And now for something completely different...

Genesis is all about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Yesterday, we shifted to Joseph's story, although the lineage of Jesus goes through Judah. Joseph's 2nd dream is about the sun and moon and eleven stars bowing down to him. Jacob's reprimand: "What's with all this dreaming? Am I and your mother and your brothers all supposed to bow down to you?"

Isn't Rachel gone? She died in Genesis 35, giving birth to Benjamin. Benjamin is obviously there, represented by the 11th star.

At the end of chapter 37, Joseph has landed in Potiphar's house. Today we read about Tamar. Take a moment and flip to Matthew 1. If you go 15 generations into God's story, you'll find 4 women mentioned:
"The family tree of Jesus Christ, David's son, Abraham's son:
Abraham had Isaac,
Isaac had Jacob,
Jacob had Judah and his brothers,
Judah had Perez and Zerah (the mother was Tamar),
Perez had Hezron,
Hezron had Aram,
Aram had Amminadab,
Amminadab had Nahshon,
Nahshon had Salmon,
Salmon had Boaz (his mother was Rahab),
Boaz had Obed (Ruth was the mother),
Obed had Jesse,
Jesse had David,
and David became king.
David had Solomon (Uriah's wife was the mother)..."

Tamar is the first. Each of the women are foreigners or prostitutes. And Jesus comes from this line. Perez is another example of God blessing the one without the bright red thread around his hand.

Hope for all us 2nd born children...