Speaker 1: Previously on the Chosen People Jacob. Jacob ran close to
Speaker 1: the canvas wall and placed his face beside it.
Speaker 2: And here my love.
Speaker 1: Rachel closed her eyes and smiled. Having Jacob close helped.
Speaker 1: She had longed to give him a child since the
Speaker 1: first time they met. Now, after nearly a lifetime together,
Speaker 1: here she was only moments away from her dream. She
Speaker 1: propped her head up and nodded to the midwife. She
Speaker 1: curled forward and pushed with all her might. The minute
Speaker 1: Jacob heard those cries from the other side of the tent,
Speaker 1: he ran in. His son cried in Rachel's arms. He
Speaker 1: was the most beautiful thing Jacob had ever seen. Finally
Speaker 1: he had a child born from love. All other blessings
Speaker 1: in his life seemed to fade into the background as
Speaker 1: he gazed upon his miracle child. He held him in
Speaker 1: his arms. His beaming smiled revealed his old and cracked face.
Speaker 2: My son, My son, I shall name you Joseph.
Speaker 1: He kissed his son's cheek and laid him in the
Speaker 1: arms of his mother. Out of all of his brothers,
Speaker 1: Joseph carried the favor of his father. The boy would
Speaker 1: grow up under the attentive wing of his parents, and
Speaker 1: increase in knowledge, skill and pride. Great would be his
Speaker 1: rise in his family, and great would be his.
Speaker 3: Four In the land of dreams, a boy's vision sets
Speaker 3: the course for destiny. Shall oh, my friends from here
Speaker 3: in the holy land of Israel Amya l Extein with
Speaker 3: international fellowship of Christians and Jews, Welcome to the Chosen People.
Speaker 3: What is it about dreams that stirs our souls? Why
Speaker 3: do visions of greatness ignite such flames of and why
Speaker 3: do our dreams for the future sometimes bring anger, jealousy,
Speaker 3: and envy. Like Joseph dreaming of the moon and stars
Speaker 3: and bended knee as we journey through this tail inspired
Speaker 3: by Genesis thirty seven one to eleven, ask yourself, our
Speaker 3: dreams a gift? Were a curse? Is it the dreamer
Speaker 3: who suffers? Or those who do not or cannot dream.
Speaker 1: Joseph's sandy curls were damp, with sweat clinging to his forehead.
Speaker 1: As he worked the fields, he looked over his shoulder,
Speaker 1: comparing the angle of his swing with Judas. Although Judah
Speaker 1: wasn't the oldest, he was certainly the leader among his brothers.
Speaker 1: He stood taller than them, with tight muscles, wound around
Speaker 1: his arms and legs. Joseph, nearly as tall and muscular,
Speaker 1: already watched everything Judah did, mimicking his every motion. Yet
Speaker 1: it was all from a distance. He dared not get
Speaker 1: too close. He swung his sickle, binding the sheaves of
Speaker 1: grain over his broad shoulders alone, listening to his brother's laughter.
Speaker 1: His upper lip glistened with sweat, the first signs of
Speaker 1: a beard breaking through. Wiping his face, he puffed out
Speaker 1: his chest, threw the sickle over his shoulder, and strolled
Speaker 1: closer to them.
Speaker 4: Judah, I've devised a new sheathing system. If you go
Speaker 4: from left to right, you'll have to return to pick
Speaker 4: up the bundles and take them to the cistern. But
Speaker 4: if you begin backward and work away from the cistern,
Speaker 4: you'll cut a lot of time.
Speaker 5: Oh, I didn't realize. Father put you in charge of
Speaker 5: the fields over me. Go ahead, Joseph, continue.
Speaker 4: I'm not in charge, Judah.
Speaker 2: A good idea is a good idea, right?
Speaker 4: Does it really matter who came up with it?
Speaker 5: If the ideas came from someone who only works half
Speaker 5: the time, then yes, yes it does matter. We work
Speaker 5: the fields and tended the flower every day. You saunter
Speaker 5: in and out of work as you please.
