A dysfunctional home (family) is – One that is not functioning as God intended.
Signs of Stress in Joseph’s Family • Teenagers “Joseph, a young man of seventeen.” – Genesis 37:2
Signs of Stress in Joseph’s Family • Multiple wives “And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives.” – Genesis 37:2
Signs of Stress in Joseph’s Family • Favoritism “Israel (or Jacob) loved Joseph more than any of the other sons.” – Genesis 37:3
Signs of Stress in Joseph’s Family • Sibling Rivalry (or Hatred) “When his brothers saw that their father loved him (Joseph) more than any of them, they hated him.” – Genesis 37:4
Signs of Stress in Joseph’s Family • Recent (or Constant) Moves “Jacob lived in the land where his father stayed.” – Genesis 37:1
Signs of Stress in Joseph’s Family • Loss of Close Family Members “So Rachel died” – Genesis 35:19
An Indication of EGOTISM in Joseph’s Character
“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.’ His brothers said to him, ‘Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?’ And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.” – Genesis 37:5-8
If God gives you a favored status BE HUMBLE! Don’t flaunt it.
“Listen, I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” – Genesis 37:9
“When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, ‘What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?.....”
“.....His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.”– Genesis 37:10-11
“Go, find your brothers, take them this care package, and see how they’re doing. They’re tending sheep near Shechem .”– Genesis 37:12
An Example of SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS in Joseph’s Father
“Folly (or foolishness) is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.”– Proverbs 22:15
A Warning to Parents: Don’t be naïve about the evil nature in your children
An Incident of HORRID BETRAYAL in Joseph’s Biography
“Here comes that dreamer.”– Genesis 37:19
“Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his loopy dreams.”– Genesis 37:20
“Don’t kill him. Just throw him in this deep cistern. He’ll die and we’ll not have his blood on our hands. After all, he is our brother.”– Genesis 37:22
“As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead.”– Genesis 37:25
“If we kill our brother we get nothing out of it. Let’s sell him as a slave to these traders.”– Genesis 37:26
“Pulled Joseph out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.”– Genesis 37:28
“The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered.”– Genesis 39:2
One Simple Conclusion It’s difficult to be faithful to God if you are reared in a dysfunctional home – BUT IT’S POSSIBLE
Even Bigger Life Lesson It’s Not About Us! God Is Still In Control! Choose Trust Over Fear!
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