October 15th, 2013
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Field of Dreams

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Opening Prayer

Lord, I present myself before You. What I seek, only You can give; what I ask, only You can provide.

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

Meditate

“When the river of God’s purposes in history goes underground, we need dreamers who will point us to God’s future” (Unknown).

Think Further

Three facts are established here that will become the contours of Joseph’s story. First, he is a dreamer. Second, though one of 12, he is the object of his father’s particular affection. Third, he is also the object of his brothers’ jealousy. All three come together symbolically when Jacob gives his teenage son a gift: a finely woven and beautifully embroidered robe–a gift of grace and a mark of honor and esteem.

So affirming is this unexpected favor that Joseph finds the courage to voice his dreams (if not the maturity and wisdom to know who to voice them to). In these he sees his older brothers and even the sun, moon and stars, bowing before him. Joseph doesn’t claim to understand the dreams, but his brothers see their meaning all too clearly. He is, in their view, arrogant, claiming superiority over them. His dreams are too much for them. He aspires to a life they cannot allow him, and sees realities they cannot acknowledge. Even Joseph’s father, intrigued as he may be, cannot sanction his son’s dreams.

Thus is our story set in motion. This will be a battle “between the Dream and the Killers-of-the-Dream.” God is neither named nor mentioned in this text, but we take the hint that it is Yahweh who has sent this unsettling dream. God is at work, hidden and invisible, and only Joseph, the dreamer, sees the signs. We know now what great acts of God this story will lead to. We know, as its participants cannot, that God is at work and that more is at stake than family position and sibling rivalry. Abraham was chosen to embody the promise of God. Joseph is chosen to keep alive the dream. Both are part of a history bigger than themselves.

Apply

Are you a dreamer or a dream-killer? What dreams has God entrusted to you? What are you doing with them?

Closing prayer

Father, I need a new dream and vision for the future. Show me how I can serve You effectively and what You have in store for me. I’m trusting You, and longing to obey.

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