This Is Us: Joseph's Family Series

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