“Joseph, the Dreamer”

“Joseph, the Dreamer” (Genesis 37:1–11)

Pastor Cameron Jungels

Eastside Baptist Church

Sunday PM, September 11, 2016

Genesis 37:1–11 (NIV) 

37 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. 

2 This is the account of Jacob’s family line. 

Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them. 

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. 

5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” 

8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. 

9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 

10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. 

1. Favoritism that Fuels a Family Feud (1–4)

a. Jacob was in the right place (1).

b. But Jacob was not leading his family the right way (2–4).

i. Jacob’s unwise choices resulted in ongoing family tension (2).

ii. Jacob’s favoritism of Joseph was foolish, and it fueled an internal family feud that caused Joseph to be hated and alienated by his brothers.

2. Dreams that Disclose Destinies (5–11).

a. Broken but not useless…

b. Divinely given dreams…

c. Despised dreams…

d. Deliberated upon dreams…

Main Idea: In our selfishness and shortsightedness, we act in foolish ways that create tension and hatred and cause people to be despised. But God is not hindered by our foolishness. God is not bound to use only those who come from healthy families or those who are well-liked by everyone. No, in his grace and wisdom God is often pleased to call into his service the castaways, the rejected, and the despised for his purposes.