Today’s Scripture Reading (July 28, 2018): Genesis 37
American
Politician Bob Riley commented that “hard times don't create heroes. It is
during the hard times when the 'hero' within us is
revealed.” Maybe the discovery of a hero is much like someone who mines
for jewels in the earth. The miner does not create the jewel, but rather
reveals it among the much less valuable rocks that surround it. A hero who
never experiences hard times remains hidden among the people, waiting for the
moment that requires their action. So no one knows who the hero might be among
us, until that moment when a hero is needed, and then we get to watch them step up. I suspect
that the identity of the everyday heroes, with whom we spend our time, might
surprise us. Those who we expect to be heroes might cower in fear when the
situation calls for them to step up. And those who we would predict would cower
in fear might step up. But the truth is that we will never know until that time
of conflict is upon us.
Most of would
probably argue that Joseph is the hero of
this portion of the story arch dedicated to his exploits. But I am not sure
that we would be right. If I am brutally honest, while many biblical experts
call Joseph “a type of Christ” and often minimize his negative character
defects, I have to admit that I cringe at the things that Joseph does early in
his life. He is the favorite child of his father, something that his father
either refuses or cannot hide, and as a result,
he seems to become more of a spoiled brat than a hero in the making. Early in
the story arch, Joseph is an insolent child that seems to enjoy lording his
status over those of his brothers. There is no doubt that the circumstances of
Joseph’s life will change him, and by the end of the story, he will be the hero. But as his story begins, he is not
heroic in any way.
The hero of
the early part of the story is someone that we rarely hear about in church. His
name is Reuben. Reuben is the oldest of the children of Jacob. His mother is
Leah, Jacob’s first wife, and the wife that Jacob most often seemed to reject.
He is Joseph’s half-brother, whose mother was Dad’s favorite wife, Rachel. We
should not minimize the effect that this kind of favoritism likely had on the
boys.
Favoritism by
dad, not just of his children, but also between their mothers, set-up a
situation where jealousy between the brothers reached an epic level. Add to
that jealousy the dreams and the apparent insolent and prideful attitude of
Joseph, and it is not hard to see why the boys are about to turn on the dreamer.
At this moment, Joseph’s brothers decide that they can kill Joseph and finally be rid of him. An
extreme solution to their problem? Most definitely. But it is Reuben
that steps in as the oldest brother and suggests a different path. His motive,
we are told, is so that he could come
back later and free his brother taking him back to his father. Deep down, he
probably thought that the scare this incident would provoke in Joseph might do
his little brother good. Of course, God had a different idea.
So, in the
end, the path to Israel’s Salvation involved the favoritism of a father, the insolent
pride of a dreamer, the evil plans of nine brothers, and the efforts of an
unexpected hero named Reuben to keep his brother alive. And, of course, the
faithfulness of a God who put it all together.
Tomorrow’s Scripture
Reading: Genesis 38
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