Welcome to the Word of the Lord Endures Forever with Pastor Will Whedon.

I admit, it tugs at my heart a bit.

My wife asked me once if I wanted to be buried in Richardsville, where all of my family on both sides for generations have been in turn.

I told her no, I'd be buried in Hamo with my family of faith,

but I get the very human impulse to want to be buried near one's ancestors.

The Word of the Lord endures forever is a daily verse-by-verse Bible study with the Church, past and present.

Pastor Whedon is leading us in a study of the book of Genesis, chapters 37 to 50.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Amen.

Greetings, people loved by God. In our last study, we heard Jacob's

blessings upon the two sons that he regarded as his proper children, since they were born from

the one woman that he always regarded as his true wife, Rachel. Joseph gets the bigger part of the blessing,

and its five verses are about the same length as the blessing spoken upon Judah

through whom the promised seed would physically descend. Why such detail in the blessing of Joseph,

through whom the seed would not come? Well, remember, St. Ambrose

helped us out by pointing out that Jacob loved and delighted in Joseph for the stunning

portrayal his life gave us of the coming seed. The pathway of Jesus' life was laid out for us in the sufferings and then the exaltation

of Joseph. So old Jacob heaps blessings of every kind upon this special child of his, who kept faith

with the God of His fathers and whom the God of his fathers had exalted and shepherd it,

blessing him in every way so that blessings crowned Joseph's head,

and that even astounded his blessed father.

And then the enigmatic blessing to Benjamin, calling him a hungry wolf? Remember that this was speaking

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