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An in-depth look at the Word of God, the Plays On Word community, and the Plays - with original music - we perform, that are based on the Word of God. New episodes drop Fridays at 7AM EST! To find out how Plays On Word Theater can perform 'LIVE on YOUR STAGE' and to support this missionary & podcast visit: https://playsonword.org/
Plays On Word Radio
Ep 79: The Humor and Humanity of Joseph's Tale - Insights on Sin, Faith, and the Ten Commandments
"Ever wondered how ancient scripture can be both insightful and humorous? Join Pastor Teddy as he explores Joseph's tale in Genesis 42, highlighting humanity and faith. How does this story challenge your understanding of honesty?"
Today Pastor Teddy, also known as Fred David Kenney Jr., looks into the timeless tale of Joseph and his brothers in Genesis 42. We explore the dramatic scene where Joseph's brothers, desperate for grain, are accused of espionage. Pastor Teddy highlights the humor and humanity in this story while also challenging us to reflect on what it truly means to be "honest men". This episode isn't just a retelling; it's an engaging journey that underscores the importance of accurate scripture translation and personal faith.
As the episode progresses, we confront the weighty issue of sin and our struggle to live up to the Ten Commandments. From inadvertently prioritizing other things over God to misusing His name, Pastor Teddy sheds light on our everyday failings and the pervasive nature of sin. The conversation is a humbling reminder of our need for God's grace and the importance of humility. We wrap up with a heartfelt reflection on the rich teachings of the Bible and a promise of more enlightening discussions in the coming weeks. Don't miss this episode that promises to enrich your understanding of faith, scripture, and the human condition.
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Lord you know. Hey guys, you are now listening to Plays Onward Radio. You are welcome.
Speaker 2:I mean he said we were spies and we have to take Benjamin and show the man, because he's got Simi. We take Benjamin down there and show the man, and then we'll get Simi and we'll get some more food and we'll come back. My father looked at them and said you have bereaved me of my children. Joseph is no more. Send me in. I'm not going to take vengeance on you. Jesus, you're the only name, you're the only thing. You're the only thing.
Speaker 1:Hello and welcome to Plays on Word Radio, where we discuss, analyze, work and play on the Word of God. Thank you for joining us on this excursion. Today let's join Pastor Teddy, also known as Fred David Kenny Jr, the founder of Plays on Word Theater, as he does a deep dive into the Word of God.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, amen. Welcome to all of you to Plays on Word Radio. My name is Fred David Kenney Jr. Special thank you to Katie Kenney and to Josh Taylor for that intro, and Isaac Wabamba and Bev Lyons too. Everybody on the top of that Just want to say we are back.
Speaker 2:We are doing another deep dive here in the scripture. We're actually going to continue. You guys heard a little clip up top there from the Genesis Joe play and we're making our way through not just the Genesis Joe play, but we are making our way through the book of Genesis that deals with Joseph, starting in chapter 37. We're up to chapter 42, and on our last podcast, which was a few podcasts back, actually more than a few we were in chapter 42, and we stopped the verse-by-verse part around verse 13. I'm going to back up a little bit and just give you a little context here. Actually, you know what this plays on word, the word of God. I'm going to give you the word of God, chapter 42,. I'm going to go up to the point and then I'll stop where we need to elaborate. So in chapter 42, it says when Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, why do you look at one another? And he said behold, I've heard there's grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there that we may live and not die.
Speaker 2:Verse three so 10 of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt, but Jacob did not send Benjamin, joseph's brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might happen to him. Verse 5, thus the sons of Israel came to buy, among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. So you know, this is when the famine was kicking off, the famine that Joseph basically predicted or told. When he interpreted the dream to Pharaoh, he told him this was going to happen. So this is after the seven years of prosper, and the famine is just wrecking everything. Verse 6, now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land, and Joseph's brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. Verse 7, joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke to them roughly when do you come from, he said. They said from the land of Canaan to buy food.
Speaker 1:Verse 8.
Speaker 2:And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. Verse 9. And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them and he said to them you are spies, you have come to see the nakedness of the land. Verse 10,. They said to him no, my Lord, your servants have come to buy food. We're all sons of one man. We're honest men. I can't even say that line straight. I'm sorry. I've got to back it up. Let me back up to verse 10. I can't believe they said that. I mean, really, these guys are honest men. Who are they kidding? Let me back up. He said to them you are spies, you have come to see the nakedness of the land. Verse 10. They said to him no, my Lord, your servants have come to buy food. We are all sons of one man. We are honest men. Your servants have never been spies. Verse 12,. He said to them no, it is the nakedness of the land that you have come to see. And they said we, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. And behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more. Verse 14,. But Joseph said to them it is as I said to you, you are spies. By this, you shall be tested by the life of Pharaoh. You shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Verse 16,. Send one of you and let him bring your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you or else by the life of Pharaoh. Surely you are spies? And he put them all together in custody for three days. All right, Let me.
