Dreamer

Genesis 37:1-11

17 year old Joseph has visions of grandeur...literally. While everyone knows he's dad's favorite, he's definitely not the brother's favorite. In fact at the beginning of the chapter he tattles on his brothers after tending sheep with them.

It seems that Jacob/Israel is pretty up front with his feelings for Joseph. I wonder if Joseph knew he was the favorite- or if he knew how much his brothers resented him. If he did, he either didn't care or severely lacked social skills- because he goes on to tell them about a couple of dreams he has.

In the first, Joseph's sheaves of grain stand up and his brother's sheaves bow down to it. In the second, the sun, moon and eleven stars bow down to him. This one not only irritates his brothers but also dear ole dad who says"Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?" But- Jacob keeps "the matter in mind."

What does this say about the nature of dreams? Does God still use them in our lives to foreshadow events? Do we have these kinds of dreams and just not have the ability to interpret them? And why the foreshadowing here? What purpose does it serve for these events to be cued in our consciousness before they actually happen.

Lesson for me: Even the most annoying people have value in God's eyes. I think if Joseph was my little brother, I might not have sold him off, but he would have been the recipient of some pretty severe wedgies... and probably worse. But this is an imporatnt figure in the history of the lineage of Christ.

Maybe what I need to take is that the people who consistently annoy me may still be people important to tasks important to God. And that my seal of approval isn't what makes someone a good person.