Hello! Hope you’re well. Here’s the latest:
New Episode! (Joseph: The Early Years)
Episode 9 of HGS Season 2 is hot off the press and ready for you as we speak. (Are we speaking? I’m imagining us speaking. Hot coffee on the table between us, a beautiful view out the window. A one-sided conversation I’ll feel self-conscious about later. Can you see it?)
This episode tells the beginning of Joseph’s story. It’s a classic tale from Scripture and I’m very excited to share it with you. Before you listen, a few things of interest:
I found myself thinking a lot about Jacob in this story—almost as much as Joseph, in fact. Perhaps that’s because I spent so much time with Jacob in Episode 5 of last season and feel close to him now. Anyway, this certainly came through in the way I wrote the episode—I couldn’t say, really, which one of them is the protagonist in my telling of the story. You could argue, I suppose, that Yahweh’s dream is the main character. I’ll let you be the judge.
🚨“Wait, what?” Warning🚨 Okay—a couple of ways this episode may diverge from what you’ve heard/thought if this story is familiar to you:
Joseph’s brothers don’t sell him into slavery; the Midianites do. “But Justin,” you say, “the Bible clearly says that ‘When Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for 20 pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took Joseph to Egypt.’” You’re right—at least some translations say as much (the NASB, for example, does not). But when they do, the translators are taking liberty with a pronoun. The Hebrew text actually says “they pulled Joseph out of the pit…” Alistair Roberts and others have compellingly argued that the most likely antecedent to the “they” is the Midianites, not the brothers. This would square with Reuben’s surprise at Joseph’s absence after the fact, and the brothers’ seeming lack of awareness of the transaction when Reuben reports him missing in verse 30.
This understanding seems to be the prevailing Jewish opinion. It also seems to fit with Joseph’s later statement: “I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews.”
Anyway, I could be wrong. But this is what makes the most sense to me, and that’s why I tell the story the way you’ll hear it in this episode.
The brothers don’t bring the bloody robe to Jacob; they send it to him. To me, the language in Gen. 37:32 indicates as much. “They sent the robe of many colors to their father and said, ‘We found this. Examine it. Is it your son’s robe or not?’” Sounds like they send the robe along with a message.
Again, I could be wrong. But now you know why I think the way I tell it here is right. :)
We don’t get a ton of Yahweh in this episode. On one level, that makes me sad. I thought about taking a few more moments to imagine things from His perspective (and this would likely be a great exercise for you in your own meditations), but I decided against it.
Why?
This is a story in which Yahweh’s explicit, detectable presence is limited. He speaks through two dreams and that’s it. No explanation of how the dreams will play out, when that will happen, why the heartbreaking trafficking of Joseph doesn’t mean the dream has been defeated…none of that. I think that’s valuable, because that’s how it often feels our lives are playing out as well. I think that’s part of what the story is about, in fact. How do we respond when God feels absent? When it seems His plan is in jeopardy and He doesn’t say a thing? I wanted to tell the story in a way that honors the questions, confusion, and frustration His silence can provoke in us. (And tell it, too, in a way that honors Yahweh’s unseen work as He faithfully ensures the fulfillment of the dreams He gave to Joseph.)
I loved the way Alistair Roberts sums up the parallels between this story and Jacob & Esau story: “We’ve seen a story of goats and coats before.” (Jacob deceived his father by wearing goat skins and Esau’s coat, and now Jacob is the father deceived by a coat and the carcass of a goat.)
Ever wondered what it was like for one or two of the guys to go get a goat for the blood-on-the-robe ruse? If they don’t have domesticated goats with them (the passage seems to indicate they only had sheep), they had to go catch a feral one. I had to see what this would have looked like, so I turned to YouTube with high hopes. I was not disappointed.
And now, for your viewing pleasure…
Deciding how to end this episode was tough. My first draft had a much more hopeful, fastforward-to-the-reconciliation ending. But my editor thought that might do a disservice to the dark place chapter 37 leaves us—with Joseph in slavery and Jacob mourning inconsolably. So I changed my ending to match that one a bit better. There’s a glimmer of hope, but only that.