Speaker 1: Joseph opened his mouth to reply, but then heard the
Speaker 1: voice of his father calling out from the tents.
Speaker 2: Joseph, come here, my boy. Ah, I have something to
Speaker 2: show you.
Speaker 5: Ah. There it is. The bell rings for you, Joseph.
Speaker 2: Judah, I do it? Come here, my son. Oh.
Speaker 5: Father needs his favorite by his side. Leave with your
Speaker 5: ideas while we keep working.
Speaker 1: Joseph turned to run down the hill and embrace his father.
Speaker 1: Jacob wrapped Joseph in his arms and laughed. Judah watched,
Speaker 1: tilting his head to the ten other brothers.
Speaker 5: Take a good luck, boys. That's what fatherly affection looks like.
Speaker 1: Simeon, the second born, sharp featured and sharper tongued, spat
Speaker 1: in Joseph's direction.
Speaker 6: He pads behind father like a puppy, yelps like one too.
Speaker 6: I took an extra fig kick two days ago, and
Speaker 6: the little rat told on me I'm a grown man
Speaker 6: and got scolded for taking a piece of cake.
Speaker 1: Reuben, the eldest, tall and muscular, already a father himself,
Speaker 1: took Simeon under his arm, squeezing him playfully.
Speaker 2: You're a grown man, all right, No need for more
Speaker 2: fig cakes.
Speaker 1: Joseph ran into his father's arms. Although he longed for
Speaker 1: his brother's approval, Joseph saw his father's favor as far
Speaker 1: more valuable. Jacob wrapped Joseph up and.
Speaker 2: Squeezed, ah, my son, come in and see what we
Speaker 2: have made you.
Speaker 1: Jacob put his hands over Joseph's eyes and led him
Speaker 1: into the tent.
Speaker 2: Winter is approaching, and you've already grown out of your
Speaker 2: old coat. Your mother has been hard at work getting
Speaker 2: the material for this.
Speaker 1: Jacob took his hands off Joseph's eyes. In front of him,
Speaker 1: his mother held a long, flowing coat adorned with many colors.
Speaker 1: Joseph's eyes shone at the sight. The coat's shoulders were
Speaker 1: bright red, the sleeves deep blue, the hem purple with
Speaker 1: silver patterns, and the straps brilliant orange. Rachel slipped the
Speaker 1: coat on to Joseph and kissed his cheek. Joseph stepped
Speaker 1: to the water basin and looked at his reflection. The
Speaker 1: coat fit perfectly. Its shimmering colors showcased Joseph's favor over
Speaker 1: his other brothers. It was a physical reminder that he
Speaker 1: alone held his father's heart. Joseph walked outside with the coat.
Speaker 1: The sun shone directly on it, causing the patterns to
Speaker 1: pop in the light. Joseph turned and hugged his parents.
Speaker 4: This is brilliant. I feel like a pharaoh.
Speaker 2: Oh, the colors suit you. Run along and return to work,
Speaker 2: but try not to ruin your coat. Tell Ruben that
Speaker 2: the well beside the fields is missing a few stones.
Speaker 1: With the coat flowing behind him, Joseph sauntered back to
Speaker 1: the fields. Reuben spotted him, rolled his eyes and warned
Speaker 1: the others.
Speaker 2: Here he comes. Behave yourselves.
Speaker 1: The brothers scoffed as Joseph approached, his coat, shimmering in
Speaker 1: the late afternoon sun. He made a spectacle of it,
Speaker 1: fully aware of his favor.
Speaker 4: Did you see what father gave me? Its design looks
Speaker 4: good enough to be Egyptian.
Speaker 1: Simeon scoffed and threw down his plow.
Speaker 4: I'm sure you can afford to wear such a.
Speaker 6: Lovely coat, Joseph. You don't spend enough time working to
Speaker 6: get it dirty.
Speaker 4: Don't be bitter, Simeon. I'll be sure to let you
Speaker 4: borrow it next time you visit the prostitutes in Timna.
