Articles
Stealing from Joseph
Joseph is a favorite of Bible lovers. We learn so many lessons from him and his life. There is one particular incident in his life that fascinates me. Benjamin and his brothers were accused of stealing Joseph’s silver cup. When Benjamin was accused of stealing the silver cup, his brothers, who could not wait to sell Joseph, immediately began to defend him. Joseph, not yet having revealed himself, asked his brothers, “Why have you dared to steal?” (Gen. 44:15). The brother’s insisted they were innocent and boldly proclaimed there must be some mistake. While they were accurate in their protest, the charge was true. They had stolen far more from Joseph than his cup. By their actions some 20 years earlier, they had stolen from him those things that he could not replace with money.
For example, Joseph’s brothers had stolen from him time. These brothers had stolen 13 years rightfully his. Think of how much time he missed with Jacob. Joseph spent 13 years of his life as a slave and prisoner in Egypt because of their selfishness.. Their action set in motion the chain of events that led to Joseph being sold to Potiphar and being falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, which resulted in Joseph’s imprisonment.
The brothers had also stolen Joseph’s position of honor. Joseph was Jacob’s favorite. Joseph ought to have received the respect and admiration that belonged to him because of his position, but his brothers envied him. They had become angry when he told them of his dreams. Filled with envy, they sold him into bondage.
Furthermore, Joseph’s brothers had stolen 20 years of love from him. They were brothers, born of the same father, and had grown up in the same household. There was every reason for Joseph and his brothers to be bound together by love.
Now we need to ask ourselves: “What are we stealing from our Lord?” Regarding time, are we selfishly stealing our Savior’s time and using it in our own selfish way? Every hour of every day is His. I am a steward of His time. Time is His by right of creation and redemption.
Concerning honor, are we stealing from the Savior that place of honor and distinction that is rightfully His in our lives? Does the King of Kings, who ought to reign in our hearts and lives, go ignored? Jesus didn’t come to this earth to be ignored, despised, and refused. He did not pay the price for our redemption so that we might live as we please with little regard for His will and purposes.
How about our love for the Savior? Are we stealing love which belongs to our Savior (John 14:15)? Is there evidence of love in our lives “both to will and do His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13)? When we love the Savior, we delight to spend time with him. Questions like, “Why do I have to…?” “How often do I have to…?” will disappear. These are not burdens imposed on us by force but our willful choice.
The brothers were right; they had not stolen Joseph’s silver cup. But, they stole things much more precious from him. We may not be stealing our Savior’s cup, but are we stealing much more from Him?
