Unhappy Families
Opening Prayer
Praise God that he is perfect. His strength, power and wisdom is matchless, and his goodness is entirely flawless.
Read Genesis 37:1-11
[1] Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. [2] This is the account of Jacob’s family line. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them. [3] Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. [4] When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. [5] Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. [6] He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: [7] 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.” [8] His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. [9] Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” [10] When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” [11] His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION
Reflect
What root causes of family problems do you see here?I’m a mother to two sons. As they are both still young, I don’t yet know whether favoritism is something all parents have to overcome, or whether for Jacob it was a specific weakness that he chose to indulge. Either way, Jacob, who was not only father of 12 sons and a daughter but also head of God’s chosen covenant family, bestowed the mantle of “favorite” upon Joseph (3), the eldest son of Rachel, his favorite wife. For his part, Joseph seemed a little tactless about the favor he received and was certainly insensitive to how his brothers felt about him (5-9). So, between Jacob and Joseph, the older brothers undoubtedly had a difficult home life to deal with. However, they allowed their jealousy to grow to the point that they actually hated Joseph and were unable even to speak civilly to him (4). Parental favoritism, sibling rivalry, jealousy, insensitivity; these are just a few examples of the sinful human nature we all share. And yet, amidst all these human failings in this un-harmonious family, God’s calling on the life of Joseph is being revealed in his dreams. That’s amazing grace!
Apply
What would you say your flaws and failings are? Ask God to help you work on them by his gracious power.
Closing prayer
Lord, I don’t want to be the source of rivalry, jealousy or insensitivity in my family. Help me avoid it.
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