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The Dreams of Joseph - The Book of Genesis (2024) · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he
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  Speaker 1: told it to his brothers, and they hated him yet
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  Speaker 1: the more. Genesis 37.5 Heavenly Father, as I greet this
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  Speaker 1: new day, I thank you, Lord, that I'm growing in
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  Speaker 1: blessing and influence. Like Joseph, I thank you for uncommon
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  Speaker 1: favor with everyone I come in contact with. Like his
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  Speaker 1: coat of many colors, I thank you that my unique
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  Speaker 1: giftings can be seen by all around me. And when
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  Speaker 1: others around me plot against my future and try to
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  Speaker 1: derail the dreams you've given me, I will refuse to
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  Speaker 1: become a slave to their bitterness and envy. I will
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  Speaker 1: not allow fear to make me forget my future. I
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  Speaker 1: will not abandon my position of power, for I know
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  Speaker 1: that he who began a good work is faithful to
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  Speaker 1: complete it. I decree and declare that my dreams are
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  Speaker 1: still alive and that they will come to pass. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for making prayer a priority in your day.
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  Speaker 1: To learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story.
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  Speaker 1: Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: The Dreams of Joseph Before this story, we learned how
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  Speaker 2: Jacob's daughter Dinah was assaulted, raped, and then taken as
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  Speaker 2: a wife by Shechem. Out of vengeance, Simon and Levi
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  Speaker 2: killed every man in the small city and pillaged all
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  Speaker 2: they had. Jacob fled back to Bethel and settled there
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  Speaker 2: with his family, and God reassured Jacob of his promise.
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  Speaker 2: Now we will learn about how Jacob, now called Israel,
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  Speaker 2: favored his youngest son, Joseph. Joseph's favor from his father
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  Speaker 2: would bring contempt from his brothers, inspired by the book
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  Speaker 2: of Genesis.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. Previously, we heard that Jacob
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  Speaker 3: had once again abdicated the role of leadership to which
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  Speaker 3: God had called him. And, as a result, there was
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  Speaker 3: a great deal of bloodshed, pain, and trouble that spread
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  Speaker 3: throughout Jacob's family. Eventually, Jacob woke up to the tragedies
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  Speaker 3: and schemes his disobedience created and turned to God for
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  Speaker 3: help and guidance. God, in His love and grace, once
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  Speaker 3: again proved faithful to Jacob and his family. And things
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  Speaker 3: seemed headed in the right direction. But today we will
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  Speaker 3: see a familiar monster rear its head. Favoritism. We are
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  Speaker 3: about to see how God's plans endure in spite failings
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  Speaker 3: and jealousy and resentment, pain and hurt. Listen to today's story.
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  Speaker 2: Jacob, now called Israel, lived in the land promised by
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  Speaker 2: God to Abraham. In the land of Canaan he dwelled
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  Speaker 2: with his family, increasing in influence and blessings. The land
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  Speaker 2: was ripe with green fields and fresh soils. flocks thrived
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  Speaker 2: and grew in number, and the sons of Israel all
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  Speaker 2: worked for their father and began raising families of their own. Joseph,
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  Speaker 2: who was the youngest brother at 17 years old, often
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  Speaker 2: pastured the flock with his brothers. It was not rare
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  Speaker 2: for Joseph to bring reports back to his father about
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  Speaker 2: anything his brothers did wrong, for he was Israel's favorite,
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  Speaker 2: and he knew it. Israel loved Joseph deep not just
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  Speaker 2: because he was the youngest, but he was also the
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  Speaker 2: son of Rachel, who could not have children before him.
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  Speaker 2: One day Israel adorned Joseph with an immaculate robe. It
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  Speaker 2: flowed and glistened in the sun. Its colors beamed with
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  Speaker 2: regality and clearly represented where Joseph stood among the rest
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  Speaker 2: of his eleven brothers. It was evident to his brothers
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  Speaker 2: how much their father loved him more, so they hated
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  Speaker 2: Joseph for it IT WAS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM TO
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  Speaker 2: SPEAK TO HIM WITHOUT CONTEMPT IN THEIR VOICES. ONE EVENING,
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  Speaker 2: JOSEPH TOSSED AND TURNED IN THE NIGHT FROM A VIVID DREAM.