Speaker 1: The rest of the brothers gasped, Simeon's eyes widened, first
Speaker 1: with embarrassment, then with rage. He drove his shoulder down
Speaker 1: and tackled Joseph to the ground. The two of them
Speaker 1: scraped through the dirt. Joseph was a head taller than Simeon.
Speaker 1: He confidently swung his hips, wrapped his arms around Simeon,
Speaker 1: and pinned him to the ground. Simeon kicked, thrusting Joseph back.
Speaker 1: He lunged, but Joseph got the upper hand, locking Simeon's
Speaker 1: shoulders and neck from behind.
Speaker 4: Get your hands off me, ask nicely.
Speaker 1: Joseph, entertained by his brother's begging, only laughed and squeezed harder.
Speaker 1: His fun was short lived, though, as Judah took Joseph
Speaker 1: by the coat and threw him into the creek bed
Speaker 1: a few feet away. The brothers laughed. As Joseph sat
Speaker 1: soaking wet. He looked up at Judah, straining to hold
Speaker 1: back tears.
Speaker 2: Oh, your old children.
Speaker 1: Reuben helped Joseph out of the creek and patted his cheek.
Speaker 2: Easy, little brother, your coat may be brighter, but your
Speaker 2: blood is red, just like ours.
Speaker 1: Reuben pointed to the blood dripping down Joseph's lip. He smiled,
Speaker 1: wiped his lip, and nodded. The other brothers returned to work,
Speaker 1: and Joseph picked up a plow and began to help.
Speaker 1: For a moment, the brothers were at peace with one another. However,
Speaker 1: there was always tension between Joseph and the others, and
Speaker 1: unseen evil slithered in the reeds between them. The same
Speaker 1: evil that devoured the heart of Cain was close by
Speaker 1: in the Sons of Jacob, an evil that lurked in
Speaker 1: the shadows, awaiting its moment to strike. Later that evening,
Speaker 1: Joseph returned to camp, where Jacob and his wives prepared
Speaker 1: a meal. The scent of dark, bubbling stew filled the air.
Speaker 1: The brothers, soar from their labor, gathered around. Simeon dunked
Speaker 1: his head in the water, while God and Asher dipped
Speaker 1: their fingers in the stew. The end of the day
Speaker 1: was a joyous event for the sons of Israel, with
Speaker 1: their mothers preparing a feast and Jacob telling story. Children
Speaker 1: played and servants laughed, but the mood shifted when Jacob
Speaker 1: saw Joseph's face. He touched his son's chin.
Speaker 2: What is this?
Speaker 1: Joseph's eyes quickly darted to Simeon, then back at his father.
Speaker 1: Jacob puffed his chest and turned to Simeon, Did you
Speaker 1: strike my son?
Speaker 4: Aren't I your son too?
Speaker 6: Aren't you worried about the bruise on my back the
Speaker 6: size of a goat?
Speaker 2: Answer the question, Simeon, did you strike Joseph?
Speaker 6: Yes, your precious jewel was scuffed a bit, but I'm
Speaker 6: sure there's nothing a little kiss from Daddy can't help.
Speaker 1: The rest of the brothers chuckled. Jacob was not amused.
Speaker 2: Be careful of that sharp tongue, Sybyan. Joseph has told
Speaker 2: me of your dealings in Timna. I know how all
Speaker 2: of you have gone into the Canaanite cities to get
Speaker 2: drunk and lounge about when you should be working.
Speaker 1: The rest of the brothers sneered at Joseph. He had
Speaker 1: been spying on them for quite some time, and their
Speaker 1: wives had no idea where he had gone for knights
Speaker 1: at a time, the brother's sins were exposed in the open,
Speaker 1: and it was Joseph's fault. He had sniffed out their
Speaker 1: sin like a hound and returned a bad report to
Speaker 1: his father. Joseph saw every one of his brother's imperfections
Speaker 1: as another foot of separation between him and them. Since
Speaker 1: his father had given him so much favoritism, Joseph truly
Speaker 1: believed he was superior to them. Pride puffed him up.
Speaker 1: He would soon find out about the prison of pride.
Speaker 1: It would ensnare him like a trap and isolate him.
