Verse of the day: Genesis
37:2 This is the history of Jacob.
Joseph, being seventeen
years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his
father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.
As
we begin the story of Joseph, we find that he was loved by his father, and
hated by his brothers. Their hatred was fueled by a few factors. The first was
Joseph’s honesty and refusal to participate in whatever evil acts his brothers
chose to involve themselves in. The second was his father Jacob’s favoritism
toward him, and the outward demonstration of it (v. 3-4). Finally, it was not
just their envy over what Joseph communicated about his dream that one day they
would bow down to him, but it seems that there was a bit of arrogance in how he
communicated his dream; earning his father’s rebuke (v. 5-11). Even as a young
man, we see that Joseph was a man of integrity; and even though his honesty
will land him in a pit, later in life he holds to his integrity even though it
lands him in prison. Oh that we, as God’s children, would do all we can to be
known as people of integrity who refuse to partake in the wicked, dishonest,
behavior of the world. As born again believers we sadly underestimate the value
of having a reputation for being honest and irreproachable; it can make the
difference between being able to win someone to Christ or being criticized and
labeled a hypocrite. The Apostle Paul in writing to the church at Corinth, in respect
to the alms entrusted to him for the Judean saints, expressed the importance of
doing it in such a way that it would be honorable before both God and man (2
Corinthians 8:21). This means not taking dishonest “shortcuts” in whatever we
do. It means being honest in our dealings with people, whether at work, at
home, or in our social circles. Like Joseph, we must resist getting involved in
the sinful actions and activities of others, especially if those involved call
themselves “Christians”. There is too much that has been accepted as “okay”
amongst born again believers today that was once considered wicked even amongst
the unsaved. We must steer clear for the sake of our testimony. However, we
must also know that when we do this, we will be persecuted, and probably hated
by those who desire to do evil. What I find even sadder is when a brother/sister
in Christ puts us in a position to have choose between being honest or telling
a lie in order to cover up their lack of integrity at work or within our social
circles. They will often be upset with us when we refuse to compromise our
testimony for the sake of their dishonesty, and lack of integrity. Joseph’s
brothers showed their tendency toward doing evil when dealing with Shechem and
his people. In spite of that, Joseph held to his integrity and unwillingness to
compromise his honesty. In a world filled with wickedness, evil, and
dishonesty, if we refuse to compromise, and live for Jesus, we too will
experience this hatred (Matthew 10:22; Mark 13:13; John 15:18). Jacob did not
help Joseph’s situation any by openly favoring him. Parents, this should serve
as a warning to us that we need to be extremely careful about how we treat our
children; because, believe me, they will take note. Lastly, we see that Joseph,
although already chosen by God to eventually become the second in command in
Egypt, suffered from a bit of youthful pride. At seventeen, he was not quite
ready to take on that role, but God would allow him to experience a number of
painful events in his life that would prune his prideful spirit, and prepare
him for God’s plan for his life. Let us never forget that all that the Lord
allows us to experience, both good and bad, is always for our good, to mold us
and shape us into who He needs us to be in order to fulfill His plan for our
lives (Romans 8:28-29). When it is all said and done, God will use Joseph’s
integrity, and his pride, Jacob’s favoritism, and his brother’s hatred for him,
to lead Joseph exactly to where He wants him; and He will do the same in our
lives.
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