For the past few weeks we are considering the importance of relationships, especially those pertaining to marriage and family. I would like to share a couple of testimonies from last week. I went to visit a family, and I casually asked a little girl aged around 8 or 9, ‘What did you learn last Sunday?’ and she replied, ‘I understood that Dad and Mom must not argue or quarrel in front of their children’ and I was told, that she actually told her parents that if they had any misunderstanding, they must sort them out privately. I visited another family, and the aunt of a little boy told me that as soon as the parents of the boy got home, he had been insisting that they sit down at the table for a while, and talk to each other. This he had picked up from the message on Sunday. I was so overjoyed to know that even young children, could comprehend the word of God, and were able to apply it to their families.
Our God is a God of relationships, and the Bible is all about relationships. From Genesis to Revelation the majority of the biblical account has relationships as the core. The book of Genesis begins with relationship between God and Adam, Adam and Eve, while the book of Revelation, spells out the specifics of the relationship between Christ, and the church. While God is the author of all good relationships, Satan on the other hand is the destroyer of these relationships.
Today there is a disruption of relationships at every level, for there are problems between husband and wife, father and son, or parents and children. Sometimes when a man has issues at home, he goes to work, and vents his anger on others at his work place. The effects of the break in relationship at home, is evidenced by those outside. It is therefore essential that one should be cautious, and more specifically accountable in every relationship.
Many people are annoyed when asked to give account in any way or in any relationship. In a family, the husband is displeased if the wife questions him on any issue and vice versa. The reason for the lack of accountability is simply because there are discrepancies in the relationship. We will try to understand on the basis of God’s word, how we can maintain accountability in relationships, and remain faithful in all relationships.
Our families are God’s gift to us
All of us were born into a family. None of us chose our parents, as God made that choice and therefore all relationships which include husband, wife, parents, children, siblings etc., are all God ordained. Therefore, our families, our spouse, and our children are God’s gift to us. If relationships are established by God, He alone can give us counsel, as to how to make these relationships work in an effective manner.
Though everything that God gives is good and for our well-being, even in the beautiful Garden of Eden where everything was perfect, the serpent entered subtly to tempt Eve by creating doubt, and thereby destroyed the glorious relationship Adam and Even had with God, and with each other. This is the deceptive cunning of Satan, whose only scheme is to infiltrate into every good relationship, and bring about discord or disunity.
There are some who are married for many long years, but still live in regret, and wish they could have married someone else. We must be cautious to not entertain such thoughts, as these stem from the evil one, and should give no room for his crafty devices in our lives. Instead, we must treasure, and thank God for all the relationships He has entrusted to us.
God gave Joseph his prominence
Be accountable in relationships
We read in Genesis 37:2, “This is the account of Jacob and his descendants. Joseph was a seventeen-year-old young man. He took care of the flocks with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. Joseph told his father about the bad things his brothers were doing.” (GW)
The above mentioned verse gives an account of Jacob’s descendants, and strangely the first name mentioned is Joseph, though of the twelve sons of Jacob, Joseph was only the eleventh in line. Generally when recording the genealogy of a person in the Bible, it is in order to mention the name of the first born son. However, in this account Joseph who was the eleventh son is mentioned first, and this for a specific purpose. There was a reason for this honor that God chose to bestow on Joseph, which we will study in detail.
Though Joseph was almost the youngest in the family, he had a sense of responsibility from when he was very young. His elder brothers did evil, and Joseph observed these wrongs his brother’s did, he could have done two things; either he could have ignored them, or he could have been party to their misdeeds. But, Joseph decided to be faithful to God, and to his father Jacob. He therefore chose to be forthright, and to share with his father all the bad things that his brothers were involved with.
If we want to receive honor from God like Joseph did, it is immaterial if we are the first born or the last one in the family because God is more interested in how we value the relationships the Lord has placed us in. God does not perceive things the way man does, while man looks at the outside, God looks at the heart. Many people are dissatisfied with their position in their family or their external appearance, but God is more concerned about the way we handle relationships in the family, and when we are faithful in them, the Lord will Himself esteem us in the midst of our family members.