Speaker 1: His hubris would be his downfall. Throughout the night, Jacob
Speaker 1: argued with Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, holding them responsible
Speaker 1: for leading their brothers astray. Their bickering was white noise
Speaker 1: to Joseph, who was used to such sounds. He had
Speaker 1: grown up amidst the endless square of his mother, aunts,
Speaker 1: and their maid servants, all repeating the same spiteful jabs
Speaker 1: and insults. Joseph sighed, peering through a crack in his
Speaker 1: tent at the stars. The canvas moved gently with the
Speaker 1: evening breeze. He took a deep breath. Rolling on to
Speaker 1: his side, with his colorful coat draped over him, Joseph
Speaker 1: drifted into a deep sleep, unaware of the trials ahead.
Speaker 1: Joseph's eyes opened. He was standing in a field of grain.
Speaker 1: The golden stalk swayed in the wind, a shimmering sea
Speaker 1: under a sunless sky lit by another worldly glow. In
Speaker 1: his hand, he found a sickle, and with it he
Speaker 1: cut a large sheaf of grain, laying it gently on
Speaker 1: the ground around him. His brothers toiled, their arms laden
Speaker 1: with sheaves, which they placed in a circle about his Suddenly,
Speaker 1: his sheaf rose high into the sky, lifting Joseph with it.
Speaker 1: He looked down to see his brother's sheaves bowing before his,
Speaker 1: a warm feeling welling up within him as he watched.
Speaker 1: He smiled, arms raised to the heavens, until the dream
Speaker 1: dissolved into the waking world. The rising sun peeped through
Speaker 1: the entrance to his tent, pulling him back to reality.
Speaker 1: Joseph arose, draping his coat over his back. The cool
Speaker 1: morning air was sharp against his face. He moved to
Speaker 1: the water trough, splashing his face and clearing the remnants
Speaker 1: of sleep from his eyes. As the ripples subsided, he
Speaker 1: saw Simeon's reflection in the water. Joseph looked up, meeting
Speaker 1: Simeon's unblinking stare. Simeon said nothing, merely drawing some water
Speaker 1: and taking a sip before dropping the ladle back into
Speaker 1: the trough, splashly. Joseph in the process Issakar, the ninth born,
Speaker 1: approached and handed Joseph a bowl of broth and a
Speaker 1: piece of bread. He smiled, gesturing for Joseph to join
Speaker 1: the others by the fire. Joseph sat down and began
Speaker 1: eating the broths, warmth seeping into his bones.
Speaker 4: I heard you laughing in your sleep last night.
Speaker 6: What was that about?
Speaker 1: Joseph nodded, his thoughts drifting back to his dream. He
Speaker 1: should have remained silent and shrugged off the comment, but
Speaker 1: could not resist the urge to share his vision.
Speaker 4: Oh, I had this spectacular dream. We were binding sheaves
Speaker 4: in the field, and my sheaf arose and stood upright,
Speaker 4: and and then your sheaves gathered around it and bowed
Speaker 4: down to my sheaves.
Speaker 5: So are you to rule over us, Joseph.
Speaker 1: Joseph realized immediately that he had made a grave mistake.
Speaker 1: The brothers stood up, bowing mockingly before him. They laughed, scoffed,
Speaker 1: and left him alone by the fire, their hearts hardened
Speaker 1: against him. Jacob, however, had been listening from a distance.
Speaker 1: He was familiar with dreams such as these, often sent
Speaker 1: by God. He pondered them in his heart, as Joseph
Speaker 1: should have, but Joseph sought any excuse to rise above
Speaker 1: his brothers, craving their submission. The next night, Joseph lay
Speaker 1: on his back, staring up at the stars. His eyes
Speaker 1: grew heavy as the firmament glowed with galaxies stretching into eternity.
