A Boss After God’s Own Heart 1 / ABAGOH >>>

A Boss After God's Own Heart (ABAGOH)– Part 1 Joseph and his brothers

Genesis 37: 1-8 –KJV– These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? Or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

This short Bible story tells us about Joseph and his brothers. They hated him because their father Jacob had a special emotional connection with him. It is not that he did not love his other children, but there was just a special bond between Jacob and Joseph because Joseph was born in his old age, and we could say at a time when Rachel did not think that she could give children to Jacob. One way in which Jacob expressed his love for Joseph was that he made him a coat of many colors which symbolized the fact that he had been chosen to carry on the lineage. Thus it is understandable that Joseph’s brothers were jealous and upset about their father’s decision and preference that seemed unfair. Joseph had a dream that he absolutely wanted to share with his brothers, even though they hated him. They immediately understood the meaning of the dream and hated Joseph the more. Later on, Joseph had another dream and shared it once again with his brothers and with his father. Through that second dream, God was confirming the fact that there was a higher calling upon the life of Joseph and that he was going to become somebody great. The concern of Joseph’s brothers and their rejection of his dreams and its meaning were expressed in two main questions that they asked Joseph:

1. Will you reign over us? 2. Will you have dominion over us?

In other words, Joseph’s brothers were asking him if he was going to be their boss one day. As we continue to read the story of Joseph in chapters 39 to 50 of the book of Genesis, we see that God really fulfilled His plan for Joseph and placed him in a position of power; he became the second most important person in Egypt after Pharaoh. But God did not set Joseph in that position just to give him a feeling of importance or to comfort him after all the trials he had been through ever since his brothers had sold him into Egypt. God did not let him become his brothers’ master just for him to become proud and brag about how much God had blessed him more than them despite their bad treatment and their jealousy. Joseph became Pharaoh’s Chief Executive to save the lives of countless of people including his own family that had remained in Canaan, but later went to live with him in Egypt due to the severe famine that lasted for seven years. The brothers of Joseph did not want to be dominated by their father’s favorite son at all. Who did he think he was, to even imagine that he was more important than all of them? But as Isaiah says, God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are much higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). Joseph’s brothers never could have imagined that the only reason why God was going to let Joseph be their master was that their lives were going to be in danger one day and the complete seed of Abraham could be extinguished, thus nullifying all the promises of God. But as we know, God is true to His Word and what He has spoken must come to pass. So God had to raise somebody whose heart was shaped and molded for such a great task.

The fact that Jacob loved Joseph more than his brothers was a reason enough to hate him. So the idea that Joseph could ever be their master and dominate them was just unacceptable. Well, it is true that God lifted up Joseph and gave him a very important position in Egypt, so that even his brothers had to bow before him just like Joseph had seen in his first dream. But the truth of the matter is that Joseph was elevated to that position of power and authority to become a servant. God’s purpose for making him the second most important person in Egypt after Pharaoh was not to dominate the people or exercise a harsh authority over his subordinates. God’s purpose in elevating Joseph was to make him a servant and use him for the preservation of life. This is also true about the Lord Jesus Christ. Even though He is Lord of all and Master of everything, Jesus came to be a servant. He used His power and authority for the preservation of our lives and for the salvation of our souls. God’s concept about being great is different than ours and as children of God, it is important that we understand the mind of God about it. For our human understanding, the idea of being someone great and at the same time the slave of all seems contradictory. Everybody likes to be great and be the boss. But not everybody wants to be a servant. But as Jesus thought us, the secret of being a great person lies in the ability to serve and lay down one’s talents, aptitudes and everything else we can offer so that those that are around us will feel our care, love and support. mt