- araratchurch
- Jun 16, 2024
- 3 min read
“Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe. But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.”
Genesis 37:3-4 NLT
The Fall of man not only put a separation between man and God, it also complicated the relationships among fellow human beings.
The introduction of sin was the catalyst for the “blame game.” That is to say, just as Adam blamed Eve for what he did, his offspring—of which we are all a part—begin to scrutinize each other, comparing themselves among themselves. This tendency toward comparisons and competition often leads to seeing life as a balance in which if one has something that another does not have, the one not having, feels “cheated” and may well use that feeling to legitimize abuse of others.
Additionally, sin also introduced the dynamic where people look to others to define them, to approve them. Bear in mind, that’s looking to another broken soul to tell you who you are.
Accepting Christ brings peace with God. But the fact is, it should also bring peace with our Christian brothers and sisters. Sadly, that is not the case in most of the Church world.
Indeed, James addresses this issue.
“What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.”
James 4:1-2 NLT
James speaks of the sinful tendency to want what other people have, and becoming willing to do bad things to get it.
Now, we know that as we learn to trust in the Lord, looking to Him as the source of our sense of well-being, we will decrease our dependence on other human beings to supply our needs, ego, and otherwise.
Given, living in a fallen world, we know that what other people think, or what we think other people think about us, can have a marked influence on our sense of well-being and our behavior. It never feels “fair” when someone is preferred over you.
What we must see in the story of Joseph and his brothers is the fact that it was not Joseph‘s fault that his father preferred him over the others. But that fact didn’t lessen the brothers’ resentment towards Joseph. He became the “reason” for their unhappiness. And on top of that, now he’s gotten this wonderful coat that he is “showing off.”
Wait a minute. Are you kind of feeling a little angst towards Joseph yourself? Is so, why?
The fact is, we have all been there: Whether founded in reality, or founded in our own inner hurts, we have all faced times when we have felt shortchanged.
How in the world does all this tie in with a discussion of justice? Again, to understand justice and injustice, we must know the excuses the devil will weaponize to produce great injustices, even genocides and holocausts.
Friend, our responsibility is to love true justice—not our idea of justice—but God‘s idea of justice. Again, this is only possible within a context of knowing that His ways are perfect; and, in the end, all will be set right. Don’t allow any excuse to provoke you to be a part of injustice in any form. Feelings of resentment, left unchecked, can lead to terrible things. But what about Joseph’s brothers?
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Jun 15, 2024
- 3 min read
“So Jacob settled again in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived as a foreigner. This is the account of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father’s flocks. He worked for his half brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing.”
Genesis 37:1-2 NLT
We leave our examination of the story of David and Bathsheba and turn to the story of Joseph and his brothers. We hope to discover further insight into the causes of injustice, and indeed, the remedy.
Jumping right in: Let’s face it, nobody likes a tattletale. You know the ones: looking for any infringement of decorum or edict to report to an authority, in order to ingratiate themselves to the authority.
If you view the account in our opening scripture as describing the actions of a tattletale, you just might find yourself empathizing with Joseph’s brothers later on in the story. But I will point out that there is no indication in the wording of this account that would paint Joseph as doing something wrong in giving his father the bad report about his brothers.
You know, there’s a reason why potential jurors are questioned as to their experience in terms of being the victim of some crime.
Now, the prosecution loves to have jurors who have suffered the same sort of injury that the aggrieved person has suffered at the hands of the defendant. But, make no mistake, the defense attorneys will try to disqualify anyone who has experienced a similar crime against themselves as that with which the defendant is being charged. Why? Because the person having experienced a similar wrong, will find it difficult to objectively decide guilt or innocence when they are emotionally invested because of their personal experiences.
I am reminding you of this aspect of human nature (what we have experienced may well cause us to identify with the injured party, or even the accused party), as a cautionary note. We may allow our experience to cause us to look with a distorted eye at someone else’s guilt or innocence. Believe it, that is the basis for much injustice. Yes, our experience may cause us to condone something we shouldn’t condone, or to condemn something we shouldn’t condemn.