Speaker 1: The crickets chirked, harmonizing with the evening breeze. As Joseph watched,
Speaker 1: the stars began to move, and he felt himself being
Speaker 1: lifted into the heavens. The wind blew swiftly, carrying him
Speaker 1: up into the dark sky. Eleven stars flashed around him,
Speaker 1: their brilliant lights encircling him. As before, the stars bowed
Speaker 1: before him, and then the Sun and the moon appeared,
Speaker 1: their light blinding yet halting to bow as well. Joseph
Speaker 1: felt like a king, but a tinge of sorrow tugged
Speaker 1: at his heart. Their reverence, he said, would come at
Speaker 1: a great cost. He woke with a start, rushing out
Speaker 1: of his tent to find Jacob and Rachel eating beside
Speaker 1: the rest of the family. He sat down beside them,
Speaker 1: his heart pounding.
Speaker 4: Mother, Father, last night, I had another dream. Ah, the
Speaker 4: King has had another vision. Please, my Lord, tell us
Speaker 4: your dream.
Speaker 1: The others laughed, but Jacob remained silent, eager to hear
Speaker 1: Joseph's dream.
Speaker 4: Well, it was similar to before, but this time there
Speaker 4: were more. I was surrounded by the stars, and they
Speaker 4: all bowed down to me. Even the sun and the
Speaker 4: moon joined in.
Speaker 1: Jacob looked down at the fire. He pondered for a moment,
Speaker 1: furrowing his brow.
Speaker 2: So not only did your brothers bow to you, but
Speaker 2: your mother and I as well.
Speaker 4: Father, I didn't mean to say that. I really don't believe.
Speaker 2: Tell I bow to you, my son? Shall your mother
Speaker 2: treat you as a lord?
Speaker 1: Jacob turned and walked away, leaving Joseph stunned. His brothers
Speaker 1: gave sly grins, grabbing their tools to work the fields.
Speaker 1: No matter how true Joseph's dreams might be, his words
Speaker 1: fell on deaf ears, Laced as they were with pride
Speaker 1: and self righteousness. The days passed with a heavy air
Speaker 1: of tension. Joseph's dreams, once a source of personal pride,
Speaker 1: had become a point of contention among his family. His
Speaker 1: brother's hearts grew colder, their patients thinner, and as Joseph
Speaker 1: toiled in the fields, he could feel the weight of
Speaker 1: their resentment pressing down on him, a silent, unseen force
Speaker 1: waiting to strike.
Speaker 3: In this story of Joseph and his dreams, I'm struck
Speaker 3: once again by the real humanity of the Bible, the emotion,
Speaker 3: the family tension. Jacob our ancestor love Joseph more than
Speaker 3: all of his children. We feel that love, but we
Speaker 3: also feel the weight of the coat of many colors.
Speaker 3: It's a symbol of favor, yes, but also an emblem
Speaker 3: of discord. Just imagine it being Joseph's brothers living in
Speaker 3: the shadow of such obvious preference. Their hearts were twisting
Speaker 3: and turning with jealousy. And it makes sense. The Bible
Speaker 3: doesn't shy away from showing us the cracks and the
Speaker 3: human soul, does it. But there's also a whisper of
Speaker 3: something else in those dreams of Joseph's something divine. Bowdown, sheeves,
Speaker 3: bow down stars, the hint at Joseph's future greatness, yes,
Speaker 3: but not just that. They're also a glimpse of God's
Speaker 3: greater plan. Joseph brothers only saw a favorite son and
Speaker 3: their own lack of favor, but God sees a path
Speaker 3: for his chosen people. Joseph's story reminds us of this
Speaker 3: truth that no matter how broken our family, our dreams,
Speaker 3: our hearts are, God does that work still, and it's
Speaker 3: often beyond what we can see or imagine or dream.
