“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.”
There is no such thing as a free lunch… Consider that phrase for a moment. We use it a lot in society today to express that for everything there is a cost, whether we see it immediately or not. Cost is in everything, even things that we consider free. Companies today have “free” offers that “won’t last” all the time, giving out everything from tote bags with the company name on it (that they hope you will carry around with you as you “advertise” for them) to free laptops (as long as you complete the program requirements). Everything has a cost, and that cost must be paid by someone, whether it is passed onto other customers, or paid for by increased sales as a result of promotions.
Today, we are looking at the story of Joseph and his colorful “gift” given to him by his father. This one gift carried with it a cost that neither Jacob nor Joseph could have imagined. This coat fueled the jealously and envy that Joseph’s brothers had for their father’s “favorite son”, and drove them to sell Joseph into slavery and tell their dad that he had been killed by a wild beast. That one colorful coat cost Joseph his life as he knew it, and as far as Jacob could tell, it cost him the life of his favorite son, a loss that Jacob would mourn for the rest of his life.
But look at the amazing turn of events that God orchestrated following this tragedy. We see in Genesis 39-45 that Joseph, after being sold into slavery, framed, falsely accused, and thrown into jail, eventually gains favor with the Pharaoh of Egypt, and gets put in charge of all of the food of Egypt and second in command overall. Around this same time, there is a severe drought and famine that hits the area, leaving Jacob and his family without any food. Lo and behold, it is Joseph, the “dead” son, with his huge stockpile of grain in Egypt, who saves them from certain death by providing food to the starving family.
While the gift of grain in the time of famine looks like a “free lunch” to Jacob and his family, we see that there was a cost that came along with that gift. Joseph’s life, as he and the family knew it, had to die so that their lives could be saved. This should remind us of someone else who died to save others from death – JESUS! Through His death on the cross, our debt of sin was paid and salvation is given. He offers it free to everyone if we will just accept it. The cost has already been paid, won’t you accept it today?
~ Eric Frantz
