Living the Dream: Joseph for Today

by Pete Wilcox

Publisher:

Paternoster

, 2007

Overview

In a lively and gripping way, Pete Wilcox unfolds the story of Joseph in fourteen dramatic episodes. With a light touch and the sensitivity of one who has listened carefully to the biblical text, Wilcox allows the narrative to give up its treasures, and enables his readers to set their own stories alongside it. In this way the ancient tale is made fresh for a modern western generation.

The Joseph cycle is a story about coping with adversity and disunity. This makes it a useful text for the church to hear again today.

Contents

Top Highlights

“Secondly, the story of Joseph is a story about the costly experience of forgiveness and reconciliation.” (Page ix)

“It is at least true that the absence of success is not necessarily equivalent to the absence of God.” (Page 20)

“Often though, the purposes of God are not fulfilled either speedily or easily. It is a fantasy to expect otherwise.” (Page 10)

“As a rule, in this part of Scripture, those who trust in God do so despite a dearth of encouragement to do so. This is part of the great value of the story of Joseph for the church today. There is a tendency in some contemporary church circles to expect the hand of God to be prominent—as it was in the life of Abraham, to whom God spoke and appeared repeatedly. Among Christian disciples today miracles are sought daily, answers to prayer anticipated keenly, and gifts of the Spirit celebrated rapturously. But for many believers dramatic experiences of the presence of God are the precious exception rather than the rule. Mostly, God acts in hidden ways. His purpose is mostly evident in retrospect. The life of faith mostly involves trust in a presence of God, which is elusive.” (Page 1)

“No doubt Jacob must take responsibility for his poor parenting: a parent who spoils a child is always acting in his or her own interests, not those of the child—and the outcome will ultimately almost always be misery for the child. But the text does not invite us to exonerate Joseph; on the contrary, it invites us to see Joseph, as the curtain rises on his story, as a spoiled and arrogant individual. He is a brat. Yet it is this Joseph, the flawed and muddled individual, who (sometimes inadvertently) proves to be the recipient and the instrument of God’s grace. That is part of the point of the story.” (Pages 3–4)

Product Details

• Title: Living the Dream: Joseph for Today: A Dramatic Exposition of Genesis 37–50
• Author: Pete Wilcox
• Publisher: Paternoster
• Print Publication Date: 2007
• Logos Release Date: 2011
• Pages: 160
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Joseph (Son of Jacob); Bible. O.T. Genesis 37-50 › Commentaries; Bible. O.T. Genesis 37-50 › Criticism, interpretation, etc
• ISBNs: 9781842275559, 1842275550
• Resource ID: LLS:LVNGDRMJOS
• Resource Type: Bible Commentary
• Metadata Last Updated: 2023-01-17T18:54:21Z

About Pete Wilcox

Pete Wilcox is the Canon Chancellor at Lichfield Cathedral.