It seems unfair to us children
of "enlightenment" and democracy who champions slogans of equality,
that anyone, much less God, should favor one human being over another.
We tend to resent tales about folks like Abel, Jacob and Joseph, who
seem to have been somewhat more highly favored than their brothers, who
seem to somehow rise above & stand head and shoulders above the
rest of us.
We'd prefer them to stay down
here with us, in the morass of mediocrity, no different from us, not
reminding us of the uncomfortable truth that there is another, possibly
better way than ours.
God is supposed to love everyone the same, & I'm sure He does.
Yet why do we hear such phrases
as "many are called, but the chosen are few?" What's so different about
the "chosen" that makes God choose them from among us and exalt them
above us all? It's obvious that they're not perfect, either: Jacob - a
deceiver; Joseph - a bragger & spoiled brat.
While it is true that to some
extent we contribute to being chosen by our own choices for God, to do
the right thing at the right time, some folks simply seem to be dealt a
slightly different hand in the deck of cards in this game of life. For
one thing, we all dream - as all of Joseph's brothers did, but Joseph's
dreams were different, indicating that he indeed was different, too,
and that God was going to use him in a special way.
Being "special" or chosen by
God for a specific task doesn't come without a price, though. Being
favored by God and his father cost him the favor of his brothers. So
much so that they hated him and were even ready to kill him, or at
least sell him into slavery.
Working as a slave in Egypt was
soon to reveal what sort of a man Joseph was. While others might have
succumbed to the advances made on him by his master's wife, Joseph
showed integrity and refused. A "mistake," as some would say, which
landed him in Jail, because the offended woman accused him of attempted
rape.
But even there he made the best of his situation and was favored by the person in charge of him (39:20).
And even here it showed that God knew all along what He was doing - or
allowing - and that everything is a part of His greater Plan. Joseph's
experience with dreams -an issue considered nearly totally irrelevant
in today's society of accomplishers - finally brought him before the
throne of Pharaoh, and from one day to another he was promoted from the
dungeon to Viceroy - practically the most important man in the world,
since Egypt was on its ascent to becoming the first world empire in
history.
While Joseph's brothers were
spared the troubles and anxieties he experienced, since they continued
lead normal lives as shepherds, God used Joseph's being "special" not
only to save his entire family from starvation during the approaching
famine, but also to put the children of Israel in a position where He
knew the world was going to hear about them, and about what He was
going to do for them and through them.
The gist of the principal
lesson I learn from the life of Joseph is: yes, God does choose certain
individuals for certain tasks, namely those who choose His ways over
the "normal" ways of the average, but His election does not come
without a price. Throughout history the elect of God have been known to
have suffered persecution, rejection by their own people and hardships,
nearly without failure. Perhaps that's why Paul says that "all who
would live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution" (2Tim.3:12).
