Entry 25, Reading Day 22

Chapter 42

Dear Reader,

If the Bible were a novel, this would be the part where I would say it’s getting good. Joseph, who now lives in Egypt, just encountered his brothers again, the same brothers who sold him into slavery several year prior. He pretended not to know them and even to think they were spies when all they were really were men seeking to survive the famine by buying some corn. I know this is a little vengeful and I’m sure it wasn’t Joseph’s finest moment, but had I been thrown into slavery by my family members I might have acted similarly even though I’m a good person at heart. At least he gave their money back and let them have the corn for free.

Their second problem was that there father would not let them take his youngest son back to meet Joseph and prove they were not spies as Joseph requested. This means they won’t be able to free the brother that he kept prisoner in waiting for their return. I feel sorry for the imprisoned brother, but I’m not too sorry because he went along with the whole selling Joseph into slavery thing all those years ago. As my great-grandmother would say “He had his comeuppance coming.” That being said, I do hope they managed to get him out of prison somehow.

In my calculation, I have 8 more chapters to go which means if all goes to plan, I’ll be finished with Genesis by next Friday. I realize this schedule means I’ll have to read two chapters in one day, but I think I can do that as some are short. After that, it’s on to Exodus and after that it’s on to the dreaded Leviticus. I think every queer liberation theologian, even a lay one such as myself, is a little afraid of that book because of all the homophobic and other bad things bigots say it contains.

Since when am I one to believe bigots anyway? Isn’t part of their bigotry is the lack of facts in their arguments? If I can get through that book which has the greatest amount of fear for me and still be a theist at the end of it, I’ll consider my faith unshakable. This is contrary to whatever my atheist friend, who called me a Nazi the other day, merely because I’m a believer (but that’s another story I won’t waste time on here) might want have happen instead. Such is life. You don’t always get what you want. I’m pretty sure she’s not going to get what she wants in this case. Of course, I’ll read the book as required. It’s good for me anyway.