What was Jacob thinking? He had to know that Joseph’s 10 older brothers were so jealous of him that they wished him dead.
It was no secret.
The Bible says, “…they hated him and couldn’t speak a kind word to him.”
Why would Jacob be so naïve as to send his 17-year old son to check up on his brothers by himself?
Jacob must have been the kind of parent who can’t imagine his children doing anything seriously wrong.
He also seemed unaware that sinners in a pack are doubly dangerous. A mob usually sinks to the level of the lowest participant.
The result of Jacob’s ill-advised decisions was disastrous.
When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming they snarled, “Here comes that arrogant ‘dreamer’ who imagines us bowing down to him. Let’s kill him!” Joseph was seized and thrown into a cistern.
When some Ishmaelite traders “happened” by, the calloused siblings impulsively sold Joseph to them as a slave for 20 pieces of silver. For over a decade Jacob lived with the mistaken impression that his son had been mauled by a wild animal, and he refused to be comforted in his grief.
Sin: yours, mine and ours
Parents need to be perceptive about the sinful nature of their children.
Mom and Dad, your kids probably are not as wonderful as you think they are. The chances are good that they are lying to you at times. They are pulling some antics behind your back that you don’t know about. It’s just human nature.
David admitted, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the the time my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5)
I remember one time when my wife, Judy, started to correct our then 3-year old grandson. As she scowled and charged toward him, he sensed her displeasure and quipped, “Nana, you so ‘bootiful!” He already was a con-man at age 3! (His discipline was not nearly as harsh as it would have been because he’s “so cute!”)
Solomon wrote, “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child…” (Proverbs 22:15). Left unchecked, the carnal nature gets worse with the passing of time.
Parents, teens and technology
Middle school teachers related a serious problem with “sexting” -students taking risque photos of themselves with their cell phones and forwarding them to others.
The Bible speaks of youth who will disobey parents and “invent ways of doing evil” (Romans 1:30).
But why would parents give a cell phone with that capability to a 13- or 14-year old child?
(See report that Facebook is openly using all the confidential phone numbers on your phone, a wake-up call for parents to get involved with children and teenagers that have Facebook accounts and cell phones.)
It must be this same naïveté – or indifference – that allows teens to have a computer with Internet access in the privacy of their room, attend unsupervised parties, and spend prom night in a motel room.
Parents, wake up!
Your child has an evil bent.
Your child is capable of even worse things when he/she is with a group of peers. They need restraint. They need parents who care enough to ask questions, check up on them and to say “no” on occasion.
Certainly there needs to be balance. Children need parents who believe in them, encourage them and motivate them to reach their potential. They don’t need angry accusations and unfounded suspicions, but they do need parents who will hold them accountable.
Wise parents trust positive intentions while checking out the facts. If Jacob would have done that, it surely would have saved him a world of hurt.
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Bob Russell is the retired Senior Minister of Southeast Christian Church and the founder of Bob Russell Ministries. Sermons from Bob’s preaching archives are broadcast on the SermonCast Channel. Courtesy Southeast Outlook.
Questions: What are some of the greatest Internet danger teenagers face? What would you tell tech-naive parents? ?