Comparing the Qualities of Jacob and Joseph in the Bible - Essay Example

Comparing the Qualities of Jacob and Joseph in the Bible The life of Jacob and Joseph are very different. The story of Jacod is about selfishness and carnal desires of the world. On the other hand, the story of Joseph is about patience, trials, forgiveness, and love. Joseph was the 11th child of Jacob and the first child of Rachel, Jacob's second wife. Joseph's half-brothers and sister were the children of Leah, Rachel's elder sister. Joseph was the favorite child of Jacob; something Joseph's elder brothers resented. "And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him." Joseph didn't handle his favored position very diplomatically, either. When he had a series of dreams that showed in symbols his brothers and parents bowing down to him, he hastened to let them know about it. This arrogance inflamed his brothers further (The old testament). Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah. For twenty years they lived happily together. But like Abraham and Sarah, they had no children. Isaac pleaded with the Lord that he would bless them. So God gave them twins. Finally the big day came when the twins were born. The first came out red, and all hairy like an animal skin. They named him Esau. As Esau was born they noticed that the next child was being born holding onto Esau's heal. They named this son Jacob. As the boys grew up, Isaac seems to love Esau more than Jacob. One day Jacob was cooking up a nice lentil stew and some bread. But, before he ate it Esau came by on his way home from a hunting trip. Esau was very hungry and very tired. He had been hunting for a long time and caught nothing. Esau was starving so he begged Jacob to let him eat his nice stew. Jacob thought for a moment, and then said he would sell it to Esau for the birthright. The birthright was all the major possessions that a man owned that was always given to the oldest son. Esau was so hungry he thought that if he did not get something to eat right now he would die, so what difference would it make if he agreed to give Jacob the birthright. So Esau agreed to sell his birthright to Jacob for some bread and lentil stew. Jacob made Esau swear an oath on this agreement, and he did (Jacob and Isaac). Isaac was growing old, and he could not see well. He thought he was going to die soon, so he called Esau to him to give him the birthright blessing. While Esau was away to seek a deer, Jacod pretended to be Esau in front of his dying father and was able to get his father birthright blessings (Jacob tricks Isaac). Jacod not only took his brother's birthright, but also their father's birthright blessing as well, in those days, birthright blessing can only be given once. Even though Isaac realized later on that he gave the birthright blessing to the wrong son, he can no longer get it back. Jacob was a dishonest man due to his longing for earthly things. He tricked both his brother and father. He's actions where always governed by the flesh and its carnal desires. Jacod made two great mistakes: Firstly, he convinced his brother Esau to renounce his birthright. He has done this when Esau was so hungry and begging for food. Esau had no choice then but to submit to Jacob's condition in order not to die from hunger. Secondly, Jacob tricked his father Isaac. In order to get the birthright blessing from his father rather than to his brother, who is the oldest son. This made Esau very angry and planned to kill Jacob. The story of Joseph is what seems to be the other side of the coin. Joseph was the 11th son Jacob whom he loved the most. This made Joseph's brothers jealous and cruel with him. One day when they were all away from home, the bad brothers threw Joseph into an empty well after tearing off his coat which his father had given him. While Joseph was in the empty well, a caravan of merchants passed by. They picked him up and took him with them to Egypt as a prisoner (Bible stories: The story of Joseph). Joseph found himself a slave in Egypt, but he was loved and trusted by the people around him.Because of his ability to interpret dreams, the Pharaoh appointed him governor of the land of Egypt. During the years of famine, people rushed to Egypt from many places to buy food. Among the people, there were ten men who came from the land of Canaan. They bowed before Joseph and asked in Hebrew to buy corn. These were Joseph's brothers whom he recognized immediately.Upon their arrival, they were invited to dine with the governor of Egypt, Joseph. Joseph treated his little brother Benjamin exceptionally well (Bible stories: The story of Joseph). Joseph is now in a position of power and could gain revenge for the way his brothers had treated him. He does cause them some fear, but in the end is able to spare his brothers and his father from suffering the famine as a result of