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  Speaker 2: JOSEPH AWOKE AND IMMEDIATELY WENT TO TELL HIS BROTHERS ABOUT
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  Speaker 2: WHAT HE HAD SEEN. HEAR MY DREAM, HE ASKED WHILE
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  Speaker 2: THEY WERE GETTING READY TO WORK THE FIELDS. WE WERE
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  Speaker 2: ALL BINDING SHEAVES OF WHEAT IN THE FIELD, AND ALL
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  Speaker 2: OF THE SUDDEN MY SHEAF ROSE AND STOOD UPRIGHT. Your
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  Speaker 2: sheaves all gathered around mine and bowed to it. Joseph
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  Speaker 2: recounted his dream to his brothers, and they all stared
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  Speaker 2: at him, irked. So are you to reign and rule
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  Speaker 2: over us? they asked with disdain. They hated him for
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  Speaker 2: his dreams. Joseph one day would learn how to explain
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  Speaker 2: dreams with less pride, but for now he reveled in
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  Speaker 2: the idea of his brothers bowing to him. The next
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  Speaker 2: night he dreamed another dream just as vivid as the
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  Speaker 2: one before. Again he spoke to his brothers in the morning.
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  Speaker 2: Behold the sun and the moon, and eleven stars were
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  Speaker 2: all bowing down to me, he told them. This time
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  Speaker 2: it was not only his brothers, but his mother and
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  Speaker 2: father as well that bowed to him. This annoyed his
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  Speaker 2: brothers as well as Israel. Israel rebuked Joseph and said,
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  Speaker 2: What kind of dreams have you been having? Shall we
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  Speaker 2: all fall on the ground before you? Though Israel was cross,
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  Speaker 2: he pondered what his son's dreams may have meant. The
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  Speaker 2: other brothers, however, were jealous and teemed with anger more
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  Speaker 2: and more every day. One day his brothers went to
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  Speaker 2: pasture their father's flocks near the valley of Shechem. Israel
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  Speaker 2: decided to send Joseph to help and bring word of
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  Speaker 2: how they were doing. Joseph left Hebron and came to Shechem,
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  Speaker 2: but could not find his brothers anywhere. Joseph found a
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  Speaker 2: man wandering the fields and asked if he had seen
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  Speaker 2: his brothers with the flocks. They have gone away. I
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  Speaker 2: heard them say they would go to Dothan, the man replied.
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  Speaker 2: So Joseph set out to find his brothers at Dothan.
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  Speaker 2: As Joseph descended down into Dothan, his brothers saw him
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  Speaker 2: from afar. Here comes the dreamer, one of them said.
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  Speaker 2: We should kill him and throw him into one of
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  Speaker 2: these pits. We will see what comes of his dreams
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  Speaker 2: when he is devoured by a beast, another said. They laughed,
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  Speaker 2: but Reuben, the oldest, was not liking where the conversation
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  Speaker 2: was headed. Reuben did not want his brother dead, but
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  Speaker 2: he also feared the backlash if he defended Joseph. Let's
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  Speaker 2: not take his life, Reuben said. Shedding blood is too messy. Instead,
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  Speaker 2: we should just throw him in this pit here and
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  Speaker 2: let him rot. Reuben suggested this so he could come
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  Speaker 2: by later to rescue Joseph. Joseph finally arrived and greeted
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  Speaker 2: his brothers. He was met with piercing glares. They had
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  Speaker 2: looked at him with disdain before, but this time it
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  Speaker 2: was different. Their eyes portrayed an ancient evil that had
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  Speaker 2: lurked in the hearts of men since the beginning. All
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  Speaker 2: eleven brothers looked at him with the eyes of Cain.
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  Speaker 2: Before Joseph could process what was happening, he found himself
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  Speaker 2: trapped under the arms of his older brothers. Strong and
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  Speaker 2: calloused from tilling the fields and harvesting grain year after year,
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  Speaker 2: their hands clutched his colorful robe and tore it off
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  Speaker 2: his body. A fury of chuckles and blows blurred Joseph's vision.
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  Speaker 2: He was caught in a mob of anger and hate.
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  Speaker 2: Covering his head and face from the fists of his brothers,
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  Speaker 2: Joseph could barely look up until he found himself in
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  Speaker 2: the air, descending into a deep pit below. All the
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  Speaker 2: air in Joseph's lungs fled as his back hit the cold,
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  Speaker 2: damp ground. Lying face up, he slowly opened his eyes,
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  Speaker 2: only to see the mocking stares of his brothers looking
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  Speaker 2: down on him. Joseph lay there helpless for hours. It
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  Speaker 2: seemed like days. The only water in the pit fell
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  Speaker 2: from Joseph's eyes. Afraid and alone, Joseph wept. Later that day,
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  Speaker 2: as they sat down to eat, the brothers saw a
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  Speaker 2: caravan of Ishmaelite merchants heading to Egypt to sell their
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  Speaker 2: goods and slaves. Judah saw them from afar and then
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  Speaker 2: turned towards his brothers and said, What does it profit
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  Speaker 2: us to kill our brothers? The only thing we gain
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  Speaker 2: is having to clean up his blood. Why don't we
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  Speaker 2: sell him to the Ishmaelites? He is our brother after all.
