Joseph's Life StorySample

Joseph’s brothers try to oppose God’s plans

Joseph’s dreams had made his brothers so angry that they wanted to kill him — not just to stop their father’s favoritism, but also to stop Joseph from telling those dreams and feeling superior to his family. And furthermore, they wanted to make absolutely sure that those strange dreams of Joseph would never come true. Not that they did really believe them, but they’d better be sure!

A similar story is recorded in the book of Samuel, where king Saul is so jealous of a young soldier called David that he tries to kill him. Saul feels threatened, he knows that God has departed from him and fears that David will become king instead. That should not happen! So, although Saul knows perfectly well that David has done nothing wrong, he plots to have him murdered.

These stories show how people’s hatred and jealousy can make them do horrible things. “Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?” (Proverbs 27:4). Jealousy and selfish ambition can go so far that people willingly oppose God’s will and commandments, just to get what they want. Let these stories be a warning for us not to let our hearts be poisoned with this kind of feelings! They will lead us away from God, and lead to our downfall. James 3:14-17 exhort us to fill our hearts with God’s wisdom instead...