Joseph And His Brothers

Introduction

Genesis Genesis 37:1–38:30—Joseph and His Brothers

“Felt weakness deepens dependence on Christ for strength each day. The weaker we feel, the harder we lean. And the harder we lean, the stronger we grow spiritually, even while our bodies waste away.”

J. I. Packer

Favoritism is the worst isn't it?! It's probably the worst feeling when you feel like your friends prefer someone else over you. Or maybe you feel like your sister got something that you should have had. Were your parents played favorites with you and your brother got to do the fun thing and you didn't get to go get pizza. It hurts when you feel like you aren't being treated fairly.

A famous leader in the country of India by the name of Mahatma Gandhi once spent a while studying the Bible. He was fascinated by the teaching of Jesus because of all the wonderful things that Jesus said about loving other people from the heart. And he felt like Christianity really might solve a huge problem in India!

You see in India they had what was known as the cast system for hundreds of years. The cast system meant that you were born to a certain group of people and you could never be better or worse then the group of people you were born to. There was a whole cast of people that were born to be leaders and rulers of the country and wealthy people and if you were born to that cash you were lucky. And then there was a whole nother cast of people who were born to pick up trash and to be beggars and to depend on other people they were less important people simply because of what family they were born to.

You can probably imagine this felt unfair to the people who were born to a lower caste this was terrible because everyone looked down on each other in a cast system. And so Matt hota Gandhi hoped when he saw Christianity that maybe if he believed in Jesus and taught other people to believe in Jesus he could get rid of or remove the cast systems. New paragraph so much Hotmail Gandhi went to church one Sunday and he tried to sit down but someone stopped him. Someone told him you can't sit there you can't come here go and worship with your own people. He left the church and never came back again.

Later on Mahatma Gandhi wrote that if Christians have cast differences also, I might as well remained a Hindu.

So here's the question for us to wrestle with today how do we act towards those who are different or are placed in an awkward place by others? Or how do we act towards those who have been blessed by God and unique ways that require us to submit to their leadership? How do we react to people above and below us do people different from us?

This is some of what Joseph and his brothers struggled with in our stories today in our chapters today. New paragraph I hope you see through this story that even in a time full of jealousy hatred greed and selfishness God is still at work. So if you ever find yourself the victim of someone else's jealousy or their favoritism that they're showing at your expense know that God is never surprised and he's always there for you.

Favoritism is Wrong and Especially Harmful in the family.

Genesis 37:1–4 ESV

1 Jacob lived in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan. 2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

So as we begin genesis chapter 37 this first verse tells us that Jacob lived where his father lived but it also points forward to the reality that he would not necessarily stay there. This one verse sets the stage for the story of Joseph. Or rather these two verses.

Genesis 15:13 ESV

13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.

One other thing to note in verse 2 is this phrase these are the generations of Jacob or this is the account of Jacob it's the last of 10 sections in the book of genesis called tola dots. In this final story we'll hear the story of Jacob and his sons.

Genesis 37:2 ESV

2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father.

So as we look at this passage we see that Joseph spots his brothers doing something wrong how many of you have spotted your sibling doing something wrong? Joseph is Brennan ham with his older brothers and sees them doing something wrong and immediately goes to telling them he tattles on them. So it never really goes well when you tell on your sibling does it? But in this case we know that Jacob is actually playing favorites too

Genesis 37:3 ESV

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors.

Telling on your siblings may not go over well. It may not make you the favorite brother or sister in that favorite brother or sister contest if there were such a contest. But what really makes things tough in the family is when parents play favorites right? Most of the time parents do their best to love and treat both of their children the same. And occasionally it may look like one child or another is getting treated special. And for those of you children who are growing up right now always remember that a your parents aren't perfect. We sometimes make mistakes. And B loving each of you the same means loving you differently sometimes. I've got one daughter that loves doing mountain biking and ballet so loving her means helping her with her bike or waiting for years in line to pick up ballerina tickets. I have another daughter who likes volleyball and soccer and loving her means endless days at practices and games and more. It may look differently but I love my kids the same.

Jacob's father wasn't doing that. He gave him a special gift to let him know that he was favorite.

Now we are told that this is a robe of many colors. What you need to realize when you think about the kind of clothes that people wore back then is that it was actually quite difficult to have many colors on your clothing. There were not a lot of options and they didn't have all the dyes that we have that allow us to get a clear white or blue or red the many colors you see on people's outfits around you are because of modern technology. And so it took a lot of work to create a color or rather a coat of many colors. And so Jacob gave his son his favorite son Joseph this multi colored coat

Understandably

Genesis 37:4 ESV

4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

Joseph Has a Dream and it Doesn’t Go Well

Now you might think that Joseph and his parents would realize how bad the situation was and try to do something to make things better. We don't really know what they did or did not do but we do know that God gave Joseph a dream. And we do know that throughout the Bible God sometimes talks to people in dreams.

