Joseph's Brothers
Notes
Transcript
Tattletale
Tattletale
gen 37:2
This is the history of Jacob.
Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.
I find it interesting that God decided to stick this particular verse about Joseph in the story.
Out of nowhere God tells us that Joseph reported on his brothers.
Some of you may think of Joseph as a tattletale.
A momma’s boy telling on his brothers.
Well, I guess a daddy’s boy would be a better description.
But shouldn’t we report when others are doing wrong?
Some of you may look a little closer and see that it is only the sons of the maids who Joseph was with.
So why is this verse stuck in here? I’m not entirely sure
Is it meant to show us the relationship between Joseph and his brothers?
Reminds me a bit of the relationship between me and my little sister when we were children.
Or could it be to show a difference between the sons of the maids and those of the wives?
We aren’t told what the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah did that Joseph reported on.
Could it be Joseph was using his position as favored son to manipulate his brothers?
Whatever the answer, what comes next shows a schism between Joseph and his brothers, instigated by their father.
Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”
Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.
Joseph is, almost, the baby of the family.
Because of that, and probably the fact that he is the first son of Rachel, Jacob loves him more.
Imagine how you would react if you were one of the brothers.
I’m sure it was obvious to all of them that Joseph was the favorite.
And I doubt that ingratiated Joseph to his brothers.
But what Jacob does next makes things worse.
He gives Joseph a special gift.
I remember as a child, being over four years older than my sister, I was given things and allowed to do things she wasn’t old enough for yet.
And that made her jealous.
Now the brothers see more evidence that Joseph is getting special treatment.
Not because he is older and able to handle them, but because he’s the “special” one.
I’m sure this fanned the flames of their discontent even higher.
How often do we react that way when we see others getting special recognition.
Especially if we think they don’t deserve it.
Do we consider how others will react to the things we do?
gen 37 5-7
Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”
Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more.
I’m pretty sure Joseph was excited about his dream and wanted to share it.
It’s natural to want to share exciting news.
Especially when God is showing you something.
But when God gives you a dream, vision, or some other hint at what He’s going to do, it may not be for you to share.
But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds spread the news about the birth of the Messiah.
Everyone who heard it marveled.
But Mary kept them to herself and pondered them.
Does this mean what happened to Joseph is his fault?
No, what the brothers did was entirely their fault.
But we should ask ourselves, would our actions be a stumbling block for others?
Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.
1 com 8 9
But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.
If we love our brothers and sisters, we should consider whether what we are about to say is best for them, or just for our own ego.
gen 37 6-7
So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”
Whether Joseph does not see the hatred his position is breading in his brothers hearts or he just doesn’t care, now he pours gasoline on this fire.
Joseph shares his dream.
They were all out in the field binding up sheaves of grain.
This would be quite common, something they all did every year at harvest time.
Next thing you know, the sheaves stand up and the brother’s sheaves bow to Josephs.
It doesn’t take a PhD in dream interpretation to understand this dream.
And the brothers reaction should be just as easily anticipated.
And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
I doubt the brothers saw this “dream” as a prophecy from God.
They probably thought Joseph was showing off.
As Jacob’s favorite, one day he would reign over them, even though he was younger.
He would supplant Ruben, the first born, as the leader of the next generation.
I bet they hated him even more.
He’s reporting on them to daddy,
He gets special presents from daddy,
And now, he expects to be elevated to leader of the group when daddy dies.
Talk about family intrigue.
Makes you wonder where Shakespeare got his idea for MacBeth and Hamlet.
geb 37
Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”
Not learning from his last dream, or recognizing the peril he is putting himself in, Joseph doubles-down on this dream stuff and tells his brothers about his second dream.
This time though, it’s not just the brothers who will bow down to him, but his parents as well.
The eleven stars are his eleven brothers, so the sun and moon must be Jacob and his wife.
gen 37 10
So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?”
Put yourself in the place of the family.
They don’t know what God has in store, because He’s only told Joseph.
To them it looks like Joseph isn’t even going to wait until Jacob dies to take over the clan.
Not only leadership, but ownership of all they have accumulated.
This looks like nothing short of a palace coup!
Talk about an upstart welp.
No wonder the brothers were mad at him.
And now his father isn’t very happy with him either.
But we know something they do not,
We’ve read the end of the story.
