I've heard people talk about Joseph that he was a tattle tale or high on himself, or kind of a brat. I don't necessarily see that here. Did Joseph give reports to his dad on how the other guys were doing? Yes, but at his dad's request. He was doing what he was told. Did Joseph share with his brothers the dreams that he had about them worshipping him? Yes. But it was just that...a dream. Joseph never claimed it was going to happen that way. We all have dreams that are out there and we share them with people. So why were Joseph's brothers so upset with him over every little thing? Because he was the favorite. In this chapter, we see that Jacob favored Joseph over all the others. It says because he was born in Jacob's old age, but one has to think that it could have also been because he was born to the wife that Jacob truly loved. Was all of that Joseph's fault? No way. And yet, he still finds himself trying to do right and just live life while being hated and despised by his own brothers! We also get the sense that Joseph loved his brothers, it just wasn't reciprocated. If this is where the story ended, it would be a very dark, depressing story. This just sets up the rest, but for now, think about this...we often come across people that despite what we do or how nice we try to treat them, they hate and despise you. How might you go about dealing with those people on an every day basis? Joseph did. What would you do? Have a great day guys!
Ron Foster
Ron Foster
1 comment:
What do you think, please, of Obadiah Shoher's interpretation of the story? (here: samsonblinded.org/blog/genesis-37.htm ) He takes the text literally to prove that the brothers played a practical joke on Yosef rather than intended to murder him or sell him into slavery. His argument seems fairly strong to me, but I'd like to hear other opinions.
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