Stories

Defending The Future

April 26, 2024

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Many of us wonder why Joseph went to a great extent to test his brothers after they reconciled with him in Egypt

It is valid that a leopard can never change or shed its spot and therefore the tests were really not necessary

Even though he had the advantage of anonymity and power, Joseph decided to use Benjamin as the bait with which he would test to see if his brothers from his father’s other wives and concubines cared about anyone apart from themselves

Joseph’s brothers behaved in a manner that suggested they cared about their brother Benjamen and their father, Jacob.

They wept and threw ashes on their heads when Benjamen was accused of stealing his cup, Judah even offered to stay in prison while the others would travel all the way to their village to bring their father back to Egypt

Joseph’s brothers really didn’t change

They didn’t hate Benjamin, so they acted in a different manner towards him

If it was Joseph who was accused that way, they would most likely abandon him in Pharaoh’s prison

Joseph and his brothers were all given birth to by four different women, they had their share of sibling rivalries among themselves

Especially because of the drama between Rachel and Leah but they were able to band together as brothers to solve problems regardless of their differences whenever they faced an external threat

Remember when they killed the men of Shechem because the prince of Shechem raped their sister?

Dinah’s maternal brothers, Simeon and Levi, killed all the men of Shechem in defence of their sister’s honour

When they were done, Jacob protested but the other brothers didn’t raise an eyebrow

They quickly packed up all the belongings of the family and supported the family’s escape from possible retribution from the relatives of those who were killed mindlessly by these sons of blood.

When they were going to gang up against Joseph, they did so because he was different

He was not looking to be one of the lot, he claimed he was born to rule and reign over the lot

They knew he was the first son of their father’s favourite wife but he was the eleventh child

They knew the history between Jacob and Esau

They understood that Esau had the right of the firstborn but Rebekkah influenced fate in such a manner that the birthright was stolen by Jacob

They also know that it was with the support of Rebekkah that the final blessings of Isaac were stolen by Jacob through deceit

They could see how their father loved the young man and treated him as if he was his heir

Then the young man started talking about his dreams

It was too much for them to handle

This was what motivated them to decide to kill him which miraculously was bargained down to throwing him down a well and later to selling him off to the Midianites

Ironically, it was Reuben who suggested that he should be thrown into a cistern and it was Judah who suggested that he should be sold off to the Ishmealites for profit

The joy they must have felt that day getting rid of him was not because they were wicked at heart but because they were threatened by the way his father treated him and his bold assertion that he was going to be greater than them

These two factors made him a threat

Benjamin was never a threat and this made him easy to love

Loving a man who you deem a threat to your current and future standing in life regardless of blood ties is a big ask

Joseph was playing the Game of Thrones and when you play the Game of Thrones, you win or you die

There is no middle ground.

Well, somewhat miraculously, Joseph won

Not only did he end up on the throne, he was well positioned by fate to determine the destiny of his brothers

He was no longer a threat to them by this time

His dream had come to pass and he was untouchable to all of them

He had also developed the maturity and distance necessary to lead without falling for undue sentiment

When his brothers showed up asking to buy food in Egypt, he knew he needed to teach them a lesson but he wanted to do it constructively

Another person would have acted rashly and had them beheaded or castrated or chopped off one of their arms each

He didn’t do this because of his father

He knew what losing another child would do to his father

He also knew it would be counterproductive

No one should treat blood as if it is water

A man found himself in a family that was very similar to that of Joseph

A family where your dreams make you the enemy once you articulate them

The sort of family where you must become everything you choose to become in obscurity or you will find yourself becoming nothing

Everybody that became something in the family, did it by going solo

It was a trend that worked for the majority

Keep your mouth shut, achieve greatness, and then come home to celebrate it

If you ever ask for help or support from these family members, you are done for

They will call a family conference and ridicule you for daring to do so

It was the family he was born into

He observed the trend quite early and he learned to keep his counsel to himself

Rather than talk to people, he wrote his dreams down in a journal and continued to keep them in his heart

As he grew older and started gaining economic strength, he began to build his dream, in secret

He pretended to the members of his family as if he was poor, to survive

He knew they would kill his dream if he carried them along while his projects were still in infancy, so he kept his mouth shut

A day came when his projects became too big to hide

People started asking questions

Who is the owner of this factory?