Genesis 37:5–8 ESV

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.

Even before we get the content of the dream we know that it did not go over well. They did not think this was inspiration from God. They were pretty sure this was a spoiled kid making up something.

And if you were one of Joseph's brothers or really anyone in the household this would have been a perfectly understandable conclusion. Joseph told on his Brothers. And this is not just a matter of joseph having one or two brothers and Jacob kind of preferring him over his other brothers Joseph had a lot of brothers 11 of them I think or nine of them and he was their dad's favorite. So it makes sense that he would have a dream or claimed to have a dream where everyone bows down to him. But then again we know that it actually happens .

Genesis 37:9–11 ESV

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.

So God gives Joseph a second dream. And when he tells it to his family he gets 2 reactions. His father rebuked him and his brothers get even more jealous of him period. But did you notice the end of verse 11? Joseph's father Jacob knew that God did communicate through dreams. If you remember God spoke to Jacob in dreams and what God said in the dream came true.

God had a specific thing in store for Joseph. God had plans for how he was going to use this young man and no one understood or could have imagined the path that God was going to take Joseph on.

I think one thing we should notice in this passage is the fact that Jacob failed to deal with the obvious jealousy between the brothers. Because he failed here he virtually lost one of his sons for years. Because he failed to deal with jealousy his sons nearly killed one another. But it's fascinating in this passage to see how God still worked to accomplish what he wanted to do despite the Dad Jacob dropping the ball.

God is more than able to guide and lead even when we fail as parents

Joseph’s Journey Into Slavery

OK before we get into this next section I want to tell you kids that just because this worked out for jacob's brothers it doesn't mean this is a valid way to get rid of your sibling when you decide you don't like him or her. I know how brothers think sometimes you're thinking hmm how could I get rid of this sibling that annoys me so much. Just because selling Joseph into slavery actually saved the whole family doesn't mean it's a valid way to get rid of your sibling when they annoy you.

Genesis 37:12–17 ESV

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.

So we know that Jacob lives in a place called Hebron at the time period and he sends his son to the fields near shechem to see how the brothers and the flocks are doing. This is actually around 60 miles away from Hebron. The crazy thing is this is about the distance between here and Indianapolis right. The difference is Joseph could probably travel a little bit faster than walking. 60 miles wasn't something that you drove to Indianapolis and back in the same day like Ashley and the girls did on Thursday. 60 miles was a three day journey you took and then you traveled three days back.

So Joseph traveled and he discovered that his brothers had moved on and so he continued another 15 miles to find where his brothers were at

Genesis 37:18–22 ESV

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.

So the ten brothers see Joseph walking up. Benjamin is still back at the camp. And they referred to him as this dreamer. And they realize sometimes dreams come true so they needed to do something to deal with the problem that was Joseph. Some of the brothers wanted to kill Joseph and throw him into a pit. But jacob's first born son Ruben has second thoughts. He planned to rescue his brother later. There's a good chance that he did not do this out of love for Joseph but because he wanted to make restitution for how he had offended his dad earlier. Either way that plan did not workout..

Genesis 37:23–27 ESV

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. 25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him.

So they take Joseph and throw him in the pit. But then they see an opportunity. You see these were traitors traveling through the area and they sell an opportunity both to get rid of their brother and to make some money at the same time.

Genesis 37:28 ESV

28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.

Genesis 37:29–33 ESV

29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes 30 and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?” 31 Then they took Joseph’s robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son’s robe or not.” 33 And he identified it and said, “It is my son’s robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.”

Sadly and finally the deceiver is now deceived.

Genesis 37:34–35 ESV

34 Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.

Genesis 37:36 ESV

36 Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.

Judah and Tamar

Genesis 38 ESV

1 It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 2 There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her and went in to her, 3 and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. 4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. 5 Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. Judah was in Chezib when she bore him. 6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death. 8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother’s wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother. 10 And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also. 11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house, till Shelah my son grows up”—for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained in her father’s house. 12 In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died. When Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And when Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” 14 she took off her widow’s garments and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 16 He turned to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” 17 He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” And she said, “If you give me a pledge, until you send it—” 18 He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, “Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. 19 Then she arose and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood. 20 When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman’s hand, he did not find her. 21 And he asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim at the roadside?” And they said, “No cult prostitute has been here.” 22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I have not found her. Also, the men of the place said, ‘No cult prostitute has been here.’ ” 23 And Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her.” 24 About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.” 25 As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.” And she said, “Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.” 26 Then Judah identified them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again. 27 When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb. 28 And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called Perez. 30 Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.

