Genesis 37:35
All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.
Tag: Bitterness
Jacob (Israel) was the father of 12 boys. They were and are the 12 tribes of Israel. Jacob favored Joseph over the other boys, “because he was a son of his old age.” Jacob’s favoring of Joesph made him despised in the eyes of his brothers. (NOTE: We, as parents, can contribute to how siblings treats each other.) When the other boys had a chance they sold Joseph into slavery. The reported a lie to their father that Joseph was torn and killed by a beast of the field. Yet, in reality, it was the beast of envy in their hearts. Jacob, still not the man of God he needed to be, allowed the deception to destroy his spirit. He would, for years, carry this bitterness in his heart that he had lost his son. Unlike Abraham, Jacob was not understanding that his boys were God’s possession. His bitterness was in the lost of Joseph, which could have been solved had he had faith in a sovereign God. If Joseph was dead, belief in a sovereign God means you know that God would not allow something to happen He was not in control over. If Joseph was not dead, his belief in a sovereign God would allow him to to have hope that God would work in Joseph’s life. Instead, Jacob becomes bitter. When he had a chance to teach his other boys the character of trust, instead he showed bitterness. Joseph was not his son ... he was a child of God. Jacob forgot that. Bitterness is allowed to enter our hearts when out belief in a sovereign God is absence. God cares for all of His children. We can rejoice in the fact that God is in control and our life and their life are in His hands. Bitterness is not an option to the soul who trusts God.
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