Genesis 37:5-7, Pondering

“Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had:  We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”

In Luke 2:18 we are told “Mary pondered these things in her heart”. Good advice for Joseph, son of Jacob.

Mary correctly understood that nobody would really appreciate what the angel of the Lord had just told her about bearing Jesus. Some things are best left unsaid. Occasionally our ego gets in the way and we just have to tell somebody. So, when you’re the youngest child and you have a dream that you will rule over all your siblings…the siblings need to hear it.

I get it…

But, siblings don’t always take the news well…and Joseph paid for his indiscretion. If we aren’t careful we want to look at this as nothing more than the seminal event in the life story of a great Pharaoh who personally rescued Israel from famine. After all, Joseph simply relayed what God had told him. He wasn’t responsible for his brothers’ reaction.

I’m more inclined to see this as a human failure that God turned into a great victory.

We can let our egos get the best of us…and hope God picks up the pieces of our broken lives. Some of us are living in that metaphorical pit right now. Or, we can spend a little more time “pondering“. It worked for Mary. She was never thrown in a pit. She was never sold as a slave. She was never cast into prison.

Live boldly out there today…