Like Joseph, if we decide to be faithful to God, at home, at work, at church and every other place where God has positioned us, we will certainly be recognized, and reputed by God Himself. In many families, there are some chaotic situations where an elder sibling is trapped in some sort of wrong relationship. Though the younger siblings are aware of this, they try to hide this from the parents, or sometimes they join hands to help the elder sibling. What happens as a result is that this often causes much sadness, and grief for the parents, throwing the entire family into confusion. If we are accountable members in the family, it is our duty to see that none of our family members go amiss.
God honors the faithful ones
We read in Matthew 25:21, "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” (EMTV)
The above mentioned verse is from the parable which Jesus taught, as recorded in Matthew 25, about the man who was faithful with the portion that his master had assigned to him. The result was that he was commended for his faithfulness, made ruler over many things, and given a grand welcome into the presence of the Lord.
If we are faithful in the little that God has entrusted to us, He is willing to make us rulers over many things. Often, the hindrance to receiving God’s blessing lies with us, because we fail in this principle to be faithful in every small thing that God commits to us. On the one hand, while being faithful does beget God’s approval and honor, on the other hand, we often become the targets of men’s hatred and disapproval.
God honored them, but their families despised them
Joseph
Joseph was true to his father Jacob, and kept him informed of all that transpired among the brother’s, as a result of which his brothers hated him intensely.
Moses
We read in Numbers 12:7, “But this is not the way I treat my servant Moses. He is the most faithful person in my household.” (GW)
And in Numbers 12:2, “They asked, "Did the LORD speak only through Moses? Didn't he also speak through us?" The LORD heard their complaint.” (GW)
God’s extraordinary testimony about Moses was that, ‘he was the most faithful person in His household’. However, his own siblings Aaron and Miriam were complaining against their brother Moses, and were demeaning his leadership. God heard the complaint that they made against Moses, and silenced them with His astounding attestation about Moses.
Jesus
We read in Matthew 3:17, “Then a voice from heaven said, "This is my own dear Son, and I am pleased with him." (CEV)
In Mark 3:21, we read, “When Jesus' family heard what he was doing, they thought he was crazy and went to get him under control.” (CEV)
When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, God the Father spoke from heaven to authenticate the fact that Jesus was His own beloved son, in whom He the Father was well pleased. Sadly, however, his own earthly family members did not believe Jesus for who he really was, when they thought that He was crazy and tried to subdue him.
Wonder what kind of testimony God would have to say about each one of us? God’s testimony about us, and the one we receive from men may be contradictory, but our goal must be to lead lives that are totally pleasing to God. We too have the assurance that when people complain about us, ignore us, and speak against us, the Lord is attentive to all of it.
Let us be reminded that God’s testimony of us will stand true for all time, whereas the testimony from men will change with time and circumstances. When we remain faithful to the Lord two things are sure to happen, we will receive the Lord’s acclaim, but also become the recipients of man’s displeasure, and criticism.
God reveals His plans to those who are faithful to Him
We read in Genesis 37:6-7, Joseph said, "Let me tell you about my dream. We were out in the field, tying up bundles of wheat. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles gathered around and bowed down to it." (CEV)
In Genesis 37:8, we read, "Do you think you are going to be a king and rule over us?" his brothers asked. So they hated him even more because of his dreams and because of what he said about them. (GNB)
Joseph was good natured in that, though he complained about his brother’s bad behavior to his father, he had no ill-feelings towards them. That was probably the reason why, he had no qualms to tell them all that he dreamt. He told them that in his dream he was in the field tying sheaves, and that his sheaf stood up, while all of the other eleven sheaves bowed down to his. The Lord gave the dreams to Joseph, but the ones who interpreted the dream, were his own brothers, who did not even realize that they were God’s instruments of the interpretation. The interpretation that they received from God, was that God would raise their brother up, and all of them would one day have to submit to him. However, their hearts were so filled with hatred that they could not accept the interpretation, and connived against their own brother.
