Day 1 – Genesis 37
Last month I read through the story of Joseph in the Bible (Genesis 37-50). Each day I was challenged to share what I learned. Here was my insight
Joseph the King of Dreamers
In case you aren’t familiar with the story, Joseph is one of 12 brothers. He’s the youngest of them, minus one. All are step brothers to him, except his younger brother, Benjamin. Jacob is Joseph’s father, and he has 4 different wives. Of all the boys, Joseph is the favorite son from the favorite wife. This, among other things (as we’ll see), makes Joseph hated by his brothers.
Joseph is not only hated because of the favoritism he receives from his father, but also how he lords himself over his family. As a young man, Joseph has a couple of dreams indicating, as one of the youngest in the family, he will rule over them all (bundles of wheat and stars bow to him).
His brothers hate these dreams (whether they believe they carry any weight or not), but his father isn’t happy about them either. Jacob responds with a good scolding for Joseph, but privately he wonders to himself…
“But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant.”
-Genesis 37:11
As a father, myself, I seem to find myself in this exact same place. I ask, “What do my kids dreams mean? Is this real? Is this passing? Is this from God? Does it even matter?”
There is a fine balance between making your child live in reality, and encouraging them to dream…and dream big. I have a child who wants to be an artist. How do you make money as an artist? I have a child who wants to play professional sports as an adult. How many people really make it in that world? Not many.
Jacob wasn’t perfect. In fact, he screwed the fathering thing up a ton. One thing he did well was walking the line between showing Joseph reality and allowing him to hold onto his dream. A great lesson for parents and people
Daily Blessing: God
Daily Challenge: As a parent, friend or co-worker, attempt to see both the potential and reality of the dreams of those around you. Don’t just tear down dreams with facts, believe they are the one percent. Don’t just allow them to blindly go down a path, lovingly speak the truth.
Want to read all 14 devotions? Use this list of links:
- Day 1: Genesis 37 – Joseph: A Story of Redemption
- Day 2: Genesis 38 – Judah: A Road to Redemption
- Day 3: Genesis 39 – Joseph: The Presence is Strong in this One
- Day 4: Genesis 40 – Joseph: Ain’t Nobody Got Time for This
- Day 5: Genesis 41 – Joseph: Skills to Pay the Bills
- Day 6: Genesis 42 – Joseph: Finding Freedom in the Truth
- Day 7: Genesis 43 – Jacob: Squeezed into Decision
- Day 7b: Genesis 43 – Judah: It’s you and me
- Day 8: Genesis 44 – Judah: A 180 degree change
- Day 9: Genesis 45 – Joseph: Better over bitter
- Day 10: Genesis 46 – Jacob: Say goodbye, Say hello
- Day 11: Genesis 47 – Joseph: Where you go…
- Day 12: Genesis 48 – Joseph: It’s just perfect!
- Day 13: Genesis 49 – Judah: A lion of a man
- Day 14: Genesis 40 – Joseph: Peace Man
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