Speaker 2:Let me just pause there for a second with this rendering of the scripture I was reading out of the English Standard Version. When we do our plays, we pull from different translations and a lot of times I'll pull from my own translation, I'll go to the original Greek or Hebrew, the different manuscripts and I I cross check and try to be as thorough as possible and accurate as possible. So we have a mix of different translations coming through in the play or in the plays. Uh, I've, I guess you could even say um, some of the, some of it is from the ebonics translation. Yeah, um, we'll, we'll leave it at that. Some of you are nodding your heads because you know what I'm talking about. Yeah, um, I a. I had to say something. So listen to what guzik said and I said this on the other podcast, but if you didn't hear that, this is worth repeat repeating.
Speaker 2:When they said back in verse 13, when they said your servants are 12 brothers and the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the youngest to this day is with our father and one is no more. No more is a straight lie. I mean, because they didn't kill Joseph. They were going to, but they didn't. Because Judah stepped in and said you know what? We shouldn't kill our brother. After all, he's on our own flesh and blood. And how's it going to benefit us?
Speaker 2:Tell you what hey, let's sell him, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and Midianites and the Midianites and Ishmaelites, midian and Ishmael. If you do a little detective work and you go back, ishmael is a son of Abraham and so is Midian. And so these guys and this group of traders, the merchants or whatever you want to call them, the ones that buy Joseph, are basically kin. They are kin. I mean, they're from, they're just direct descendants. They are all directly descended from Abraham. I mean Abraham is Joseph's great grandfather. Yeah, so you had Abraham. He had a son named Isaac, and Isaac had a son named Jacob, and Jacob had a son named Joseph. So you have Abraham being the great-grandfather, but Abraham also was the direct father of Ishmael, the father of the Ishmaelites and Midian, also with his second wife, and he became the father of the Midianites.
Speaker 2:So this is awful. First of all, they bought him and took him down to Egypt and sold him and made money off him. What gets that? That's awful. So these guys, they knew that their brother Joseph was not dead. They didn't know where he was. They thought, maybe. I mean they must have thought, okay, maybe he's a slave. He was sold as a slave Somewhere in Egypt. You know he's slaving it out. But to say he is no more, that's not cool at all, that's a straight lie.
Speaker 2:Listen to what Guzik says. He says saying Joseph was dead didn't make him dead. Saying Jesus isn't alive doesn't make him dead. Jesus is alive and among us. That was worth saying on two different podcasts because it's profound and the world likes to say, you know, oh well, jesus is a good guy, but I don't. You know he died, I don't believe he's alive. Whatever you say, that doesn't mean nothing. That doesn't make him dead. Jesus is alive. Can I get an amen? I'm going to stick to the text this time instead of going ahead, because last time I got into it and I was like all right and I went into this whole apologetics thing explaining that Christ is alive. So, verse 14, Joseph.
Speaker 2:In chapter 42, joseph, he starts breaking it down. Man, he's like you guys are spies. And it's amazing because it says that's when he remembered his dreams. Basically, you know, in this encounter, and he remembered his dreams, and he doesn't say he interpreted dreams, but he remembered his dreams and he's good interpreter. So he's, uh, his.
Speaker 2:What was his first dream was? Um, he said, I had a dream that we were all binding our sheaves of grain and my sheave rose up and your sheaves all came and bowed down before mine. That's one. And then the next dream he had uh, he said the sun, the moon and 11 stars all came and bowed down before me. And here his brothers are bowing down before him now. He had other people bowed down before me and here his brothers are bowing down before him Now. He had other people bowed down before him. I mean, he was basically the governor of the land, but when his brothers came and bowed down, that was like the sheaves of grain in his dream. And he was like what? And they did not recognize him. Of course he was also speaking Egyptian. He wasn't speaking Hebrew.
Speaker 2:Then he had him put in custody for three days. Then he had him put in custody for three days. So you guys are going to be tested to see if you are indeed telling the truth. You're honest men. Basically you've guys. You know you've claimed you're honest men. Let's see, let one of your number go and get this youngest brother and the rest of your being is going to stay locked up. Okay, keep that in mind.
