Read: Genesis 37
Introduction
to Genesis 37-50: The rest of the book of Genesis now shifts to Joseph with
the theme still being the development of the future line of the Messiah. Although David and Jesus came from the line
of Judah, royalty was initially ascribed to Joseph and was later passed on to
his younger son Ephraim. Joseph was the
immediate heir to the patriarchal promises and later became the governor of
Egypt. Genesis also included the
anticipation of when the priestly line would pass to the tribe of Judah (see
Ps. 78:67-68). The accounts that conclude
the book of Genesis explain how God’s people ended up in the land of Egypt and
how God was Sovereign in bringing about His purposes.
Genesis 37
begins the account of the generations of Jacob by starting with Joseph being
sold into slavery. Joseph was the second
youngest son of Jacob but was the first son of the wife that Jacob loved the
most, Rachel. This caused him to be
favoured by his father as he received special privileges normally given to the
first-born. Verse 2 tells us that Joseph
brought a bad report of his brothers to his father. Did this cause his brothers to increase in
hatred of him? His father also gave him
a coat of many colours which would have made him the envy of his brothers as
this showed how his father favoured him.
We have seen the effects of favouring one child over another in previous
chapters and now we see how foolish this parental conduct is once again. Jealousy leads to hatred and animosity in
Jacob’s family as we see that Joseph’s brothers could not speak peacefully to
him (v. 4). To make matters worse,
Joseph also received prophetic dreams, which bothered his brothers who could
not accept that he would reign over them one day. Scripture is clear that the brothers knew
exactly what those dreams meant and they hated him even more because of them
(v. 5, 8). Maybe Joseph should have kept
those dreams to himself?! His father
rebuked him for the dream showing how he also understood that it meant that
Joseph would rule over the entire family (v. 10).
In verse 12
Joseph’s brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem (remember
this city – the one where Dinah was raped and Simeon and Levi killed all the
men in Gen. 34). Jacob sent Joseph to
check up on his brothers (v. 14) and to bring back word. Maybe Jacob was worried about the possible
vengeance of the neighbouring tribes for the sins his two sons had committed
there years ago? Joseph found his
brothers near Dotham (v. 17) and they were well. They saw Joseph from afar and conspired
against him to kill him (v. 18). They
mocked him, “here comes this dreamer”
and ferociously determined to kill him (v. 19).
But Reuben was thinking more sensibly so he suggested that they just
leave him in the pit (Reuben was planning to rescue him out of the pit – v.
22). Maybe Reuben desired to regain
his father’s approval so that he could receive back the privileges of becoming
the firstborn? Or, maybe Reuban was just
acting mercifully? Either way, when
Joseph arrived they stripped him of his colourful coat and threw him in the pit
(v. 23-24). When they saw a caravan of
Ishmaelites, Judah reasoned that they could profit by selling him to the
Ishmaelites, and they would then be free from the guilt of murder (v.
26-27). The brothers agreed and sold him
for twenty shekels of silver (v. 28).
This was how Joseph landed up in Egypt.
When Reuben found the pit empty he was filled with pain and anguish and
questioned his brothers. Was his grief
due to losing his brother or losing the chance to regain his father’s approval? The brother’s then deceived their father by
dipping Joseph’s robe in goat’s blood and letting their father assume that a
fierce animal devoured his son (v. 33).
Oh the grief that Jacob must have experienced as he was the one who had
sent Joseph out to the field and his death was his responsibility! Jacob refused to be comforted by his family
as his most precious son was lost to him.
Meanwhile, Joseph was sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the
captain of the guard (v. 36).
NOTE: It is
important to note that only nine of the brothers were involved in the selling
of Joseph. Reuben was not present and
neither was Benjamin who would have been home with his father as he was too
young to be out in the fields.
Prayer and Journaling
1. Joseph
received real, accurate prophetic dreams from the Lord. His downfall was that he opened his mouth and
shared them with his brothers who already struggled with accepting him. He had zeal but he lacked wisdom. Sometimes God gives us something in listening
prayer that is just for us to pray about and not to share with anyone. Sometimes we can actually do more damage by
speaking up. Thank the Lord for speaking
to us today! He is real and He gives
prophetic insight through listening prayer.
Pray that you would have the wisdom to know when to speak up about
something God shows you and when to quietly pray about it.
2. Joseph
received two accurate prophetic dreams from the Lord but they were not
fulfilled until 22 years later!
Sometimes we can get ahead of ourselves when we hear God speak to
us. God may have given us an accurate
word about something and then we rush to try to fulfill this word. Are we patient in waiting for God to fulfill
the word? Are we willing to wait for His
timing? This requires faithfulness,
endurance and trust in God. Pray that
you would grow in faithfulness, endurance and trusting in God. Pray that you would be given understanding
and wisdom in properly applying the things that God shows you in listening
prayer.
3. A
house divided against itself cannot stand!
Parents should be careful to treat each of their children respectfully
and to not cause conflicts by exciting envy in some of their children through
favouritism. Were you a victim of
favouritism? Maybe by a parent or a
teacher? Maybe you still feel that a
parent or parent-in-law favours one child over another? Or maybe you feel that your parent or
parent-in-law favours one grandchild over another? Ask the Lord to show you the condition of
your heart in this area. Do you need to
forgive someone? Tell God about your
hurts and ask Him to remove them and to bring healing to your heart.
