November 15th, 2011
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

A Dreamy Teenager?

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Holy Father, You know before I ask what I desire and I need. I trust You and praise You totally and completely.

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. 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 a richly ornamented 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 Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Meditate

Recall and give thanks to God for family members who have been especially supportive of you.

Think Further

This is no happy family. As a teenager, Joseph alienates himself from his brothers by “squealing” on them to his father. To complicate matters further, Jacob’s preferential treatment of Joseph fuels his brothers’ antagonism toward him. An already tense situation is not helped when Joseph dreams that his brothers will bow down to him. When Joseph tells of a second dream in which his whole family worships him, even his father Jacob is offended. Yet, in the process of rebuking Joseph, Jacob takes careful note of what his favorite son has said. We are expected to anticipate something special regarding Joseph.

We are surely meant to learn from this dysfunctional family. Paternal favoritism quickly breeds jealousy, and spoiled teenagers can easily become captivated by their own importance, and despise everyone else. Are there lessons to learn about human relationships by reflecting on this family?

Something profound is being communicated here. If we have read the preceding chapters, we can see that Joseph’s royal aspirations are not simply the delusions of a pretentious teenager. From Abraham onward, the author of Genesis has been especially interested in tracing a line of descendants to one who will become a special king. The promise of royal descendants begins with Abraham (17:6) and continues through Isaac to Jacob (27:29). At each stage an older brother is passed over in favor of a younger sibling (Ishmael in favor of Isaac; Esau in favor of Jacob). In the light of his family history, Joseph’s royal dreams take on special significance. While we later discover that God uses Joseph to save many people, the story of Joseph points forward, ultimately, to Jesus Christ, the future King through whom God restores wayward humanity to himself.

Apply

Can you think of a family situation that needs your prayers and/or action right now? If so, pray for wisdom.

Closing prayer

Sovereign God, I pray that You will make straight the crooked places in my life and the life of my family. Use me in any way You will.

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