THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH THEE

Ephesians 6:2 tells us to honor our fathers and mothers so that it may be well with us and that we may live long upon the earth. Discussions on this verse have often brought up the issue of what it really means to “honor” one’s father and mother. When someone wants to live with honoring their parents as one of their priorities, the full significance of the word needs no explanation.

One of my favorite stories in the Bible, one that is never less than incredibly touching in my life than it was the time before, is the story of Joseph. I love the whole story. In my heart I believe that it is because it’s a good assurance that God can overrule the failings of a godly family and accomplish a marvelous purpose through it all.

The part of the account of Joseph, however, than blesses me more and more each time I read it, is the end of the story, the happenings that take place after he reveals himself to his brothers. The reconciliation that takes place, first on his part, then on theirs, is a stirring but simple lesson for the tender heart. Reading these verses ought to foster a desire to fully forgive and fully reconcile in any lingering relational schisms.

What I see, though, is that Joseph wanted to hear about his father. He wove the question about Jacob’s health into his questioning of his brothers, and according to Genesis, it was the first thing out of his mouth after the declaration, “I am Joseph.”

When it came time for Joseph’s brothers and his father, Jacob, to make their way back to Egypt, we are told that “…Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.” I imagine Joseph, grown man, mighty ruler of a great nation, successful administrator, as hardly able to wait to see his dad. He got in his car, hit the Interstate, and went to meet him. He could have waited in the palace for his father to come. What difference would it have made? He could have still “fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.”

Joseph loved his father. Had he thought about him throughout his years away from home? Why didn’t he make an attempt to locate his family while in Egypt? I don’t know. What I do know is that Joseph quickly reconciled with his brothers having probably forgiven them long before, and he could not wait to behold his father.

Jacob was not the best father in the world, but Joseph loved him and Joseph showed respect to him. Joseph immediately went into a mode of caring for him and for his brothers upon their arrival at Egypt. For seventeen years, Jacob enjoyed Joseph and his children. It could have been different. Joseph was an incredibly powerful man. He could have stayed clear and never revealed himself at all. Instead, he honored his father and showed his love openly.

No one needs to get a lecture on how to honor their father and mother if the prayer of their heart is, “Lord, help me to obey you in the matter of honoring my father and mother.”

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