“Bowed Down to My Bundle” (Gen 37)

(vs5-8) And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding bundles in the field, and, lo, my bundle arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your bundles stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us?

We shall bow to the Lord Jesus, the Son of God. He accomplished redemption, and God decreed from eternity past, that His Son would get all glory, being worthy of absolute dominion and allegiance.

First, the Lord must be surrendered unto (vs6-8). He is not Lord in theory but in practice. We read, “For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf” (vs7). He is the One that tells us what to do, and no man can bow to Him, except by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:3). The commands are too radical and too new. We cannot love, but by the grace of God. Yet, God had ordained that we will bow to Him, being His brethren, chosen before hand by God.

Secondly, we bow because He is worthy (vs13-17). He accomplished redemption and fully atoned God's elect for their sins. He made a way for God to be holy and yet merciful by His own obedience, whereby He honored God in every way. We read of Joseph, “Then [Jacob] said to him, Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me. So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem... So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan”. Therefore, to show the character of God in rewarding the righteous and giving grace to sinners, the Lord sits enthroned. We know everything about God by whom He's chosen to exalt.

Thirdly, great love gave the Son for you (vs34-35). We read, “Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, For I shall go down into the grace to my son in mourning. This his father wept for him”. Just as Jacob suffers the loss of Joseph, the Lord LOVED the Son so much, but He spared Him not for you. Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” He counted us worth Christ dying in our place. So, we are loved and reconciled, and His Son's blood is the proof.

Do not fear that you can't obey. Don't think that you're forsaken. You may have made a mess of things, but SO GREAT of love CANNOT forsake you. Lean on Him. You may have no strength, but SO GREAT of love CANNOT deny grace.