Prior to this explanation by Judah there is no indication
that Joseph knew what his father thought. He could have easily concluded that Jacob
didn't care what happened to him. So far
as he knew his father had made no effort to find him. Now, he learns that Jacob thought him
dead. No wonder he hadn't come looking
for him. He hears also of his father's
grief at losing him and his reluctance to send his brother, Benjamin, down to
Egypt. He hears that Jacob's life is
bound up with Benjamin's life, that his life would not be worth living should
anything happen to Benjamin. He also
hears that at least Judah has come to terms, reached peace with the fact that
Jacob loves the children of Rachel more than the rest, even himself. Judah is willing to fulfill the pledge he
made to his father by offering his life now for the life of the boy, just as his
father had been willing to offer himself as servant to Laban for fourteen years
if he could only have Rachel. These men
have truly changed since Joseph saw them last.
These two stories, of Jairus and the woman with the issue of
blood present us with two people who are so desperate for what Jesus has
potentially to offer they lose all sense of propriety, are willing to risk
anything to receive from Him. Both have
to have known where Jesus has just been, in the country of the Gerasenes, among
the tombs, the pigs, and the demon possessed and yet they come to him, no
matter what defilement(s) He has contracted, what it will mean for them as far
as ritual cleanliness is concerned, they have matters more urgent and important
than such things. Jairus' daughter is
ill and at the point of death, he will have Jesus in his home to heal her no
matter the cost of defilement. The woman
is a pariah, she is not to have contact with anyone because she will defile them,
she has nothing to lose, she has suffered long and no one has helped her, she
will risk the disapprobation of all for this chance to receive healing. Desperation will sometimes enable faith to
operate.
Paul believes the time is short before Jesus returns and
gives instruction for living based on that belief. He is not giving a word from the Lord on the
matter, only his own belief, and he is quite clear here that is what he is
doing. Why take on additional troubles
and concerns when the world is coming to an end? To focus only on being prepared is all he
would have them do. We should heed his
advice, not by remaining single, but by constantly weighing out responsibility
in our decisions. Do we take on too much
and shift our focus from the one thing needful?
We lose focus because we over commit.
Let us keep the main thing always the main thing, careful not to over
extend ourselves and lose the main thing to secondary things.
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