Joseph is a young man, still a teenager in our culture of thinking, who is caught between the love of his father and the hate of his brothers.  He was born to Jacob’s beloved Rachel, who would later die in childbirth of their youngest son, Benjamin.  Joseph and Benjamin are the last boys to be born in the Jacob’s household.  Jacob’s favor toward Joseph comes naturally to him but it causes division to the rest of the older brothers born to him from the other wives. 

God speaks to Joseph in dreams.  But the man, though fascinated by the dreams, does not fully understand them.  He also does not understand that God is speaking through him to prophesy what lies ahead for Joseph and his family.  The young prophet shares his dreams with the brothers who hate him.  Because of their father’s favor to Joseph and the jealousy that consumes them, they mock Joseph.

It doesn’t help the relationship between Joseph and his brothers when Jacob uses Joseph as a tattletale to check on the brothers as they work the fields and stock.  This is the beginning of the story of God through Joseph.  God will teach and mold His character of unfailing love, compassionate mercy, with the power to forgive within young Joseph as he is sold into slavery to live in Egypt.

Genesis 37

Joseph’s Dreams

Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.

² This is the account of Jacob’s family line.

Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. ⁴ When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

⁵ Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. ⁶ He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: ⁷ We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”

⁸ His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.

⁹ Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

¹⁰ When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” ¹¹ His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

¹² Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, ¹³ and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.”

“Very well,” he replied.

¹⁴ So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.

When Joseph arrived at Shechem, ¹⁵ a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

¹⁶ He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”

¹⁷ “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’”

So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. ¹⁸ But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.

¹⁹ “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. ²⁰ “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”

²¹ When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. ²² “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.

²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— ²⁴ and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

²⁵ As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.

²⁶ Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? ²⁷ Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.

²⁸ So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

²⁹ When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. ³⁰ He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”

³¹ Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. ³² They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”

³³ He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”

³⁴ Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. ³⁵ All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him.

³⁶ Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

What does not make sense to us now, will make perfect sense later.  When we trust God, really trust Him and the way He works; we begin to stopping asking why.  Why did this happen now?  Why am I involved?  Why does my mom ask me to do that?  Why am I picked on by others?  Why am I caught in the middle of dysfunctional relationships at work?  And the all-time most asked, “Why me, and why is this happening to me?” 

We wonder what Joseph was thinking as he sat in the dark well.  What did he think when his brothers threw a rope to him?  Was he hoping for rescue from his brothers?  What did he think when he was brought back into the light of day only long enough to be sold for 20 pieces of silver to a passing group of salesmen on their way to a larger market place in Egypt? Joseph lost his dignity, freedom, and the beautiful coat on his back.  He was humiliated by his brothers.  With confidence and assurance from being favored stripped from him; all pride, arrogance and confidence is depleted. What’s next? Stay tuned!

We might not want to admit it, but we are by nature self-centered and self-serving. Browsing the news on social media reveals how jealousy can lead to death. We see these motives at work in the world all around us.  The story of 10 jealous brothers is not new.

The sin of jealousy breeds the side effects of envy, comparison, and greed.  Who are the unsuspecting victims?  Anyone who has more than we have. More karats, more horsepower, more office space, more church members, and the list goes on inside and outside the church. Jealousy aims the gun barrel on the one who has more. “You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God”, writes James(4:2).

Oh, but that can’t be me!  Mm, maybe not with physical violence but what about with words?  “Sticks and stones, may break my bones; But words will never harm me.”  We all know that this childish taunt is false.  Words do hurt and gossip has the power to destroy even the most loving, family relationships.  I personally have seen gossip go pro status and contaminate an entire church—more than once!

Words of hate, mocking, sarcasm, with put-downs stick like glue from childhood through adulthood.  We might cover the hurt with a smile to avoid more hurt; but it still hurts if we let the wound fester, try to get even, or hurt someone else to feel better.

James doesn’t sugar coat the truth.  He tells us our tongue is the most uncontrollable part of our body!  “Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” James 3:5-6 Yikes, we get it James…or do we?

“A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.” Proverbs 14:30

But, we need help, right? We need a Counselor to guide us to Truth and guard us in our walk from the discontentment that comes from comparing ourselves with others. We even compare and grade our sins between others!  Jesus promised a Counselor would come and God followed through by providing His Holy Spirit.  God’s Spirit, our Counselor, leads us to ALL Truth: “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”  –Straight from God’s heart to our whole being!

The Truth is—

Believe in Jesus as our Savior and Lord.  Jesus is all we need to be saved from death and live forever with God. 

God cleanses our hearts, renews our minds, refreshes our souls, and restores the joy of Jesus’ salvation work within us that sets us free to mature in His love. 

Comparison is the chief culprit of envy and jealousy.  We need deterrents for envy, jealousy, and all related attitudes of hate to steer us from the darkness. We need a new way of thinking which accompanies our new life in Christ!

It is possible to change the way we think and behave by asking God’s Holy Spirit, who speaks Truth, to counsel, convict, console, comfort, and compel us to think more like Jesus.  God’s Spirit teaches us how to develop the mind of Christ within us.  According to Paul, believers desire, seek, and resemble the humbled attitude of Christ, (Philippians 2) while developing the mind of Christ, to be guided by His thoughts and purposes (1 Corinthians 2:16)

“Rather than bemoan what you don’t have, rejoice in the abundant cup you do. “My cup overflows with blessings” (Psalms 23:5 NLT). The last thing we need to worry about is not having enough. Our cup overflows with blessings.

The Lord is my Shepherd; I lack nothing.  Psalm 23:1

Lord,

Thank you for teaching us by your Holy Spirt through your Word. As we learn all you provided for Joseph while protecting, and teaching him; we are reminded all you did for us through Jesus and how you teach us the truth daily.  Jesus, thank you for taking my sins upon your shoulders along with all sins of the world.  Thank you for taking my place for the punishment that I deserved.  I’m humbled by the truth of You. Thank you, thank you, thank you.  To you be the glory!

In Jesus Name, Amen