By Olubunmi Adebayo
*There were 12 of them.*
*They were sons of the same father.*
*They were prophesied by God long before their birth that would become individually and collectively great.*
*Their father was Jacob, a man whose name was changed by no less a person but God Almighty. God Himself renamed him Israel, a name which was explained as follows -*
*”…Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”(Gen.32:28.)*
*Please read in some details the prophecy that these 12 sons shall become great :*
*Gen 28:[1] And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.*
*[2]Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother’s father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother’s brother.*
*[3] _And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people_.*
*Despite the prophecy of the greatness of the 12 sons of Jacob, when they started growing up, 10 of them were consumed with envy against the 11th child – Joseph.*
*They were so occupied with envy that they never saw the greatness in themselves.*
*Joseph himself said he saw 11 stars, the sun and the Moon bowing down to him*
*Please read this in some details :*
*Gen 37: [9] And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, “Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me”.*
*Joseph indicated above that he saw his brothers as :*
*…”the eleven stars”.*
*God showed Joseph that his 11 brothers were STARS (10 senior brothers and 1 junior brother), conversely 10 of the brothers – (unfortunately, the 10 were the senior ones who should know better) saw themselves as “small” and “minor” compared to Joseph – who they were bowing down to in Joseph’s dream.*
*Please permit me to ask you this question – _”is being a star a small thing”?_*
*Remember that the BEST among us are called STARS. No wonder we have – star footballers. Star artist. Star singers. Star pastors. Star lawyers. Star kings and queens. Star this, star that. But unfortunately, envy never allowed the brothers of Joseph to see themselves as stars in their own eyes.*
*Maybe because it was coming from Joseph that made it unsatisfactory to them. Therefore, they were more concerned with their bowing down in the dream, than focusing on who God indicated they were. The 10 senior brothers forgot that ONLY God determines who becomes a King, and who does not. But everyone can adequately aspire to become a star in their right and achieve unbelievable greatness thereby.*
*To confirm that each of the 11 brothers were great stars in their right, one of them was ordained by God to be far greater than any king on earth, including being greater than Joseph who later became a Governor in Egypt.*
*Can you guess who that brother was among the 11?*
*His name was JUDAH. Hear what the word of God said about Judah :*
*Genesis 49:[8] Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.*
*[9] Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?*
*[10] _The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be_.*
*By the sheer greatness of the star of Judah, Jesus Christ the Messiah, came 2,000 years after the prophecy of Genesis chapter 49 above from this very lineage of Judah :*
*Matt 1: [1]The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.*
*[2]Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;*
*[3]And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;*
*[6]And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;*
*[16]And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.*
*But envy will not allow the brothers of Joseph, including Judah himself to see their individual glory and greatness.*
*May I shock you with one fact of life?*
*It was Judah that mooted the idea of selling Joseph into slavery, because of the inordinate desire to truncate the plan and purpose of God for Joseph :*
*Gen 37:[25] And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.*
*[26]And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?*
*[27] _Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content_.*
*To be continued tomorrow, God willing.*
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©️ Olubunmi S Adebayo.
