This Will Honor God!
Then Judah came near to [Joseph] and said: “O my
lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s
hearing, and do not let your anger burn against your
servant; for you are even like Pharaoh.”
Genesis 44:18
Submitting to earthly authorities is only one step removed
from submitting to God Himself. At our jobs, we're to work
for a employer as if we're working for God (Colossians 3:23).
When we submit to the civil authorities, it's like submitting to
God since He established their
authority (Romans 13:1-5).
One of
the things Joseph’s brothers did right was submit
to Joseph as if he was the Pharaoh.
Submission is a hard thing to do, at least with reverence and
honor. Joseph’s brother, Judah, slowly sensed that God was
doing something unexpected in their relationship with Joseph
(whom they'd not recognized). Because of this, Judah bowed
in honor to Joseph in recognition of the authority of Joseph’s
position. He humbled himself before the one who ultimately
would save Jacob’s family.
There's a lesson here for us. Humility and honor for
authority figures is always appropriate since God is
at work in our life through them. Agreement is not
the immediate point—honor is.
"Reverence and boasting cannot
be found on the same platform."
A. W. Tozer
