Jesus said to the religious leaders about Himself, "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him" (Jn. 7:18). I.e. "Whoever represents another person is not working in his own interest but in the interest of the one who sent him, therefore, there is no duplicity (un-rightousness) in him." In American culture, pride (or any reason to feel proud (which in its foundation is being better than others)) is the chief achievement and chief end of man. Barely anything at all operates or moves without pride. Solomon said, "I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors" (Eccl. 4:4, NLT). He meant that people only really work or do things because of pride. Apparently, it was true back then; we've honed and polished it today. I've observed the same thing here in America (very amazing), and because we are raised and pumped full of pride, everyone views everyone through suspicion: "He thinks he's better than me; she thinks she's better than me." And why not? If we were in their shoes, we would think we were better than. Because of this view, people find sight (really seeing) and discernment to be almost impossible. Because of the pride in our own hearts and all around us, we cannot imagine that anyone could not have it, especially if they have reason (in our eyes) to be proud. Therefore, many American Christians cannot fathom or even begin to consider the fact that Job was blameless and keep persisting that he had to have had sin or something in his life. Our pride makes it impossible to believe that anyone can seek anything but their own glory, since we seek our own glory naturally, and so denies the Bible and Jesus' words. However, "To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled" (Titus 1:15).
Paul said, "Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness" (2Cor. 3:7-9). Most people haven't chatted face to face with God, so we are not yet at the level of the Old Covenant many times; how do we expect to reach the level of the New Covenant in such a state? Furthermore, people under that covenant were able to triumph and overcome by the Spirit much more than many people are able to do today under a superior covenant. Joseph was a man whose character was pure gold without the help of the New Covenant. Christians today who have the better covenant but don't live anywhere in its vicinity cannot grasp that anyone at any time (Old or New Covenant) can live sinless, free of fleshly lusts, or with genuinely pure character. While this belief is errant, what solidifies it in our minds (so that we refuse to change our thinking pattern) is pride. Some Christians try to find flaws in Joseph's character (and in Job's character though God and satan agreed together that Job was perfectly blameless) because their own character smells like a cesspool of human waste; but the Bible proves over and again that Joseph's character was pure gold (which was why ten older brothers hated and tried to kill him; who has ever heard of such a thing). When Israel blessed Joseph, his words shared a lot of insight (which Moses later repeated almost word for word):
"Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; his branches run over the wall. The archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him. But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel)" (Gen. 49:22-24).
That passage alone is packed with at least one chapter of evidence that 'Joseph was not American'; he went from good character to better character and didn't struggle with the pride that so many Western Christians embrace as a necessary part of life and survival. Some Christians who sit in pools of pride say that Joseph was prideful when he shared his dreams with his brothers. Israel said differently: "The archers bitterly grieved him, shot at him, and hated him. But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob." Several quick notes:
1. The archers were the principalities (satan, etc.) in the heavens and his brothers and others (like Potiphar's wife) on earth; they sent arrows at him to prevent him from entering his destiny. They "bitterly grieved him (negatively affected him), shot at him (attacked him), and hated him (agreed together that he should fall or meet demise)."
2. Joseph's 'bow' remained in strength. In the Bible, especially the OT, a bow is often used to mean a person's character:
a.) "[Israel] turned back <from following God>, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow" (Ps. 78:57).
b.) "[The people of Ephraim] turn, but not upward; they are likea deceitful bow" (Hos. 7:16).
If Joseph was a righteous person later in life and the Bible says his bow remained in strength to get there, that means he was a righteous person at the beginning. Under attack, Joseph's heart (character) remained pure and good.
3. God helped him. This is always the best part as far as evidence goes. The Bible clearly says that God resists the proud, not helps them. If Joseph had been proud from the beginning, why would God be helping him. Israel said, "the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob ([the very Rock and Stability of all Israel])." That means that God Himself who chose Israel as a nation and founded all Creation was personally ('the hands of the Mighty God") protecting and carrying Joseph along (not just protecting him via angels but personally). Instead of getting weaker under attack, God protected Joseph's character ("his bow remained in strength") and on top of that made him stronger in the process ("and the arms of his hands were made strong").
Pride is rampant today; it is praised and promoted as the only way to live in much of Western society (at least in America). Because of this, people often don't believe much of what the Bible says: for one, they are too proud to (i.e. they know better), and two, they are literally unable to see or make sense of what the Bible is saying (because of the stronghold of pride in their minds); therefore, Bible truths are constantly under attack, and few people believe that anyone can actually have genuinely good character though the Bible tells us to 'get good character'. This forces us to go in circles (same sermons, same arguments, same sins, same problems) and never grow up, because pride naturally resists God (even if we who have it don't mean to resist Him) and His ways, solutions, and blessings with Him. I think that pride-- i.e. the way we think-- needs to be fingered as the foundational problem that it is in the American churches. Pride does not allow God to enter or rule because it cannot as it must rule; it resists Him, therefore, He resists it. I believe the less of it there is in any given person, place, or instance, the more of God can be and flow there. It takes pride to look at what the Bible (God) says and then say, "I know better" which is basically what God-rejecting and loveless Christianity today has become. Because these people do not acknowledge the primary truth of the Word, they are blind to other lesser truths and can't understand, see, or find answers to problems (rooted in pride and lack of Love but that's another topic).
"Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light" (Jn. 11:9-10) and...
"Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them" (1Jn. 2:9-11).
Paul said, "Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness" (2Cor. 3:7-9). Most people haven't chatted face to face with God, so we are not yet at the level of the Old Covenant many times; how do we expect to reach the level of the New Covenant in such a state? Furthermore, people under that covenant were able to triumph and overcome by the Spirit much more than many people are able to do today under a superior covenant. Joseph was a man whose character was pure gold without the help of the New Covenant. Christians today who have the better covenant but don't live anywhere in its vicinity cannot grasp that anyone at any time (Old or New Covenant) can live sinless, free of fleshly lusts, or with genuinely pure character. While this belief is errant, what solidifies it in our minds (so that we refuse to change our thinking pattern) is pride. Some Christians try to find flaws in Joseph's character (and in Job's character though God and satan agreed together that Job was perfectly blameless) because their own character smells like a cesspool of human waste; but the Bible proves over and again that Joseph's character was pure gold (which was why ten older brothers hated and tried to kill him; who has ever heard of such a thing). When Israel blessed Joseph, his words shared a lot of insight (which Moses later repeated almost word for word):
"Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; his branches run over the wall. The archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him. But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel)" (Gen. 49:22-24).
That passage alone is packed with at least one chapter of evidence that 'Joseph was not American'; he went from good character to better character and didn't struggle with the pride that so many Western Christians embrace as a necessary part of life and survival. Some Christians who sit in pools of pride say that Joseph was prideful when he shared his dreams with his brothers. Israel said differently: "The archers bitterly grieved him, shot at him, and hated him. But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob." Several quick notes:
1. The archers were the principalities (satan, etc.) in the heavens and his brothers and others (like Potiphar's wife) on earth; they sent arrows at him to prevent him from entering his destiny. They "bitterly grieved him (negatively affected him), shot at him (attacked him), and hated him (agreed together that he should fall or meet demise)."
2. Joseph's 'bow' remained in strength. In the Bible, especially the OT, a bow is often used to mean a person's character:
a.) "[Israel] turned back <from following God>, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow" (Ps. 78:57).
b.) "[The people of Ephraim] turn, but not upward; they are likea deceitful bow" (Hos. 7:16).
If Joseph was a righteous person later in life and the Bible says his bow remained in strength to get there, that means he was a righteous person at the beginning. Under attack, Joseph's heart (character) remained pure and good.
3. God helped him. This is always the best part as far as evidence goes. The Bible clearly says that God resists the proud, not helps them. If Joseph had been proud from the beginning, why would God be helping him. Israel said, "the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob ([the very Rock and Stability of all Israel])." That means that God Himself who chose Israel as a nation and founded all Creation was personally ('the hands of the Mighty God") protecting and carrying Joseph along (not just protecting him via angels but personally). Instead of getting weaker under attack, God protected Joseph's character ("his bow remained in strength") and on top of that made him stronger in the process ("and the arms of his hands were made strong").
Pride is rampant today; it is praised and promoted as the only way to live in much of Western society (at least in America). Because of this, people often don't believe much of what the Bible says: for one, they are too proud to (i.e. they know better), and two, they are literally unable to see or make sense of what the Bible is saying (because of the stronghold of pride in their minds); therefore, Bible truths are constantly under attack, and few people believe that anyone can actually have genuinely good character though the Bible tells us to 'get good character'. This forces us to go in circles (same sermons, same arguments, same sins, same problems) and never grow up, because pride naturally resists God (even if we who have it don't mean to resist Him) and His ways, solutions, and blessings with Him. I think that pride-- i.e. the way we think-- needs to be fingered as the foundational problem that it is in the American churches. Pride does not allow God to enter or rule because it cannot as it must rule; it resists Him, therefore, He resists it. I believe the less of it there is in any given person, place, or instance, the more of God can be and flow there. It takes pride to look at what the Bible (God) says and then say, "I know better" which is basically what God-rejecting and loveless Christianity today has become. Because these people do not acknowledge the primary truth of the Word, they are blind to other lesser truths and can't understand, see, or find answers to problems (rooted in pride and lack of Love but that's another topic).
"Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light" (Jn. 11:9-10) and...
"Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them" (1Jn. 2:9-11).