Speaker 2:So verse 18, on the third day, he had him locked up for three days. On the third day. That's really important, and of course we know that Christ rose on the third day, and so that's one of the reasons why we point that out. On the third day, joseph said to them do this and you will live, for I fear God. Said to them do this and you will live, for I fear God.
Speaker 2:This should give the brothers hope, because someone that fears God you know, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, knowledge. It prolongs life, it's a fountain of life. If you look in Proverbs, there are Proverbs that begin with the fear of the Lord. Dot dot dot is. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, the beginning of knowledge, it prolongs life, it's a fountain of life. And it should have given the brothers some kind of hope, because somebody that fears God is not going to do somebody dirty. They're not going to shove anything under the rug. We serve a just God. Our God is just and demands justice. So he doesn't shove anything under the rug, man, he doesn't let anything slide, he doesn't look the other way, he can't take a bribe, he is 100%, perfectly just, deserve to have a relationship with the creator of the universe, because we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Romans 3.23.
Speaker 2:So every single person has fallen short in one way or another. And if you fall short, fail to hit the mark, which is what that term sin means. It's an archery term. You fail to hit the bullseye in perfect righteousness and holiness. Now somebody out there listening right now is well, I'm not that bad of a guy. Okay, all right, yeah, you might not be a bad guy, but have you ever, have you ever had a thought, just a thought? That's not even right. And if you say no, you've just been disqualified, because that's a straight lie.
Speaker 2:If you look at the Ten Commandments, there is not one person walking on the planet right now that has kept the Ten Commandments their entire life. Now you might be able to pull off one day, might be able to pull off a couple hours here and there, where you, with all your, might keep every commandment. There's not one person that has kept every commandment. Oh, I don't know, pastor. No, I don't know about that. Oh well, okay, let me educate you real quick on the grievous position you find yourself in your situation.
Speaker 2:The first commandment says you shall have no other gods. It's Exodus 20 for you guys that don't know. But the first commandment says you shall have no other gods before me. Okay, well, I don't have any gods. You know I don't have any other gods. Okay, wait a second. Now you put I mean from any other gods. Okay, wait a second. Now you put I mean from the earliest age, from childhood, we put ourselves before God. We put family, friends or our job. How about putting a job before God? Think about this. Now, what do we have we put before God as far as importance? And if you tell me right now that you've never put something before God as far as importance, you're disqualified again. It's like I said you're disqualified man. That's a lie right there. That's bearing false witness. How about your rabid sports teams or movies or internet or car or whatever money, all these things we have put and often do Shame on us. But I mean we put before God as far as importance.
Speaker 2:Second commandment says you shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or on earth below, or that is in the water underneath. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. Now, this one is similar to the first, I mean, a lot of times people paint God in their own image. How many times have we heard this? God wouldn't send someone to hell. My God wouldn't send someone. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, hey, come on now. That's contradicting Scripture. My God's a God of love. He loves people unconditionally. Hey, man, that's true, but you're making God in the image you want him to be, not the image the scripture gives us. You're creating a God after your own heart, your own imagination, and that breaks the second commandment.
Speaker 2:The third commandment says you shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless. Who takes his name in vain? Yeah, man, this one I mean. If you've ever said Jesus's name in a way that's not calling on him, that's not cool, and unfortunately, many people will. You drop a hammer on your foot and they're calling out for Jesus, are they? No? But you know, even yelling God Almighty, you're not calling on the Lord. You're not calling on God Almighty there.
Speaker 2:You know, and you could even expand this a little bit more this, of course, was to the church, but in Ephesians 4.29, you Christians out there, ephesians 4.29, to the church. But in Ephesians 4.29, you Christians out there, ephesians 4.29, you Christians out there, listen, and I count myself in this too let no corrupting talk come out of your mouth, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. No corrupting talk. Man, none, none. How do you do that? You got to do it by the power of the Spirit. You know it's difficult for some and some it's not. You know it's not that difficult. When the Lord called me to Him, much closer to Him, and started preparing me for ministry, my mouth cleaned up. I wasn't really a sailor. I didn't talk like a sailor anyway, but certain things sting when you say them. So I encourage you Christians with the word let's check our language. Amen, okay, wait, wait. We're not done with these Ten Commandments yet, though, so I'm definitely not done.
