Did you ever fight with your siblings? Last week told you the story about how God changed Jacob into the person he wanted him to become. Today we will look at Jacob’s son Joseph and his brothers. Joseph’s family will show us several things that threaten our families.The good news we will learn from Joseph today is that no matter what we do. No matter what comes our way God is able to turn our family around and uses us for good, even when others intend it for evil. Let’s jump into the story in Genesis 37.
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. (Genesis 37:2–4).
First we learn about Joseph is he was the baby and favored by Jacob. Joseph is described as the “child of Jacob’s old age”, the son that came from the only wife he truly loved, Rachel. Jacob was tricked into marrying Rachel’s sister Leah before he could marry Rachel. But after they were Rachel was barren, unable to conceive a child with Jacob. Infertility was considered a terrible curse in those days. So to compensate, Rachel encouraged Jacob to have sons from her two slave girls. Probably not a good plan if you’re struggling to have children.
But Jacob is like “ok” honey, if you insist, I will have sex with these girls. Eventually Rachel does get pregnant and Joseph was her first-born. All in all Jacob had 13 kids and Joseph was the favorite.
Favoritism had become a generational sin in Jacob’s family. Remember, Jacob’s dad Isaac loved Esau more than Jacob, and their mom Rebekah loved Jacob more than Esau. Decades later favoritism still rules the roost. Jacob loved Rachel and Joseph more than his other wife Leah, his concubines and their kids. If you are following along in your bulletin we are going to look at 4 things that threaten the family.
1. FAVORITISM is a threat to our family.
Parents are called to love our kids the same. You think Jacob would have learned by now considering the effect favoritism had on his family. But father Jacob was in a relational fog, as we read, “And he made him a robe of many colors." In Joseph’s time most robes were knee-length, short-sleeved and plain—in other words, work clothes. Joseph’s “coat of many colors” was a richly ornamented, long-sleeved coat, not suited for manual labor in the fields. It was the kind of garment suitable to distinguish one as a manager or overseer of his fathers possessions—a privilege set apart for the first-born son. But the true first born was Reuben who was not in good favor with his Dad. Back in chapter 35 Reuben made the horrible mistake of sleeping with Jacob’s concubine. So giving the birthright to Joseph might have been Jacob’s way of punishing Reuben. This leads me to the next thing that we see that threatens our families.
2. UNFORGIVENESS is a threat to our family.
Last week we heard Jacob confess his sin and God gave him grace. Here decades later he doesn’t extend the same grace to Reuben. We can all easily forget the love and mercy that God has showered down on us.
We can all easily forget that we didn’t earn or deserved God’s forgiveness and how it is only ours as a gift of God’s grace.Here's the problem: to the degree that you forget the grace that you have been given, to that same degree it is easier for you not to extend grace to others. If we fail to carry around a heart of gratitude for the love that is been freely given to us by God, it is easy for us not to show love to others as we should. God tells us in Ephesians:
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:30–32).
No one gives grace better than a person who is deeply persuaded that he needs it himself. Unfortunately, Jacob, in his old age clearly didn’t give his kids the same grace. Giving this coat to Joseph he was clearly showing favoritism and expressing his preference that Joseph should have preeminence over his older brothers. And Joseph is eating up the attention. Scripture records no overt sin or criticism of Joseph. But he was just as sinful as his brothers. They just express it differently. Joseph sin is expressed in his immature pride and lack of humility
And that fueled the sin of envy of his brothers. That leads me to the next things that threaten our families.
PRIDE and ENVY are threats to our family. Their hatred came to a boil when Joseph pridefully shares his dreams.
Verse 5
Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: 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.” 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. 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.” 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?” And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind. (Genesis 37:5–11).
Now Jacob is 17 years old here, so I am not surprised by the fact that he doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut. God speaks to him in these dreams and he pridefully tells his Dad and brothers that he will rule over them one day. Jacob rebukes him and his brothers hatred grows for Joseph. That leads me to the next things that threaten our families.
3. HATE is a threat to our family.
Some time passes and Joseph is sent by his father to check on his brothers who are shepherding Jacob’s flocks.
And things go from bad to worse.
Verse 18
They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 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.” (Genesis 37:18–20).
They recognized his coat from a distance, and likely figured that their father had sent Joseph to oversee and appraise their work and their hatred turns murderous. They guys were certainly capable of murder. In chapter 34 they had slaughtered all the men is a village as an act of revenge. Reuben fearfully steps is because did not want to bear the burden of guilt over Joseph’s murder. That leads me to the next things that threaten our families.
4. FEAR is a threat to our family.
After the affair with his father's concubine, Ruben was afraid of being responsible for the death of Jacob’s favorite son.
Verse 21
But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 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. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. (Genesis 37:21–24).
The brothers strip Joseph of his fine coat, the despised symbol of their father’s favoritism, and throw him into the empty pit. Their initial plot was to leave him there to die of exposure and starvation. The brothers cover-up their evil by deceiving Jacob into thinking Joseph was killed by a wild animal. Jacob’s heart is completely torn out thinking his son is dead. And Joseph survives but he was sold into slavery. And you thought your family has problems. Where is God in all of this? The Westminster Shorter Catechism helps us answers that question.
“Our great Creator uses his creative power to keep all creation in existence, to involve himself in all events, and to direct all things to their appointed end.” That is why a more mature and humble Joseph would one day say to his dad and brothers,
“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” (Genesis 50:20).
God used the evil intent of his brothers to carry out his God’s to preserve many lives, even their very own.
This is called the providence of God. It is God’s ability to move the course of human action so that it carries out his ultimate will. The story of Joseph’s family reveals to us that those who follow God he will be faithful even when you are in the pits. We will face complications from our own sin and from the sin of those around us. But the creative power of God is at work to do good. This is true when we are your health takes a turn,
when we have trouble with our children or grandchildren, when you loose a job or the thousand other ways life can throw you a curve ball. We have a providential God who sustains our souls in all of life and who is constantly working to our good weather we see it or not. I am sure that was hard for Joseph to see what God was doing from the bottom of the pit. But he had his faith in the promise God gave him in those dreams. Sometimes life just doesn’t seem fair. Joseph’s brothers felt a sense of injustice, which led them to envy and murderous thoughts. Joseph must have felt the unfairness of being thrown in a pit and sold as a slave. When we’re convinced that life isn’t fair, it’s time to trust in God, whose ways often differ from ours. While Jacob was crying over the loss of his son and Joseph was feeling rejected, God was working all things together for the good of his whole family.
The call for us is to trust God’s purpose when life takes an unexpected course. God sent Joseph into Egypt, because He had a plan for him there. God may send us into a place where we don’t want to be, but He has a plan for us there.
Jesus > Joseph
Joseph story and Jesus story have striking similarities
Both were loved by their fathers.
Both where sinned against, despised and rejected.
Both had a great love for their family.
Both where sent to preserve life.
Both where found alive.
And both offered pardons for those who sinned against them.
In Genesis chapter 50 we read Joseph forgave his brothers and they knew they did not deserve to be treated with such kindness. The same is true about Jesus Christ. He is willing to forgive everyone who puts their faith in Him. The bible says;
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace (Ephesians 1:7)
The story of Joseph’s family is amazing. But the story of Jesus is greater because it involves us.
Jesus loves us - even though we didn’t earn or deserve it. Joseph was a sinner and we are, and needed forgiveness too. Jesus was the sinless Son of God Let us continue to follow Him and encourage others to do the same!
PRAY
