The Coat, the Pit, and the Plan

Genesis 37

Quarterly business meeting next Wednesday

Still collecting eggs and candy for the Easter egg hunt

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Deacons meeting this Sunday at 8am.

Genesis 37 if you have your Bibles

Genesis is filled with many notable characters, and we have covered every single one of them- Think about all the prominent men and women in the book of Genesis-

Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, Esau, Lot, t but none of them get as much scripture as Joseph. The life of Joseph takes over a third of the book of Genesis.

and it has to do with the fact that he is a vital link between the book of Genesis and the Exodus.

Additionally, his life highlights a central theme of Genesis: the people of God advance the purposes of God as the plan of God assures the promises of God.

Moreover, the birthright—typically the larger inheritance reserved for the firstborn—which Reuben lost due to his transgression with Jacob’s concubine which we talked about last week, is ultimately given to Joseph (1 Chr 5:1–2).

Given these facts, it’s no wonder his narrative occupies such a significant place in Genesis.

In chapter 37, the main narrative about Joseph begins in a way that feels familiar.

Like his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather before him, Joseph is not immediately a character who elicits sympathy.

By the time he is teenager, he comes across as prideful and arrogant, repeatedly provoking the resentment of his brothers.

In response, his brothers decide to rid themselves of him—initially plotting to kill him but ultimately choosing to sell him into slavery instead. Yet, even in their sinful actions, God is at work, using their wickedness to accomplish His plan for the preservation of His people.

The key to understanding the story of Joseph, in fact, is found at its conclusion:

Genesis 50:19–20 ESV

19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

At the beginning, it’s hard to see how Joseph’s slavery and imprisonment could possibly fit into God’s plan. Yet, God is always at work through human actions.

By the end of his life, Joseph recognizes that even the most painful chapters of his story were the very means God used to preserve the people of Israel.

A similar truth emerges in the troubling account of Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar- that we will get to in the future.

At first glance, this episode appears to interrupt the flow of Joseph’s story. Yet, even here, God works through human sin and brokenness to accomplish His divine purpose. Through their illicit union, the lineage leading to the Messiah—the One who would one day redeem His people from sin and brokenness—continues.

As we walk through the life of Joseph and his half-brother Judah, we, as Christians, can find comfort in a shared theme: God is always at work and can redeem any situation. No situation is too bad for God. No one is too far gone to be redeemed by the Lord.

As Paul reminds the church in Rome, for “those who love God,” all circumstances are being woven together for their “good” by His sovereign hand (Rom 8:28).

Furthermore, Joseph himself comes to understand this truth by the end of his life, even though he is far from admirable at the start.

Once again, Scripture highlights that God’s promises and provision are not dependent on the worthiness of His people but on His grace and unwavering commitment to fulfilling His purposes.

So let us read all of Genesis 37 and see where the Lord takes us tonight.

Genesis 37 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.” 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. 36 Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.

God is sovereignly working through Joseph’s life to foreshadow Christ and fulfill His greater plan.

Joseph is introduced by his vocation and age—a young man tending his father’s sheep alongside his brothers.

This detail is significant, as the image of a rejected shepherd recurs throughout Scripture. Abel, a shepherd, was despised and murdered by his brother Cain (Gen. 4:8).

David, though chosen to be Israel’s king, was initially dismissed by his brothers and left to tend the sheep (1 Sam. 16:1–13).

Ultimately, Jesus himself would take on the identity of the Good Shepherd, rejected by his own people and handed over to death (John 10:1–18).

Each of these figures serves as a foreshadowing of Christ, and Joseph’s life anticipates the coming Messiah in striking ways.

Like Joseph, Jesus is the beloved son who suffers righteously, bringing both deliverance for his people and reconciliation to those estranged from him.

Yet where Joseph was presumed dead but later found alive and in power, Jesus experienced true death and was literally resurrected. The foreshadowing gives way to the fulfillment.

Joseph’s relationship with his brothers is marked by tension and conflict.

He is his father’s favorite, “a son born to [Jacob] in his old age” (Gen. 37:3–4).

Though Jacob later has another son, Benjamin, Joseph holds a special status as Rachel’s firstborn.

This favoritism is reinforced by special gifts, the most notable being a “robe of many colors” (v. 3), which some translations render as a “robe of many colors.” A clear visible display that Joseph is set apart from his brothers.

We can understand the envy of Joseph’s brothers.

The kind of robe he wore was reserved for the wealthy and noble—those who were of royal blood or had no need to work for a living.

Everyone who had to labor for their daily bread wore shorter, simpler garments that wouldn’t show dirt or restrict their movement.

This was the reality for Jacob’s sons, and the clothes they wore reflected that.

They spent their days slogging through marshes, climbing steep hills, carrying sheep, and fighting off thieves and wild animals.

For such hard work, a flowing robe would have been completely impractical. But when Jacob gave Joseph that special robe, he essentially signaled that his son would be spared from these struggles.

In those days, a father’s will was unquestioned, and seeing Joseph dressed in this royal garment made the brothers believe he was being set up to inherit the wealth, while they would be left to a life of labor.

Rather than responding to this favor with humility, Joseph displays pride and arrogance. Not exactly a winning combination when your brothers are older than you.

Then he brings a “bad report” about his brothers to their father while they tend the sheep (v. 2), and he eagerly shares dreams that suggest his superiority over them.

His attitude reveals a young man who has been richly blessed but fails to grasp that he is undeserving of such grace. Spoiled rotten is the term that comes to my mind.

Jacob’s favoritism fuels Joseph’s immaturity, further damaging his already strained relationship with his brothers.

While Joseph is tasked with tending the sheep, he also busies himself with monitoring his brothers—behavior that only deepens their resentment. In time, their hatred for him grows to the point where “they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him” (v. 4).

The two dreams Joseph shares with his family only intensify the already strained relationships.

Both dreams carry a similar theme. In the first, described in verses 6–7, Joseph and his brothers are binding grain in the field when suddenly his brothers’ sheaves bow down to his. In the second dream, recounted in verse 9, eleven stars, along with the sun and moon, bow before him.

These dreams foreshadow the future events of Genesis 42, where Joseph’s brothers will indeed bow before him. However, in the moment, his family reacts with hostility.

His brothers grow even more resentful (37:8), and even Jacob, his loving father who thinks the best of him, finds the second dream troubling enough to rebuke him (v. 10).

Joseph’s brothers take his words as arrogance, but the text reveals a deeper truth: these are not the boasts of a prideful sibling but revelations from the promise-keeping God who has long been at work in their family. His dreams are not mere fantasies—they are divine visions.

Joseph foretells a future in which his family will honor him, an inversion of the expected family hierarchy (v. 10).

In time, not only will his older brothers bow before him and grant him the honor of the firstborn, but even his parents will do the same. The reference to his mother bowing likely points to Leah, as Rachel has already passed away.

Though his brothers respond with jealousy and Jacob rebukes him (v. 10), the vision will ultimately come to pass—ironically, through the very betrayal of his brothers. In the moment, they reject him, but Jacob responds with intrigue rather than outright dismissal, as the text notes that “his father kept the matter in mind” (v. 11).

We must remember that God's revelations often disrupt our expectations and our comfort. Joseph’s dreams remind us that God's purposes are frequently misunderstood in the moment.

Rather than dismiss or resist His work because it challenges our understanding, we should follow Jacob's example by thoughtfully keeping these matters "in mind." This means remaining patient, humble, and attentive to how God is moving, even through unsettling or confusing circumstances.

A.W. Tozer captures this perfectly when he writes, “God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible—what a pity that we plan only the things we can do by ourselves.”

If the church’s vision is to just be like it was- if we can just get back to this point in time- then we are missing out what God wants to do in and through Cedar Bay.

We just do what the Lord calls us to do and if that scares us then praise God- but we will trust him even more through it. His plans are greater.

Joseph’s life teaches us to trust God’s greater plans, especially when they exceed our own imagination or comfort.

but he doesn’t realize all of that in the moment.

God is sovereignly working through human sin to accomplish His greater redemptive plan.

Joseph is unaware that he's about to risk his life, just as he doesn't yet realize he'll eventually save the lives of his brothers.

Some time after experiencing his dreams, Jacob sends Joseph to check on his brothers, who are tending sheep at Shechem (vv. 12–14). At this point, Joseph remains oblivious to the threat looming over him.

Significantly, Shechem had previously been the scene of violent revenge, where Joseph's brothers brutally retaliated against a man named Shechem for mistreating their sister Dinah. Moses might deliberately mention the location three times to underscore the brothers' potential for severe violence (34:24–29).

Indeed, the brothers have already resolved to murder Joseph by the time he approaches them (37:18).

Their hostility is explicitly linked to their resentment of Joseph's dreams, as evidenced by their sarcastic reference to him as the "dream expert" (v. 19).

This resentment is further evident in their statement in verse 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.”

but out of all the brothers- its Reuben who will intervene. Reuben is going to plead with his brothers not to shed Joseph's blood (v. 22).

The reasons behind Reuben's intervention aren't explicitly clear. Perhaps he genuinely recognizes the immorality of murder and seeks to avoid carrying such guilt. Alternatively, the text suggests that Reuben intends to rescue Joseph and return him to their father, possibly aiming to regain Jacob's favor after his previous misconduct with Bilhah (v. 22).

