Oh the wonder of God’s deliverance from slavery! We were all enslaved before we were bought at
a great price.
When partiality
in a family is an issue, everyone pays-and no one more than the
one to whom partiality is shown.
As Joseph’s odyssey spans 3 chapters of Genesis, we feel the agony
of his betrayal by his brothers, and the despair of false accusation and
imprisonment. Finally, we feel his exaltation
of freedom and position that allowed him to save his dysfunctional family from
starvation.
Among Jacob’s 11 children, especially his late-life children, Joseph
was his father’s favorite. He was well-built
and handsome. Genesis 39:6 Surely Jacob
saw his beautiful and beloved Rachel in Joseph every time he looked at him. And so, Jacob gave Joseph a coat of many
colors, associated with authority within the regional cultures.
At the time of his brothers’ act of pent up jealousy and revenge,
Joseph was a teenager. He was sent on
errand of Jacob to find and report status of the family’s flocks of sheep. As Joseph tracked down his brothers,
he approached wearing his special coat and began an innocent yet infuriating
recitation of his dreams, indicating his future superiority over his brothers. Genesis 37:5-10 (Sometimes it’s best to keep our dreams to
ourselves.)
The brothers had “had enough!”
In their hatred of Joseph they conspired to kill him, fabricating the
alibi that he had been killed by a wild animal.
His coat of many colors became crimson red as it was dipped in the blood
of a goat the brothers killed to support their alibi. Reuben and Judah negotiated a “no kill
agreement” with their brothers; Reuben with the goal of not grieving their
father to death, and Judah the goal of selling Joseph into slavery for profit.
A clear principle of God’s purpose through-out Joseph’s journey jumps
off the pages of Genesis. God’s exaltation is never for the
individual, but only for His glory.
Exaltation + Ego = extravagant humbling. (The Patriarchs, Beth Moore)
No comments:
Post a Comment