This chapter is the beginning of the account of Joseph, Israel’s favorite son. The events that we read here are the start of events that one can hardly imagine enduring: being sold into slavery by one’s family, being falsely accused, imprisoned, forgotten, and left to rot. The next few chapters dig into the question of why “bad” things happen to “good” people. They poke at the problem of suffering. They ponder the mystery of how God uses bad circumstances to bless and save people.
Joseph was Israel’s favorite son and everyone knew it. They knew it because of the gifts that Israel gave Joseph; particularly a multicolored robe (aka the Technicolor Dream Coat). Exactly what this garment was, I’m not sure, but it conveyed status over his brothers and it clearly communicated Dad’s discrimination.
In our reading this favorite son told his brothers (ten of whom are older than him, and only one younger), his older sister, and the rest of his family about some dreams that he had. One dream showed sheaves standing in a field and his brothers’ sheaves bowed to Joseph’s sheaf. The other dream was even more explicit. There were eleven starts (corresponding to eleven sons), the sun and the moon, and they were all bowing to Joseph.
Without knowing the rest of the story we might say that Joseph had D.O.G. – delusions of grandeur! How dare this kid think that his brothers, sister, and even his parents would someday bow before him! Indeed, as the story unfolds, we’ll find those ten older brothers took little Joe from Pop’s Top to Auction Block Bargain.
It’s painful to read of the hatred these brothers had for Joseph. It’s painful to observe the way the Israel marginalized the majority of his sons. It’s painful to read of the way the brothers even plotted against one another, the things they desired to do to Joseph, and what they actually did. It is painful to read of Israel refusing to be comforted when he believed his sons’ deception as they handed him Joseph’s robe stained in goat blood.
There are many times in life that we can so clearly see the circumstances in the past that led to problems in the present. But what do we do with that understanding? Do we allow our past to define us? Pin us down? Use it as an excuse to mitigate our bad behaviors? (“Judah, why did you sell your brother?” “I just wanted Dad to love me and I was acting out to get his attention, boo hoo hoo!”)
To be sure, God will use pain in our lives to shape us and mold us. But the sins of those around us do not excuse our own sins. The hurts that the devil, the world and our own sinful nature inflict on us do not define us or determine our future. Ultimately, God gives us victory over those painful experiences in the power of the forgiveness Jesus won for us. He used the pain Jesus bore on the cross to redeem all people, and in that redemption we know that we are loved and never left to face our troubles alone.
As we read on we’ll see God’s faithfulness to Joseph. As we live on we’ll see His faithfulness to us.
Father, you always love me and never leave me alone. I don’t always understand why things happen in this world, or how You can use pain in my life, but help me to always trust you for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
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