his position (The old testament). The life of Joseph is about love, trials, patience, and forgiveness. Although being arrogant at one time in his life because of his favored son status, he demonstrated unselfishness in his later life. Despite being thrown into the well by his bothers, he held no resentment. Even though having all the opportunities to be able to take revenge upon his brothers when he can, instead he demonstrated forgiveness and love. Though his brothers had meant him harm, God meant good things for Joseph. It probably didn't look that way to Joseph sometimes, but he persevered through his hardships and learned humility. Joseph faced his challenges courageously. Joseph demonstrated his faith in God by having grace under pressure, making the best of his situation and remaining faithful to God despite any evidence he may have had that God had forgotten him. The evidence of his courage is in his behavior, doing right even when he was wronged or in danger. He learned to wait patiently on God and to look to God for everything. It takes tremendous courage to look away from circumstance and look instead to God (The old testament). When Joseph came into power, his courage continued. The easy thing to do would be to punish his brothers for the way that they treated him. He doesn't though. Instead, he realizes the work that God has done in him and the opportunity God has given him to spare his family from the famine. He understands that he has received a blessing out of the situation that his brothers put him in and he is grateful to God instead of resentful of his brothers (The old testament). The story of Jacob and Joseph is written in the book of Genesis in the Old Testament. The Book of Genesis was written originally by actual eyewitnesses of the events reported therein. Probably the original narratives were recorded on tablets of stone or clay, in common with the practice of early times, and then handed down from father to son, finally coming into the possession of Moses. Moses perhaps selected the appropriate sections for compilation, inserted his own editorial additions and comments, and provided smooth transitions from one document to the next, with the final result being the Book of Genesis as we have received it (Who wrote Genesis). Most conservative scholars in the past have accepted the view that Genesis was written by Moses. This has been the uniform tradition of both the Jewish scribes and the Christian fathers. Jacob's record, like Isaac's, is much longer than most of the others in Genesis, giving the later events in the life of his father Isaac and then including all his own history through the time of his twenty-year sojourn with Laban and his return to Canaan, with the record of the death of both his wife Rachel and his father Isaac (Who wrote Genesis). Although the regular formula is not used in this case, the wording in Exodus 1:1 is very similar to the others: "Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt..." The events in the life of Joseph and his brethren, as recorded in these latter chapters of Genesis, could have originally been known only to them. Whether they wrote them down, as their fathers had done, or transmitted them orally, somehow their stories must finally have come into the possession of Moses, as is indicated by the smooth transition from the last verses of Genesis to the first verses of Exodus (Who wrote Genesis). On of the greatest moral lesson from the life of Jacob is that it never pays to tell a lie. Once a person tells a lie he must tell another, and another to cover up the first lie. Not only will all these lies catch up with him, but they can cause him many troubles, just like it did for Jacob and Rebekah (Jacob tricks Isaac). Additionally, a person's decisions in life should not be based on worldly motives as they will have horrible consequences. As the Gal. 5:17-18 says: "For the flesh lust against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary the one to the other,so that you cannot do the things that you would.""But if you be led by the spirit." The life of Joseph also tells that The Gospel of God is the answer to all trials and adversities. Trials are not what most people hope for but it through trials that a person grows in his faith. Like Joseph, if a person has been successful in resisting temptations during the trails, he will be rewarded and promoted by God (Jacob and Israel). Works Cited "The old testament bible story: Joseph." 2002. Pagewise. 25 Oct. 2005. . "Jacob and Esau." Bible story 18. 2000. D&S Goeldner. 25 Oct. 2005. . "Jacob Tricks Isaac." Bible story 19. 2000. D & S Goeldner. 25 Oct. 2005. . "Bible stories: The story of Joseph." 2005. Jesus Answers. 25 Oct. 2005. . "Jacod and Israel." Parable of talents and the pounds. 2000. 25 Oct. 2005. . "Who wrote Genesis." 2005. Network Creation Networks. 25 Oct. 2005. . Read More