Listen to Nick read the Firestarter and Genesis 38:12-30.
Around this time of the year for over 2500 years, Jewish people have been proclaiming these readings. For the first time they are integrated into a sequence of readings for Christians. Think of the power of this as we join our Jewish brothers and sisters as they lift the scroll each Sabbath and chant these stories! This is the Torah— God’s precious communication with us.
This story fits well in Advent, for with Tamar, we have a direct descendant to Jesus. Tamar’s son Perez was an ancestor to David. (Matthew gives the list 1:3.) Jesus came from the family of David.
Look what the Lord does with the sinfulness and intrigue of ancestors! The Lord can use everything and everyone. In your family tree, you probably have some with a “shady past.” The Lord can use them for good.
This is the second of three parts of the Torah Portion Vayeshev (And He Settled)
Conservative and Reform Jewish congregations read only this part this year,
as also in this Bible plan.
Here is the entire portion in all three parts.
Learn about Bible Breaths Learn More…
Example: You turn all things into good.
The Saturday passages follow the reading list that Jewish people use in their synagogue worship
throughout the world. They are taken from
“The Torah,” the first five books of the Bible from Genesis to Deuteronomy
that are read each year beginning with autumn.
For all the Firestarters I recommend the ebook. You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or tablet. Check the menu options at the site for more information
The Bible Through the Seasons 