Special People in our Life

Genesis 48:10-13

All of us have special people in the Old Testament whose character and their actions have meaning to our lives; Joseph is one of those men in my life.  I am blown-away by his faith in God, but as a young man he seemed to be full of self.  He once told his mother, father, and his brothers that he had a dream, and in that dream they would all bow-down to him.  Nowhere in Scripture do we find that Joseph’s mother or father bow-down to him, but we do see that his brothers did so often, at a much later date.

What is wrong with Joseph’s dream?  It goes against the heart of God, it violates the Scriptures of honoring your father and mother found in Exodus 20:12 and Matthew 15:4, and it maybe that as Joseph was sharing his dream he got exuberant and added things that God never revealed to him.   This is a given, he was his fathers favorite, he was spoiled, in that he did not have to care for the flocks, but hung out with dad while his brothers did the heavy lifting.  It is my belief that Jacob carries some of the blame for Joseph being so full of self at this young age, it is clear that he often tattled on his brothers. 

Scripture does not give light to how often Jacob disciplined Joseph, but it looks as if he was given a pass in this area, and if so, Jacob, not Joseph, is responsible for his actions as a young boy.  But it is clear, that Jacob spent time with young Joseph talking about the God of Abraham and Isaac, and how Joseph was part of a promise. Yes, Jacob was faithful to teach about how God had lead him to Canaan, a God who is a covenant God.

The God who is unseen has been faithful in everyway to Joseph.  Joseph has no dissolutions on who has placed him in the position of the second most powerful man in all of Egypt, and it is that man who has learned to honor his father, verse twelve tells us the story; “Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.”  What a lesson Joseph taught to his sons that day, it maybe one of the greatest lessons a father can teach his sons, to respect and honor their father.  He did not do it with words, but with his actions; those are the lessons that have great meaning.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice