It's amazing! Beginning a new study

As I have been studying and listening to the Spirit, I have been asking what we should study next. I was particularly moved with some readings in the Old Testament, and wanted to share what I'd learned with you.
My title is a trifle tongue-in-cheek, as it does seem amazing sometimes, how we can re-read an old, familiar passage and glean new blessings from it --  but then, the Spirit does that!

A little background first.... as homeschooled kids, our kiddos all endured the questions and the rolled eyes when people learned that they stayed "at home all the time, wasn't that boring?" And of course, this one: "How in the world can they learn how to get along with other people?" And other questions, too.
Socialization was never something that we worried about. If you can get along with your siblings on a twenty-four hour basis, and you have plenty of opportunities to get together with other homeschoolers, you're golden! Between co-operative classes, sports teams, and other activities, if we had participated in everything that was available to us, we'd never have found time to study! (Grin)
One activity that was eagerly anticipated was the yearly "Play Week." For that one week at a local college auditorium, we lived and breathed whatever script was in hand; we sewed costumes; we constructed sets; and we ate on the run until we finally gave the performances on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday matinee. Whew! I'm getting tired just remembering it!
Needless to say, our youngest was well-versed in what it took to succeed in these matters, and landed a plum role in her freshman college year.....the musical was "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat."

Since then, the familiar passages have been even more exciting and vivid for me, each time I re-read them. I'd like to lay the foundation this week, and then continue on. I hope you will join me!

Let's dive in!

Joseph's story can be put into one paragraph, if we truly shorten it down.....He was the favored son of his father (Jacob). When he was seventeen, his brothers had had enough and sold him as a slave -- he ended up in Egypt. After being falsely accused of rape, he was imprisoned, but after he correctly interpreted the Pharaoh's dream, he became prime minister of Egypt! Eventually, he welcomed his entire family to Egypt, which preserved the promise that was started for his great-granddad, Abraham.

Short and sweet, right?
Notice any similarities there?  A lot of the old commentaries note the resemblance between the lives of Joseph and our Savior. They say Joseph is a "type" of the life of Christ. That just means that there is a special kind of symbolism; it's almost a foreshadowing, they say, of the life and work of Christ here on earth.
Let's see...... Joseph was loved by his father. Hated and betrayed by his brothers. Sold for twenty pieces of silver. Accused and judged guilty of a crime he didn't commit. Promoted after he suffered. And he became the means of salvation for many -- even for those who had betrayed him.

Matches up pretty well, right? All of those things can be said about Jesus Christ, too!

I'm looking forward to the next few weeks of study. We will dig in again next time!