Genesis 37:1-11
Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a
stranger, in the land of Canaan. 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. 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. 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. Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to
his brothers; and they hated him even more. So he said to them,
“Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 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.” 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. Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to
his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the
sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” So he told it to his father and his
brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this
dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed
come to bow down to the earth before you?” And his brothers envied
him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Jacob gave his son a coat of many colors. Tunics in the bible many times were symbols of authority...but this was no ordinary coat...it many colors on it; this symbolizes the nations and tongues of the world...we are a planet of many colors.
Understand that Joseph was called by God to be a Deliverer. There are only a handful of these people in the bible. What I love about this passage is, right after he got the coat...he began to have dreams. Listen, when God places the burden of the nations on you...He'll give you a vision for it!
So, where is the coat that God gave you? Is it hanging in the closet of your religious heart? What about the visions that God gave you? You cannot afford to dismiss them, or He will simply pick someone else. The similarities between Joseph and Jesus are quite astounding.
Just about everything that Joseph went through, Jesus did! He was rejected by His own people...He was cast down...punished for who He was, not what He did. Through the life of Jesus, generations are saved...same is true for Joseph.
This is all nice, but where the point hits home is, that coat has been passed down to you and I...what are we going to do about it? God gave us authority so we can embrace the responsibility before us. He commanded us to go into all the world and make disciples. He also put a vision in our hearts that He longs for us to pursue.
- Pastor Melrose
