Perspective: WK1 - TUE
Dreams
Genesis 37:2-11
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.
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. 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.
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.”
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.
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.”
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?” His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
As a child, I loved the stories of Joseph that my parents read to me. This faithful young man, hounded by his brothers, sold, exiled, and imprisoned, never lost faith. I saw him as the innocent, spotless hero. Accordingly, Joseph’s life can be presented as otherworldly, unattainable, and superhuman. Is he the exception to Paul’s declaration that “… all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)? If so, these stories have little to teach us and offer no example we can follow. However, embedded in the first verses of his story, we find evidence that Joseph isn’t perfect and that he struggled with pride and selfishness just like us.
The second verse of Genesis 37 describes Joseph returning from his brothers to give his father a “bad” or “evil report” about them. I had always read this as meaning that Joseph’s brothers were doing bad things, and that he did the responsible thing by sharing it with his father. We don’t know whether Jacob had sent Joseph on a reporting mission or whether the teenager regularly engaged in the schoolyard practice of tattling. Either way, the original Hebrew wording of this passage carries something important. Every time the word translated here as “report” appears in scripture, it carries sinister overtones of fabrication, slander, or even false accusation. So when the author tells us that Joseph brings Jacob a “bad report” regarding his brothers, it is hard to miss that he does so to his own advantage. Our awe-shucks protagonist may feign innocence, but he knows what he is doing. Joseph is smearing his brothers to increase his own celebrated status.
The story moves to the telling of two dreams. For the remainder of his life, Joseph displays high-level intelligence, remarkable discernment, and top-tier strategic planning. Does it seem plausible that he is unaware of how sharing these visions will affect his brothers and their families? Is he oblivious to their ever-growing anger? Or is he playing to his father’s favoritism and his own pride? I believe the answer is unmistakable. Joseph isn’t perfect. He is struggling with the need to build his credibility and approval, as most of us do through our teen years.
As I reflect on this passage, I love the stories of Joseph even more. Not because I like how he needled his brothers or fabricated his father’s disapproval, but because I find them more relatable. They also give me hope. The scriptures tell us that God was with Joseph throughout his life, not waiting for him to become perfect. Yahweh drew near despite Joseph’s sinfulness and failings. Surely, He walks with me too.
Genesis 37:2-11
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.
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. 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.
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.”
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.
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.”
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?” His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
As a child, I loved the stories of Joseph that my parents read to me. This faithful young man, hounded by his brothers, sold, exiled, and imprisoned, never lost faith. I saw him as the innocent, spotless hero. Accordingly, Joseph’s life can be presented as otherworldly, unattainable, and superhuman. Is he the exception to Paul’s declaration that “… all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)? If so, these stories have little to teach us and offer no example we can follow. However, embedded in the first verses of his story, we find evidence that Joseph isn’t perfect and that he struggled with pride and selfishness just like us.
The second verse of Genesis 37 describes Joseph returning from his brothers to give his father a “bad” or “evil report” about them. I had always read this as meaning that Joseph’s brothers were doing bad things, and that he did the responsible thing by sharing it with his father. We don’t know whether Jacob had sent Joseph on a reporting mission or whether the teenager regularly engaged in the schoolyard practice of tattling. Either way, the original Hebrew wording of this passage carries something important. Every time the word translated here as “report” appears in scripture, it carries sinister overtones of fabrication, slander, or even false accusation. So when the author tells us that Joseph brings Jacob a “bad report” regarding his brothers, it is hard to miss that he does so to his own advantage. Our awe-shucks protagonist may feign innocence, but he knows what he is doing. Joseph is smearing his brothers to increase his own celebrated status.
The story moves to the telling of two dreams. For the remainder of his life, Joseph displays high-level intelligence, remarkable discernment, and top-tier strategic planning. Does it seem plausible that he is unaware of how sharing these visions will affect his brothers and their families? Is he oblivious to their ever-growing anger? Or is he playing to his father’s favoritism and his own pride? I believe the answer is unmistakable. Joseph isn’t perfect. He is struggling with the need to build his credibility and approval, as most of us do through our teen years.
As I reflect on this passage, I love the stories of Joseph even more. Not because I like how he needled his brothers or fabricated his father’s disapproval, but because I find them more relatable. They also give me hope. The scriptures tell us that God was with Joseph throughout his life, not waiting for him to become perfect. Yahweh drew near despite Joseph’s sinfulness and failings. Surely, He walks with me too.
- Who is someone you have always looked up to? Why?
- Can you remember a time when you stretched the truth to your advantage? When was it? How have you felt about it since?
- On a scale of 1-10, how much do you shade the truth to your own advantage when you think no one will figure it out? Why do you think you do this? What would you like to say to Jesus about this?
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