YHWH’s Chosen People

January 6, 2009, 9:29 am by dc-agape.

Genesis 37:12-36

This is the story about Joseph being sold into slavery by his jealous and angry brothers.  Jacob Israel sends Joseph to Shechem (were Levi and Simeon) murdered all those people.  Jacob Israel heads out, alone, from Kiriath Arba (Hebron) to Shechem, which is over a 50 mile trip, one way.  No wonder Esau and Israel could not live together, if the shepherds of the time required that much land, Esau would have to move over 100 miles away!  Joseph cannot find them at Shechem because they have moved further north, an additional 20 miles from Kiriath Arba! 

Joseph’s brothers see him coming and hatch a plot to get rid of him.  Reuben talks them out of directly killing him.  Rueben hopes that he will be able to rescue Joseph from the cistern that they trough him in.  But while Rueben was gone, (where did he go?) Judah talks the remaining eight brothers into selling Joseph to some Ishmaelite slave traders.  They earn a whopping 20 shekels of silver.   So each brother gets about 2 shekels for selling their own brother into slavery!

When Reuben returns he discovers that Joseph is no longer in the cistern.  All ten brothers decide to use goat’s blood and stain Joseph’s ornamented robe.  They return to Jacob Israel and dishonor him by giving false witness about the death of Joseph. 

Jacob Israel is horrified, and tore his cloths in mourning and wore sackcloth (symbol of mourning in the Traditions of Men).  Jacob’s Israel’s entire family tries to comfort him but be declares that he will mourn until he dies.  Some of the family that attempt to comfort Jacob Israel are his daughters, since the Word only mentions one daughter, we can assume that these are the kidnapped woman of Shechem that have been forced to marry Israel’s sons.

When Joseph gets to Egypt he is sold into slavery.  But not to just anyone, he is sold into slavery to Potiphar, the captain of the Pharaoh’s guard.  Why Potiphar chooses Joseph is a complete mystery, the Word does not say. 

From an Atheist point of view, this story can be interpreted to have several meanings.  No is something that most Humanist recognize.  Lying to someone never works.  Does no one ever realize that when you lie, someone will catch you at sometime in the future?  Lying gets to complex very rapidly.  After lying to their own father, the brothers had to attempt to console him.  I am amazed that not a single one of them broke down and told their father the truth!  This story also tells an Atheist how even being chosen by YHWH does not mean that a person will be honorable or good!  These men were the Chosen Ones of YHWH, yet they get angry and jealous, they murder, steal, kidnap, lie, dishonor their parents, have multiple wives, and sell/buy slaves.  And TrueChristianTM think that Atheists are evil!  I’m also getting really tired of correcting YHWH.  Jacob’s name is ISRAEL!!  Why can’t YHWH remember that he gave him that name!

Gen 32:28 Then the man (who is YHWH) said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel. Because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”

The moment YHWH changed Abram’s name to Abraham it stuck.  We never read the name Abram again.  But this verse says that Israel’s name is no longer Jacob.  YHWH has decreed it, why does the Word of God not follow his own decree?  The more I read the Bible the more I am certain that YHWH has dementia, or maybe Alzheimer’s.  We know that YHWH is an old man, by the Traditions of Men, so maybe that’s why he keeps forgetting things.

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