Gen. 37:1-11
Isaac had paved the way for Jacob. He and Abraham had been strangers in the land of Canaan and had to fight for land, wells, and position so that Jacob could walk back in and be at home and accepted. That is what each generation does for the next… they plow the hard ground for the next one to walk more safely and confidently. Our forefathers fought wars on our land for us to experience peace and safety. Now, our generation is fighting wars on foreign lands for us to continue to live in peace.
In todays readings we get a snapshot into Jacob’s family life. Joseph is 17 which means “immature”. He is shepherding with the his brothers that were born to the handmaidens. They were not treated the same as a son so they probably were very jealous of Joseph’s position in the family. It doesn’t say what they were doing but Joseph came home and tattled on them. Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons because Joseph was born when he was old and mellowed. He treated him differently and all the other sons noticed. Israel made Joseph a colorful coat which made his prejudice even more obvious. One night Joseph had a dream and told it to his brothers. In his dream all the sons of Jacob were binding their sheaves together when his sheaf stood up and all of their sheaves bowed down to his. They understood that dreams were ways that God spoke and they realized how to interpret dreams. Dreams are a symbolic language. They all knew what it meant but hated the interpretation. They sarcastically asked him if he would reign over them and rule them. This only made them hate him more. Then, he had another dream that the sun and the moon and 11 stars bowed down to him. He told this one to his father and his brothers. His father had the same question but not with the same attitude. He believed the dream, where his brothers hated him for it.
Lord, help us not to be jealous of those you single out to lead over us.
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