阅读经文 

雅各在神的应许之地定居下来，这时他的家庭内部矛盾开始加剧。拉结，约瑟的母亲一直是雅各最爱的妻子。（参创 29:30）而这种偏爱现在开始影响下一代。约瑟是新的宠儿。他的梦显出他的傲慢，这不仅激怒了他的哥哥们，也激怒了他的父亲。这种刺激后来在家庭中造成了悲惨的后果。

有时候，当我们以为自己安定下来，开始在神面前成长的时候，过去的罪又会重现。也许我们以为自己已经忘记了婚姻中的挣扎，与同事愤怒的争吵，或上瘾的问题。我们被神的灵在我们生命中的工作所鼓舞。然而我们发现，我们仍会有挣扎和受试探的时刻，有时候我们会回到原来犯过的罪当中。 

圣经并不是要讲已经“达到”与神同行境界的属灵伟人的故事，而是要讲神的故事，祂在人们生命中工作，救赎他们，因基督的缘故使他们得以完全。 

更重要的是，我们的救主明白我们所有的试探和挣扎。（参来 4:15）神会继续祂对雅各的救赎之工，也会继续祂对你我的救赎之工。 

As he settled down in the land God had promised, Jacob's struggles within his own family intensified. Rachel, Joseph's mother, had always been Jacob's favorite wife .(see Genesis 29:30)And that favoritism now began to affect the next generation. Joseph is the new favorite, and his dreams reveal an arrogance that irritates not only his brothers but his father as well. This irritation would later bear tragic fruit in the family. 

Sometimes our past sins reappear just when we think we have begun to settle and grow in our life before God. Perhaps we thought we had left behind our marriage struggles, our angry exchanges with a coworker, or our struggles with addiction. We have been encouraged by the work of God's Spirit in our life. Yet we discover that we still have moments of struggle and temptation, and we sometimes return to the same old sins in our lives. 

The Bible is not a story about spiritual superheroes who have "arrived" in their walk with God. It is God's story of working in people's lives, redeeming and restoring them to wholeness for the sake of Christ. 

What's more, we have a Savior who understands all our temptations and struggles. (see Hebrews 4:15).God would continue to work for Jacob's redemption, and he will continue to work for our salvation as well.