1. Critique Genesis 37:5-34 from a Family Systems perspective. There is not a wrong answer. Try to find as much as possible about these Bible family situations. When they sit down, try to figure out what is going on in the family. With Genesis 37, there is one father, a few wives, and some sons and daughters. Joseph was born late into this family, and he was always set apart as special. Joseph had a very large regard for himself. There was a family crisis because Joseph thought so much of himself. There was no homeostasis in the family. There was not a good balance in this family. Joseph was one of the last born, but he was still supposed to inherit just about everything. There were a lot of subsystems in this family because of the multiple wives.

2. Critique Genesis 27:1-27 from a Family Systems perspective. In this passage, Jacob is passing his birthright to his son. There is a rivalry between him and the mother. There was some trickery in how all this was happening. There is a marital schism because the parents were aligned with the kids. There might have been a power struggle between the parents over who would run the next generation. Rebekah might have been selfishly wanting Jacob to take care of her, and Jacob may have been too afraid to stand up to her. Isaac might have known that he was being fooled but said nothing because he did not approve of Esau's wives. This family was loaded with triangulation.

3. Critique II Samuel 11:1-13 from a Family Systems perspective. In this situation between David, Bathsheba, and Uriah, there was circular causality. David was the identified patient, youngest son, hero, king, and murderer. He had power over Bathsheba, Uriah, and Joab all at the same time. He put Uriah in a double bind. Uriah and Bathsheba were cut off emotionally. Uriah was a scapegoat for David. David and Joab were in a double bind. Uriah was enmeshed with his work. Bathsheba put David in a double bind because of her pregnancy. David had a paradoxical motivation by urging Uriah to go to his wife. Maybe, he always intended to have him killed. There were some invisible loyalties. David was trying to keep an impossible secret. Bathsheba's willingness might signal problems for her at home. She did not set any boundaries for David. There was no symmetry. Bathsheba could have been setting David up. He may have gotten too much power too soon in life.

				Tom of Bethany

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