Genesis 37:12-36

Gen. 50:20 gives an overview of Joseph’s life: “You meant it for evil but God meant it for good.”  With this passage we have fully entered into that part of his life that might be called “evil intent”.  Let us review Joseph’s story here.

·        His father sent him to his brothers, v12-14a.  Shechem was about 48 miles from Hebron but had great pasture and abundant water.  Jacob “owned” property there dating back to an earlier time.  The brothers had moved to Dothan, about 12 miles to the SW, where there was also good grazing.

·        He left “home” to find his brothers, v14b-17.  Home was where he was loved by his father.  And note that he was sent so he could give an account to his father of the brother’s activities.

·        His brothers conspired to kill him, v18-20.

·        His brothers mocked him because of God’s will (the dreams), v19.

·        His brothers were grievous sinners, v21-35.  It might seem that Reuben is trying to do right but in fact he is selfish.  Having dishonored his father (35:22) he sees this as an opportunity to please Jacob.  He has no wisdom as to the right path to take, and lacks courage to stand up to his brothers.  As for Judah, he saves Joseph’s life but only because of his love for money.  The words, “he is our brother and our flesh”, are really quite empty.  In the end the deep sinfulness of all the brothers is evident.  They strip him of the robe of envy, and sit and eat lunch while Joseph languishes in the pit.

·        Saving his brothers meant salvation for others, v28,36.  This “evil intent” would end up being God’s goodness in saving not only the family of Jacob but all Egypt and the surrounding nations during the coming great famine.

Can you not help but see the story of our Lord Jesus Christ in Joseph’s story?  Consider the same points (with references) as they apply to Christ.

·        His Father sent him to His brothers, John 1:11; Heb. 2:11; Matt. 21:33-37.

·        He left “home” (the glories of heaven) to find them, Phil. 2:6-8; John 17:5.

·        His brothers conspired to kill Him, Psalm 2:2; 31:13; 71:10; Mark 3:6; John 11:45-53; Matt. 26:3-4,59.

·        His brothers mocked Him because of God’s will, Luke 23:35-37; John 2:19-20; 5:18; 8:48,52-53,57,59.

·        His brothers were grievous sinners, Jer. 17:9; Rom. 1:28-32; Matt. 21:38f.

·        Saving his brothers (the Jews) means salvation for others (the Gentiles), Rom. 11:11,15,26; 15:7-10.

Are you one who mocks the Lord Jesus Christ?    Are you plotting your life without Him?  Your pride against Him is the very sin for which Christ died in your place.  You meant it for evil.  God meant it for good.  This is Christ, “who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14).

Genesis 37:1-11

We read here that we are beginning to study “the history of Jacob”.  We have of course already studied God’s work in the life of Jacob in the previous chapters of Genesis.  But Jacob’s “history” is about his children.  It is his “legacy”, the heritage of his children.

Quite clearly the history gets off to a rough start.  Jacob’s favoritism of Joseph cannot be good from the point of view of how a father should treat his sons.  But it is a fact: Jacob loved Rachel, and Joseph was the first son of Rachel.  Jacob’s bias was demonstrated in the beautiful coat he gave to Joseph.  In terms of Joseph’s relationship with the other brothers (the 10 who were not born of Rachel), we also see that it was not going well because of a bad report Joseph had given to his father about their behavior.

As we begin to consider Joseph’s life there are a couple of questions we need to ask to help us see his life in the right way.  For example, is this bad report the words of a tattletale or a man of integrity?  We usually discourage tattling between children because it likely involves pride or envy between siblings.  But we are not told of that here on Joseph’s part.  Likely what he told his father was something his father needed to know.  The resulting hatred by his brothers is an indication of where they are spiritually.  Pride causes us to “despise” chastening (Prov. 3:11-12).  A scoffer does not listen to rebuke (Prov. 13:1).  The problem here is not with Joseph but with the brothers.

As the history continues things only get worse.  Joseph has 2 dreams and tells them to the rest of the family.  The idea of each dream is essentially the same, but there are slight differences that will be born out as the story progresses.

Again we must ask: Is Joseph a show-off or a man of integrity?  Pay careful attention to the story.  Joseph did not ask for these dreams; they came from God (v5,9).  This is God speaking in a fashion common to the Old Testament times (Heb. 1:1-2).  This is, for Jacob’s family, “scripture”; it is the “word of God” to them.  And it is given through Joseph who shares it with them because it involves them.  Again, the problem is not with Joseph but with the brothers.  They chafe at the idea of being submissive to Joseph.  But what that means is that they chafe at obedience to the word of God.  Even Jacob struggles with what God says, though he does not deny it outright.  

This would not be the last time, as again and again in the Old Testament, Israel would reject God’s word through His prophets (Zech. 1:4).  Perhaps you struggle with certain aspects of God’s word.  Perhaps you doubt or deny the message of salvation through One Savior, Jesus Christ.  There are many people who reject Christ because of the humiliating way He was put to death.  In the story of Joseph, like it or not, the dreams were fulfilled to perfection.  So it is with the entire Bible.  God’s word is true and will be the word by which men are judged.  “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” (James 1:21)

Psalm 105:7-22

We are returning to this passage which gave us guidance in understanding the lives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  You will note that it also gives us God’s  “overview” of the life of Joseph (v16-22).  

If there is one phrase in Scripture that captures the essence of Joseph’s life I believe it would be Gen. 50:20: You meant it for evil but God meant it for good.  That is one reason for us to consider Joseph’s life for we may often find ourselves in situations made difficult by the meanness of others. 

However we should understand that the point of the story is not simply a moral encouragement.  It tells us what God did to protect His chosen people (the family of Jacob).  And it reveals Christ to us in Joseph, one of the most amazing pictures of our Lord in all Scripture.

Perhaps you are familiar with Joseph’s life but here is a brief survey.

·        He was the first son of Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife, making him his father’s favored son.

·        God revealed His plan for the family to Joseph through 2 dreams.

·        His brothers hated him both because of their father’s bias and because of Joseph’s dreams.

·        The brothers sold Joseph into slavery in Egypt where he excelled in service.

·        In fulfillment of the dreams he became  a powerful ruler in Egypt.

·        From that position he was able to save his family during a time of famine.

·        He was also used of God to bring true comfort to his brothers as they dealt with their sin and need of a Savior.

In Psalm 105 we see Joseph’s life portrayed in 2 phases.  The first we might call “humiliation and exaltation” (v16-21).  God first sent a famine, and then sent Joseph to Egypt.  But the “sending to Egypt” involved his becoming a slave, living in difficulty.  But at the right time, God’s time, Joseph was exalted to be the lord of Pharaoh’s house.

“Humiliation and exaltation” is a principle of life with God.  Matt. 23:12 says: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  Time and again we see this in the great men of Scripture.  But mainly we see it in Christ.  Phil. 2:5-11 reveals His step-by-step humbling from the glories of heaven to death on the cross (v6-8), but then tells us “therefore God has highly exalted Him” (v9-11).

Phase 2 in Joseph’s life might be called “salvation and sanctification” (Ps. 105:22).  From his position as lord over Pharaoh’s house Joseph saved his family from the deadly famine, and then “sanctified” his brothers.  He bound them at his pleasure and taught them wisdom.  And thus our Lord Jesus, from His exalted position, has provided salvation and sanctification for His own (Heb. 2:11-15).

God, in His grace, brings famines (hardships) into our lives so that Christ can be exalted.  Are you in such a situation?  Are you bowing the knee to Christ?