Siblings in the Bible

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Siblings in the Bible

• Presented by Nancy L. Vidad
• March 11, 2007

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Pop Quiz

• 1. Genesis 3718-28 Who was sold into slavery
  by his brothers?
• Joseph
• 2. Genesis 41, 2 One of these brothers was a
  farmer, one was a shepherd?
• Cain and Abel
• 3. 2 Samuel 13 What brother had his half-brother
  killed for violating his sister, Tamar?
• Absalom and Ammon
• 4. Genesis 2916 What were the names of Laban's
  two daughters, whom Jacob eventually ended up
  marrying?
• Rachel and Leah
• 5. Genesis 2522-36 What twins exchanged a
  birthright for a bowl of stew?
• Jacob and Esau

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Pop Quiz

• 6. Matthew 421 Moses' older sister tenderly
  watched over him as a baby. His brother
  accompanied him to Pharaoh's palace. But later
  these siblings spoke against Moses. Who were
  they?
• Miriam and Aaron
• 7. Genesis 1615 213 What two half-brothers'
  descendants have fought on a continual basis
  (even today)?
• Isaac and Ishmael 8. Genesis 2912 What
  half-brother and half-sister married?
• Abraham and Sarah 9. Genesis 101What were the
  names of Ham's brothers (Noah's sons)?
• Shem and Japheth 10. John 121-3 What were the
  names of Lazarus's two sisters?
• Mary and Martha.

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Siblings in the Bible

• The Bible is full of stories about sibling
  rivalries both OT and NT
• For some reason, God favored the second sons or
  younger siblings
• Isaac vs. Ishmael
• Ephraim vs. Manasseh
• There are some who settled their differences and
  some who did not

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Those who did not settle their differences Cain
and Abel

• Cain was the farmer and Abel was the shepherd
• Cain offered grains and fruit vs. Abels offering
  the fats of the animals
• One theory suggests that Cains offerings were
  inferior and that he did not put forth a lot of
  effort into his offerings (fat is considered to
  be choice for offering)
• Cain was jealous of Gods favoritism and killed
  Abel
• Cain was banished as his punishment

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Those who did not settle their differences
Amnon and Absalom

• Amnon was David's eldest son.
• Amnon was the son of David and Ahinoam. Tamar and
  Absalom, third son, were the progeny of David and
  Maachah.
• Jewish law forbade Amnon to marry a half-sister.
• Following his cousins advice, he lured Tamar
  into his quarters with the pretense that he
  wanted her to cook a special meal for him,
  ignored her protests, and raped her.
• Two years later, Absalom engineered Amnon's death.

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Those who did settle their differences Esau and
Jacob

• Esau and Jacob were twins, sons of Isaac and
  Rebekah
• Jacob was described as grabbing Esaus heels upon
  birth, as if trying to come out first and become
  firstborn
• Esau is described as not too smart and
  exchanges his birthright for a mess of pottage
  or meal of lentils
• Jacob goes to Abrahams land in search of a wife
  and to get away from Esau
• Jacob and Esau reconciled upon Jacobs return
  (and after some growing up)

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Those who did settle their differences Joseph
his brothers

• Joseph was Jacobs favorite son, despite being
  the 11th out of 12 sons
• The gift of the coat with many colors was
  considered a sign that Joseph was chosen to carry
  the lineage and rights
• Plus, Joseph was a bit of a show off and tattle
  tale, acting as Jacobs spy
• Joseph forgives his brothers after realizing that
  they will no longer sacrifice a brother for their
  own means or gains

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Birth Order - Firstborn

• Society also places favoritism towards oldest
  siblings, natural born leaders, rule-conscious,
  exacting, conservative, organized, responsible,
  jealous, fearful, high achieving, competitive,
  high in self-esteem, and anxious
• Often pressured to succeed
• On the other hand, younger siblings often idolize
  the first born, putting the first born in a
  position of leader of the children of the family.
  

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Birth Order - Middleborn

• Tends to be forgotten
• Never truly in the spotlight so can be natural
  mediators
• They avoid conflict, often have many friends and
  highly loyal to peer groups
• They may become a fighter of injustice OR they
  may have trouble finding their place

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Birth Order - Youngest

• Baby of the family, outgoing, entertainer
• Out of all the siblings, the youngest has the
  least aversion to risk
• Often an endearing and delightful friend
• "Pampering" can lead to dependence, and
  selfishness as well as irresponsibility when the
  youngest enters adulthood
• Youngest children can easily become manipulative
  and control-seeking if their sibling(s), parents,
  or other peers are overbearing or bossy

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Cant we get along?

• Parents attention and love can be sought after
  but not equally received
• As a parent, we cannot and should not give equal
  love and attention
• The child who needs most attention, due to
  handicaps or special situation, require more in
  terms of time and effort
• Also, the more children there are, the less time
  will be given to each

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Even Jesus was a victim

• "Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his
  brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
  And are not all his sisters with us?" (Matthew
  13.54-56)
• Galatians 118-19 Paul writes "I went up to
  Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed
  with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other
  apostles - only James, the Lord's brother
• Jude The Obscure was brother to James The Less
  (and therefore possibly also to Jesus) comes in
  Jude's own epistle, which opens "Jude, a servant
  of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,".

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Even Jesus was a victim

• None of Jesus siblings was a disciple
• They didnt follow his teachings until after his
  death (John 71-5)
• But they reconciled James was author of one of
  the books in the Bible
• IF it can happen to our Lord, it can happen to us
• There is no solution to thisjust perseverance
  and patience