When we keep our eyes fixed on the Lord, He will reveal His plans to us just like He did to Joseph. In Genesis 18:17, “And the LORD said to himself, "I will not hide from Abraham what I am going to do.” God had planned to destroy Sodom and because God was pleased with Abraham, He chose not to withhold this information from him.
Many people are unaware of this truth that the Lord will certainly reveal His plans for the future, to His children who walk in obedience to Him. As children of God we must run this race faithfully, in every area of our lives, and in all our relationships. If we follow this principle, we will be amazed to see how the Lord will work wonders in our lives, in the midst of all of our siblings and family members. The world will hate us, but if we are in the right place with God, His plans will be fulfilled in our lives no matter what, and no one can hinder them.
Fear of God is more important than the gifts we have
We read in Genesis 40:8, They answered, "Each of us had a dream, and there is no one here to explain what the dreams mean." "It is God who gives the ability to interpret dreams," Joseph said. "Tell me your dreams." (GNB)
In this incident that happened later in the life of Joseph, the butler and the baker both had dreams which they did not understand, and Joseph’s reply to them was ‘it is God who gives the ability to interpret dreams’. Therefore we understand that the interpretation of dreams come from God alone. The brothers of Joseph when they interpreted his dream rightly, were actually doing so with the revelation that they received from God, but unfortunately they were so filled with hatred, that they were unable to accept it.
There are so many who have been blessed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and are basking in the manifestation of these gifts, but are sadly not walking in holiness, and with the fear of God in their lives. God must find in us a faithful people, and those who fear God if we want to be honored by God. God wants us to be true in every walk of life, in society, in the family, at work and at church.
Man will cast us down, but God will raise us up
We read in Genesis 37:24, “Then they took him and threw him into the well, which was dry.” (GNB)
In Genesis 37:28, we read, and when some Midianite traders came by, the brothers pulled Joseph out of the well....
God had already revealed His plans for Joseph that he would rise above his brothers. God even revealed to him that his father and mother would one day submit to him. However what happened in Joseph’s life was initially contrary to his dreams. When he went to meet his brothers, they caught hold him, and threw him into a dry well. God had a greater plan for Joseph, and no pit could hold him down. The brothers who interpreted his dream, were the ones who also stood as a hindrance.
If for instance, his brothers did not hate Joseph, and didn’t do what they did to him, may be the story may have been different, and they might have been participants of the blessings that Joseph received. They thought that by doing away with Joseph, they could do away with his dreams as well. As the Midianites came that way, the brothers of Joseph, lifted him up from the pit to sell him to the Midianites as a slave. The brothers of Joseph who thought they had obstructed the dreams of Joseph, many years later had to go to Egypt, and stand in submission to their brother, for their very sustenance.
It is a fact that often God’s plan for our lives can be thwarted by no one but ourselves, because of sin and disobedience. When God is with us, no one can spoil the plans God has purposed to fulfill through us. If we cooperate with the Spirit of God, He will surely accomplish His plans in and through us. As children of God we will all encounter those pit like experiences, but in the midst of it we must hold on firmly to the vision God has planted inside of us. As in the life of Joseph the very ones who threw us in, God will use to lift us up out of the pit. The people who despise us, will one day come to us, seeking for help and assistance. God took a son who was eleventh in line, and made him the head of the descendants of Jacob, only because Joseph was faithful to God, and faithful in all the relationships that God had placed him in.
Let us seek God’s help to remain faithful in all our relationships, whether in the family, at work, at church or in society. What the Lord accomplished through Joseph, He will perfect in each of our lives, and promote us to prominence, if we decide to walk in the fear of the Lord and stay faithful in all relationships that He has established us in.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
