Most great hero epics have an important parallel: the development of the hero. The complelling beauty of many stories is not that the hero was born into greatness; but instead the hero had to overcome unsual circumstances before deafeating his/her nemesis. The development and growth of the hero what makes the stories so uplifting. Bible and Literary heroes often share this quality.
When we are intorduced to Joseph, there is not much promise there. The Bible reader is introduced to a 17 year-old kid snitching out his older brothers, who by the way, are grown men much older than him. To complicate matters, these brothers we born not to his mother, Rachel, or his step-mother Leah, but rather to their comcubines. Needless, to say their was more going one than just a "bad report." (Gen 37)
To complicate things even more, the Bible says that his father Jacob, loved him more than the other brothers. Joseph was Jacob's favorite son, born from his favorite wife (Gen 29:31). Jacob even made Joseph a special robe, an annoing reminder to all his brothers that he has his father's preferred son. I am not an expert, but publicly loving one son more than the others has to be the quickest way to create a dysfunctional family.
But the story still gets worse for the young man. In addition to all the above, Joseph lacks the critical life-skill of being tactfull. After having some dreams that seem to foretell his supremacy over all his family; the boy decides it a good idea to put his decorative robe on and tell these dreams to eleven grown men who hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. Even his father had to rebuke him for his lack of common sense.
So we witness the introduction of a Bible hero. God obviously had a lot of work to do in Joseph's heart. So in His providence, God allowed the brothers to sell Joseph to some merchants on their way to Egypt. Joseph is about to go to hero school.
Questions For Reflection:
Are there any immature qualities in your life that are keeping you from becoming the hero or heroine God needs you to be?
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Pastor Luis, thank you so much for sharing these devotions. I miss your preaching and teaching so much it makes me feel like I found a lost piece of a puzzle:)
ReplyDeleteI miss you too H! We are going through a Bible reading program called the Essential 100 (E100). 5 Scriptures per week for 20 weeks. I am blogging to supplement the readings with a devotional. You can download a planner at http://www.ministryplanet.net/sites/e100/Downloads
ReplyDeleteI think these immature qualities are sometimes hidden from us until we go thru a trial. After the trial, our eyes become open to…well…our imperfections. I know that I was oblivious to many of my faults until I went thru a trial. Oh, the many more to come…and thankfully because the trials keep recreating me to the person God designed me to be.
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