Speaker 3: Our story isn't over with our pain or our brokenness,
Speaker 3: My friends, each of our stories is an essential part,
Speaker 3: a chapter of a larger, greater book, a story written
Speaker 3: by our creator. We all know that the dreams we
Speaker 3: have at night are beyond our control. They dance through
Speaker 3: our minds as we sleep, shrouded in mystery, often leaving
Speaker 3: us bewildered when we wake. But the dreams we have
Speaker 3: during the day, those we can shape. That's why it's
Speaker 3: so important for us to dream good dreams, because our
Speaker 3: dreams turn into ideas, which become actions, ultimately changing and
Speaker 3: shaping the entire world around us. More than forty years ago,
Speaker 3: my Abba, my father Abbe rail Eckstein of Blessed Memory,
Speaker 3: dreamed of uniting Christians and Jews. He dreamed of lifting
Speaker 3: millions out of poverty, giving them hope, and bringing hundreds
Speaker 3: of thousands of Jewish people back to Israel. Just as
Speaker 3: it says in the Prophets, people thought that his dreams
Speaker 3: were crazy, and they thought that he was crazy for
Speaker 3: dreaming them. But here we are, decades later, as the
Speaker 3: Fellowship feeds and shelters and clothes millions of needy people
Speaker 3: each year, as we fulfill the words of the prophets,
Speaker 3: as almost every single day we bring more Jewish people
Speaker 3: home to Israel from the four corners of the year Earth.
Speaker 3: As we provide security and safety to the people of Israel,
Speaker 3: being the watchman on the walls of Jerusalem, even as
Speaker 3: rockets fly and enemies threaten us from every side, as
Speaker 3: we bring together Christians and Jews in fellowship and in
Speaker 3: prayer for one another. Here we are, my friends. We're
Speaker 3: experiencing what over forty years ago people told my father
Speaker 3: was a crazy dream. Yeah, here we are now. We're
Speaker 3: witnessing every single one of those dreams coming to life
Speaker 3: in bigger ways than any of us could have ever imagined. Today,
Speaker 3: too many people have stopped dreaming. Do you feel that
Speaker 3: disagreement and discouragement is everywhere? People have lost their desire
Speaker 3: to dream. We've stopped believing in the impossible, and we've
Speaker 3: stopped dreaming in the impossible. But God calls us to dream,
Speaker 3: to picture and pray for a brighter future. To remember
Speaker 3: that nothing is too big for God, because when we dream,
Speaker 3: we declare our faith in God's ability to turn those
Speaker 3: dreams into reality. We become his partners in creating a
Speaker 3: better world, and God wants us exactly to be partnering
Speaker 3: with him to do that. The story of Joseph naturally
Speaker 3: leads us into the rich Biblical theme of dreaming. In
Speaker 3: the Bible, dreams are more than figments of the subconscious.
Speaker 3: They are divine whispers, holy nudges from the eternal, their
Speaker 3: communication from God. God spoke to our father Abraham in
Speaker 3: a dream. Dreams revealed the future to Jacob by showing
Speaker 3: him a ladder that stretched to the heavens, And in
Speaker 3: today's Bible story, God grants Joseph a glimpse of what's
Speaker 3: to come in dreams of sheaves and stars. As we know,
Speaker 3: Joseph's dreams aren't just for Joseph. Rather, they're a prophecy
Speaker 3: for a nation. But they are a message for Joseph's family,
Speaker 3: because here, like we've seen before, is the Bible's ever
Speaker 3: present theme of sibling rivalry, of family strife. We have
Speaker 3: been talking about this so much. Cain and Abel, Isaac
Speaker 3: and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau all bound by blood, but
Speaker 3: torn apart by their own humanness. But in the case
Speaker 3: of Joseph and his brothers, have always wondered something. If
Speaker 3: Joseph's brothers were already unhappy with the fact that he
Speaker 3: was Joseph's favorite child, then why did Joseph share those
Speaker 3: dreams of his own greatness with them? What was Joseph thinking?
Speaker 3: Didn't he think that maybe it would make them jealous? Well,
Speaker 3: some teachers throughout Jewish tradition excuse Joseph for this. They
Speaker 3: say that he was just seventeen years old, and they
Speaker 3: wonder how he could have known that sharing his dreams
Speaker 3: would cause so many problems. Maybe he couldn't have known.
Speaker 3: But some other Jewish commentary focuses on verse six. That's
Speaker 3: where Joseph says, quote listen to this dream I had
Speaker 3: end quote. These teachers explained that when Joseph told his
Speaker 3: brothers to quote listen end quote, he actually meant, quote
Speaker 3: listen to what these dreams mean. They mean that I
Speaker 3: will be great, greater than all of you end quote.