Speaker 2:Fourth commandment remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord, your God, on it. You should not do any work. You, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, your livestock, sojourners with you or within your gates. For six days, the Lord made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that's in it, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Speaker 2:When was the last time one of y'all took a Sabbath? And to take Sabbath it doesn't mean a day of vacation, being off from work. Hey, no, no, no, no. The idea of the Sabbath is you're not working your normal work, but the day is dedicated to the Lord. And actually I would encourage you here Dedication to the Lord. Man, take a day and pursue Him. Prayer, fasting, worship, praise, and so it's not like you just kick up, kick your feet up and watch ESPN all day. Nah, man, this day's dedicated to the Lord.
Speaker 2:Fifth commandment honor your father and your mother. Hey, I know for a fact I failed at that. Sixth commandment you shall not murder. Okay, all right. Maybe some of us haven't done this. You know that's, that's, that's, but Jesus said hey.
Speaker 2:If right, maybe some of us haven't done this, you know that's, but Jesus said hey, if you're angry with your brother, you've murdered him in your heart. What, hey? So in a sense we have broken that commandment you shall not commit adultery. Oh man, I don't. I haven't cheated on my wife, not like that, hey man. If you looked at a womantery, oh man, I haven't cheated on my wife, not like that. Hey man. If you looked at a woman with lust in your heart, that's kind of my point there. We're all guilty, man, hey. But let's put that past tense. We were all guilty, but we have been made clean through the blood of the Lamb.
Speaker 2:Hallelujah, we have been made clean and brought near Praise God Because of faith in Christ. We have been cleaned up and these things that have disqualified us, these commandments, the law Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Ha ha, that's Romans 10.4. Hallelujah, christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Ha ha, that's Romans 10.4. Hallelujah, christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. We keep the Sabbath in Christ through faith. I'm not gonna. I don't have time to go down why we're not Sabbatarians trying to keep that part of the law. We keep it in Christ.
Speaker 2:But the practical elements of it still apply and make sense. Hey, bottom line is nobody has been perfectly righteous, meaning everybody has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And this just God, who is 100% just, must by definition must punish sin. If he didn't, if he shoved stuff under the rug or looked the other way, you could charge him with being unjust. If he just let stuff, no, this is where the cross of Christ comes in man.
Speaker 2:This is amazing to me because God was able, and he's the only one who could do it, he was able, to be the just, honest judge judging sin. And yet he found a way to extend mercy to us, the guilty ones, to extend mercy to us, the guilty ones, and he took our penalty on the cross, the cross of Christ. Where he took the penalty, he was our scapegoat, he was the one. Our sins were transferred to him, amen, the sinless Son of God, and he was able to extend love to us. And then he adopted us into His family. This is amazing. And then, on the third day, on the third day, christ was raised to life again, because his sacrifice was accepted by God.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:The gospel is absolutely when you start drilling into it and looking at it and saying, whoa man, I had nothing to do with this. This is the grace of God. And so Joseph's brothers, hearing him say, I fear God something should have said. Okay, well, at least we know you have a chance. And then he says if you are honest men, this verse 19,. If you're honest men, let one of your brothers remain. Now he's flipped it around. They were all going to stay, but now he's like just let one of them stay, Remain here with me. The rest of you go and carry grain for your family and your households Verse 20,. And bring your youngest brother to me so that your words may be verified and you shall not die. And they did so. Then they said to one another In truth, we are guilty concerning our brother in that we saw the distress of his soul when he begged us and we didn't listen. That's why this distress has come upon us. And in verse 22, reuben says to them Did I not tell you not to sin against that boy, but you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood. This has been 22 years and these guys still have no peace.
Speaker 2:22 years have passed since they took that 17-year-old and sold him, threw him in the pit, then pulled him out the pit and sold him to kinfolk, ishmaelites and Midianites. They didn't know verse 23,. They didn't know that Joseph understood them. There was an interpreter between them, so Joseph understood this whole thing, verse 24,. Then he turned away from them and wept oh, that's heavy. He wept because he understood, and it's been 22 years and these guys are still dealing with this. Didn't I tell you not to sin against him? But now we have a reckoning here for his blood. That looks like it's all the time.
Speaker 2:You know what? I can't believe it. We're out of time. I tell you what, though? We're going to continue this. We are going to continue this on the next episode. Okay, so next Friday we're going to continue this study. I'm sorry, I got into the. Well, no, I'm not sorry, I'm not going to apologize for getting into the Ten Commandments. You know, I like these biblical rabbit trails. We go down, but it's not, I don't even call it a rabbit trail. I like diving into the word. All right, so until we get together next week, the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Speaker 1:This program was made possible by the Plays on Word family of supporters. To find out more, check out our website at playsonwordorg. Thank you.
