making opportunity. But going on campaign means leaving the safety of the fortified cities where non-zombies live in fear. They must brave the zombie ridden countryside of America on this campaign to the White House.

The Masons expect political drama and zombie threats. What they don't expect is to uncover an assassination plot and a dark government conspiracy that threatens them all.

Zombies? Really?

Yes, zombies. Don't roll your eyes. This isn't another zombie apocalypse novel where the main characters are minding their business and then--bam!--zombies. Rather this is a novel where zombies have been around for twenty years, and people have survived. Life goes on. A lot of zombie novels and movies are extremely bleak. Either everyone pretty much dies as zombie food (and then becomes a zombie) or the world breaks down into a Mad Max level of disorder. Mira Grant doesn't present that sort of bleak outcome. Zombies are an obstacle, and like any other obstacle people learn to deal with them.

Granted zombies aren't like you're regular vermin that people deal with in our modern era. The book presents a constant fear, a constant danger in the background mindset of everyone. Sure life goes on, but it's a life where anyone around might become a zombie at any moment. It's not just a bite that can turn you into a zombie (though a bite guarantees it). At any moment a person could just randomly become a zombie, because the zombie virus is present in everyone at every moment.

The book also presents interesting mutations of the zombie virus that affect people without turning them into a zombie, and I love that. Because viruses rarely stay in one form. I love the Georgia's eyes are extra sensitive to light because she has a mutated form of the zombie virus. I think that's fantastic. (And that's not a spoiler. That's like chapter one.)

So yes, this book is about zombies. But it's zombies as you've never seen them before. I promise.

Wait...a presidential candidate campaign? Is this just a political novel in disguise?

No! Be not afraid! This novel isn't preachy. Don't worry about it preaching politics you don't believe in at you. Don't worry about your children being brainwashed to one side or the other of the political spectrum. Unless you have really strong feelings on how the government should behave in the case of a zombie apocalypse.

The presidential candidate the Masons are following is a Republican, and he's also a genuinely good guy. But there weren't any rants on Republican values or anything like that. It's mostly concerned about politics in a post-zombie world. Policies are keeping people safe from zombies, searching for a cure, etc. And the Masons bring a healthy dose of skepticism to the campaign. They don't blindly follow this presidential candidate. Georgia openly tells the the candidate that if they're looking for people to write propaganda they've found the wrong reporters. The Masons are there to tell the truth and nothing but the truth.

If this was a movie, what would its rating be?

I'm fairly certain that zombie movies are almost always rated R. Zombies pretty much equal violence. Though the language of the writing isn't coarse, the characters sometimes use rather coarse language, including the f-word. But there isn't any sex. I can't even recall any kissing other than the candidate kissing his wife in a sentence here or there. These people are too concerned with surviving zombies and uncovering conspiracies for any lovey-dovey stuff.

Overall, how was it?

Let me see: politics, conspiracies, and ZOMBIES! I loved it. Articles written by the reporter main characters are interspersed throughout the novel which give it an extra feel of reality. And I was surprised how quickly I became attached to the Masons, and the risks that Mira Grant was willing to take with them.

This is a fantastic novel with an end even I didn't see coming. If you like zombies or conspiracies or fast paced novels with a strong voice, Feed is the right book for you.