What will they be producing?

Is it a federal government project?

Is it a local project?

He called for a family meeting

He wanted to be the one to tell the members of his own family before the official press statement hit the airwaves

He told them calmly, “I am the owner of that project being built and the announcement will hit the airwaves soon”

His family members began to laugh

Which project?

Hahahaha

You better tie yourself in one corner and stop claiming what is not yours

Who do you think you are selling lies?

Even if they were handing out success for free, do you think it will get to you?

A week later, the news hit the airwaves but they still didn’t believe

He must be fronting for a cartel.

They must be using him to launder money

Indeed, he realized Jesus was right in stating that a man has no honour in his own household

Since they didn’t believe he could be great, he decided to leave them with their belief

He relocated to another area and this time he lived the way he ought to have been living

He gave his wealth its full expression

The factory was completed and he employed the staff members he wanted

His family members got angry

How can he be enjoying his wealth with strangers

How can he forget his own blood?

They began to say all sorts about him

He was selfish, callous and uncaring

The narratives they spread absolved them of all wrong

Typical of how every family behaves

They expect the wronged to automatically forgive because of blood and if he doesn’t they will continue to cry wolf

He got married to the love of his life

The family members expected the wife to steer his heart toward them

She didn’t know what had transpired between them in the past

All he told her was the truth

That his family members were not interested in his vision

He introduced her to none of them

And then he died

It was unplanned and unexpected

His family members bombarded his house

A vision they didn’t believe in

A vision they mocked

A vision they ridiculed

A vision they denigrated

Suddenly, they wanted to profit from his death

The wife had suddenly become the external threat they must unite against and deny the right to inherit her husband

His wife was a stranger, how can she come from nowhere to take away all or some of the properties of their son?

Their son worked hard all his life and left so much behind, how can a stranger be allowed to take out anything

Unfortunately, he and his wife didn’t have a court wedding

His wife was stripped of everything

It didn’t matter that she made him happy

It didn’t matter that her presence in his life gave him the focus and stability to aim for his targets in life and hit them

It didn’t matter that she made him happy

They insisted she had enjoyed with him in his lifetime

They threw her out without a pin

A member of the family was quite young at this time

He watched how a man who had a vision was treated by those who had none

He watched the scavengers pick the bones of the peacock

He saw the labour of the rainbow bled dry by the vultures

He silently walked away from the family

They didn’t know he was a dreamer too and that he had started building his dreams

He had studied the template of the dreamer that went before him

He was determined to protect his dream and the wealth it will produce for those who believe in his dream

He was determined to fulfil his dream and vulture-proof it

The two things that will not be needed are sentiment and procrastination

He called a lawyer and made his will

When members of the family began to show up at the company he founded looking for a job

He took them through the Joseph test

Those who passed were offered jobs

Those who failed were denied employment

He knew it was not personal

To protect your vision and its blessings from wolves, you must do whatever you must.

 

PS: Have you done your will?

Get it done today

Don’t wait till it is too late

Don’t leave things to chance

Don’t call one of your sons and tell him your will, believing that he will execute your estate

He just might discover he is powerless against the wolves that would descend on him after you are gone

That family members are leaving you to go it all alone now does not mean they are not using a side eye to monitor your progress

Success compels the attention of wild dogs and wolves

If you desire anything, pay a lawyer and back it by law

What you don’t value is what you leave to chance

if you value your vision and those who contributed to it while you are alive, you will make a will

You will keep the vultures far away

You will handicap the wolves

You will protect those who helped you to fulfil your destiny

 

-GSW-

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