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.
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4 comments:
Did Joseph not realize that his dreams would come across to others as misguided (perhaps even self-centered) illusions of grandeur? If no, then we see that he is a naive but well-meaning son/brother who just wanted to share an interesting personal experience with his loved ones. If yes, then we can see that he is a truly honest and trusting person.
As a side note, it seems that "good" parents should try not to show favoritism towards specific children in order to be fair with their love and to minimize sibling rivalry. But the OT presents many situations where favoritism occurs even among Godly parents -- Jacob, Isaac, etc. Is this simply indicative of the cultural norms of that time in history? Or are these situations the result of human weakness?
It seems to me that every time favoritism is show, it results in envy and damaged relationships. Even with God favoring Able over Cain. I know he's God, and I shouldn't criticize Him. But I always felt badly for Cain.
I think Joseph was a bit of a spoiled brat when he was young. It took his experiences in Egypt to humble him and make him more compassionate.
Well thus James talks about not showing favoritism.
More I meditate and ask, I see that God doesn't show favoritism.
He loves all of us but He'll use those that wants to be loved by Him. Meaning those who obeys Him.
The key difference in Abel and Cain was their heart towards God. Thus their love towards God.
Basically those who do and asks will receive from God.
But since we are not perfect, we should be very mindful regrading showing favoritism.
I'm not sure how old Joseph was when he told his dreams but he is definitely not wise yet.
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