# 334 Bow Now Or Later, But You Will Bow

The Book of Genesis

Day 334

Ge 37:1 Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.  2 This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.  3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors.  4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.  5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more.  6 So he said to them, "Please hear this dream which I have dreamed:  7 "There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf."  8 And his brothers said to him, "Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?" So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

We pick up the story of Joseph when he was 17 years old. By today’s standards, that makes him a junior in high school, making plans for a career track and visiting colleges to make his chosen field a reality.

He was the second youngest child in a very dysfunctional family. It’s important to remember the history of this family as we go deeper into the story. Rachel and Leah had battled for the affection of Jacob by trying to produce offspring for him, even utilizing their personal maids as surrogate mothers. This rivalry under one roof, was intense, and don’t think for a moment that the children weren’t aware of it. This family was the Brady Bunch gone bad……very bad!.

To make it worse, Jacob made it no secret who his favorite child was. Every time Joseph got dressed to go outside, he was wearing this “standout” coat of many colors. It was like a flashing neon billboard, “Look at me! I’m dad’s favorite!”

Add to that, his “goody two shoes” persona that is mentioned here  when he ratted out Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher, for something they did, and you can see the hatred building in his siblings.

They hated Joseph and could not speak “peaceably” to him. Shalom was not in their vocabulary as it concerned Joseph.  Joseph, seems  oblivious to it all, and with a Steve Urkel like lack of tact, blurts out a dream he had concerning his relationship with his brothers.

He says, “Hey guys, check this out, I dreamt that we were all out in a field binding sheaves, and all of your sheaves bowed down to my sheaf! Pretty cool, huh?  Yeah, real cool Joseph,  and the brothers hated him even more for his dreams and his words.

My first thought when I hear the particulars of this dream takes me to Php 2:10, “ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,”

Tell that to a scoffer sometime and see what happens. Tell them that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven (Jn 14:6) and that one day they will bow to Him and acknowledge Him as Lord.  

This is not a dream! It is truth that is forever preserved for us in Scripture. Bow now and be with Him in Paradise, reject Him, and your last act before being sent to the pit of hell will be to bow to Him.