Dreams of Grandeur, Seeds of Trouble
Daily Scripture
Genesis 37:2-11
2 This is the account of Jacob’s descendants. Joseph was 17 years old and tended the flock with his brothers. While he was helping the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives, Joseph told their father unflattering things about them. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons because he was born when Jacob was old. Jacob had made for him a long robe. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of his brothers, they hated him and couldn’t even talk nicely to him.
5 Joseph had a dream and told it to his brothers, which made them hate him even more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had. 7 When we were binding stalks of grain in the field, my stalk got up and stood upright, while your stalks gathered around it and bowed down to my stalk.”
8 His brothers said to him, “Will you really be our king and rule over us?” So they hated him even more because of the dreams he told them.
9 Then Joseph had another dream and described it to his brothers: “I’ve just dreamed again, and this time the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
10 When he described it to his father and brothers, his father scolded him and said to him, “What kind of dreams have you dreamed? Am I and your mother and your brothers supposed to come and bow down to the ground in front of you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father took careful note of the matter.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Rachel was Jacob’s favorite wife (cf. Genesis 29:16-30). That was one reason he favored Rachel’s first son Joseph. The Hebrew text may have been about the famous coat’s length. The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) used a word that meant “many-colored.” Family therapists know that a “chosen child” like Joseph often has emotional and relationship problems. Joseph’s strutting misuse of his ability to receive and interpret dreams eventually upset even Jacob.
- Jacob might have seen the danger of parental favoritism from his own parents (cf. Genesis 25:28), but he didn’t. Based on your growing-up years, is it easier for you to identify with young Joseph, enjoying being “dad’s favorite,” or with his brothers, feeling left out of “dad’s” esteem? How have you found that God, the source of what the Bible called “steadfast love,” can be a “fixed point” helping you grow beyond the wounds family dynamics can leave on any of us?
- Joseph and his brothers were not an isolated event. Scholar Peter Enns referred to “the Genesis theme of sibling rivalry,” and noted, “Israel’s national history will be one big sibling rivalry event. The twelve brothers will in time become the twelve tribes of Israel, and they will—wait for it—not get along. At all…. Sibling rivalry is civil war in miniature.” * Family tensions cause much pain and are often the hardest to forgive. Are there family struggles in the past that you find hard to forgive?
Prayer
Lord God, whether as a parent, a sibling, a grandparent or in any other capacity, help me to honor and value each one of your children I have a chance to influence. Help me find healing in you for any wounds I carry from earlier life experiences. Amen.
GPS Insights
Valerie Nagel
Valerie Nagel serves as a Connection and Care Pastor at Resurrection Leawood. A Californian by birth, her Master of Divinity degree is from Duke Divinity School. She served as an associate pastor in the Rio Texas Conference from 2011 in the Austin area and San Antonio. From congregational care and welcoming guests to leading in worship, Valerie loves the local church's ministry. She juggles ministry with being a mom to Caleb (born 2012) and Jacob (born 2015), friend, avid reader, lover of the outdoors, beginner in CrossFit, and foodie.
How many rocks are in your backpack? And what size are they? I love the sermon illustration that Pastor Adam shared yesterday (if you missed the sermon, you can click here). Anger is always below the surface for me. It’s an easier emotion for me to access because it gives me energy and hides my hurt and sadness. It feels like it protects me. But yesterday’s sermon reminded me that I am the one who suffers when I hold onto bitterness rather than seeking healing. Forgiveness is letting go. It isn’t forgetting. It isn’t saying there are no consequences for what someone has done. But as Pastor Adam reminded us, we can find freedom for ourselves in forgiveness and there may be reasons for someone else’s behavior.
Pastor Adam shared an acronym to help us with forgiveness – “raps”:
R = REMEMBER YOUR OWN SHORTCOMINGS
A = ASSUME THE BEST OF THE OTHER
P = PRAY FOR THE OTHER
S = SEEK TO UNDERSTAND
When I remember that I can sometimes be grumpy (just ask my kids how I behave when I’m hungry or tired), it helps me to have more patience with others. When I choose to acknowledge that there could be a good reason someone else is doing what they are doing, and when I pray for the person who is annoying me, I find that my heart and mind can become more like Jesus. I can genuinely look at someone else with love when I remember I am loved and forgiven. When I remember that I am beloved, I am better able to see other people through the lens of God’s love. And if I truly seek to understand someone else’s experience then it becomes possible not only to feel empathy, but also to join them as a companion. Whether my connection with the person is for a short conversation or a long-time relationship as neighbors, colleagues, or family, my willingness to seek to understand makes forgiveness possible.
It’s important to remember that this forgiveness does not require us to be in direct contact with someone who has harmed us. Boundaries can be an important part of making forgiveness possible. Some people cannot be in our lives. Healing from the pain and suffering they caused may only be possible with separation and therapy. If you would like to learn more about how therapy can help you, please check out our church’s website to learn more about our counseling center: https://resurrection.church/counseling/
I have found therapy to be an integral part of my healing journey. As Pastor Adam shared, some experiences can more easily be forgiven. Sometimes I talk about that with my therapist. Some trauma requires me to keep chipping away at it over time. That’s when I have found the tools and skills of the therapists I have seen over the years invaluable. I need their insights to learn how to forgive and heal. I need help learning how to let go and grow into the new life that is possible when I stop carrying around all those rocks. I’m praying for you on your journey with forgiveness. May you let go of the rocks that weigh you down.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Enns, Peter; Byas, Jared. Genesis for Normal People (Second Edition w/ Study Guide) (pp. 100-101). The Bible for Normal People. Kindle Edition.