Speaker 3: And as we would expect, that only increased the hatred
Speaker 3: and jealousy that Joseph's brothers felt. Towards him. Joseph's choice
Speaker 3: can be a lesson for us all. We might not
Speaker 3: have prophetic dreams like Joseph did, but we all have
Speaker 3: dreams of success, of accomplishment, of achievement, and those kind
Speaker 3: of dreams, my friends are wonderful. Do not let them die.
Speaker 3: But we have to be careful about how we share
Speaker 3: these dreams with others so as not to sound egotistical
Speaker 3: or self important, so that other people don't get jealous
Speaker 3: and try to knock us down, because one of the
Speaker 3: worst things that we can do is to sow jealousy
Speaker 3: among our family and friends. In fact, many of the
Speaker 3: Jewish ages see that jealousy and hatred between Joseph and
Speaker 3: his brothers as the beginning of the whole process that
Speaker 3: ended in our Egyptian exile and slavery. They say that
Speaker 3: it's this event of jealousy that directly led to the
Speaker 3: Israelites going down to Egypt in exile and slavery. That's
Speaker 3: a pretty big deal, and so we have a pretty
Speaker 3: big lesson to learn here. We must always watch our
Speaker 3: words and to use them to create love and friendship
Speaker 3: instead of hatred and jealousy. Joseph's story his rise, his fall,
Speaker 3: and his rise again echoes the highs and lows of
Speaker 3: the Chosen people, and to speak on how these his
Speaker 3: and lows continue into Christian tradition. Here's my good friend,
Speaker 3: Bishop Paulinier.
Speaker 7: Thank you so much. Well, here we are in this
Speaker 7: Genesis chapter thirty seven, and it is so great of
Speaker 7: a chapter, such a remarkable portion. I'm glad we're taking
Speaker 7: a couple of conversations to more fully understand it, and
Speaker 7: to be honest with you, for me to grasp it
Speaker 7: more fully. Between this father Jacob and son Joseph, I
Speaker 7: really need to look at the parents again, This Jacob
Speaker 7: and Rachel. I'm gonna just go and put it out there.
Speaker 7: This man Jacob, he had it bad for that woman Rachel.
Speaker 7: He was entirely smitten by her beauty. It was obviously
Speaker 7: love at first sight for him, and really for the
Speaker 7: rest of his life, everything about her spoke to him.
Speaker 7: He adored her. You and I am not surprised at
Speaker 7: all that of all the children Jacob fathered, it was
Speaker 7: that Joseph, Rachel's boy that meant most to him. In fact,
Speaker 7: Genesis chapter thirty seven, verse three makes no secret of
Speaker 7: this that Jacob loved Joseph more than all of his
Speaker 7: other children. Now it tries to say that I love
Speaker 7: this boy more because he was born to me in
Speaker 7: my old age. Well maybe, but in reality, I think
Speaker 7: you and I both know the reason he loved that
Speaker 7: boy more most. It was because every time he looked
Speaker 7: into his face, he saw that Rachel.
Speaker 6: Hmm.
Speaker 7: Remember some time ago you and I were talking about typologies.
Speaker 7: It's when you find a motif or a theme, something
Speaker 7: in particular in the Hebrew scriptures that plays out again
Speaker 7: might even sing to us, to those who were Christian,
Speaker 7: to be fulfilled. Even in the Christian scriptures. Well, we
Speaker 7: see a lot of that in the life of Joseph.
Speaker 7: The first thing we note about this Joseph is favor, favor.
Speaker 7: Jacob loved him so much, we said, because of Rachel,
Speaker 7: and Jacob even created this garment, this royal garment of favor,
Speaker 7: long sleeved tonic for this Joseph, the favor, the favor.
Speaker 7: But for Christians we also look at that and we
Speaker 7: marvel at that. But for Christians we look into the
Speaker 7: new Estimate and we think of Jesus. Jesus is a
Speaker 7: type of Joseph. In fact, the Scriptures called Jesus the
Speaker 7: First Born. We see that in the Book of Romans.
