Bow Down

To show that they understood Joseph's authority, they kneeled before him. Do you remember the rest of this story of Joseph? It was certainly within God's providential care for Israel that Joseph had been strategically placed in Egypt in order to provide for the food which would keep his family alive during a great famine. Of course the path to that position wasn't an easy one. It all began when he was a young lad with large and strange dreams.

"Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, 'Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.'" ( Genesis 37:5-7)

When Joseph told this dream to his brothers, they became angry and ended up shipping him off to Egypt. Well, "duh"; no wonder they were angry - they were being told that Joseph believed that some day they would bow down to their little brother! But notice this, the dream came true, as we find in Genesis 42:6. "Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the one who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph's brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground." Joseph's brothers bowed down to him in fulfillment of the dream, and in accord with the custom of that day which required subjects to bow down before their rulers. There came a time, however, when it was understood that no one was to bow down to anyone but God. That's how Mordecai got into trouble.

Esther 3:2 - "All the royal officials at the king's gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor."

The New Testament Apostles understood this. Consider the story of Peter - when he came into Cornelius's home, he would not allow this man to bow down to him.

"As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. 'Stand up,' he said, 'I am only a man myself.'" (Acts 10:25, 26)

Paul and Barnabas had a similar experience on their first missionary journey. In that case, the local religious leader, a worshipper of Zeus, wanted to worship Paul and Barnabas with sacrifices. When this happened, the apostles protested,

". . . they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 'Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you.'" (Acts 14:13-15)

But when we read about Jesus, it's interesting to note that He did not forbid or rebuke those who kneeled down before Him.
One of the ten lepers healed by Jesus.

Luke 17:15, 16 - "...when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him--and he was a Samaritan."

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