Title: To Have or Not to Have/ Topic: Attitudes
Today’s Reading: Genesis 37; Genesis 38; Psalm 7; Luke 15
Scripture: Luke 15:28-32
28 "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
31 " 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "
Observation: The attitudes of this older son are instructive. He seems to be resentful that his father is celebrating the return of his brother who has been ungrateful, disrespectful of his father's values, and disobedient in the extreme. In addition, the older brother also feels that the younger is being given benefits that he has not received. Why should someone less worthy get to have things that he didn't have? It's also interesting to note that even though he has had the benefits of living with the father, he has not really enjoyed being with his dad. He has had the mindset that he is “slaving” for his dad, not realizing that all the work he has done has been to his own benefit since the entire estate is his inheritance. A sense of obligation has robbed him of the joy of fellowship with his father.
Application: These are the lessons I can take away from the older brother: 1) Don't take up other people's offenses. God gives us grace to help us forgive those who offend us but he doesn't necessarily give it to a third party who takes up that offense. 2) I need to keep an attitude of gratitude so that I don't obey the Lord out of a sense of obligation or duty but because I love him and know he loves me and wants my best. I need to enjoy getting to know him and being in his company. 3) If I see someone enjoying blessings that I am not enjoying, I need to be happy for them and also have the attitude of a learner. Instead of resentment, I can realize that I am a joint-heir with Christ and that all he has belongs to me too. I can learn from someone who has figured out how to appropriate God's blessings and walk it them so that I, too, can enjoy all the benefits of the rich inheritance God has given me.
Prayer: Father, speak to me through the Holy Spirit whenever my attitudes get off track so that I may repent of them. I know the Bible says that you have given us all things, richly, to enjoy. I want to be a person who is focused on all that you have given me, not on what I feel may be lacking in my life. I want to be full of your grace and joy so that others see how good you are.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
2 Comments:
Yes it is hard to rejoice when you feel that you are being wronged. But rejoice in the Lord in all things.
Alex, I went to your blog and there was no place to post a comment to respond.
I went to the link you sent and read Mr. Shoher's interpretation of Gen. 37. I will summarize why I disagree with his interpretation:
1. He mentions that the Jews have a law that punishes kidnappers and murderers of Jews and that the brothers weren't punished. This seems to be one of the reasons why he feels they couldn't have intended to kidnap or murder Joseph, but the Law (Torah) wasn't given to the Jews until Moses (quite a bit after Joseph lived), therefore, there was no law in force at the time this story takes place.
2. He mentions that when Joseph went to find his brothers at Shechem, they had moved away to Dothan. In his opinion, this shows that his brothers had decided to "play a joke on him", but the clear indication of the text is that they moved on to Dothan before Joseph ever arrived. They did not see him coming from far away until he sought them out at Dothan.
3. The conversation among the brothers clearly indicates a plan to kill him, until Reuben suggests leaving him in a well to die so that they don't personally shed his blood. Apparently Reuben leaves the group for awhile, though it is not explicitly in the written account, and while he is gone Judah suggests selling Joseph into slavery when he spots a caravan of Midianites coming. His thinking, as he states in the text, is that it is better to get some profit from their brother Joseph than to just kill him. Reuben is upset when he returns and finds Joseph gone because it spoiled his plan to rescue his brother Joseph later.
4. If you read later in Genesis 42, when his brothers come to Egypt to get supplies during the famine, they discuss among themselves that they are having problems because of the sins they committed against Joseph. They have clearly harbored much guilt through the years for their evil actions and the grief they had caused their father.
5. Mr. Shoher mentions the youth of the "boys" and believes them to be too young to have such evil intent as to purposely want to kill Joseph or sell him into slavery. But Joseph was the 11th of 12 boys. All 10 of his older brothers, plus a sister, Dinah, were born before him. This would make the majority of them well into adulthood, even at the rate of one birth per year. They were not boys but men.
I think I covered most of the points. I may have missed a few but I believe this gives quite a bit of food for thought as to why I believe Joseph's brothers did intend to do him harm. If I may be of any further service, or if you want to discuss further or share any disagreements, I would be happy to respond. God bless you --- Cynthia
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