Warning Signs for Faithful Followers - Genesis 37

©Copyright September 15, 2019 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche

Sometimes it is hard to know what to do with the teaching of the Old Testament. We have seen several chapters recently that make us wonder, "What are we supposed to do with this information?" and "Why should we know this stuff?" In 1 Corinthians 10:11 we read these words,

These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.

In other words, the Old Testament is important because it gives us the opportunity to build on what these people learned from and about God; It encourages by some of the victories won and trials overcome; and it warns us by the failures of others. The Old Testament gives us a foundation on which to build our lives and encourages us to advance further in the Kingdom of Heaven.

This morning we are introduced to Joseph who is the primary focal point of the remainder of the book of Genesis. This morning we will see warnings on what NOT to do. Our hope is to learn from the mistakes of those who have gone before us. These lessons begin in the first verses of Genesis 37,

2This is the account of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father’s flocks. He worked for his half-brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing.

3Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe. 4But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.

Warning About Playing Favorites

Whenever there are children in a family born of different parents there will always exist the question: "am I loved as much as some of the other children." It is natural and normal. It is a parent’s job to let their children know they are ALL their children and are ALL loved.

It is not unusual for a parent to gravitate to one child more than others. There are similarities in personalities and/or interests that will make some children naturally easier to bond with. It was natural for Jacob to have a special place in his heart for Joseph. He was the son of Rachel (who was now gone). It seems that Joseph was blessed with an early measure of piety and sensitivity to God that his brothers did not possess. It is also likely Joseph spent more time with dad than his brothers. As a result, Jacob relied on Joseph more and gave him a little more authority.

The mistake Jacob made was his display of favoritism in such a bold and outspoken way. His other sons knew Joseph was the favorite (every family can identify a favorite). To rub it in Dad got him a colorful robe to wear. Apparently, there was something about the wearing of this robe that put Joseph in a class of his own. It seemed to have said something about leadership even though Joseph was younger than these brothers.

What makes the story odd is Jacob's own experience. He was favored by his mother and he knew Esau was favored by his dad. You would have thought those painful memories would have kept Jacob from doing the very same thing with his sons. In some ways it made Jacob that much more protective of Joseph.

As parents, we must face the fact that we may have to work a little harder to bond with and appreciate the other children in the family. However, each child is a gift from God. They each have unique abilities and wonderful personality quirks that make them valuable. Our job as parents is to mine the good qualities from each child even though that may be easier to do for some than for others. We must learn to love our children for who they are . . . not for who we wish they would be.

This situation with Joseph and his brothers was not all his dad's fault. In verse 5:11 we read,

5One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. 6“Listen to this dream,” he said. 7“We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!”

8His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them.

9Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it. “Listen, I have had another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!”

10This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him. “What kind of dream is that?” he asked. “Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow to the ground before you?” 11But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant.

Warning About Pride

There are some things it may be better to keep to yourself. It is possible Joseph had no idea what his dreams meant. He may have been simply repeating the strange dreams he had. However, we know from later in the story that Joseph had a great ability to interpret dreams. (In fact, the brothers seemed to have no trouble understanding what the dream was about!) If Joseph understood the meaning of the dream, he was kind of gloating here. No one likes a person who gloats.

It much easier to weep with someone than to rejoice with someone. Alistair Begg observes,

it's almost easier to get demoted in your work than to get promoted, for when you get promoted it reveals the character of the people around you. It's hard for people to come to you and say, "I am so pleased that you got this wonderful promotion ahead of me, and I'm glad that you are now above me in the pecking order. (The Hand of God 26)

When you throw this in the face of others it does not create closeness, it creates distance, animosity, and hard feelings. Joseph may not have been doing that. But, this is what it felt like to his brothers. They felt like Joseph was treating them as inferior.

The Bible warns us that pride comes before destruction (Prov. 16:18) and Jesus told us "the last will be first." He exhorted us to be humble rather than boastful. Humility is anchored to the realization that everything we have comes from the Lord. He is the One who gives us gifts and abilities to serve Him as He determines. Everyone is loved and valuable before the Lord. There is no favoritism with Him. We have nothing to boast about other than the grace of God.

Accept the blessings of God humbly. Resist the urge to brag. Cultivate humility by focusing on the unworthiness of God's blessings. You will find people much more willing to affirm you when you aren't always patting yourself on the back. Learn to cheer for others rather than always leading the cheers for yourself.

A Warning About the Destructive Power of Envy

What comes next in our text is this account of the brothers "getting even" with Joseph. The anger and envy had been building with the brothers. When they saw him coming the first thought was to take his coat, kill him, and throw him in a cistern to hide the body. They REALLY did not like Joseph.

Reuben (hoping to come and rescue him later) suggested it would be better to throw Joseph in the cistern without killing him and let him die “naturally.” Apparently, Reuben had to run an errand because he wasn't present when the other brothers sat down to eat. They saw a group of traders coming. They decided it would be better yet if they sold Joseph as a slave. They would then make a profit and have the sweet revenge of knowing their cocky brother was living as someone's slave instead of lording himself over them.

Put yourself in this setting. Can you imagine Joseph pleading with his brothers to take him out of the cistern? Can you feel the hatred that would lead to such actions? Can you feel the rejection Joseph felt? Envy is like a spark in a parched forest; it can cause a blaze that consumes everything in its sight.