But back to Joseph. After further examination of Joseph‘s character, when looking back at this account, we must assume that he felt he was doing what was right, and was protecting the interests of his father by giving him this report.
Nonetheless, who gets blamed by the one who has erred? Certainly not themselves! No, the “real problem” is that one who preaches righteousness and challenges error. Consider this:
“For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you.”
Romans 13:3 NLT
In a group, society, country, wherever there has been moral and spiritual decay, justice may become re-defined as shutting up those who are pointing out the evil deeds. I truly believe that if this scenario were happening in our modern society, Joseph would definitely be labeled as a hater, and would be “canceled.” Oh—wait—that’s just what Joseph’s brothers are going to attempt to do!
Let’s beware lest we allow in ourselves an attitude of disdain toward preachers of righteousness. They just might be doing the will of their Father; and in attempting to “cancel” them, you may find yourself trying to “cancel” God!
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Jun 14, 2024
- 3 min read
“David rose to his feet and said: “My brothers and my people! It was my desire to build a Temple where the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, God’s footstool, could rest permanently. I made the necessary preparations for building it, but God said to me, ‘You must not build a Temple to honor my name, for you are a warrior and have shed much blood.’”
1 Chronicles 28:2-3 NLT
Over the last couple of weeks we have considered the story of David and Bathsheba in order to glean more about God’s justice.
Someone looking at this story, knowing that David’s throne was chosen to be the throne that would never end (in that the Lord Jesus Christ would come from the house of David), may wonder how God could choose to use/honor a person with such major failings. Indeed, the Bible is fraught with flawed heroes.
First of all, there is none perfect except the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, some may use the fact that many of our biblical heroes are flawed, as an invitation to walk according to the flesh. They may suppose that since we are walking in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, there is no point in abstaining from fleshly lusts.
Some even contend that being conscious of sin, being aware of when we sin, indicates a lack of faith in the salvation we have received through Jesus Christ.
Child of God, making an occasion for sin is not biblical. You will not be able to find one example where God justified someone who willingly walked in opposition to His word. Quite the contrary, we are repeatedly instructed to abstain from fleshly desires. We are repeatedly commanded to observe God’s rules. We are mandated to walk in God’s way of being and doing, to walk in His righteousness.
King David loved the Lord, but in his human frailty, he allowed his desires to distract him, diverting him from doing what was right. As a matter of fact, Bathsheba was not his last failing; but every time he was made aware of his displeasing God, he turned to the Lord in repentance, accepting his punishment with humility and grace.
Remember, as we see mentioned in our opening scripture, David was not allowed to build the temple of the Lord he so fervently desired to build. However, when he was told by the Lord that he would not be used to build the temple, he did all that he could to prepare the things that would be needed for its building and furnishing.
Think of the case of Moses, though mentioned as being the friend of God, he was not allowed to go into the Promised Land because he disobeyed the command of the Lord:
“Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out. So the entire community and their livestock drank their fill. But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!””
Numbers 20:11-12 NLT
What we can learn from these situations is that God‘s justice is based on a complete knowledge of the whole situation—from what can be seen, to what can’t be seen. Only the Lord knows what is in a person’s heart and mind. And only the Lord knows the end from the beginning.
““Remember this, keep it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels. Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’”
Isaiah 46:8-10 NIV
So, David didn’t get to build the temple for God; and Moses didn’t get to go into the Promised Land. Yet, David’s throne will last forever, and Moses appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.
How do we make sense of this? We can’t. We must trust God, remembering that He is holy and perfect in judgment. We must also remember that the Lord is patient and long-suffering. But make no mistake, God’s justice will never be denied in the end.
Lest you still suppose that what David did concerning Uriah was a small thing to God, consider this commentary:
“For David had done what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight and had obeyed the Lord’s commands throughout his life, except in the affair concerning Uriah the Hittite.”
1 Kings 15:5 NLT
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!