The godly home is very significant. Joseph was obvious raised in such a home. We don't know any details; we just know the results. The results tell us he knew the history of his family very well. He knew the stories about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He knew the stories of his namesake, Joseph and his coat of many colors. He had been taught the stories of Moses, of the Children of Israel in the Wilderness, of the entry into the Promised Land.
The Rabbis and his parents would have shared with him many stories about King David, about his boyhood, about his being selected king, about his strengths and his weaknesses, about his music. Like all the boys of his time, he could sing many of his Psalms. They expressed his faith, his heart, and his hopes.
But mostly these Rabbis would have taught him about his God, the one who had made a covenant with Abraham and had made the same covenant with him. He would have been taught about God's choosing this people as His chosen people, the people by which He would bless all people. He would have been taught about the promise of the Messiah. He would have been taught how those promises were expressed in the writings of the prophets.
It would not have been a home without sin. But he would have been taught that when there is sin, there is also sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin. He would have known the feelings of guilt. He would also have been taught about forgiveness.
THE PRAYER: O Advent Lord, we are grateful for our homes. We are grateful for those who have taught us the history of our people, but mostly the stories of our great God. Bless our homes. Amen.
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