When Israel set out on his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God spoke to Israel in visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” Then [H]e said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again; and Joseph’s own hand shall close your eyes.” Genesis 46: 1-4, NRSV.
Dear God, how wonderful it is to know that we, as parents, also have a most loving, thoughtful, and considerate, Parent, in You! Please accompany us as we enter the study of Your holy Word. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
I believe that no one but a parent, can really understand a parent’s pain. And even then, that knowledge is limited, because every situation is different. Let us try to imagine, for a moment, what it must have been like for Jacob the day his older sons came home with the coat of many colors that he had given Joseph, dripping with blood! I imagine that as he looked at it, he did not hear a word that they were saying. And if he heard, he did not believe what he was hearing; nothing was making sense. Hadn’t he sent Joseph to find his brothers, and see how they were doing? Had he not stood in the door of his tent watching him disappear in the distance, and thinking how much he loved him, and how unbearable life would be, if any misfortune should befall him?
Now the thoughts of culpability: Why did I send him? Perhaps I should have gone! When his mother was dying, she made me promise that I would never let anything happen to him or to his brother Benjamin. I promised her that I would take care of them. How could I have allowed this to happen? On and on, these thoughts nagged him; all through the night. No thoughts of sleep entered his mind. He sits in his rocking chair surrounded by family members, and people of the village, who keep arriving as soon as word of his tragedy reaches them. He goes from disbelief (“At any moment now, Joseph will walk through the door, and my world will be intact, once more.”); to self-condemnation (“I deserve to die. Oh God, why not let me just fall asleep and never awaken?”).
And there, in the shadows, unseen by human eyes, is the “Parents’ God.” The God who is the Parent, par excellence! He knows that even though Jacob refuses to be comforted, and believes that “[he] will go down to Sheol mourning” (Genesis 37: 35), a joy unspeakable awaits him. It will take a while. It will be a long night (approximately 13 years)! But joy will come in the morning! He who sees the end from the beginning, was keeping watch over his beloved Joseph.
The reason our God, the Parents’ God, can understand our tears and our pain, and enter into the depth of our sorrow; is because He too, is a parent. He was also separated from His Son – for three and a half years. Because we have never experienced eternity, three and a half years may not seem like a very long time; especially in comparison with thirteen years. But when we stop and reflect upon the fact that there was never, ever, a time when the Father and the Son were separated, in all of eternity; until Calvary! When we recall that it was not the nails, or the beating, or any punishment inflicted by human beings, that caused the death of the Savior, but that His heart was broken because of the separation, even then, we have not begun to understand what divine suffering is all about!
But even when we do not understand, we can rest in the knowledge, that every parent, in whatever situation we may find ourselves, have a Parent. He is the great God of the universe, and He is watching over us and our children!