… went after his brothers…

Why was Joseph so special in the eyes of the LORD? Why did Joseph receive the share of the firstborn? After my last three blogs talking about the shortcomings of Joseph, I want to digress a little to mention three important lessons we should learn from Joseph.

In Genesis 37:13, Jacob asked Joseph to go to his brothers who were herding their flocks, to see if everything was going well. Note that Joseph was his father’s favorite son, and though he was 17 years old, he was not helping his brothers… because he was his father’s favorite.

Joseph could have refused, especially knowing that his brothers hated him. Still he went. This is the first point we should notice.

When he came to Sechem, where his brothers were supposed to be. But they were not there. Now, that was not Joseph’s problem. His father asked him to find out how his brothers were doing. He could have simply gone back to his father, informing him that his brothers were not there. But not Joseph. Genesis 37:17 tells this,

So Joseph went after his brothers… (NIV)

Though his brothers hated him, he went looking for them. Though they were not talking to him, Joseph went an extra mile to find them. This is the second point we should notice.

Now, let us look at our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. God our Father, in His infinite love for us, decided to send His only Son to us. Jesus Christ knew that we would hate Him and crucify Him, yet Jesus chose to come.

We all went astray (Isa. 53:6). We were not there where we were supposed to be – in the presence of the LORD. Yet, Jesus came searching for us. Though we had deserted Him, Jesus came looking for us.

And, Joseph did the same thing to his brothers, that Jesus Christ did for us, His brothers and sisters. That’s the reason why Joseph received the share of the firstborn. And that is the first lesson we need to learn from Joseph.

Dear friend, let us ask ourselves today… when we need to do something good among people who hate us, what is our attitude? Are we willing to go that extra mile for them, though they are waiting to crucify us? Jesus Christ did that. Joseph did that.

Let us go that extra mile for that brother and sister who hate us. Let us crucify our self with our Savior. And, let us partake in His glory. God be with us. Amen.

2 Samuel 7:22““How great You are, Sovereign LORD! There is no one like You, and there is no God but You, as we have heard with our own ears.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved.

1 Peter 2:24

He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that dying to sins, we might live to righteousness; by His stripes you were healed. (MKJV)

நாம் பாவங்களுக்குத் செத்து, நீதிக்குப் பிழைத்திருக்கும்படிக்கு, அவர்தாமே தமது சரீரத்திலே நம்முடைய பாவங்களைச் சிலுவையின்மேல் சுமந்தார்; அவருடைய தழும்புகளால் குணமானீர்கள். – 1 பேதுரு 2:24

2 Samuel 7:22““How great You are, Sovereign LORD! There is no one like You, and there is no God but You, as we have heard with our own ears.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved.