Joseph is the eleventh son of Jacob. His mother Rachael had two sons, himself and Benjamin. Jacob loved Joseph more than all other children of Leah, his stepmother because he was a son of his old age. Jacob bought him a coat of many colours and that was where the troubles of Joseph started. Joseph always reported his brothers to their father, Jacob. As a result, his brothers hated him the more; already they had hated him because of his dreams and because of their father's love for him. This led to several persecutions from his brothers, which included throwing him into the pit and selling him to Egyptian traders, who later sold him to Portiphar. One thing I saw in this place was the utter jealousy of his brothers but which was caused by Jacob their father. It's not always good to prefer one child to another. Parents should endeavor to love their children equally and they should create an egalitarian atmosphere around their children. In case where the parents can't love all of them equally, it will only be reasonable not to show that partial love towards the children, let them be ignorant of your partiality. Jacob made a mistake and it affected Joseph.
Meanwhile Joseph turned out to be a faithful and dutiful servant and this made his master, portiphar, love him. As a result, he gave Joseph free hand and made him manager over all his property. Portiphar's wife, however, had an ulterior motive towards him. She wanted to sleep with him. Joseph knew that such is a sin and abomination before God, he chose to run out naked than to sin against his God. His honesty landed him in the prison. Let's look at it this way, if it happened to any of us, will we continue to be honest and holy? People nowadays love to practice godliness when they are comfortable and are not bothered by life challenges. Once they are a little bit challenged they lose their faith. Joseph didn't disappoint God and God vindicated him and promote him to the palace. It is good to be persistent in doing what is right. Joseph became the prime minister in Egypt. Through him, his family members and the entire Isreal were preserved during the great world famine.
Some great lessons to learn from Joseph:
1. Have a forgiving heart. Do you know that his brothers initially planned to kill him before he was sold to the Egyptian traders. Yet Joseph had a forgiving heart. He forgave them all of their atrocious behaviors towards him. They sold him into slavery but God used that to promote him, he was able to forgive them. We should also endeavor to forgive whoever offend us. Life is not meant to be harbouring malice or anger. Forgive others so that God can forgive you of your sins too. God is always happy with forgivers. Always be like Joseph who shown his mercy even to his brothers who didn't deserve it.
2. Be proud of your father. Joseph brought his father before pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He was not ashamed to present his father to pharaoh, even though Jacob was old. He even asked for land for his family to tend their flock because they were shepherds. You should be proud to introduce your father anytime anywhere no matter who he is. He has done so much for you, and in return, you should make him happy. Many people today don't like to show their fathers off to people, not because their fathers are bad. Many do hide their parents away from people because they didn't want to be associated with them especially when the parents are old, many hide their parents from people because they are physically disabled.
3. Be a solution. Joseph rescued his father and the entire Isreal from famine. He used the wisdom and wealth God bestowed on him to help his people in a difficult time. If not for Joseph, it would have been difficult for them to survive the famine. Christian Youths should be able to think of godly and worthy things to do to alleviate the sufferings of their families such as possessing skills that can generate income. Also, make a decision to take good care of your parents when they are old.
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