The Weakest Link: A Matter Of Perspective Series

Matthew 12:15-21

She is the queen of mean. The Cruella of the game show. She can be just plain nasty sometimes. While most game show hosts go out of their way to be nice to the contestants listen to some of the comments this woman has made to the guests on her show.

“Who is the alien from the planet incompetence?”

“Whose brain in that last round sadly expired?”

“Who’s the dark cloud with no silver lining?”

“Who’s in need of mental floss?”

“One of you needs to put out of your misery”

“Who is better suited to watching television than appearing on it?”

“Who has begun to look dangerously dim?”

Yikes, her name is Anne Robinson and she is the host of “The Weakest Link” yet another imported show from the shores of Great Britain. I’m sure that they are just getting back at North America for all the drivel we have sent their way through the years.

If you haven’t seen the show here’s a brief run down, it begins with eight contestants who are asked a series of timed questions accumulating or losing money depending on whether or not their answers are correct. At the end of each group of questions the contestants are asked to vote off the person they think is the weakest link and then the game continues, questions, voting, questions, voting until finally the are left with only two contestants who vie for the accumulated prize money, that could theoretically amount to a million dollars.

What if we were asked to find some of the weakest links in the Bible? Who would be voted off of the show?

His Name was Joseph and he began his life with a silver spoon in his mouth. His father was Jacob, Abraham’s Grandson, who had become a wealthy land owner and farmer and Joseph was his favourite son. From the time he was just a child it was evident that he was favoured, and perhaps a little bit spoiled, or actually perhaps a lot bit spoiled, actually there was no perhaps about it, he was daddy’s favourite and Daddy wasn’t afraid to show him or his other children how he felt about Joseph.

I don’t know what the final straw was, maybe it was the beautiful coat that his father bought him, or maybe it was when he had the dreams about his brothers bowing down to him and worshipping him. Maybe it was when the rest of his brothers had to tend the sheep out in the field and Joseph stayed at home. Or maybe it was just that opportunity presented itself. Joseph had gone out to the fields to check up on his brothers for his father, and the brothers saw their opportunity. The threw Joseph into a dried up well and then to add insult to injury they sold him into slavery.

From favourite son to slave and the story doesn’t end there. Joseph was taken to Egypt and was sold to a man named Potiphar. If we follow the story along we discover that Joseph was able to gain the trust of his master and eventually became manger of everything that Potiphar owned, but when he refused to give in to the advances of his masters wife she framed him for rape and he ended up in prison.

From favourite son to slave, from trusted servant to prisoner, you really know the path to downward mobility don’t you Joseph? Well it’s pretty obvious Joseph, You are the weakest link, goodbye.

If Joseph started from the top and worked his way down Moses started from the bottom and worked his way up. The people of Israel had become slaves to the people of Egypt and when the pharaoh began to feel threatened by the growing number of Israelites in his country the Bible says he decided to make their slavery even more bitter. When the harsh working conditions didn’t break their spirits he issued an order to the midwives to kill the baby boys of Israel as soon as they were born. When the midwives refused the Pharaoh ordered all the newborn boys to be thrown into the Nile River. And it was into this climate that Moses was born.

His mother hid him for three months and when it became apparent that she could hid him no more he was placed into a floating basket and placed in the reeds at the edge of the Nile in hopes that someone would find him and take pity on him.

And don’t you just love it when a plan comes together? Because that’s exactly what happened and the story gets better because he wasn’t found by just anyone he was found by the daughter of the Pharaoh. Who promptly feel in love with this beautiful little baby boy. And the story gets better and better, Moses was adopted into the royal household and enjoyed all the perks and privileges of growing up the adopted son of the most powerful man in the country.