I like leaving the story there for now (the way Scripture does) because that’s where so many of us find ourselves so often: at what feels like the end of a terribly hard story. Which is just the middle of a very beautiful story. But feels very much like the end of a terribly hard story. Best to sit with Joseph and Jacob in that for a moment and remember we’re not alone.
Okay—time for you to go listen! Or set a reminder to listen later. Whatever works for you. :) If you dig it, text a link to a friend who might dig it too—I’m so grateful for the way you guys share these episodes far and wide. Thank you.
Here’s “The Companion and the Chosen One.”
Ireland, Though.
For the last few weeks, we’ve been living in County Donegal, Ireland and
THIS
PLACE
IS
MAGICAL.
Think I’m exaggerating? Take a look.
Part of the magic is some fantastic people we’ve had the pleasure of meeting who’ve made us feel very much at home here. Our kids even got to go trick-or-treating with a new friend. What a blessing. The Kingdom is Big and so so Good.
Let Me Give You a Patron Saint of Storytelling T-Shirt
Guess what? Thanks to you, in October of 2021, just 9 months after its beginning, Holy Ghost Stories reached 50,000 downloads. That’s amazing! When I think of someone listening to one of these episodes, spending that extended moment with their Heavenly Father by way of one of His stories from Scripture...50,000 times? I just don’t have words.
And that’s happening in so many places! Folks are listening in Colorado and Washington and Tennessee and New Hampshire. Florida and Montana and Michigan and Texas. Vietnam and New Zealand and South Africa and Peru. England and Spain and Hungary and Ireland. All 50 states in America and more than 50 different countries around the world.
It’s just…wonderful.
And here’s why it matters:
I’m gathering patrons to support this show financially, and I want you to know that when you partner with me and give some of your hard-earned money to enable me to create more Holy Ghost Stories, you’re not just funding a podcast you like. You are taking the life-changing stories of Scripture and sending them across the world. God is using this podcast to connect with person after person in ways that are changing them—giving them time to look at Him, opportunities to know Him and love Him more deeply. That’s what you’re enabling when you become a patron of Holy Ghost Stories.
If I’m willing to devote myself to telling these stories (and I am), and Yahweh is willing to send them far and wide (and He continues to be), then the only thing that’s left is for you to chip in and become a patron! Easy enough, but absolutely essential.
That’s how the body of Christ works, right? God has each of us bring what He’s given us, and together we do something none of us could do alone. So let’s partner up. And the next time you hear me telling one of the shadowy, enchanted stories of the Old Testament, you can think to yourself, “That’s our podcast—we did that together.”
And then you can pray for someone far away who’s also listening to that same story—a story you helped to tell.
I know you’re already excited to jump in, but let me sweeten the deal. If you become a patron between now and the end of this month, I’ll send you an official “Patron Saint of Storytelling” t-shirt or sticker as my gift to you.
You’re gonna love it. But you’ve got to act quick! The Patron Saint signing bonus only applies through November 30.
When you head over to Patreon you’ll see there are three levels of support: Anecdotalist, Storyteller, and Raconteur—in addition to the sticker for the Anecdotalists and tshirts for the Storytellers and Raconteurs who join up in the next three weeks, each level of patronage comes with some great thank-you bonuses alongside each episode. (You can read about those on my page). The whole Patreon process takes about 2 minutes to complete, so if you want to jump over there right now, I’ll hang out here while you do. :)
I’m thrilled to partner up with you—let’s get these stories in even more hearts, shall we? Just click the wee button below.
5 Cool Things
Incredible Ski Run (No, seriously.) - Okay, this one’s worth viewing on your TV if you can. When I hit play I did not intend to watch all 10 minutes, but I just couldn’t turn away—sooo much wonder and delight. You have to watch this.
Reindeer Cyclones - Officially my favorite kind of cyclone.
Mars At Night - A 360° panorama created from 6 NASA images received from the Mars rover. Cooooool. (Make sure you toggle the full screen view.)
Earth Is Cool, Too - This guy walking public land in a space suit is a great reminder that earth is a pretty amazing planet to spend our time on. (Credit to my daughter, London, for this one!)
Birds With People Arms - Remember that time you thought, “It’d be funny if seagulls had people arms”? You were right.
That’s it! Hope you have a great week. Enjoy “The Companion and the Chosen One” and come join forces with me on Patreon!
Gratefully,
Justin
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