Tokonaki Fepueli 6, 2021
Israel loved Joseph more than all his children
Pea na‘e ‘ofa lahi ‘a ‘Isileli kia Siosifa ‘i he‘ene fānau kotoa pē
Senesi 37 (Genesis 37)
(v. 3) Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors.
(v. 3) Pea na‘e ‘ofa lahi ‘a ‘Isileli kia Siosifa ‘i he‘ene fānau kotoa pē, he ko hono foha ia ka kuo motu‘a: pea na‘a ne ngaohi mo‘ona ha kofu pulepule.
*Commentary: The Reformation Study Bible*
37:3 loved. As in the case of Jacob, parental favoritism again promotes family discord, deception, and the disappearance of the preferred son, but God graciously uses it to achieve His good purpose (cf. 25:28).
*Tohi Vete: Tohitapu Ako ‘o e
Fakalelei-Lotu´*
37:3 ‘ofa. Fekauʻaki mo Sekope´, naʻe hoko ‘a ‘ene ‘ofa fakatonutonu´ ke ne uesia ‘a e nofo feʻofoʻofani ‘a e famili´, hoko ki ai mo e meheka mo e fakavahavahaʻa, ‘o iku ai ki he mole ‘a e foha pele´; ka naʻe angaʻofa pe ‘a e ‘Otua´ ‘o ne ngaueʻaki ‘a e tuʻunga ko eni´ ke fakaola ‘Ene taumuʻa lelei´ (vakai ki he 25:28).
GOD IS . . . (KO E ‘OTUA, ‘OKU . . )
GOD IS TRIUNE
Application
Owen expands on these terms, which are worthy of our reflection:
Eternal. It was fixed on us before the foundation of the world. Before we were, or had done the least good, then were his thoughts upon us....
Free. He loves us because he will; there was, there is, nothing in us for which we should be beloved....
Unchangeable. Though we change every day, yet his love changes not....
Distinguishing. He has not thus loved all the world... Why should he fix his love on us, and pass by millions from whom we differ not by nature?
Ko e ‘Otua´ ko e Tolu-ʻi he-Taha
Ko ‘ene fekauʻaki mo kitautolu´
‘Oku toe fakamatalaʻi ‘e ‘Oueni ‘a e
ngaahi tuʻunga lea ko eni´, pea ‘oku taau ke tau tokanga ki ai:
Lauʻitāniti. Naʻe ‘osi fakataumuʻa mai pe ‘a ‘Ene ‘ofa´
teʻeki ke tanupou ‘a mamani´. Teʻeki ke fakakaukauʻi kitautolu, pea kimuʻa pea
tau fai ha foʻi ngaue lelei ‘e taha, naʻe fuoloa kāliu ‘Ene tokangaekina
kitautolu...
Tauʻatāina. ‘Oku ne ‘ofaʻi kitautolu, he ‘oku ne finangalo ki ai,
he talaʻehai´ ‘oku ‘i ai ha momoʻi meʻa ‘iate kitautolu, te ne fie ‘ofaʻi ai
kitautolu.
Taʻeliliu. Neongo ‘oku tau liliu fakaʻaho, ka ‘oku ‘ikai ke pehē
‘a ‘Ene ‘ofa´.
Makehe. ‘Oku ‘ikai ke pehē ‘ene ‘ofa ki
mamani...Ko e hā ‘oku huʻu mai ai ‘ene ‘ofa´ kiate kitautolu´, kae fakalaka ia ‘i
he lauimiliona, neongo ‘oku ‘ikai ha fai kehekehe.
If you have more than one siblings there’s a point in your life you see the favoritism your parents have towards you or another siblings of yours and it does create tension depending what’s the situation.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up my siblings used it to their advantage that I would always get my way when it came to my dad. My sisters would ask my dad to go to the movies for example and he would say no 😂 Then I would ask my dad a few minutes later and he would say yes 🥰 From that point forward my siblings wouldn’t bother asking for permission to go anywhere they would just tell me to ask my dad because majority of the time it was always going to be a yes.
My dad didn’t make me a colorful coat, and I’m not the youngest in the family nor am I the oldest sibling, but my dad made us feel as if I am his favorite in certain times in our lives growing up. I can’t say that I didn’t feel special when these situations came up, but it’s not easy being this great and being my fathers twin lol jk But for realz my dad did his best raising us equally, and God uses us through my dad to help spread His Word!!! Have a great day everyone 🤟🏼💯🙏🏼
Lol - sai ke tau 'ilo 'a e "pele" 'a Siale. But rightly so, we as humans have "preferences" - but Thanks be to God who has chosen us in Christ Jesus (Eph 1:4). We are to be humbled by the fact that God is merciful to us - any benefit from His table is out of His lovingkindness!
DeleteGood afternoon family and friends My name is Paula samita and I’m from Maui what I learn about this story talking about that whoever you love we need to love everybody the same way beacause if not there’s gonna be jealous and they gonna talk about it saying that we have favoritism
ReplyDeleteThank you Paula for sharing. Jealousy is in all of us. It is usually when we compare ourselves to others...what we "have" or "don't have" in comparison to someone else. We must admit that we don't have the full story and that what we see is often wrong. On the other hand, as the person showing love (or partiality) we need wisdom to direct our actions so as to not be misunderstood. Having the "thoughts" does not mean we have to act on it. But that we need Christ's strength to overcome.
DeleteUnfortunately the story today mirrors many of families. There's always a favorite child and then there's the rest. If your a middle child then you'll know the feeling. But it's not anything new it has been like that since the beginning between Cain and Abel. Not only between human but also between human and God.
ReplyDeleteBut it's not all bad. I think that's the beauty in the story. When we love something/someone we want to show our appreciation through meaningful gestures. Whether it's something small as a thank you or a big gesture of a car. We should show our love to one another.
The same way God showed his love for us by sending his son to die for our sins. Big gesture or small. We should love.