Hated part 2

Introduction

When I first met Kyle, I didn’t like him...

For me, I typically dislike another person based on my own prejudgments about a person, sometimes it’s because there’s just something about them that annoys me, or sometimes it’s because that person has hurt me in some way.

What I’ve found in my life is that when these feelings fester, they become bitterness towards that person that can lead to a multitude of other sins.

It’s why I thank God for text of Scripture like these:

Hebrews 12:15 ESV

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;

Titus 3:3–7 ESV

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Both of these passages would have be very helpful to Jacob’s sons in their interactions with their younger brother, Joseph.

Last week we saw two reason’s Joseph’s brothers hated him:

He gave a bad report to his father about four of them;

He was favored by his father and given a royal robe to show his special status, despite being one of the youngest sons.

This week we are going to see more of their reasons for hating him, but also what that unchecked hatred resulted in. In seeing this, we will find at least four timeless truths that will help us honor Christ in our walk and not grow those roots of bitterness when it comes to others.

Body

Verses 5-11

We discover the third reason why Joseph’s brother’s hate him: his dreams.

Both of these dreams have the same basic point: Joseph’s family will someday bow down to him.

The sheaves are interesting in that it would be the need for grain that would send the brothers to him in Egypt later on in life.

In the second dream, Jacob is represented as the sun, either Leah or Bilhah as the moon (since Rachel was dead), and the brothers as the stars. In essence, just as the sun, moon and stars are predominate in the sky, so Joseph would one day be the most predominate member of the family.

Why the brothers hate him for these dreams is obvious: they can’t stand the thought that their younger brother would have authority over them.

Interesting question for them: either these dreams were of God or they weren’t.

If they weren’t of God, but just the dreams of a younger sibling, then why get worked up about it? Who cares what a younger sibling thinks about himself?

My silly dreams when I was young...

Remember, Joseph was seventeen, so his brothers were adults at this point...

If they are of God, then it’s God that the brother’s are truly mad at. Joseph just faces their malice because they hate God’s decree.

It’s often said that Joseph is bragging here. Or, at least, he is naive. I disagree with both points of view.

Joseph is receiving a vision of the future from God. Thus, he’s fulfilling the role of a OT prophet.

The responsibility of God’s prophets are always to share the words of God with God’s people.

In essence, this is actually an opportunity for Joseph’s brothers to align their lives with the purposes of God.

Thus, when they are eventually bowing down before God, it’s not like God didn’t tell them it would come to this.

Additionally, though it was God’s sovereign will that Joseph would be in Egypt, the brothers cannot blame God for their actions. God would have gotten Joseph to Egypt in some form or fashion. The brothers’ sinfulness became a means to bring that about. And yet, it wasn’t God’s will for them to treat Joseph in this manner.

Finally, we see the roots of their hatred for Joseph is bitterness that lead to jealousy then to envy and will eventually become malice, which leads to violence.

Ultimately, Joseph’s brothers envy him. They envy his position with his father and they envy his position with God.

Within Joseph’s vision they had the opportunity to reject their personal envy and recognize that God had a special plan for their brother. They rejected this and thus they commit a heinous act against their own brother.

Verses 12-17

While this paragraph might seem like unimportant travel information, we can glean a few things from it:

The brothers traveling to Shechem then to Dothan, some 50 miles from their home in the Valley of Hebron, tells us that there either was a time of famine going on, or the brothers were up to no good in Shechem and/or Dothan.

Shechem is important because a few years earlier, the brothers killed many of the men of Shechem when their king’s son raped their sister, Dinah, and took her into his home as his wife, against her will.

The brothers would convince the king, Hamor and his son, Shechem, to get circumcised as well as all the men of the town. While they were healing, the brothers killed all of them and plundered the city.

So, the fact that they were willing to go there tells us that the people will still frightened of them.

Additionally, Jacob was either unaware of the danger he was putting Joseph in, or naively thought better of his sons than they deserved.

Finally, it would have taken Joseph three to five days to travel this far from home to find his brothers. We are reminded here about Joseph’s character: he was diligent to do the task required of him and honored his father’s request.

Joseph is not seen here as a snotty tattle-tell who arrogantly self-reports of how his family will bow to him. He fulfills his father’s commands, even though he could have rejected it, come back after Shechem and said, “They aren’t where they are supposed to be”.

I also believe that he knew that his brothers didn’t like him. He’s not stupid. But, honoring his father mattered to Joseph.

Verses 18-20

We see that their bitterness as gone from envy to malice. Now they decide, as a group, to kill their brother and then cover their tracks by claiming a wild animal killed him.

Think about the wickedness we see here:

The envy has become hatred that leads them to believe they are justified in killing their brother.

