Genesis 37:1-11

Introduction

Genesis 12-50 there are four high points: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.

This evening, we are beginning a journey on the life of Joseph.

The Messianic line runs through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob but not Joseph. The line continues through Judah, Joseph’s older brother.

Yet - “The story of Joseph is by far the longest and most masterful narrative in Genesis.” Kent Hughes.

Joseph is “a hero for the ages.” Kent Hughes

He had one bad event after another occur in his life, until God raised him up to a place but geographically and politically, to rescue his family. He brings them to Egypt as promised by God where the family transforms into a nation.

Ultimately, the story of Joseph is about God working His will through the everyday events of life.” Kent Hughes

Two verses that epitomize Joseph's life:

Isaiah 40:31 “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings as eagles; They shall run, and not be weary; And they shall walk, and not faint.”

Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

“Many commentators have considered Joseph to be an almost perfect type of Christ. Though a number of…parallels can can be noted, it should not be forgotten that the New Testament nowhere speaks of Joseph as a type of Christ. IN view of the dangers inherent in allegorical typological interpretations, it is generally safest to avoid spiritualizing, allegorizing, and typological interpretations in general except where there is explicit Biblical warrant.” Henry Morris

Joseph’s story starts with” “These are the genera of Jacob.” Genesis 37:2 “These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.”

The phrase “These are the generations” speaks more of a shift in topic and a story to be told than a genealogical record.

Genesis 5:1 “This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;”

“The book of the generations of Adam” is more than Adam’s family tree, a story is being told.

two of the stories being told is how we got from Adam to Noah and how we got from:

Genesis 4:26 “And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.”

Genesis 6:5 “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Genesis is a historical narrative book. Meaning, the primary purpose of Genesis is to tell a story. Each topic and scenes within the topic were carefully chosen by God to convey an historical account that is important to the overall theme of Genesis and the Bible.

Time - 2 yeas after Rebecca had died.

Conflict

A broken relationship between him and his brothers

Rise of action -

Sold him

Imprisoned

Climax - Pharaoh’s dream

Falling action - Rescue of Joseph’s family

Resolution - You meant it for evil and God meant it for good.

As much as I can, I plan to follow this model in better understanding each scene. Afterwards, we can draw conclusions from our understanding.

The Model

Time

Joseph is 17 years old

Jacob is 108 years old, with 39 years left.

Conflict - Joseph’s brothers hated him

There were three additives to this conflict:

Joseph was a tattler - Genesis 37:2 “These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.”

Genesis 37:2 “These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.”

“Report” - The word “report” in scripture is used negatively about an untrue,

Report

Numbers 13:32 “And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.”

Slander

Numbers 14:36 “And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land,”

Infamy

Defaming

Joseph was loved more than his other siblings - Genesis 37:3-4 “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.”

Joseph was a dreamer.

Rising action - Joseph had a dream

Climax - He discusses the dream with his brothers and father

Falling action

His brothers hated him even more

His father rebuked him

Resolution

His brothers envied him

His father observed

Lessons

Pride

He tells his brothers and father the content of the dream

Genesis 37:5-7 “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 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.”

Genesis 37:9 “And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.”

The significance of two dreams - Genesis 41:32 “And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.”

Based upon his evil brothers and father’s understanding of the dream, seems likely that Joseph also understood the dream.

Read tea leaves

Not be partisan with your love towards children, or other areas of life.

This was a generational problem:

Isaac loved Esau more than Jacob

Rebekah loved Jacob more than Esau.

Genesis 37:3 “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.”

This resulted in his brothers hating him even more

Genesis 37:4 “And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.”

The idea behind could not speak peaceably is “they would not abide his friendly speech” - “They rebuffed his every attempt to be friendly.” Kent Hughes

Ephesians 6:4 “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

Jacob says: Genesis 37:10 “And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?”

Joseph's mother had already died.

Someone needed to take care of Benjamin.

The answer was Leah.

Even though Joseph and Benjamin were not her kids, after the death of Rachel, she took care of and loved her children.