They hated him [Joseph] even more for his dreams and for his words. Genesis 37:8
Joseph did not say to his brothers, “I had a strange dream last night. I wonder what it means.” He would have said, “God spoke to me last night. He showed me what will come to pass.”
Some think Joseph should have kept his dreams to himself. But Joseph’s dream was the Word of God, not only for himself, but also for the whole family. How could he keep it to himself?
But telling the Word of God was very costly. When Joseph told them the dream, the brothers said: “Are you indeed to reign over us?” (37:8). Never in a thousand years! And yet the whole story is given to show us that the one they despise will become the one on whom their hopes depend. Their lives and their futures will be in the hand of this loved and favored son.
In the same way, there is trouble in the human family. But Christ became one with us. He entered the dysfunctional human family. Like Joseph, He is different from His brothers, and the hope of all His sisters and brothers lies in Him.
Jesus is the One who is loved and favored by God the Father. Jacob put the coat on his son and said to him, “You are the one!” God the Father set the Holy Spirit on His Son and said to Him, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11).
God knows the agony of Jacob whose sons break his heart. He says that He raised children and “they have rebelled against me” (Is. 1:2). And the only hope for these rebellious children is a Son who would be different.
Jesus Christ is that Son! He is the One in whom there is hope for all the others. God the Father points to His Son and says to us today, “I love Him. I am pleased with Him. He will be exalted, and in Him, there is hope for all of you.”
What is your response to Jesus, the favored Son of God?