So why is this chapter stuck in between the story of Joseph being taken into slavery and the rest of the story of Joseph in Egypt? It’s a chapter full of the effects of sin and it seems out of place.

This chapter is important because it shows just how much God needed to move His people out of Canaan for a time to develop their own culture and identity. Sin was so rampant and tempting that extracting Israel to Egypt actually saved them.

Conclusion

Genesis III. Conclusion: “To the Third and Fourth Generation”

Max Jukes did not believe in Christ or in Christian training. He refused to take his children to church, even when they asked to go. He has had 1,026 descendants: 300 were sent to prison for an average term of thirteen years; 190 were public prostitutes; 680 were admitted alcoholics. His family, thus far, has cost the government more than $420,000. They made no contribution to society Jonathan Edwards lived at the same time as Jukes. He loved the Lord and saw that his children were in church every Sunday, as he served the Lord to the best of his ability. He has had 929 descendants: 430 were ministers; 86 became university professors; 13 became university presidents, 75 authored books; 7 were elected to the United States Congress; 1 was vice president of his nation. His family never cost the government one cent but has contributed immeasurably to the life of plenty in this land.

Jacob’s family faced the threat of being assimilated into the ungodly culture around them. God protected them by removing them from that culture.

We need to remember that God can use any circumstance for our good.

Romans 8:28 ESV

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Here are a few applications from this sermon:

Genesis Applications

• Be like Joseph and allow God to speak to you in any manner he chooses. sin

• Don’t look to your ordinary dreams for God’s revelation; look to the Word of God.

• Learn to trust God, in spite of acts of jealousy and cruelty from others.

• Don’t be like the deceiving Jacob, who was eventually deceived by his own family.

• Don’t be envious. Envy is a that breeds terrible actions.

We also must recognize that God has the right to choose who he wants to be a leader and sometimes He chooses what looks like odd people: A pastoral search committee once put out this fictional letter. They were looking for a new pastor and they said this:

Genesis IV. Life Application: Recognizing God’s Leader

Dear Church Member,

In our search for a suitable pastor, the following scratch sheet was developed for your perusal. Of the candidates investigated by the committee, only one was found to have the necessary qualities. The list contains the names of the candidates and comments on each, should you be interested in investigating them further for future pastoral placements.

Noah: Former pastorate of 120 years with not even one convert. Prone to unrealistic building projects.

Joseph: A big thinker, but a braggart, believes in dream-interpreting, and has a prison record.

Moses: A modest and meek man, but a poor communicator, even stutters at times. Sometimes blows his stack and acts rashly. Some say he left an earlier church over a murder charge.

Abraham: He took off to Egypt during hard times. We heard that he got into trouble with the authorities and then tried to lie his way out.

David: The most promising leader of all until we discovered the affair he had with his neighbor’s wife.

Solomon: He has a reputation for wisdom but fails to practice what he preaches.

Elijah: He proved to be inconsistent, and is known to fold under pressure.

Hosea: A tender and loving pastor, but our people could never handle his wife’s occupation. His family life is in shambles. Divorced and remarried to a prostitute.

Jonah: Refused God’s call into ministry until he was forced to obey by getting swallowed by a great fish. He told us the fish spit him out on the shore near here. We hung up.

Jeremiah: He is too emotional, alarmist; some say a real “pain in the neck.”

Amos: Comes from a farming background. Better off picking figs.

John: Says he is a Baptist but definitely doesn’t dress like one. Would not feel comfortable at a church potluck supper because of his weird diet. Often provokes denominational leaders.

Peter: Has a bad temper, even has been known to curse. Had a big run-in with Paul in Antioch. Aggressive, but a loose cannon.

Paul: We found him to lack tact. He is too harsh, his appearance is contemptible, and he preaches far too long.

Timothy: He has potential but is much too young for the position.

Jesus: He tends to offend church members with his preaching, especially Bible scholars. He is also too controversial. Has had some popular appeal, but once his church grew to five thousand, he managed to offend them all, and then it dwindled down to twelve people. He even offended the search committee with his pointed questions. Seldom stays in one place for long. And, of course, he’s single.

Judas: He seemed to be very practical, cooperative, good with money, cares for the poor, and dresses well. We all agreed that he is just the man we are looking for to fill the vacancy as our senior pastor.

Thank you for all you have done in assisting us with our pastoral search.

Sincerely,

The Pastoral Search Committee

When it comes to trust in God we can misunderstand his choices and how he chooses to lead and who he chooses to use. God calls us to look for character and to use wisdom. God calls us to look to him for guidance as we look for leaders. God can use quite odd people sometimes to accomplish his great purposes.