Family Trouble

Posted 6/16/2001

Sibling rivalry at its worst! Joseph had 10 older brothers and one younger, but he was dad's favorite. This didn't go over well with the 10, and they made it very clear that they hated him every time they spoke to him. Not to mention he would keep Israel up to speed on all their evil doings.Ge 37:1-4

Sheaves Dream

The first dream Joseph had, and then went to tell his brothers about, was about sheaves. He and his brothers were gathering the wheat into bundles, when his sheaf stood upright, and all theirs payed homage to him. Ge 37:5-7

"Yeah, right!" his brother responded. Like their little brother would ever rule over them. More reason to hate the little jerk. Ge 37:8

Stars Dream

The second dream Joseph had, and then told his brothers about, was one in which the sun, moon, and eleven stars paid homage to him. Ge 37:9

This one obviously had implications beyond his brothers, so he told his dad, too. Israel responded like his 10 older son, not believing Joseph would ever rule over his family. Probably he secretly wanted it to happen, though! Ge 37:10-11

Sold as a Slave

The beginning of his road to becoming a ruler was a strange one. Israel sent Joseph out to check on how his brothers were performing their shepherding duties. They had moved on to a different location, and he found them there. Ge 37:12-17

His brothers were not at all pleased. Here comes the little tattle-tale again to get us in hot water with Dad. They decided to rub him right out of the picture by killing him, but ended up "just" selling him off to slave traders down to Egypt. They tricked Israel with a lie that they'd found Joseph's precious multi-colored coat torn and bloodied in an obvious wild animal attack. Israel was heartbroken, and Jospeh was purchased by Captain Potiphar. Ge 37:18-36

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