Read with Me
Genesis 37:1-4 (HCSB)
Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. These are the family records of Jacob.
At 17 years of age, Joseph tended sheep with his brothers. The young man was working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought a bad report about them to their father.
Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons because Joseph was a son born to him in his old age, and he made a robe of many colors for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not bring themselves to speak peaceably to him.
Listen with Me
In these few verses, Moses sets the stage for the drama that would follow, a drama that would begin to fulfill the prophecy that had been made to Abraham two generations earlier (Genesis 15:13-16). The scene begins with Jacob living in the land of Canaan as the receiver of the promise.
Joseph, the eldest son of Jacob’s favorite wife, Rachel, was now 17, and he was not only precocious, but he was also the favorite of Jacob, even though he was the second youngest of Jacob’s twelve sons.
As a sign of his status as his father’s favorite, Joseph had been given a special robe to wear. Some translations say that this was a “coat of many colors”, while others say that it was a robe with long sleeves, and still others simply say that it was an especially ornate robe, although the meaning of Hebrew word has been lost over the centuries. But whatever the robe looked like, it was intended to show that Joseph had been given a status above that of his brothers.
This special status caused a lot of consternation among the brothers. The eldest of them, Reuben, had tried to secure his status as the firstborn by sleeping with one of Jacob’s concubines. But that strategy had backfired badly when it was discovered, causing Reuben instead to be disowned by his father. The next two brothers in line of succession, Simeon and Levi, were still in disgrace over their role in orchestrating the massacre of Shechem.
Joseh had already been given a high level of responsibility by his father, reporting to him how his other brothers were doing in their shepherding duties. And on at least one occasion, he brought back a very negative report, earning them punishment, and earning himself resentment that would eventually boil over into a thirst for revenge.
Pray with Me
Father, it is interesting that we often act unconsciously in ways that end up fulfilling what You knew all long would happen. And then we are stunned at the precision with which You seemed to know what would happen. And You don’t even have to manipulate or orchestrate events in many cases. You can simply see in advance where our actions and decisions will lead. Help me, Lord, to live my life in such a way that I can receive all the many great blessings that You want to pour into my life, without taking any paths that lead to negative consequences. Amen.
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