And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Now we see the brothers not only hate Joseph, but they envy him as well.
Not only does Dad give him special privileges, but lets him get away with this plotting to take over the family.
This is starting to sound more like the Godfather than a Bible story.
It appears that Joseph can do no wrong in Jacob’s eyes.
Joseph just told Jacob that he dreamed of we would rule over the patriarch.
Yet what does Jacob do?
He keeps the matter “in mind”.
He ponders them, just as Mary would do a few thousand years later.
I bet the brothers wished they could get away with half of what Joseph has just said.
And I’m not surprised they were out to get him.
That doesn’t make what they will do right, only expected.
Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.”
So he said to him, “Here I am.”
gn 37
I wonder why Joseph wasn’t tending the flock with his brothers?
For whatever reason, he wasn’t there.
So Dad sends him to check on his brothers.
Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”
gen 37
Hey, look, the dreamer is coming.
Let’s kill him!
We’ll drop him in some pit and tell dad that a beast got him.
Then we’ll see what comes of these dreams.
My sister and I may have argued like cats and dogs, but we never thought about actually killing each other.
These brothers are so mad, they are will to commit murder to shut this guy up.
Are we sure this isn’t the plot of a Mafia movie?
Are we so different?
But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.
mt 5:21
How many times have we murdered a brother or sister in Christ in our heart?
But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.” And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.
1
Big Brother thinks this is a step to far.
I’m sure he hates Joseph as much as the other brothers,
I mean, after all it is his birthright that Joseph was taking away in his dreams.
But lets not kill him, just drop him in a pit.
Then Ruben can come back and save him.
Of course, I have no idea how he was planning on explaining this to daddy.
Maybe Jacob would be so happy that he wouldn’t punish them to bad.
So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.
gen 37
Phase one of Ruben’s plan works out fine,
Joseph isn’t dead, just stuck in a pit.
Of course, there wasn’t any water in the pit, so Ruben’s time was limited or Joseph would die.
And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened.
gen 37 25-
While enjoying their lunch who comes along but a bunch of Ishmaelites.
Not the best friends of Israel and his family.
Judah gets a bright idea!
If we kill Joseph we get nothing. But if we sell him into slavery...
And best of all, we can honestly say we didn’t kill our brother.
And what did the brothers think of Judah’s plan?
They listened to him.
Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
gen 37 28
SOLD! For 20 shekels of silver.
I’ve often wondered how they planned to divide that up, since eleven brothers is a prime number.
Of course, it appears Reuben wasn’t there, so only ten brothers were in on the sale.
Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?”
gen 37 29
Reuben gets back from where ever he was, and the pit is empty!
Now what is he going to do?
Where can he go?
Sure, he wasn’t in on the sale, but he did help his brothers capture Joseph and throw him in a pit.
gen 37 31-32
So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?”
Now to fool Dad.
After all, he brought it on himself, treating that little upstart so special.
Hey Dad, we “found” this bloody tunic. Do you think it’s Joseph’s?
And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.” Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.
Yep, that was Joseph’s special tunic.
The one Jacob had given him.
gen 37
His favorite son was dead.
And nothing could console Jacob.
Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
Meanwhile, the Midianites sell Joseph to some Egyptian named Potiphar.
He happened to be captain of Pharaoh’s guard, but I doubt that mattered to the Midianites.
As long as they sold Joseph at a profit.
And that is where
Conclusion
Conclusion
What things has God shown you that you weren’t supposed to share?
After you shared them, you knew you should have kept it as a private treasure?
I’m sure we’ve all had them.
Can you think of a time when what you did, although innocent and not done with malice, caused problems for someone else?
We need to recognize that not everything God shows us is for us to share.
And we need to be considerate of what such a revelation will do to others.
What God showed Joseph in his dreams was a prophecy that would come true.
Neither Joseph nor his family though realized what he would have to go through to get there.
But God was showing Joseph where he was going.
Scripture doesn’t say that Joseph sharing his dreams was because God wanted it,
We often see God tell prophets to share what He shows them, but we don’t see that with Joseph.
In any case, it was another step that God used to bring about the prophecy He gave Joseph.
Maybe God is working the mistakes you’ve made for good.
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Pray that God’s plans don’t include murderous brothers, pits and slavery.