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  Speaker 2: The brothers listened intently. Joseph awoke still in the darkness.
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  Speaker 2: He had huddled into the corner of the pit to
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  Speaker 2: block himself from the piercing sun. Silhouetted from the base
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  Speaker 2: of the pit, Joseph saw a rope fall towards him. Finally,
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  Speaker 2: his brothers had ceased their cruel joke.
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  Speaker 1: And rescued him.
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  Speaker 2: Joseph climbed out of the pit, looked towards his brothers,
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  Speaker 2: and was immediately tackled to the floor, shackled, and taken
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  Speaker 2: away towards him. With the sun beginning to set behind him,
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  Speaker 2: Joseph turned his head towards Canaan. Joseph's dreams seemed to
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  Speaker 2: be more fantasy now than they ever had been. His
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  Speaker 2: heart was tortured by the rejection of his brothers. Joseph,
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  Speaker 2: Israel's prized son, was now a slave. Reuben, who had
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  Speaker 2: left while everything had transpired, finally returned to the pit
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  Speaker 2: to free Joseph. He looked down and saw that Joseph
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  Speaker 2: was gone. Reuben, frantic and concerned for Joseph, tore his
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  Speaker 2: clothes and raced to his other brothers. He's gone, Reuben shouted.
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  Speaker 2: Reuben's weak attempt at bravery failed. It was him who
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  Speaker 2: would have to tell his father what happened. The brothers
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  Speaker 2: took Joseph's robe, the only remaining trace of him. They
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  Speaker 2: slaughtered a goat and dipped Joseph's robe in the blood.
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  Speaker 2: With fake sobs and worried eyes, they went to their
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  Speaker 2: father with the robe. Heads held low and perfect theatrics,
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  Speaker 2: they said, We have found this. Is this your son's robe? Israel,
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  Speaker 2: with tears welling up in his eyes, said, It is
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  Speaker 2: my son's robe. A fierce animal must have devoured him.
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  Speaker 2: He tore his clothes and mourned for weeks. His sons
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  Speaker 2: and daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused.
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  Speaker 2: I shall take my grief down to Sheol. There is
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  Speaker 2: no returning from this. The approval the brothers once craved
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  Speaker 2: would not be given just because Joseph was gone. More
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  Speaker 2: now than ever, their father was distant. Meanwhile, in the
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  Speaker 2: hot Egyptian sun, Joseph stood, heat beating down on his face,
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  Speaker 2: back torn apart from whips and a spirit broken by
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  Speaker 2: his brothers. Joseph was put on display to be sold.
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  Speaker 2: The Midnights then sold him to Potiphar, an officer to Pharaoh,
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  Speaker 2: the captain of the guard. There, Joseph's story would start
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  Speaker 2: to begin.
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  Speaker 3: As we open today's story, Jacob has finally arrived in
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  Speaker 3: the land of his father in Canaan and settled with
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  Speaker 3: his family. But before he arrived, his beloved wife Rachel
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  Speaker 3: had given him one more son, Benjamin. Rachel, however, died
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  Speaker 3: during childbirth. Jacob is left with two sons to remind
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  Speaker 3: him of his late wife, whom he loves so deeply.
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  Speaker 3: And it's the oldest of these two, the young man
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  Speaker 3: named Joseph, on whom Jacob centers his love. Joseph was
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  Speaker 3: Jacob's clear favorite, and everyone knew it. Joseph's older brothers
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  Speaker 3: resent him for Jacob's attitude toward him. Joseph only makes
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  Speaker 3: matters worse when he returns from the fields to tattle
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  Speaker 3: on them to Jacob. It's salt in an open wound.
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  Speaker 3: Jacob either doesn't notice the division or his family or
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  Speaker 3: doesn't bother to get involved. Just as when Leah and
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  Speaker 3: Rachel battle for his love, Jacob does nothing to bring
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  Speaker 3: peace to his home. In fact, He throws fuel on
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  Speaker 3: the fire by making a brightly, beautifully colored coat to
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  Speaker 3: give to Joseph. Now certainly there's nothing wrong with giving gifts,
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  Speaker 3: even some extravagant ones at times, to your children. God
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  Speaker 3: our Father loves to lavish us with blessings and favor,
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  Speaker 3: but He does so without showing favoritism. Not so with Jacob.
