,,, the Bible reading for week of May 4-10, 2020: Gen. 36-37

These were the scriptures I liked from this week's Bible reading:

Gen. 37:3 -

Now, Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons because he was the son of his old age, and he had a special robe made for him.

Did Jacob (Israel) elevate Joseph over the other sons? Did this cause jealousy? Yes. Jealous people do dumb things in their jealousy, in fact, verse 4 says "they could not speak peaceably to him."  If we examine Joseph himself, we find that he was a humble person, diligent and hard-working, honest  and, most important, feared Jehovah. He did not allow his father's special attention to cause him to be proud, arrogant and selfish.

Sadly today, some do become self-important when they're given special treatment over their siblings by their parents. It causes that one to be overly haughty, bossy and selfish, believing their desires and needs should be satisfied first before all else. Some have used their special relationship with their parents to benefit themselves at the siblings' expense, such as when discipline is needed (the blame game), or gaining a material advantage (more toys). Jehovah does not like this attitude and continually counsels on the need to examine ourselves and develop humility to please Him, the "examiner of hearts." (Prov. 17:3)
 
Gen. 37:10 -

Then he related it [the second dream] to his father as well as his brothers, and his father rebuked him and said to him: "What is the meaning of this dream of yours? Am I as well as your nother and your brothers really going to come and bow down to the earth to you?"

In verse 11, Joseph's "brothers grew jealous, but his father kept the saying in mind."

Sometimes when people tell us something, that, to us, sounds outrageous and unbelievable, we may think in our head, "Man, he is so egotistical and big-headed!" But, Jacob is a good example: He asked questions. He did not allow anger or jealously to block his thinking, but he kept it in his head. As it turned out, Jehovah cleared up the matter later.

For us today, it's important to be humble when listening to others, not quick to get offended or angry and stop listening to that person. We should think about it and keep it in mind, as Jehovah may provide understanding at a later date. We must remain open-minded about things. We should not adopt the tactic of hearing one thing we don't like and focus so much on it, that we miss the rest of the counsel or discipline we are receiving that will benefit us if we apply it.

I enjoyed the reading this week. In chapter 36, it was a lot of names, but I did see that Esau had three wives, one of which was his cousin, Basemath, the daughter of his uncle, Ishmael. (Gen. 36:3)

Addition made 5/7/20:

Gen. 37:24, 25:

...and they took him and threw him into the waterpit...Then they sat down to eat.

A sister commented on these version, pointing out the brothers' sense of right and wrong were blurred; their conscience was murky. They nonchalantly did wrong, shrugged their shoulders and had their meal. The world today is the same. People do bad, yawn as if it's just another thing to do and carry on with their lives. We cannot be that way. Jehovah teaches us what's right and wrong. When we make a mistake, we feel bad and ask for forgiveness and keep training.

She made a good point. I've had people tell me, "Oh, I feel bad," with a shrug, but they won't do anything to atone for it or to make it right. We need to continue to resist the world's tendency to do wrong like it's just another day at the office. We need to work hard at making Jehovah look upon us with favor and appreciation and to continue to show love for our brothers despite their imperfections.

Enjoy your week's activity and be safe!