Title: The Blessed Son Joseph
The Ten Commandments that Moses received can be divided into two, one is replaced by the commandments, "You shall have no other gods besides Me," "You shall not worship idols," "You shall not take the name of God in vain," and "Keep the Sabbath day holy." will be The other is the interpersonal commandment, that is, the commandment to be kept between people. The first of these is, "Honor your father and mother, that your life may be long in the land the LORD your God is giving you." . The commandment, "Honor your father and mother," precedes the commandment, "You shall not murder," and precedes the commandment, "You shall not commit adultery," and "You shall not steal." Therefore, we should know that the sin of disobeying one's parents is a greater sin than the sin of murder, adultery, and theft.
In that sense, this commandment is the first commandment, and at the same time, almost all of the other commandments are negative commandments such as "don't do it," but this commandment "honor your father and mother" is an active commandment. Also, this commandment is the first commandment with the promise of God's blessing. Ephesians 6:2-3, "Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, that it may go well with you and that you may live long on the earth."
Therefore, this "filial piety" (хнЭ) is the basis of all principles and morals, and is the basis of all order. People who respect their parents and show filial piety will become good citizens, good citizens, and good office workers. When filial piety is broken, the family is corrupted, and when the family is corrupted, the country is also corrupt.
From time immemorial, Korea has had two things to be proud of. One is Mt. Geumgang and the other is filial piety. However, Mt. Geumgang was blocked by the cease-fire line and could not be seen, and filial piety could not be found. It is said that about 800 cases a year are reported by Koreans taking their parents with them for tourism or other excuses. It's incredible. When I asked "Is that true?", it was true. So, how can the family be blessed and the country blessed?
There is one exemplary filial son in the Bible, and that person is Joseph, the eleventh son of Jacob. Today, I would like to receive grace while thinking about Joseph's filial deeds and the blessings he received.
1. Joseph made his parents happy.
The reason that Jacob loved and loved Joseph the most among the twelve sons, and that he wore the best colored clothes, was because Joseph made the hearts of his parents so happy. Filial piety, above all else, considers true filial piety to make parents feel comfortable and happy.
There is Hyoja-dong behind the central office, and it is said that the reason for the name was given as follows. At one house, while the son and daughter-in-law were going out to work in the field, the father's mistake and the grandson's baby died under the blanket. The daughter-in-law came in for lunch and found it. When he saw his dead son, he slapped him on the face and scolded him as an "infidel child" who had offended his grandfather, and it is said that the child who was killed by the slap came to life. It is said that this rumor spread and the town was called Hyoja-dong. These days, young people may laugh at it when they hear it, but Korea has long been a country of filial piety. But today, how terrifying it is to say that there are 800 cases a year who take their parents to a nursing home and go on a tour? However, Joseph was a filial son who made his parents happy.
2. Joseph obeyed his parents.
When his parents asked his brothers to bring lunch to their sheep herders in the field, Joseph obeyed at all costs. The brothers said they were in Shechem, so they went there, but they had moved to a faraway place in Dothan. Then I can come back with an excuse not to, but I went to my brothers on foot in the wilderness infested with wild beasts. When his brothers, who were jealous of Joseph, saw him because he was living, they threw him into a ditch and tried to kill him, but when they saw the merchants in Egypt passing by, they sold him for 20 pieces of silver. And when he brought Joseph's clothes soaked in sheep's blood and asked his parents, "Have you sent Joseph to us?"
In this way, Joseph obeyed even though he predicted that his inferior brothers would harm him, and he walked a long way in the wilderness infested with wild beasts. This is how I listened to my parents. It is a rare purebred.
Ephesians 6:1 says, тАЬChildren, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.тАЭ
3. Joseph was good at raising money.
According to today's text, after my father's death, I had a 70-day market instead of a 5-day or 10-day market. At that time, doctors said it took 40 days to put incense ingredients into the body to keep the body from decaying. How long did it take? How much money would you spend? And even after becoming prime minister, he took care of his parents and siblings from a far-off country and did a good job of providing them with materials so that they could see well. Even when he became prime minister, he did not think he was successful until he took care of his parents. Genesis 47:12 says, "And to his father, his brothers, and to all his father's house, he gave food according to his household, and gave them to eat." Not only my parents, but also the family members of the brothers whose parents were healed did a good job of caring for them with materials.
Giving clothes, providing food, and giving pocket money is the most important filial piety. Parents will be happy when they do their best to provide materially for the rich, according to the rich, and for the poor, according to the poor. Children do not hesitate to beg their parents for pocket money, but elderly parents do not ask for pocket money. If you give generously to your parents, you are planting seeds that will be blessed later.
It is not a blessing to be trembling with a single penny to the parents who gave birth to, raised, and educated them while spending everything they wanted to wear and eat. 1 Timothy 5:8 says, "Anyone who does not take care of his relatives, especially his family, has betrayed the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." What a great sin if you don't give a penny.
Those who do not honor their parents are condemned to death. Deuteronomy 21:18-21 says, "If a man has a hard-hearted and rebellious son who does not obey his father or his mother, and his parents rebuke him, but he does not listen, his parents will seize him and bring him to the gate of the city. If you go to the elders and say to the elders of the city, тАЬThis son of ours is a hardened and rebellious man who does not obey our language, he is a licentious, drunken man, all the people of that city shall stone him to death. Remove it, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.тАЭ Exodus 21:17 also says, тАЬWhoever curses his father or mother must be put to deathтАЭ and in 21:15, тАЬHe who strikes his father or mother must be put to death.тАЭ How evil is the world with this often?
4. Joseph took care of his brother with love.
Joseph not only respected his parents well, but also cared for and took care of the brothers and grandchildren of his parents. I think this is a great filial piety.
When the funeral of his father Jacob was over, the brothers who had sold him before, trembling for fear that he might even get revenge, said to Joseph, "Before your father died, say to Joseph: Even if you have done it, now I beg you to forgive your transgressions and sins. Now forgive the sins of the servants of your God, your father.тАЭ When Joseph heard this, he wept in shock. Joseph's brothers bowed down before him and said, "We are thy servants." It's like saying, "Please save me." Then Joseph answered, "Do not be afraid, can I be in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God turned it into good so that the lives of all people may be saved as it is today. Do not be afraid, I will I will feed you." He comforted me with earnest words.
True filial piety is to please the hearts of parents and to take care of them if they have the strength when they are hungry, naked, or suffering among the brothers and sisters their parents gave birth to, and I believe that it is a higher level of filial piety. The Bible says, "Whoever does not take care of his relatives, especially his own family, has betrayed the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."
My youngest sister broke the hearts of her parents and brothers a lot, and she became a widow early even after getting married. But my mother's heart was always for her daughter. Even if he comes to his son's house and asks him to buy it, he keeps saying that he will buy it separately and asks to buy an apartment. The intention was to make a house for the youngest daughter. About 20 years ago, even though none of my sons own a house, I saved up the money and bought a small apartment in Jamsil. However, without our mother's knowledge, we sold it and got rid of it. After that, I bought him a small apartment in Namyangju, saying that the house was a man, but he gave it to his daughter and passed away. It was difficult, but I bought it to make my mother happy.
5. Serving souls to heaven is true filial piety.
Joseph remembered the words of his father when he died, "When I die, I want him to be buried in the cave of Machpelah in my hometown." I would like to interpret this as leading to the heavenly home of the soul.