Jacob and His Sons

Yesterday we studied the scene where the sons of Jacob (Israel) turned on each other.  I wish I could remember a few things from my Psych 101 class because it would be interesting to do an in depth character study on everyone involved in this sorted episode in the life of the patriarchs.  Afterall, these are the fathers of our faith.  That's a scary thought.

Jacob, for instance.  When they bring the bloody robe to him (don't read that with a British accent, I mean literally, a robe covered with blood), don't you think he suspected foul play?  I think so.  You know your children better than anyone on the planet.  He knows his boys.  He knows what they're capable of doing ... and he knows the bitter rivalry between them.  In fact, he also knows that what has likely happened is, to some degree, his fault ... he fueled the rage in his sons by playing favorites, and then he sent the favored son to "check up on" his brothers (i.e. supervise them).  I think Jacob knows, down deep, exactly what has happened and doesn't want to deal with it.  Before there was Valium there were defense mechanisms.

And then there's Reuben, who wants to do the right thing but is too weak to pull it off.  He tries to trick his brothers into sparing Joseph so that he can save Joseph and deliver him back to his father.  It's hard to tell whether Reuben wants to score some points with the old man or is just genuinely adverse to violence.  The tone of the story when it comes to Reuben seems to indicate the latter.  He really feels uncomfortable with what they are plotting to do, but he doesn't have the moral strength to stand against them ... instead he tries to trick them. I wonder where he got that idea from (tongue firmly planted in cheek)?

I could go on and on ... but you get the point.  One of the many things that sets the Bible apart from all other literature of antiquity is that it doesn't pull any punches.  If you study the ancient historical records of other cultures you will find obviously sanitized stories where the kings never do anything wrong and the one-dimensional heroes all wear white hats.  Not the Bible.  It always tells it like it is ... and every hero has a dark side ... more on that tomorrow.
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