- Scripture: Genesis 37:1–17
- The Anchor: “Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.” – Genesis 37:3–4 (ESV)
Joseph’s dreams. He seemed like a very annoying brother since he basically snitched on his brothers for bad behavior. Joseph was only 17 years old, but he was Jacob’s favorite son, as Jacob gave him the colorful robe. One day, Joseph came to his brothers and told them of his dream. In his first dream, he and his brothers were binding sheaves, but his sheaf stood upright and the other 11 sheaves bowed to his sheaf. His brothers hated him even more after this dream. Again, Joseph had another dream. In the next dream, the sun, the moon, and 11 stars were bowing down to him. Now his father and mother also started to be offended and his brothers hated him even more. One day, when his brothers went to pasture the field near Shechem, Jacob called Joseph to go check up on his brothers and he found them at Dothan after asking around.
I feel like Joseph is prideful and self-centered in this passage. I wouldn’t want to have a brother like him because he constantly snitched on his brothers. He was that one guy who would just pop into his brothers’ work just to rub in the fact that he wasn’t working. It’s hard to see how God could work through someone like Joseph until you see his entire story, which we will cover in the rest of this month.
Even though he didn’t interpret his own dream, his brothers and his parents could interpret the dreams that he dreamt. They really didn’t like the dreams, but Jacob kept the second dream in his heart. The brothers hated him for dreaming of how he was going to rise up over them even though he was the second youngest. If anything, Reuben should have been the upright sheaf, but God chose Joseph for a reason to fulfill His will.
I guess the lesson here is to stay humble like Jesus was. Joseph was prideful and self-centered, which led to his brothers loathing him. We probably all know the story, but Joseph’s pride led to him being sold off to Egypt. Although this story’s ending is amazing, the middle and even the beginning was rocky and filled with hopelessness. Maybe things would have been different if Joseph was humble, but I guess we’ll never know…
Reflection
- You noted that it is hard to see how God could work through someone as prideful and self-centered as 17-year-old Joseph until you look at his entire story. When you see your own flaws or look at a rocky situation that feels full of hopelessness, do you trust that God is already choosing you for a reason and working to fulfill His ultimate will?
- The lesson here is to stay humble like Jesus was, rather than boasting or rubbing things in. Now that you have your AP World test completely done and you are transitioning into things like your small group and preparing for the banquet, how can you practice true humility in your daily conversations and practices?
Prayer
Lord, thank You that You can work through ordinary, flawed, and even self-centered people to accomplish Your grand designs. Forgive me for the times I let pride or a desire to look better than others creep into my heart. Teach me to walk in the pure humility of Jesus today, and give me patience when the beginning or middle of my own story feels rocky. Amen.