EVERYONE WILL NOT SHARE THE JOY OF YOUR DREAMS

Proclamation:

“Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more…Then he had a second dream and he told it to his brothers…When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him…”  Genesis 37:9-11 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of God which were written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  As Israel and his family moved on from Bethel, Rachel gave birth to a second son, Benjamin, but she died right after giving birth. (Genesis 35:16-20)  Shortly after Israel arrived in Hebron, the land of his father, Isaac died at the age of 180 years old. (Genesis 35:27-29)  Israel had twelve sons (Genesis 35:23-26) but he loved one, Joseph, his first son by Rachel, more than the others and they hated him because of that. (Genesis 37:3-4)  Joseph had dreams in which his brothers bowed down to him.  When he told them of his brothers of his dreams they hated him even more. (Genesis 37:5-11)  They had plotted to kill him but his brother Reuben prevailed upon them to cast him into a pit. (Genesis 37:17-24)  Afterwards they saw a caravan approaching and agreed to sell him to them.  But first they took his coat of many colors that his father had given him and smeared it with goat’s blood, to give it to their father. (Genesis 37:25-33)  Joseph’s brothers were moved by envy when they sold him into slavery but God was with him. (Acts 7:9)

Application:

Not all of our family and friends will rejoice with us and share in the joy of our dreams.  In fact, not all of them really want to see us do well and succeed, especially if we will be better off than they are.  Unfortunately, some people act like crabs in a barrel, pulling one another down before they can reach the top.  We should rejoice when our family and friends rejoice, and be sad when they are sad. (Romans 12:15)  We are not to desire or covet anything which belongs to others. (Exodus 20:17)  We should also be aware of the fact that dreams may show us a successful end point but may not reveal the grievous predicaments which must be endured before the prosperity.  We must keep the faith and endure to the end, with or without the support of family and friends.