Weekly Meditation of Pastor Chang (September 6, 2009)

<The Characteristics of Spiritual Leaders> (37)

(The Greatest Politician of the World: Joseph in the Bible) (1)

If I say, “Joseph in the Bible was the greatest politician in the human history,” I believe it is not an overstated or exaggerated statement, because he deserved to be honored like that. There is no human being like him that can achieve such a great deal of works as he did. The following events can describe my point.

1. When he was still a prisoner and suddenly got transformed and promoted to be the prime minister of the most powerful nation – Egypt, in the ancient time.

2. He was wise enough to manage the richest harvests for 7 years from wasting any good food and crops.

3. He was wise enough to manage the food well for the entire Egypt and the neighbor countries during the 7 years of drought and famine, so people could survive well.

4. He helped his own family from the trouble of a famine and settled in Egypt for 400 years, and because of that, his family could grow to become a tribal nation.

5. He was a very loyal servant of his masters – God and the Pharaohs; he also was a filial-piety person, who loved his father dearly; he was a great man of forgiveness who pardoned his bothers and helped them get ride of their fear.

6. Probably he was the only person in the world who assumed the position as a prime minister in Egypt for 80 years (from the ages of 30 to 110.)

7. All what he could do was because of his pure faith in his God – the God of Israel. He honored God with a fearful heart, so that God shaped him and provided him wisdom and opportunity. And his life was always under the guidance of God. And because of that he could set a good example for the future generations to follow.

Now let us move into his story to see what had happened to him:

Joseph was the 11^th son of Jacob. His mother was Rachel, the most beloved wife of Jacob. After delivered her second son, Benjamin, also the last son of Jacob, Rachel died. Therefore, Jacob loved the last two sons more than the rest of his sons.

Since very young, Joseph was a clever, pure and devoted boy. Probably it was because of his father’s special love, he did not like his brothers’ behaviors; and he constantly reported their bad deeds to his father that caused them to hate him and never treated him well.

Joseph was a dreamer – a person always envisioned for his future. Although he did not know what he would be, but surely, he did not want to be just like a simple shepherd for his entire life.

When he turned to be 17 of age, several events happened that moved and changed this young man’s life never be the same again.

First of all, his father Jacob made a richly ornamented robe for him. This was the only robe that the father made for Joseph. And because of that, the hatred from his brothers increased more toward him.

Later on, because of his innocence, he shared his dreams with his family members. These dreams did not help his relationship with his brothers but increase more hatred. Yet, these dreams affirmed and confirmed who he would become in the future.

The first dream was that he and his brothers were in the filed binding sheaves of grain. And suddenly his sheaf rose and stood upright, but his brothers’ gathered around his and bowed down to it.

The second dream was: even the sun and moon and 11 starts were bowing down to him. After sharing this dream, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will you mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. (Gen.37: 10, 11.)

I believe that the dreamer, Joseph, kept these dreams well and let them took root deeply in his heart. He probably kept wondering what kind of life he would be in the future? But it was good because of these dreams that shaped him to have good spiritual characteristics – to be a man of God no matter what!