Bible Study Online ArticleLocated at the Bottom of Page
We're now at a point from within our journey, where we find ourselves entering into the phase where Israel's foundation, in regards to the twelve sons of Israel (Jacob), would begin to take shape. Notice how the actions of Jacob's twelve sons, would be a foretelling of what importance they would individually hold, when it comes to the nations they founded and how those nations would interact with Israel. We already have the accounts of Simeon and Levi, who were born second and third to Leah. We are told by the Sacred Record that they lead the deceptive and fatal attack upon the Shechemites. The reasons behind their attack, dealt with Shechem defiling their sister Dinah. Some would teach that it was this event that caused God to allow Rachel's death during the birth of Benjamin. I tend not to indulged in these types of speculations, but for the record, I definitely don't agree with this one. Be that as it may, we are now told how Reuben sinned and perhaps lost his birthright because of it. Reuben was entitled traditionally (or so it seems) to be the next steward of the Abrahamic Covenant, being that he was Jacob's first born. But there's one thing that I've been noticing when it comes to the telling of the Scriptures. I've noticed that it really doesn't matter what order of birth you were born in when it comes to what God has predestine you for. Keep in mind that Abraham was chosen by God and he wasn't the first born in his father's household. Although he was listed first in the Holy Scriptures, being that data suggest that he very well could have been born after his brothers Haran and Nahor (who was named after his grandfather by the way). Nahor would eventually marry Haran's daughter, so this would suggest Haran was born first, in regards to the order between the two brothers. I believe Abraham was listed first because of his dignity, which is not uncommon in the telling of the Scriptures, when one is listed before the older sibling. Moses was listed before his oldest brother Aaron and Shem (Noah's son) was listed first before his brothers, Ham and Japheth. Yes you read that right, Shem was not the first born of Noah's sons. But a majority of Christians, are taught to believe this to be so, simply because Shem's name is often put first from out of the three. But take note of this Scripture: "Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born." -- (Genesis 10:21) Be that as it may, another example would be that Ishmael was born before Isaac and yet, Isaac ends up carrying the Abrahamic Covenant banner instead of Ishmael. Another example would be that Esau was born before Jacob and yet, Jacob would eventually become the Abrahamic Covenant banner ambassador, instead of Esau. Regardless of how it came about, Jacob was predestined by God to be the rightful holder of the birthright in the first place. Now I mentioned all of these different examples, because Joseph would play a very important role when it comes to the nation of Israel, even though he wasn't the first born from out of Jacob's twelve sons. But let's take it step-by-step so that we can delightfully consume the Word of God. Trust me, it tastes so much better when you can savor and enjoy it, without force feeding yourself with an overload of fractured information over a short period of time. So let's move forward, for we now know that Reuben, Simeon and Levi had already made major mistakes in their early lives. Now I'm not suggesting that this was the reason why God chose Joseph to play an important part in Israel's future, or why he became Jacob's favorite son. There are other factors that would play into this and I will address them shortly. The reason why I'm mentioning these events, is because I like to try to make natural sense and put forth sound reasoning on why things turned out the way that they do, when it comes to anything that the telling of the Scriptures would reveal to us. Basically, if I can add reason and logic to the events and the reactions behind the actions, then I can learn and gain wisdom from them and apply it appropriately to my own life. Although the time period may be different from where we are today, the principles and precepts of the Sacred Text remains the same. Now as we move forward. Joseph was still a young boy at the age of seventeen, in which he was a keeper of the flock just like his father Jacob, before him. We are next told that he was in the field with his brothers: Dan and Naphtali the sons of Bilhah; and with Gad and Asher the sons of Zilpah. What we learned next, is that Joseph would observe his brothers doing wrong while they were out in the field. Because of this, he would bring back a bad report to his father. Needless-to-say, when his brothers had found out about what Joseph had done, they weren't too happy about it. This would suggest that Jacob had trusted Joseph enough, to have him secretly monitor his brothers behaviors while they were away from the house. It's at this point in the Sacred Account that we now find out, that Joseph was indeed Jacob's favorite, for he loved him more than any of his other sons. The Scripture also points out the reason for this, in which it states that it was because Joseph was born to Jacob at an old age, being that he was ninety-one years old when Joseph was born: "Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors." -- Genesis 37:3 Now I personally don't believe it's because he longed for a particular child which took awhile for him to get, like his grandfather Abraham before him. Keep in mind that Abraham was one-hundred years of age when Isaac was born to him and Sarah. And although he already had a son with Hagar, that was named Ishmael. And while were here, Ishmael wasn't the "promise seed" that the Lord had foretold to Abraham earlier, as a particular world religion would insist on claiming. This event would be different with Jacob, for it involved Rachel, the wife he loved with all his heart. Jacob would endure the bickering and competitive fighting between Rachel and Leah, his two wives. He would watch for years, how God would bless Leah early with four sons, followed by two more, before Rachel had any kids of her own. He would watch how Rachel had longed for that opportunity, trying everything in her power to make a family of her own. But it didn't matter how hard she tried, that void would never be filled until Joseph was born. Can you imagine the excitement and happiness that Jacob had for the love of his life, when Rachel could finally call a child, one of her own? God would eventually bless her with another son who was named Benjamin, but unfortunately she would lose her life in the process. What this meant, was that Jacob would lose the wife he held dear and true to his heart and on top of this, Joseph would lose his mother at a very young age. I can see how that would drive the two closer together and this would also explain the close relationship and strong bond that Joseph and his baby brother Benjamin would eventually develop throughout the years. Next we find that Jacob had given Joseph a coat of many colors. This was not an ordinary coat, for the Scripture tells us that it was a very expensive ornamented robe. Now some would teach and preach that this was an indicator that Joseph would become the next steward of the Abrahamic Covenant, which meant that he would inherit the birthright over his other brothers. I must admit that I can't totally disagree with that notion, being that it's very well possible, since the other brothers had made some grave mistakes early on in their lives. I will try to address these mistakes by Joseph's brothers as we go forward, but overall, I think that Jacob gave him the coat for the reasons I pointed out earlier in this article. Besides, God will give Jacob a divine confirmation that might suggest that he was right to signal out Joseph. Needless-to-say, Joseph's brothers hated him for these reasons. They could not speak a kind word to him, being that their father loved him so much so. We will take a closer look at the "divine confirmation" that I'd mentioned early in this article. We will also see if Joseph brothers continue to hold serious discontent for him after this divine confirmation, or will they take their hatred further? Jacob - The Path of Uncertainty **YOUR CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE SERIES WOULD BE HERE**
68) <-CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE PAGE-> 69) Joseph the Interpreter of Dreams 71) Joseph & The Pit of Darkness 72) Jacob the Father of Sorrow 73) The Importance of Judah's History 76) Tamar's Revenge 78) Joseph the Servant of Favor 79) Potiphar's Wife Pursues Joseph 82) The Dreaming Cupbearer & Baker 84) Joseph's Dark Dreams Interpretation 85) Joseph the Overseer of Egypt 
|
|
|
