Joseph...Admirable or not

Is Joseph of an admirable character?  I think this is a loaded question.  My initial reaction is that of course Joseph is of an admirable character.  He was a devoted son.  He was blessed and used by God to save millions of people.  He was honest and helpful to others who he came into contact with.  He always looked for the best in others.  However, as I sit and really think about this question, my mind goes to seeing Joseph from his brothers' eyes...not my own.  My eyes are clouded with the outcome of his story.  I have the privilege of reading his entire story, thus seeing how God worked in Joseph and the impact Joseph had on the years following.  Joseph clearly did not make the right choices regarding his family but in the end, his bones were carried into the Promised Land.   God works all things for the good of those who love Him.

Joseph was a spoiled young boy.  He was CLEARLY his father's favorite.  Did Jacob learn nothing from his own childhood/adolescence about NOT having favorites?  He (Jacob) did after all have to flee his country for manipulating Esau for the birthright (Genesis 25:29-33) and stealing Esau's blessing (Genesis 27).  One would think that Jacob would have shared these stories so that his children didn't make the same mistakes...and certainly would not have made those very mistakes.  Joseph made no mistake about telling his brothers about his dreams, where they were going to bow down to him...that he was going to be above them, ruling over them.  These are not things that needed to be shared.  They were bragging statements...and I don't believe that bragging is admirable.

Moving forward in Joseph's life, for him to never send people to check on his family, his father who loved him most, Benjamin who was left with that jealous group of brothers; that just doesn't make sense to me.  Regardless of what his brothers did to him, he knew that at least Reuben and Judah wished him no harm.  After all, they were the two who suggested the pit and then the selling him into slavery.  Reuben detoured the brothers from killing Joseph (Genesis 37:21).  Judah encouraged his brothers to sell Joseph out of the pit (Genesis 37:26-27).  How did he just move forward and not search them out?  I am aware that his roles may have prohibited him for a period of time, but to never send anyone to check on them, that isn’t admirable.

However, in looking through the entire Scripture of Joseph’s life, one thing remains clear and admirable about Joseph.  Throughout everything, he remained faithful to God.  From losing his mother at a very young age, to being hated and despised by some of his siblings, to being sold into slavery, to being wrongly accused of sexual inappropriateness, to jail…Joseph never wavered in his faith.  He remained focused on God and faithful to Him.  Joseph was confident that God had a plan for him and would see him through all these adversities.  I am realizing that Joseph wasn’t perfect and did the best he could with the hand he was given.  May I remain as faithful to God in adversity as Joseph did.  Was he admirable?  Absolutely!

All Actions have Consequences

This text speaks to all readers, but in different ways.  As an individual, one could realize from this passage the importance of learning from the past, learning from mistakes, remembering the provision of God, as well as why it is important to manage anger in appropriate ways.  How often do we as individuals mirror the behavior of the Israelites, whining and complaining to God about a need, yet forgetting that He has supplied before and will supply again?  One only needs to ask.  One tends to forget that God is ever present, willing to supply if only we ask.  Instead we complain and feel sorry for ourselves.  

    In regards to the thought “not sinning in your anger”, Moses struggled with anger issues from the start.  God patiently worked with him, as with others who struggle with anger.  Moses never really learned this lesson.  He'd been angry for at least forty years.  He left Egypt when his anger found him out.  He became angry at Pharaoh for not keeping his word over and over again.  He became angry over and over again at the Israelites.  This text provides the last straw for God regarding Moses lack of anger management.  

    As a leader, this passage speaks volumes to how one is to conduct him/herself.  As a leader, one's public act of disobedience shrinks God's glory.  Anger, disobedience and unbelief go hand in hand.  Actions speak louder than words.  Those in leadership live under a microscope. A leader's actions are always dissected and criticized.  Moses was no different.  Those following him reminded him over and over again of what they believed to be poor leadership skills, decisions.  He was constantly questioned and criticized for doing what God had directed him to do.  
   
   This is also a good lesson for leaders to realize that they are not indispensable.  Yahweh saw fit to remove Moses and replace him.  God, foreknowing the damage one sin could cause, was not found short-changed to meed the need that resulted from sin in the life of His leader.  While it is never God's will for one of His representatives to be disqualified, God in His holiness demands that His standards be upheld and replacements be made as necessary.