Speaker 7: We see it when Paul writes in Colossians. We see
Speaker 7: it in the Book of Hebrews. We see it in
Speaker 7: John's letter of the Book of the Revelation of Jesus.
Speaker 7: And for Christians, we think of John the Baptizer, who says,
Speaker 7: from God the Father, this is my beloved son, in
Speaker 7: whom I am well pleased. You get that feeling of
Speaker 7: that Jacob Joseph dynamic. And even in the Book of
Speaker 7: Hebrews it says that when Jesus had completed his work
Speaker 7: of redemption on Earth, he returned to the bosom of
Speaker 7: the Father and sat down at the right hand of
Speaker 7: the Majesty on high. We get this, this favor, this motif,
Speaker 7: this typeology, if you will. Now what's tragic is Jacob.
Speaker 7: Jacob grew up in this twisted turmoil of sibling rivalry
Speaker 7: that was really greatly created because of preferential treatment by
Speaker 7: the parents. Isaac loved Esau and his rustic ways, and
Speaker 7: Rebecca loved Jacob. But preferential treatment is going to create
Speaker 7: a whole other level of drama between Jacob and Joseph
Speaker 7: and Joseph's brothers. And it's tragic that Joseph was so
Speaker 7: anointed by God, and the Lord would reveal himself to
Speaker 7: Joseph through these extraordinary dreams, and Joseph could see more
Speaker 7: with his eyes closed than he could when his eyes
Speaker 7: were open. But what's what's so tragic to me is
Speaker 7: his father, Joseph's father, Jacob. Jacob was a dreamer. Jacob
Speaker 7: had placed his head on a hard place and the
Speaker 7: heavens were opened, and he had seen the angelicos of
Speaker 7: heaven ascending and descending. Jacob knew what it was to
Speaker 7: encounter God supernaturally through dreams. And now that his son
Speaker 7: Joseph is experiencing this, you would think that Joseph would
Speaker 7: would would hear his father say to him, Joseph, come
Speaker 7: over here, let me talk to you. Let me help
Speaker 7: you with this, because you are encountering God in a
Speaker 7: supernatural way, son, and if we don't deal with this correctly,
Speaker 7: it can create all kinds of drama in your life
Speaker 7: in this family. So let me tell you what happened
Speaker 7: to me when I had a dream from that never
Speaker 7: it has never happened. I'm going to stop here, and
Speaker 7: this is what I'm going to pray in your life
Speaker 7: as a father, as a mother, I'm praying that the
Speaker 7: Lord is going to provide you. It's going to grant
Speaker 7: you such discernment of what he God is doing in
Speaker 7: your child's life that you'll be able to speak into
Speaker 7: it and be able to say to your son, to
Speaker 7: your daughter, Hey, look, I see what God's doing in
Speaker 7: your life, and it's wonderful, it's marvelous, and I'm so grateful.
Speaker 7: Let's talk about this, and let's pray about this so
Speaker 7: that we move in humility, because Joseph, you're going to
Speaker 7: find out that you can't tell everybody what God says
Speaker 7: to you. Sometimes it's for the sake of intercession. Sometimes
Speaker 7: it's for the sake so you can pray about it
Speaker 7: and pray for your brothers. But the worst thing you
Speaker 7: can do sometimes is to tell your brothers what God
Speaker 7: God is speaking into your own heart. And I'm praying
Speaker 7: for that you right now. Amen.
Speaker 3: Like Joseph, Let's hold on to God's promises, his plans
Speaker 3: often unfolding our deepest struggles, and his voice can come
Speaker 3: in the quiet moments of sleep, whispering truths that are
Speaker 3: waking mind can't always grasp, So keep dreaming, keep leaving,
Speaker 3: keep holding on to the promises of God's blessings for
Speaker 3: his chosen people. He has big plans specifically for you.
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Speaker 1: Steve Katina, Max Bard, Zach Shellabaga and Ben Gammon are
Speaker 1: the executive producers of The Chosen People with the yele Eckstein,
Speaker 1: edited by Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are
Speaker 1: voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan,
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