Today, perhaps, we are more used to blended families. At least we would like to think we are more accepting. I am not sure whether we are or are not. My dad once told me that when Italians and Irish and Polish men stood shoulder to shoulder in a foxhole, or when they were firing a 16-inch shell from a battleship, they didn’t much care what each other’s ethnicity was. We are naturally proud of our heritage. And it’s good to celebrate our differences, what makes us unique. However, too often our pride turns to prejudice. Today Jacob is dealing with an important family matter—Joseph’s two Egyptian sons.

How many times in your life have you moved your home? For the first half of my life, I didn’t move very much. However, in the last 13 years, we have moved 5 times. I have family in the military; one of them used to joke, “No sense cleaning the closets, we clean them out when we move every 2 to 3 years.” While moving to a new location can sometimes bring excitement, it is also sure to bring lots of work, and the challenge of forming new relationships—it is always a time of transition. The Bible in chapter 47 of Genesis presents us with a very common experience: moving and getting resettled in a new location.

“Oh, there no place like home for the holidays”—so the song goes. Yet not everyone looks forward to gathering around the table for a meal with their family. Not sure where you land on the family dinner scenario, but consider the following... When I invited people to read Genesis together, I wrote, “Do you ever think about God’s family? God’s family (that includes us!) is all connected. And sometimes it’s messy. But we need to learn our story. Not facts, but rather our family story. Because at the heart of that story is our God.” Perhaps “sometimes it’s messy” should be in BOLD, and a larger font, with a few exclamation points on the end!