Lesson 79: Jealous Brothers and Joseph: What to do? Genesis 37:5- 28

Building Up a Wall Among Brothers 37:5-11

English Standard Version (Chapter 37)

... they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed:

7 Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

9 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 bowing down to me.” 10 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 bow ourselves to the ground before you?”

11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

Jealousy and envy can make men do some seriously bad things. Take the case of Jesus Christ. It was one of the things that put Him on the cross. Mark 15:9- 11 says

English Standard Version (Chapter 15)

9 And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead.

We see the same verse in the book of Matthew, chapter 27. It was apparent to Pontius Pilate that envy was the very reason why Jesus was standing there in judgement. It was a clear case of betrayal by familiarity. Yes, the Pharisees were familiar with Jesus but they did not know Him spiritually. Joseph’s brothers were familiar with him but they did not know much about him. Pilate gets more mentions in history than any other governor because of his part in the life and death of Jesus Christ. Personally, we know nothing about him except he could perceive the hatred flowing through people’s hearts.

Think back just a little bit. The brothers of Joseph were from other mothers who had children by Jacob. Those women being Leah, Bilhah, and Zilpah. Since Rachel was the favorite, much loved wife, Joseph got preferential treatment as her son and the treatment got rubbed in. He could do no wrong. It was rubbed in the faces of the brothers by the favored coat of many colors that let everyone know he was the choice son above all. they could see that “blankety- blank” coat every time he paraded it in front of them. The coat basically made him the overseer of the brothers and much of the family business of cattle. Wow. Tension!

Joseph not only had help in being the favorite child. I don’t think he needed a lot of help because he talked the talk also. He let them know he was on top. Just sayin’… One of the avenues of conversation that Joseph told his brothers was a dream he had that they could surely understand: agriculture. Their sheaves bowed down to his sheaf. The brothers got a clear message that they would become his servants and that he would reign over them and have dominion over their lives. They hated him even more after this dream.

Then a second dream where the sun, mon, and 11 stars would fall prostrate before him. The brothers knew what he was talking about because Joseph had 11 brothers or stars. This time even Jacob felt like him and Rachel were the sun and the moon in this dream, so he rebuked Joseph for even saying this thing. It is like him saying, “you think that your mother and I and your family are going to fall down and worship you? You have got to be kidding!” Once again, the brothers envied him more but Jacob finally took notice. He filed this one in the back of his mind and said this is important for the future.

Checking out the flocks in Shechem. 37:12- 17

English Standard Version (Chapter 37)

12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.”

14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?”

16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

In spite of Joseph’s unpopularity with his brothers, Jacob sends Joseph to kind of spy on the brothers and give him a report on how it went. They had taken the flock to Shechem and one might even think he is not trusting of them to do the right thing in taking care of the flock. When the brothers find out he is coming to check on them, they are not going to be happy. It seems, Joseph gets lost and is wandering in the fields and a man spots him and helps him find his brothers. It seems they have gone all the way to Dothan. Not to be confused with Dothan, Alabama. That would be a bit too far. let’s look in on what the consensus is among the brothers. Chapter 37:18- 24

English Standard Version (Chapter 37)

18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer.

20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.”

22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore.

24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

This is where their angst against the young man was at it’s peak. They conspired to kill him. Brother killing brother. Wow. What a shame! They were going to kill him and throw him into a pit so there would be no trace and no special victims/investigative units in the area. The plan was to say a fierce animal had destroyed him. Then they would muse “we can hardly wonder what is going to happen to his crazy dreams now!”

Thanks goodness, the oldest, Reuben, rescued the boy out of their hands and told them they could not do it. He proclaimed “Shed no blood.” And, “don’t lay a hand on him.” In other words, you cannot beat him up either. But the brothers grabbed Joseph, tore off his coat of technicolor dreams, and threw him into a pit. As a side note, the pit was empty, and there was no water in it so he could not drown.

Reuben was an instrument of God in preserving Joseph’s life, bu the real hero is god himself:

Genesis—Beginning and Blessing (God Seals Joseph’s Rejection (vv. 5–11))

The hand of God was everywhere in this sweeping narrative as it orchestrated the creation of a preserver of his people. God’s hidden hand had its subtle way amidst the morass of human sin. Young Joseph’s “bad report” set him at odds with his brothers. Jacob’s entrenched favoritism of Joseph further incurred his sons’ resentment and rejection of Joseph. God’s visible fingerprints were seen in the substance and choreography of Joseph’s two dreams. Their origin and meaning came from God’s pleasure. God sovereignly sealed and insured the rejection of young Joseph. Human sin and divine revelation were made to do his good work

The story is not over and neither is it lacking as reap the benefits of knowing the Lord will always have His final say, even though it may appear He has not seen nor heard what is about to happen. Neither do the boys realize that the tables will not only turned against them but in reality, for them. It will be “for them” in the preservation of a family through a faithful son. Next week, the drama continues with what appears to be bloodshed? Join us!