CHAPTER 46

WOULD YOU SAVE JOSEPH FROM THE PIT?

WOULD YOU SAVE HIM FROM HIS STEP-BROTHERS?

Once more I sat on the Temporary Throne in the Throne-room of Heaven in conversation with the Living God, Judge of all men.

The LORD had shown me the ongoing competition of Leah and Rachel. The LORD had shown me the step-mothers of Joseph: Bilhah and Zilpah. The LORD had shown me a hundred-year-old Israel with the young boy Benjamin as Joseph had now traveled to encounter his brothers, watching over thousands of sheep on hillside pastures.

Joseph was wearing a colorful royal-looking robe as he approached these older men in their working clothes.

Of course, they were jealous. (They had reason enough.) And I knew of the dream Joseph was about to reveal to his step-brothers.

Yes – all ten were step-brothers!

Now I understood even more that Joseph’s only brother, son of his deceased mother Rachel, remained behind under the watchful eyes of grandfatherly-looking Israel, father to them all – yet still mourning the great loss of Joseph’s mother, Jacob’s most beloved wife of so many years.

Yes… in thinking about the LORD’s question. Of course I would save poor young Joseph from any more suffering.

Joseph had gone through enough already. This young man had suffered enough (even as my own young daughter had suffered when her mother had died when she was a child). Joseph’s mother had died. (He deserved some consolation.)

His father was of age he was certainly near death… and then Joseph (and Benjamin, for whom he would be responsible) would be at the mercy of Reuben and the other step-brothers (who were unlikely to show any mercy).  Why… they would do anything to further their own blessings; like the supplanting of Esau by Jacob his father, I thought – but there were ten of them – 10 brothers.

Yes! I would do something to save Joseph from all that.

But what?

To be continued…

A Temporary Throne is an original work of Roger Harned,

© Copyright 2014, All Rights Reserved by the author.