They Didn't Know
I learned something new in our study of Joseph -- a little gem I had never noticed before -- something that was implied but not said outright. Here's what our commentary led us to notice:
Pharoah was excited to learn that Joseph's brothers had come. He was happy for Joseph.
I had always thought this spoke well of Pharoah and Joseph's relationship. That the Pharoah would be happy for him. That Pharoah would want to meet Joseph's family.
But the commentary pointed something else out.
Joseph hadn't told Pharoah of his brother's sins.
If Joseph had told Pharoah, Pharoah probably would have been ready to rush to Joseph's rescue and help him punish his brothers for betraying Joseph and selling him into slavery.
But Pharoah didn't know. He welcomed Joseph's brothers with open arms because he didn't have any pre-set prejudices against them.
Joseph hadn't told his sob-story. He didn't gossip. He didn't seek sympathy or justification from his Egyption peers.
That is something that I fall short in. And I need to work on this.
Joseph's brothers had changed for the better, as proven by the way they passed Joseph's tests. They weren't the envious, resentful, sell-your-own-brother-into-slavery type of men anymore.
But if Joseph had told all of Egypt what foul creatures his brothers were, would the children of Israel been welcomed into Egypt and given the best of the land? How would God's plan -- sending Joseph ahead of them to save their lives -- played out if Joseph had turned the Egyptians against them?
And it is much easier to turn people against someone than it is to turn the opinion back. Joseph's brothers had changed, but how hard would it have been to convince Pharoah of that if Pharoah was already prejudiced against them?
My grandma once told me that it is hard to forgive someone who hasn't wronged you. What she meant was that if I had hurt Grandma, she could forgive me directly. But if I had hurt my aunt, and my Grandma heard of it and was angry with me for my aunt's sake, then it would be hard for Grandma to forgive me. She would feel she had to hold onto the resentment for my aunt's sake.
But Joseph didn't have to worry about that because Joseph hadn't told the Egyptians.
Pharoah was excited to learn that Joseph's brothers had come. He was happy for Joseph.
I had always thought this spoke well of Pharoah and Joseph's relationship. That the Pharoah would be happy for him. That Pharoah would want to meet Joseph's family.
But the commentary pointed something else out.
Joseph hadn't told Pharoah of his brother's sins.
If Joseph had told Pharoah, Pharoah probably would have been ready to rush to Joseph's rescue and help him punish his brothers for betraying Joseph and selling him into slavery.
But Pharoah didn't know. He welcomed Joseph's brothers with open arms because he didn't have any pre-set prejudices against them.
Joseph hadn't told his sob-story. He didn't gossip. He didn't seek sympathy or justification from his Egyption peers.
That is something that I fall short in. And I need to work on this.
Joseph's brothers had changed for the better, as proven by the way they passed Joseph's tests. They weren't the envious, resentful, sell-your-own-brother-into-slavery type of men anymore.
But if Joseph had told all of Egypt what foul creatures his brothers were, would the children of Israel been welcomed into Egypt and given the best of the land? How would God's plan -- sending Joseph ahead of them to save their lives -- played out if Joseph had turned the Egyptians against them?
And it is much easier to turn people against someone than it is to turn the opinion back. Joseph's brothers had changed, but how hard would it have been to convince Pharoah of that if Pharoah was already prejudiced against them?
My grandma once told me that it is hard to forgive someone who hasn't wronged you. What she meant was that if I had hurt Grandma, she could forgive me directly. But if I had hurt my aunt, and my Grandma heard of it and was angry with me for my aunt's sake, then it would be hard for Grandma to forgive me. She would feel she had to hold onto the resentment for my aunt's sake.
But Joseph didn't have to worry about that because Joseph hadn't told the Egyptians.
The commentary also brought out the fact that the Egyptians weren't in danger from Joseph's brothers. If you know that somebody is a current rapist, there is nothing wrong with warning people to not be alone with them. If you know somebody is a current swindler, there is nothing wrong with warning people to not go into business with them.
ReplyDeleteJoseph's brothers were openly resentful of him when they were younger -- if they were just as openly resentful in Egypt, people would have steered clear of them because of their bad attitudes. Joseph's brothers were nowhere near Egypt for many years -- there was no need to warn the Egyptians even if the brothers were dangerous. And Joseph's brothers had changed by the time they came to Egypt so, again, there was no reason to warn people against them.