They don’t even want to give him a proper burial, which is unheard of in the Jewish faith.

They are willing to break their father’s heart with a lie designed to cover their blame.

They arrogantly reject the possibility that God would have a greater plan for Joseph’s life.

Calling him “this dreamer” (literally “master of dreams”) is clearly sarcastic.

“we will see what will become of his dreams” makes it clear that they either rejected any notion that his dreams came from God, or that they are willing to say “God was wrong.”

Truly, this is one of the most wicked scenes in the OT!

Verses 21-22

The oldest brother, Reuben rescues Joseph from death by talking them out of killing Joseph.

As the text shows, his motives were not pure.

Remember, Reuben slept with Bilhah, Rachel’s concubine and a woman now serving as a wife of sorts to Jacob. She bore two of Jacob’s children: Dan and Naphtali.

In doing so, Reuben had lost his standing as the oldest son.

Here, Reuben is trying to be the hero by rescuing Joseph from the pit and returning him safely to Jacob.

Verses 23-24

The brothers are clearly convinced to not kill Joseph, but they beat him and throw him into an empty cistern.

They take the robe, a symbol of their envy, and rip it off of him.

We don’t see Joseph’s reaction here, but later in Genesis the brothers tell us of Joseph’s response:

Genesis 42:21 ESV

Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”

In fact, we will see next week that their malice went so far that they sat down and ate, as their brother lay moaning in the bottom of a cistern!

So What?

Timeless Truths:

Telling others the words of God doesn’t promise a positive response, yet it’s still the call on God’s people.

Church members today tend to get nervous when a pastor says: we going to have an emphasis on personal evangelism!

Why the nervousness? Because we are afraid of what might happen if we share the Gospel!

My early door-to-door experience...

Sharing the Gospel doesn’t guarantee conversion.

Here’s the good news: sharing the Gospel well doesn’t guarantee conversions…and sharing the Gospel poorly doesn’t guarantee that people won’t come to faith.

Salvation is a God thing. We don’t convert people. We share and trust the Holy Spirit to do the work.

But, in all honesty, when you share the Gospel, sometimes it won’t go well.

Sometimes this thing you fear will happen.

Use Joseph here as example. His purpose wasn’t to convince his family (though I’m sure he would have loved that). His purpose was to faithfully obey God.

Thus, in that light, the person’s reaction to the Gospel means less than our obedience to share.

Let God deal with the converting part…you do your part!

Envy is a gateway to a multitude of other sins.

Envy: Painful or resentful awareness of another’s advantage joined with a desire to possess the same advantage.

Envy comes when we feel like we aren’t getting something we deserve and someone else is.

For a believer, envy is not simply a personal matter, but a spiritual manner. It says, “I’m not satisfied with God’s provision for me!”

Donald Grey Barnhouse: “How unfortunate that many are not willing to take the place which God has assigned them in this world! When a man is covetous and envious, he is saying, ‘God, I am not satisfied; you didn’t give me what I want!’ Such a man would dethrone God, and re-deal the events and possessions of life so that little he would be exalted.”

Is God’s grace sufficient for you?

So much wickedness in our world comes from people’s tendency to look at what the other guy has and feel like it’s either unfair or that you should get the same.

Proverbs 14:30 ESV

A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.

James 3:16 ESV

For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

Ironically, I wonder what the difference would be if one of the brothers decided to try to emulate Joseph’s behavior and attitude, what would be different in their life?

How about us?

Wicked people will sometimes do wicked things to God’s people.

The Frog and the Scorpion...

Here’s a shocking truth: Sinners sin.

In Genesis 37 we see the wicked brothers acting in malice towards their brother because they are envious of his relationships. His relationship with their father, but even more so, his relationship to God.

One of the things that has troubled Christians throughout the years was this: why does a loving God allow His children to be mistreated by wicked people?

Working through this question is the theological topic known as theodicy.

There is obviously a lot to the topic, but Joseph’s life answers the question:

God doesn’t do wicked to people, people do.

God allows wicked people to do wicked things to His people sometimes because God has a greater plan than our personal comfort, safety and happiness.

Our suffering, justified or unjustified, can be used to grow and develop us, if we will allow it to.

Instead of focusing on our current circumstances, we should look for where God is at work around us.

Sometimes God’s people will suffer in order for God’s plans to come to pass.

I touched on this already, but the point is: suffering can be part of God’s plans.

That’s hard to say and read. And yet, it’s no less true.

God never promised his people easy street.

But instead He promised this:

Deuteronomy 31:8 ESV

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Yes, suffering may come into the life of a believer, but we can rest assured that our God will never leave us or forsake us.