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  Speaker 3: He has a clear choice as his favorite, and his sons,
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  Speaker 3: his other sons, are so very resentful of Joseph. So
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  Speaker 3: the stage is already set for strife. Then Joseph begins
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  Speaker 3: to have dreams, very strange dreams that he interprets as
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  Speaker 3: foretelling his position of authority over his family. What he
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  Speaker 3: says is true, but it's not said with wisdom or
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  Speaker 3: tact or even humility. It is a special gift from God,
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  Speaker 3: this ability to interpret dreams. It's a gift God will
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  Speaker 3: use for greater purposes one day, but Joseph is still
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  Speaker 3: a prideful young man of 17 years of age. And
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  Speaker 3: rather than seeking God's wisdom as to how to process
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  Speaker 3: these dreams and share them with others, he tells his
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  Speaker 3: brothers openly, pridefully about them. They were understandably incensed at
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  Speaker 3: their younger brother who was telling them that they would
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  Speaker 3: one day bow before him. One day Joseph goes out
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  Speaker 3: to find them in the fields. And with murder in
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  Speaker 3: their hearts, they scheme to kill him and leave his
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  Speaker 3: body in a pit. His oldest brother, Reuben, doesn't want bloodshed,
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  Speaker 3: but he lacks the courage to stand up to violence.
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  Speaker 3: He proposes that they throw him in a pit and
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  Speaker 3: leave him there. He plans to return and rescue him later,
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  Speaker 3: but he never gets the chance. When Joseph arrives, his
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  Speaker 3: brothers seize him, remove his cloak, the prize gift, the
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  Speaker 3: beautiful coat that Jacob had given him, and they threw
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  Speaker 3: him into a dry pit. His future is thrown into
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  Speaker 3: uncertainty as he lies in the pit, helpless. How can
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  Speaker 3: his dreams come true if he's down there in this pit?
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  Speaker 3: Or what if he dies? Imagine the chaos, the confusion,
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  Speaker 3: the fear, the pain this young man must have felt.
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  Speaker 3: Did he realize that though his brothers were the ones
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  Speaker 3: perpetrating this evil, his actions and attitudes had a part
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  Speaker 3: in this? While Reuben is away, the others spot a
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  Speaker 3: caravan of Ishmaelites, who are descendants of their great-grandfather's son
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  Speaker 3: with Sarah's servant, Hagar. And they decide to sell him
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  Speaker 3: as a slave, and Joseph is carried away into Egypt.
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  Speaker 3: All may seem to be lost at this point, but
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  Speaker 3: as Joseph will one day say, what they meant for evil,
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  Speaker 3: God will use for good. God may allow evil to
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  Speaker 3: come our way, but when we trust him and seek him,
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  Speaker 3: as Joseph will do in the coming years, we discover
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  Speaker 3: that God is good, That he does good and he
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  Speaker 3: is always working together all things for good. The worst
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  Speaker 3: out of the most terrible circumstances he can bring the best.
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  Speaker 3: And great blessings as well. The brothers go home and
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  Speaker 3: hand Jacob the bloodstained tunic of Joseph. The blood of
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  Speaker 3: an animal that they had slain to cover up their transgression.
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  Speaker 3: Jacob is heartbroken. It will be years before he sees
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  Speaker 3: his son Joseph again. But first, Joseph must endure great
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  Speaker 3: pain as a slave and then a prisoner in the
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  Speaker 3: land of Egypt, the land of the Pharaoh. But that's
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  Speaker 3: a story for another time. So let's pray. Dear God,
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  Speaker 3: help us to learn from today's scripture that favoritism can
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  Speaker 3: have tragic and long-lasting effects on our families. Give us
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  Speaker 3: the strength and the wisdom today to get rid of
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  Speaker 3: favoritism in our own lives and in our families. Lord God,
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  Speaker 3: thank you also that even in the darkest moments, even
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  Speaker 3: when we are in the deepest pit, that you are
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  Speaker 3: with us and that you can work all things together
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  Speaker 3: for our good and your glory. It is in the
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  Speaker 3: name of Jesus that we pray. Amen. Thank you for
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  Speaker 3: listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Pastor
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  Speaker 3: Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com app and
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  Speaker 3: make prayer a priority in your life. If you enjoyed
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  Speaker 3: this podcast, share it with someone you love. By sharing
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  Speaker 3: this podcast, you can make a difference in someone's life.
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: And if you want more resources on how to tap
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  Speaker 3: into God's power for successful Christian living, be sure to
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  Speaker 3: visit JackGraham.org. God bless.