Bow Down מִֽשְׁתַּחֲוִ֖ים

We are in chapter 37 of Genesis with our word for today, used 3 times in our chapter. מִֽשְׁתַּחֲוִ֖ים from the root word חָוָה bow down, worship. It is used 170 times in the Old Testament. Most of the time our word is used in the sense of an act of worship to God. A good example would be all the instruction from God not to worship other gods because it is not good for us. God has a protective jealously for us. Exodus 20:5 and Deuteronomy 5:9 You shall not תִשְׁתַּחְוֶ֥֣ה bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me. Deuteronomy 11:16 Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶ֖ם worship them. Judges 2:12 And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲו֖וּ bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger.There are some uses where a person bows down to another person in the sense of respect. Genesis 23:12 Then Abraham וַיִּשְׁתַּ֙חוּ֙ bowed down before the people of the land. Genesis 33:3 He himself went on before them, וַיִּשְׁתַּ֤חוּ bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. This bowing in respect to another person is the same sense that our word is used in our chapter for today. Genesis 37:5-11 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and תִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֖יןָ bowed down to my sheaf.”...Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were מִֽשְׁתַּחֲוִ֖ים bowing down to me.” But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֺ֥תbow ourselves to the ground before you?” And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.And God brought about Joseph’s dream that became reality later. Genesis 42:6 Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brothers came and וַיִּשְׁתַּֽחֲווּ bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. This idea of showing respect is seen in the New Testament. Romans 13:7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Jesus teaches us to have humility and let God be the one who exalts us. Luke 14:8-11 When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” We also see this in Peter’s letter and James. James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. 1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. This is exactly how God raised up Joseph’s life from the pit his brother’s threw him into as we will see in the days to come.