Joseph
The story of Joseph, Jacob’s second youngest child, as told in Genesis 37 and 39-45 has always been my most favourite biblical account. I will now reflect on how I feel that section of the Bible relates to me, by reflecting on a few verses: –
Genesis 37: 3ab-ac
Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age.
While my parents were not really old, when I was born, my birth certainly occurred towards the end of my mother’s child bearing days. This meant that I was left as the only child, remaining at home, for my teenage years, and, in many ways, both my parents had mellowed, somewhat, by that time: this meant that I got away with many things that would not have been tolerated from my older siblings.
Genesis 37: 4
When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
When I was a child, my older brothers did show some mild resentments about me by complaining that I got away with things, and was given things when they weren’t.
Genesis 37: 21a
When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands
On the other hand, particularly since the death of my mother (my second parent to die), my eldest brother has displayed a care for me, which is more akin to a fatherly rather than brotherly role.
Genesis 37: 5aa, 39: 2, 41: 12-13a
Joseph had a dream; The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered; Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream, And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us.
I would not say I am a good interpreter of dreams but my gift of foresight and visions has been affirmed more than once. I have often found, in various situations and forums, that my ideas and premonitions, whilst having been rejected at the time, are exactly what has happened some years later.
In mid-1965, a few months before my parents, my elder brother (Stephen), and I returned to the British Isles, having been residing in North Shore, Sydney, for the preceding 3½ years, a picture was taken of my whole nuclear family, by my brother Stephen, using a shutter delay mechanism, so he was in the picture too. I was 9⅚ years of age at this time.
After the picture was taken, I stated that I thought that this would be the last time ever that all of us would be together, in the same place, at the same time. My father left for his new job, with the UN, in Ireland, only a few days later. At the end of 1965, in early December, my mother, Stephen and I, departed on the S.S. Canberra, to join our father in Dublin. My thoughts were rejected as being foolish – my mother even said “Don’t be silly, of course we’ll be together again.”
All six members, of my nuclear family, have never been together, in the same place, at the same time, ever since that Sunday afternoon in mid-1965.
In conclusion, I encourage you all, to not discourage the views and thoughts of your younger siblings, offspring and colleagues, they may well hold nuggets of the wisdom of the ages.
Philip. June 2020 (55 years after the above photograph was taken)