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The Life of Joseph – Day 2

Genesis 37:4-7

When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated Joseph and could not speak a kind word to him. Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 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.”

The Thought

It is easy to imagine the irritated reaction of the brothers to Jospeh when they witnessed him being a spoilt child, and then him telling them of his dreams of success. What I find difficult to understand is why Joseph told them his dreams! He could not have thought they would appreciate them! It would seem more sensible to have kept them to himself and tell no-one, pondering them in his heart as Mary did after the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:19).

Maybe God prompted the young Joseph to share his dreams, so that it could be a part of his story recorded for all of us, so that the world would see the different ways God often works. It was always God’s plan to have Joseph the Israelite, who was rejected by his brothers, become the one to save his family and many others too.

Action

Think today about your own family, and your place in the home. Maybe you were rejected at birth and never knew your real parents. Maybe you were a much wanted child whose parents had to struggle to conceive. Praise God that He knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13, Isaiah 49:1, Galatians 1:15).

Read those verses today, and rejoice that God planned your life from beginning to end.

Pray that you will recognise Him every step of the way towards heaven.

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