John Ortberg writes,

Envy is disliking God's goodness to someone else and dismissing God's goodness to me. . . envy is anticommunity. . . it is dangerous because it is opposed to other people. Sins like greed and lust are simply about the gratification of my desires. Envy not only seeks self-gratification, but it seeks to diminish the one I envy. . . In envy I seek to sacrifice the other for the sake of myself." (Love Beyond Reason, 157, 158)

Chuck Swindoll likens envy to a cancer that may manifest itself through a little blemish on the skin. It is why doctors are so aggressive with skin cancer. Swindoll writes,

I am reminded that sin . . . starts "small," but soon it is draining and devouring our spiritual energy, like cancer in a body.

I think particularly of the secret sins of the heart and mind: jealousy envy, lust, pride . . .

Because there may be little evidence on the surface to attract anyone else's attention or arouse suspicion, no one bothers to probe and investigate the devastation these sins are causing beneath the surface.

All the while, however, these silent and relentless killers are sucking motivation, draining energy, and blurring vision. (The Finishing Touch. Week 36, Wednesday)

We see this in the workplace. People battle for positions of authority. If we are going to get passed over for a promotion or pay raise, we want to make sure our rival (or even our friend) doesn't get one either. We might even resort to making up stories or criticizing work to hinder the advancement of another purely out of envy or jealousy.

We see it in families who are shattered over the estate of parents or other family members. It is this desire that someone else should not get more than we do. Of course, my definition of "more" and yours, are almost always different.

We see it in schools. A student is popular or attractive, so others find ways to undermine them . . . even to the point of making up stories about them designed to "put them in their place." We have read the story of parents who hurt other children for the express purpose of getting them out of the way for their child.

We see it in relationships. We envy the way someone looks so we magnify any flaw we can find. We actually start to hate the person because we feel inadequate next to them because we want what they have!

We see it in churches. Someone feels others are getting too much power or attention, so they stop giving to the church, or criticize the leadership of the church, for their "favoritism," or simply leave. They often split the church into "sides" which effectively destroys Christian unity and our witness to a watching world.

Don't think this doesn't happen to Pastors. It does. A church down the street is growing and we feel that growth should be taking place in our church. So, we pick at the growing church, we diminish their work, and at times slander the leadership of the church, not because there is anything wrong with that leadership (it might actually be quite good) but because of our envy.

This cancer is pervasive. It always divides. Sometimes irrevocably. Are you disgusted by the actions of the brothers of Joseph? You should be. But . . . we should be equally disgusted when that same envy begins to grow in us.

How do you recognize envy in yourself?

You follow every positive comment someone says about another with, "Yes, but . . . "

You find yourself being only critical of someone who is admired by others.

You find it impossible to affirm what someone else has done or is doing.

You feel a constant need to interject your accomplishments into another's conversation.

You feel a perverse "excitement" at any hint of failure in someone.

How do we keep this from happening to us? First, we need to recognize when we are caught in a spider web of envy somewhere. Envy is easily hidden and justified by many other things. The first step is to recognize envy for what it is.

Second, we must pursue "contentment." It is a recognition that we have been blessed far more than we could ever deserve and have been spared the disgrace and punishment we so richly deserve. It is focusing on our privilege in Christ rather than comparing ourselves by the standards of the world. It is a recognition that God has called us to serve Him where He sees fit . . . not where we think we should be.

Finally, work hard to combat envy with genuine appreciation for the accomplishments of others. Congratulate someone who has had a success. Affirm someone who has excelled. Celebrate with someone who has experienced a blessing.

Jesus said the last shall be first and the first shall be last. The truly humble person is the one who is willing to serve God in whatever capacity God has placed them.

A Warning About Pre-Mature Conclusions

If you do not know the rest of the story, it would be easy to conclude envy won this encounter. It did not! At the end of the story Joseph says to his brothers, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good."

It is an amazing story of how God took this evil of men and used it to accomplish His purpose in the life of Joseph. This does not make the evil OK. It is not. These brothers lost many good years together because of their envy and heartless actions. We must never use God's grace and mercy as an excuse for sin. God will not be mocked.

On the other hand, when the fangs of envy bite us; when we are victims of this poison, we need to remember: the sinfulness of men cannot thwart the plan of God. You may have been treated shamefully.

Perhaps you were rejected by someone and the sting of that rejection remains fresh after many years. It may have been a parent, a spouse, a child or even a sibling. You don't understand why they could not simply love and appreciate you.

Maybe you have been slandered because of the envy of others. It is not because you were arrogant or did anything other than try to live gratefully in appreciation for God's blessing. But others loaded their weapons against you, and you are forced to live with that shrapnel imbedded in you and your reputation is questioned.

Maybe someone has cheated you or treated you like an object for their own amusement.

Here's the thing to remember: the pain is real, but God will use that pain to accomplish His purpose in you and through you. If you will continue to cling to Him and do what is right, God will have the final word. Do not draw conclusions until the conclusion has come. Do not let the bullies win by getting you to play their game. Instead, remain faithful. Continue to live with faith and integrity. Let God do what He can do better than anyone, or anything, we can come up with.

Conclusions

God gave us the Old Testament to teach us. Sometimes it teaches us what not to do. Today we are reminded to cherish each child for the treasure they are and not pit them against each other. Love them for who they are and not for who you wish they were.

When good things happen to you, give thanks but don't act like you are better than others. Stop playing the "I'm better than you" game. Learn to rejoice with those who rejoice and then others may actually rejoice with you.

Be on the lookout for envy. It is a feeling that is unfortunately encouraged in our society. It is used as a way to motivate. And that is a mistake. Encouraging or excusing envy is like unleashing a deadly poison on the world to get people to be more health conscious. The collateral damage is far greater than any benefit you thought you might gain.

The story of Joseph is not in the Word of God as a pick-me-up but as a warning. It is there to help us avoid these same mistakes in our lives. The wise person is the one who learns from Joseph rather than learning the hard way.