Honey From The Rock

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Honey From The Rock
Psalm 81:16

"Sweet Stuff From God's Word"

A daily Bible study with Victor Knowles
Copyright 2007

LOVED TOO MUCH

This entry was posted on 03-23-2010 and is filed under STUDIES IN GENESIS.

"Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors" (Gen. 37:3 NKJV). Jacob is now going by the name Israel (see Gen. 32:28). He made a mistake that many parents have made ~ he loved one child more than others. The Bible tells us it was because Joseph was the son of his old age. I used to tease my father that he spanked my little brother David a lot less than he did me. Maybe that is because I did more things to bring on the spankings! Israel exacerbated the problem by making a special coat for Joseph. This did nothing to appease the hatred that Joseph's brothers already had because Joseph had brought a bad report to his father about some of their shenanigans (v. 2). They hated him so much that they could not speak one kind word to him. Joseph may have brought some of this upon himself but it was his father's inordinate love for him that created the problem.

Does God love one person more than another? Does he favor one nation above another? Does He love preachers more than members, elders more than deacons, older women more than younger women? God did not even spare His own Son at the cross. "He who did not spare His own Son, but gave him up for us all..." (Rom. 8:32 NIV). God's love for lost mankind is so far greater than the love Israel had for just one of his children. Let us not make the mistake of Israel but let us do our best to emulate the love of God.

Hymn: "The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell: It goes beyond the highest star, and reaches to the lowest hell..." (F. M. Lehman)