Reuben might also be trying to restore his position and reclaim the blessing of the firstborn (35:22). Whatever his motives, Reuben successfully convinces his brothers not to immediately kill Joseph but instead to put him in a pit until they determine their next steps (37:22).

Its not Reuben who saves Joseph's life though but Judah (vv. 26–28).

Reuben leaves Joseph temporarily unprotected and returns later to find that Joseph has already been sold (v. 29).

Reuben's rescue plan evidently overlooked his brothers' greed and the possibility that slave traders might pass by. Judah's intervention, however, is motivated not by compassion but by the opportunity for profit.

Judah and the brothers decide to sell Joseph, revealing that Judah’s apparent act of saving Joseph is actually driven by self-interest and financial gain (37:26–27).

Joseph’s brothers sell him into slavery for "twenty pieces of silver" (v. 28), a sum that significantly parallels the thirty pieces of silver Judas received for betraying Jesus (Matt 26:15–16).

Both events reveal how deeply greed can drive individuals to betray even those closest to them.

Just as Joseph's brothers are motivated by financial gain when they sell him, Judas's betrayal of Christ is similarly fueled by greed and self-interest.

R.C. Sproul remarked, “Sin is not simply making bad choices or mistakes. Sin is having the desire in our hearts to do the will of the enemy of God.”

Our black hearted wretched-ness does not desire to do the will of God but desires the things contrary to the will of God.

What appears to be one of the darkest days in Joseph’s life marks the beginning of a series of events that will ultimately lead to his powerful statement: “You planned evil against me; God planned it for good” (Genesis 50:20).

Even as his brothers sell him to passing traders, God is orchestrating events behind the scenes to secure the future of Israel.

It’s no accident that these traders are on their way to Egypt—a land of both wealth and influence (v. 28).

In fact, through the very actions of the brothers, God’s sovereign plan is unfolding.

Joseph’s sale becomes the means by which his family will one day receive grain and survive a devastating famine.

While the brothers are driven by selfish motives and deceit, they are completely unaware that their choices are aligning with God’s redemptive purposes. They give no thought to preserving their father’s legacy or the covenant promises passed down through the generations- they are only thinking about how much they hate their brother, they are only thinking about themselves- while they may not be thinking about the covenant promises God is.

We are never further away from the will of God when we are only thinking about ourselves and our preferences- the brothers we consumed with themselves and how they felt- they ignored the things of God.

When we worry about our preferences, our traditions, our wants, our desires, and ignore God’s will- we are acting just like the brothers- consumed with ourselves and not consumed by God.

The brothers choose to sell Joseph into slavery, then cover up their actions by using an animal to deceive their father.

Just as an animal was substituted in Isaac’s place, here, in a different way, an animal becomes a substitute for Joseph (37:31).

They present Jacob with Joseph’s torn and blood-stained robe—a garment he immediately recognizes. In response, Jacob tears his own clothes and puts on sackcloth, traditional expressions of grief in that time (v. 34).

Although Jacob had already endured significant hardship, the loss of his beloved son overwhelms him. He declares that he will mourn Joseph until he joins him in “Sheol” (v. 35)—the ancient term for the realm of the dead. In Jacob’s day, understanding of the afterlife was limited, but the depth of his sorrow makes clear that he sees no end to his grief this side of death.

This moment reminds us of how deeply sin wounds not only those directly involved, but those around them as well. Just like we saw in Joshua 7 with Achan’s sin.

The brothers’ deceit may have eased their immediate guilt or jealousy, but it plunged their father into prolonged anguish.

Sin always promises a shortcut to satisfaction, but it often leaves devastation in its wake. Yet even in the darkest moments—when grief feels unending, and hope seems lost—God is still at work. We may not see it right away, but He is weaving together a greater redemption than we could ever imagine.

If you've been wounded by the choices of others, or if you're carrying guilt over past decisions, know this: God's grace meets us in the ashes of our pain. Just as Joseph’s story doesn’t end in the pit, neither does yours.

Homer Lindsay used to say: “When you face adversity, remember that God is using that moment to develop something greater in you.”

Prayer: Father, we thank You that even when our lives are marked by pain, confusion, or betrayal, You are still writing a story of redemption. We confess that, like Joseph’s brothers, we have sometimes acted out of jealousy, fear, or selfishness—and we ask for Your forgiveness. And like Jacob, some of us carry deep grief or feel the weight of loss. Would You comfort us in our sorrow and remind us that You are near to the brokenhearted? Give us eyes to see Your hand at work, even when it’s hidden behind the curtain of our circumstances. Help us to trust that You are faithful, and that Your purposes will prevail. In Jesus’ name, amen.