Gen 37:2 ...Joseph, when he was seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock... (8) And his brothers said to him, Will you indeed reign over us and actually be a ruler among us? So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. John 19:15 They cried out then, Take Him away! Take Him away! Crucify Him! Pilate said to them, Shall I crucify your King?
The reigning aspect is firstly the shepherding aspect. If you do not have the burden to shepherd others and to feed them, you will never be able to reign. Reigning authority comes from the shepherding life. Eventually, Joseph reigned over his brothers. But he did not reign over them until he had already shepherded them. He was sent by his father to shepherd his brothers and to feed them. In like manner, Jesus came not as a King to rule others; He came as a Shepherd. As the Shepherd, Christ was killed by His own people. This is revealed in John 10, where we are told that the good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. Jesus came as the Shepherd and was killed, giving His life for His flock. In principle, the same thing happened to Joseph in chapter thirty- seven. Although he was sent to shepherd his brothers, they nearly killed him. Joseph gave his life in order to carry out this kind of shepherding. It is good that we have a shepherding life within. But if you are to shepherd others, you must be ready to be killed by those you are caring for. The very ones you desire to shepherd will not appreciate your shepherding. They may think of you as a strange, peculiar person, and they may call you a "holy" brother.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Genesis, 1987, pp. 1415. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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