Everyone has one—a person in life who is hard to love and
easy to loathe. For ten of Jacob’s sons,
that not-so-special somebody was their baby brother, Joseph. Born to Rachel when Jacob was nearly ninety, Joseph
was boldly and brazenly heralded as father’s favorite. Being “Papa’s Pet” wasn’t his fault, but
Joseph did himself no favors by tattling on his brothers’ bad deeds and telling
them about his big dreams. None of this
set well with his siblings and neither did the beautiful robe presented only to
Joseph.
“When his brothers saw
that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not
speak a kind word to him”(Gen. 37:4).
Given Jacob’s lopsided love and Joseph’s loose lips, the brothers’
jealousy can be understood, but their actions can never be justified.
One day Jacob sent Joseph to check on the family and the
flock. As soon as his brothers saw him
coming, they began scheming. A suggested
murder plot was lessened to simple terror and misery, so they grabbed Joseph,
jerked off his special coat, and shoved him down a dry well. Then they sat down to munch their lunch.
In the distance a trading caravan was making its way through
the desert. “Since we won’t get anything
for killing him, let’s sell him,” one suggested, so they pulled Joseph from the
pit and began bartering. He pleaded for
his life, but they closed their ears, pocketed the pay, and walked away—slightly
richer but so much poorer. To cover
their crime, they slaughtered a goat, spread its blood on Joseph’s coat, and
said to Dad, “Look what we found. Check
and see if it belongs to you-know-who.”
Joseph was gone.
Jacob was grieved. The brothers
were guilty. And for many years, all
suffered severely because of the sin.
Be careful. Dislike
quickly becomes disdain and soon you will despise. While you can’t control the actions of
others, you do choose your own attitudes.
If you let your feelings determine your follow-through, everyone
involved will end up in a painful pit from which escape is never easy.
So if you
can’t stand someone, don’t knock them over.
Kneel down.
God will
help you handle your hate before all get hurt.
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