Ascending Together

Whenever there are favorites shown in a family, it usually creates trouble.  Jacob should have seen this coming as he must have remembered being his mother’s favorite while his brother Esau was his father’s preferred son.  These two brothers, even though they were twins, didn’t end up with a close relationship.

Now it has become clear that Joseph is Jacob’s favorite.  This is likely because Joseph was the only son (for at least a decade before Benjamin was born) of Jacob’s favorite wife Rachel.  His other sons were from his other wife Leah or from Rachel or Leah’s slave women Bilhah and Zilpah.

So the favoritism migrates among generations and sows seeds of resentment among Joseph’s siblings.  It doesn’t help that Joseph dreams of his older brothers serving him.  Eventually, Joseph did learn wisdom from this such as the lesson, “It may not be a good idea to tell your older brothers about your dreams where they become subservient to you.”

The brothers end up selling Joseph to some passing Ishmaelites (who would likely have been their 2^nd cousins).  This is how Joseph ends up in Egypt and the story is found in this Sunday’s passage, Genesis 37:1-28. 

Have you ever wanted to sell your siblings?  Usually, it may be the elder siblings seeking to sell the younger – and I say this as a younger brother!  Often, the older siblings are given responsibility for the younger.  The dynamics in these relationships can lead to life-long friendships between siblings.  They can also lead to more complicated interactions which play out across a lifetime.  In some cases, you may have asked yourself, “How many times am I expected to forgive my sibling for the same behavior?”

This Sunday, I will be preaching the sermon entitled, “Selling Your Siblings” in the sanctuary.  I hope you will join us for worship!

If you missed Sunday’s sermon, you can find it here: https://youtu.be/WLo62HA2E80.