FBT Daily Devotional: Genesis 37

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

All right. So today we are speaking about Genesis 37 dreams that survive the pit. Okay. Quick review. Genesis opened with God creating order out of chaos and forming humanity in his image after the fall. And we see sin spread through the earth. Boy, does it. Yet God continues to move through covenant calling Abraham, confirming his promise through Isaac, and shaping a nation through Jacob and his 12 sons. Now by Genesis 36, we saw it states the genealogy of Isaac's two sons. Esau, who was renamed Edom, which was a city in southern Jordan. It no longer exists. It stopped existing before Jesus came. And then Jacob, who was renamed Israel, still exists. So the stage is set. The family through whom God intends to fulfill his purpose has grown. But so have their flaws, the rivalries and human weaknesses. And here comes Mo drama, and we named it the other day as the Bible turns. So God gives you a dream, and sometimes it's before a storm comes. Alright, so Genesis 37 introduces Joseph, a young man with a divine dream and a complicated family. So this chapter is not just about the jealousy, it's about how God plants purpose before the process even begins. So the previously given detail of the family line shows every part of God's promise and his covenant, which all ultimately points to the salvation in Christ. And like breadcrumbs, it's leading the way for us. So it's necessary for record and laying out the written record of Jesus' lineage. Okay. So it may seem bold, boring, or dull or slow, but it is necessary. It's the record. So in Genesis 37, 5, it states, and Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brethren, and they hated him yet the more. So Joseph, the youngest of 12 sons, receives a vision of his future. His brothers' sheaves bowing to his son, moon, and stars and paying homage. God was revealing destiny early to him. But notice something important here. God gave the dream before Joseph had the character, wisdom, or maturity to manage it well. Joseph shares the dream openly, perhaps too openly. He's a dumb young teenager. His brothers already resented him because Joseph was favored. Yeah, Jacob favored Joseph. Right. The famous coat of many colors in verse 3 isn't just clothing, it's a symbol of authority and inheritance. Now, a statement of such a garment was only used one other time in the Bible. And that I could find in 2 Samuel 13 and 18. The woman Tamar, one of King David's virgin daughters, was wearing one. And it's called Kitanet Passum. Now listen up. The brothers were mad. Why were they so upset? They were tripping. So the coat represented more than parental affection. Okay, historically, such garments signified royal authority, a priestly garment, administrative rank within a household.

unknown 4:03

What?

SPEAKER_00 4:03

Yeah. The baby of the family get this garment to wear. The spoil baby. So Joseph wasn't just loved by his daddy, he was now positioned ahead of the others against their hierarchical norms. Ooh, they hated that boy. That explains the intensity of the brother's anger. Now their rage is on ten, going to violence, coming in hot. So in verse 8, shalt thou indeed reign over us? To them, Joseph's dream sounded like arrogant. To God, it was prophecy. So here's something powerful in this section. A dream from God can provoke opposition before it produces its fulfillment. Well, let's talk about the pit when destiny meets resistance. Joseph's brothers conspired against him. At first, they planned to kill him, but Reuben, one of the brothers, intervenes, and Joseph is thrown instead into a pit. Now, verse 24, and they took him and cast him into a pit, and the pit was empty. There was no water in it. So this was uh an old cistern that was no longer being used. Remember, we had a story about this cisterns before how they crack and don't hold the water. So now our dreamer is in a hole. Scripture emphasizes that the pit had no water. Okay. And so what they did in ancient times is they used them as prisons temporarily. So this detail shows the brothers intended Joseph to be trapped and helpless. But God was not finished. In Psalms 105, 17 and verse 18 later explains something Genesis doesn't initially reveal. He sent a man before him, even Joseph, whose feet they hurt with feathers. He was laid in iron. Heaven already saw Joseph's suffering as preparation. Okay. So if you think about it and compare it to today, imagine a young professional person with enormous talent and vision. And instead of a promotion, they are undermined by their co-workers, pushed out of opportunities, and overlooked to everyone watching. And it appears their career is collapsing. Okay. Yet years later, those same experiences become the training that equipped them to lead at a higher level. Joseph's pit was not the end of his story, it was the beginning of his preparation for his destiny. So if you look in Romans 8:28, it echoes this. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God. Amen. But the betrayal. So Joseph's brothers sell him to passing merchants. In verse 28, and they sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver. Notice the tragedy here is the people closest to Joseph are the ones who remove him from the place he calls home. And then for 20 pieces. At that time, 30 pieces of silver was considered the norm price for a slave. It was even the amount the Pharisees gave Joseph, Judas, I'm sorry, to give up Jesus location. Darn, they didn't even ask that for Joseph. Joseph was each undersold. So the brothers went on their way, sat down somewhere, they were eating, getting fat while Joseph was in the pit. Now in verse 25, okay, this detail reveals their heart and hearts. So you know, sometimes the deepest wounds come not from your enemies, but from family or friends or those who should have protected you. So Psalms 41:9 does speak on this type of pain. Yea, mine own familiar friend hath lifted up his heel against me. Joseph experiences a huge betrayal long before his destiny unfolds. Okay, but there's silent work going on with God. In this chapter, it ends with Joseph being taken to Egypt, and on the surface, everything looks like failure. He lost his home, he lost his family, and he lost his position. But what Joseph didn't know was this the pit was his transportation. Okay, God was moving him closer to the place where his dream would eventually come true. The same brothers who tried to destroy the dream would one day stand before Joseph in Egypt, bowing, just as God had shown him in his dreams. So as we prepare to go to breakout rooms, I'm gonna leave you with five points. Your takeaways. God sometimes reveals purpose before your preparation. Opposition often follows divine vision. The pit is not proof that the dream died. God can use betrayal as transportation to your intended destination. Okay, and destiny may begin in places that look like it's defeat. So when God places a dream in your spirit, do not measure it by your current circumstances. The same God who gave the vision also controls the process. There's a reason, a why for all of this. People are imperfect and inherently will think and do wrong things, derailing their godly path. And sometimes he has to step in and correct or realign things for us. Amen. Thank you. We can go to breakout rooms.