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Take 3: Joseph

Do you ever have a conversation then immediately think, "I wish I would've said that?" I feel that way almost every Sunday. So this blog will be a place where I share things that I didn't say in the sermon.

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. spent the last night of his life in room 306 of the Lorraine Motel. Outside that room is a plaque with verses from our story today. Those words are haunting.

Joseph also was a dreamer. He dreams of a future where the family has survived and thrived. In the end, God did something with those dreams. But before that happens, Joseph faces tragedy.

The Wesleyan Bible Commentary says, "The exact meaning of the Hebrew word translated a coat of many colors is uncertain. Some translate it 'a long garment with long sleeves.' One scholar finds in ancient clay tablets a clue which suggests that it was something of a ceremonial robe with costly ornaments of gold sewed into it. In any event, it was the distinctive garment of royalty."

The only other mention I found of an ornate robe is in 2 Samuel 13:18. There Tamar "was wearing an ornate robe, for this was the kind of garment the virgin daughters of the king wore."

If this robe represents royalty, then it foreshadows the end where Joseph basically is royalty.

The thing we know for sure is that this robe marks Joseph as different from his brothers, and the coat is probably fancy.

In Joseph's dream, he sees wheat. Most people focus on the brothers bowing down. But wheat actually is how Joseph is going to rise into power. Also, this dream is not fanciful imagination. The dream reveals part of what is to come.

Joseph doesn't know where this is headed yet. As readers, we don't know where the story is headed yet, but we know the brothers' jealousy is real. And in their limited perspective, they've had enough.

So they plan to sell Joseph into slavery. The irony is that this horrible event is an important step that leads to Joseph's dreams being fulfilled. 

The life of Joseph has tragedy, betrayal, deception, and false accusations. But even with those things happening God is at work. That's what makes this a story of hope for those grasping for God's hand in the dark.  


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