The man is an environmental lawyer in the northwest, a long-time friend, and story #31 in God, Golf, and Grace. We worked together in Washington, D.C. at the Environmental Protection Agency.
He graduated from Harvard University the same year I
graduated from college about 30 miles north of there. He lived in Virginia. I
lived in Virginia. He played basketball on Thursday nights and so did I. He
went out afterwards, so did I. But one major difference between us was that I
came from an intact nuclear family and he didn’t. I can’t remember ever hearing
him talk about his family. He once said to me, “Geez Bergs, you sure go home a
lot.” At the time, I think I was traveling home once a year. But he never went
home. His parents divorced when he was young and there wasn’t much home to go
back to. He never talked about his mother or his father. As for any siblings,
it was a mystery. But we sure had a lot of fun together!
After several years in Washington, he went to law school at
UVA, I went to Princeton. While I was dating Barb, he was dating a woman we
worked with. After literally dating hundreds of women he stuck with her and, in
time, they both asked me to marry them in Charlottesville.
I’ll never forget that weekend. Barb and I traveled to
Charlottesville. After the ceremony we were gathered with friends in the
university club when, suddenly, word spread that the groom’s father was to make
a surprise appearance. While there was no trace of his mother, his father had
made his way to Charlottesville to participate in the reception.
This was shocking news. I can’t remember him ever mentioning
a word about his dad. So I turned to a close friend and whispered, “What’s he
look like? How will I know him?” In a second he turned and said, “Oh, you will
know him.” Sure enough, within minutes the man appeared. He was an exact
replica right down to the dance steps and the flirtation!
It’s a well-worn adage—“Like father, like son.” But it’s not
always true. In fact, the Bible records the stories of fathers and sons who
differ considerably. But none differ more than Jacob and Joseph. While Jacob’s
a creep, Joseph’s a class act. While Jacob is self-obsessed, Joseph is
self-effacing. While Jacob is paranoid, Joseph is patiently perceptive. How
could a son be so different from his father? There’s one answer to that. It’s
an answer that comes from an unlikely source—the King of Egypt, Pharaoh! We
find it at the beginning of Sunday’s text—Genesis 41:37-52. He says to his
servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” In other
words, “No! There’s no one like him.”
Here at the end of chapter 41, God determines to show us
another side of Joseph. We’ve seen him as a son, a brother, a slave, a servant,
an interpreter, and now we see him as a father. He’s a father who stands in
stark contrast to his father. In fact, it’s the portrait of a godly father that
is in absolute variance from what most Christians think a godly father is.
We’ll dig into all of this on Sunday in a message entitled, “The Portrait of a Godly Father.” In preparation for Sunday’s message you may wish to consider the following:
1. On what grounds does Pharaoh make the statement to his servants in verse 38?
2. On what grounds does Pharaoh conclude that there is none as
discerning and wise as Joseph? (verse 39)
3. To what modern day office does Pharaoh promote Joseph?
4. What is the meaning of his gifts to Joseph? (verses 42-45)
5. When in Genesis is the Spirit of God mentioned prior to this
chapter?
6. How is this reference different from the others?
7. What’s the meaning of Joseph’s new name? (verse 45)
8. What’s the significance of Joseph having an Egyptian wife?
9. What can we tell about Joseph as a father from the names he
gives to his sons?
10. How important are these two sons in biblical history?
See you Sunday!
