Seen From a Distance

What do you need to see or hear that reveals the condition of your heart? Across some fields comes that multi-coloured coat. The brothers see him long before he sees them. They have time to prepare and to choose their response. Or they have time to plot. The dreamer was still in the fields when they’d already decided his fate.

“Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, ¹³ and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.” “Very well,” he replied. ¹⁴ So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived at Shechem, ¹⁵ a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?” ¹⁶ He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?” ¹⁷ “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. ¹⁸ But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.” (Genesis 37 v 12-18)

They saw him from afar. He was on his own, away from the protection of his father and alone in the fields, coming ever closer to them. The jealous brothers didn’t take long once they saw the distant figure. They plotted to kill him.

What or who can you see in the distance that would make your fists clench?

Joseph, with his coloured coat, was an easy target. They didn’t see that he was carrying his father’s love for them. This was another provocation, but this time he was entering their space without his father’s protection.

Have you interpreted your vision correctly? Even if you have, are you in the right place to receive it? Jealousy distorts, insecurity makes everything feel like a threat, and unresolved wounds can make you the one who harms.

If we don’t have transformed hearts, then we will mishandle the opportunities presented to us.

Who will you be when that person comes onto your horizon?