Genesis 37:1-11
Why are we focusing on this story?
The story of Joseph stands out in Scripture because:
1. It covers a lot of material; 14 chapters. It answers an important question from Genesis 12 (verses 1-5 where God restarts His relationship with humanity through Abraham). The first part of the blessing was through Abraham and Isaac, then Isaac has Jacob and Esau. Through Jacob another promise is fulfilled because his descendants turn into a great nation (12 sons...the 12 tribes of Israel) AND the question: will God bless these people so that they can be a blessing to the all peoples on earth?
2. The way that God chooses to work in the story of Joseph. It's much different than how He works up until this point. He speaks very directly to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob but that's not the case in the story of Joseph. He works in a different way. He works behind the scenes.
What is common for believers today is to feel like God is absent. I wonder why this is? Is this our fault? I mean is it a result of our own incompetence of the proper way to worship and carry on relationship with Him?
Genesis 37:1-4
The story of Joseph.
"Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other sons."
Well that creates angst right here. And then he goes and makes him an ornate robe.
What the first four verses tell us is that Joseph is a little immature. He's 17, and a little spoiled, and he's also a tattletale. He brought his father a bad report about the brothers.
I dont know about that. A tattletale? Mmmmmm. I question it. I mean, there's a difference between a tattletale and someone simply wanting to tell the owner of the sheep if his brothers are not working properly. In some cases that's okay. I don't really see the idea that he's this millennial spoiled brat but... Eh.
What was actually important about this robe was not the color or decoration, but the length of the sleeves. If you have longer sleeves you are in upper management. Just like scrubs show you're a member of the medical profession - someone will longer sleeves makes it clear that they are boss or manager of everyone working in the field.
Basically, the intern gets promoted to boss.
Verses 5-11
I feel it's very hard to actually determine Joseph's attitude throughout this. He told his brothers and his father the dream... But if he really had the dream, then he could have either been bragging or he could have honestly been saying hey this is what I dreamed.
Okay, so I think he probably was aware of all the bonuses he was getting, and he was aware of him being kinda over his brothers - probably a little prideful, and a little smug sometimes -
The pastor says that the way it's communicated is where we see some immaturity. He says "look" three times; he thinks his brothers will be excited about this but they really hate him and are probably not listening to him.
There is an inane about of depth in this story. We could spend a lot of time talking about the human error in this story, but if we end there we'll miss the point the text is trying to tell us.
Joel 2:28
"I will pour out my Spirit on all people"
Peter in Acts quotes it and one of the primary ways God works.
When God shows up in this way for this purpose it's up to us to respond faithfully to these dreams.
Dreams will disturb our reality.
"The dream is the unsettling work of Yahweh, it's unsettling things in Joseph's life and the world around him. It's saying that the present reality will not work any longer. That's perceived as threatening by people who are in control."
There are people that LIKE the current setup.
Any God-given dream will create conflict in your life, and it will cost you dearly. It's tempting to ignore these visions from God because of the pain that goes with it.
You have no idea what the end game is when God gives you a vision for your life. Those dreams are not just for ourselves.
The question we have to address is this:
Is there a God-sized dream that you've been given that you've either set to the side or given up on altogether?
...what is my dream?
Nathan asked me that once. I didn't have an answer.
"The dream gives definition to our lives and influences the steps we take. Daily we make choices that are either in alignment with or contrary to our dream. God has given us a dream for our lives and that's no accident."
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