We are going to skip over the family tree of Esau listed in Genesis 36 and move on this morning to Genesis 37.

Often the last-born child in a family tends to be spoiled by the parents. They pamper the child, overlook their faults, and treat them with special privileges that the older children never received. This is exactly what Joseph’s life was like. Jacob still favoured him when he was a teenager.

Transition

In Genesis 37 as we look into this drama in Jacob and Joseph’s lives, we will once again find principles to apply to our own lives.

The Irritations (v.1-11)

  1. The root cause of the irritations
    1. Jacob’s family lacked harmony. He had four wives and 12 sons and a daughter from the four wives. From day one of his marriage, he loved Rachel more than Leah and he only married the two maids to please his Leah and Rachel. Jacob’s family was much like many broken families today.
    2. Jacob favoured Joseph because he was his “firstborn” son of his favourite wife Rachel (v.3). Though Joseph was younger than all his stepbrothers, he was privileged above all of them. Jacob was wrong for doing this.
    3. One positive outcome of this bad situation is that Jacob must have spent more time training Joseph and teaching him spiritual truths than he did his brothers. As they matured, it became obvious that Joseph was the only man among Jacob’s sons who had character and godliness.O Parents, here are two principles we must learn: 1) Do not allow yourself to favour one child above another. Resist this temptation. Do not spoil the youngest. Spoiled children become spoiled adults and unbearable spouses. 2) Work diligently to build character and godliness in each of your children. You must begin when they are infants. These qualities must be caught from your example and taught by your faithful mentoring.
  2. The description of the irritations
    1. Joseph gave evil reports to his father about his bad brothers (v.2). We do not know what the evil reports were about, but the evil reports did not endear Joseph to his brothers.
    2. Jacob loved Joseph more than his brothers and made it obvious (v.3-4). His brothers hated him for this. While their hatred was not justified, Jacob was wrong for his favouritism.
    3. Joseph dreamed dreams that seemed prideful (v.5-11). His brother’s hated these dreams as well, yet God was at work in the midst of all this family mess. Because Joseph had learned character and godliness, God was able to use him in a special way.
      1. Joseph dreamed that he and his brothers were binding sheaves (bundles of grain stalks) in the field. Suddenly, his bundle stood up and the bundles of his brothers’ bowed to his (v.7-8). This angered his brothers.
      2. Joseph dreamed that the sun and moon and eleven stars bowed down to him (v.9-10). Even his father rebuked him for this dream. While Joseph observed (kept in his mind) these dreams, his brothers angrily envied him (v.11).
      3. Note: God sometimes used dreams to reveal His will in ancient Bible times before the Bible was complete. Today He reveals His will through the Bible.O Parents, God may have special plans for your children, and He is depending on you to train them in character and godliness. D.L. Moody said, “Character is what you are in the dark.” A child who does not do right in the open, will not do right in secret. Every parent ought to have a list of biblical character qualities that he is working to instil in his children. If your child reaches adulthood without biblical character and godliness, God may never be able to use him as He desires.

The Elimination (v.12-30)

  1. Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers
    1. His brothers were all up near Shechem tending their flocks. This was about 80km north of Hebron (v.12-14).
    2. When he arrived near Shechem, a man told him that his brothers moved their flocks to near Dothan, another 25km north (v.15-17).
  2. The brothers capture and sell Joseph
    1. Before Joseph arrived, his brothers saw him and plotted to kill him (v.18-20).
    2. Reuben, the eldest boy, voted not to kill him, and planned secretly to let Joseph go free (v.21-22).
    3. The brothers caught Joseph, tore off his special coat, and cast him in an empty pit (v.23-24). Then they sat down to feast on the food Joseph had brought for them. As they ate, a company of Ishmaelite merchants passed by on their way to Egypt (v.25). Judah suggested that they sell Joseph to these merchants. This they did for 20 pieces of silver.
    4. Reuben, who was away at the time of the sale, tore his clothes in grief when he learned what his brothers had done (v.29-30).O We must beware of bitterness and hate. These sins often grow like the pressure under a volcano and eventually explode causing people to do things that they later regret. If you have bitterness or hate in your heart, you must confess this sin to God and ask God to help you forgive the offender (Mark 11:25-26).

The Deception (v.31-36)

  1. They deceived their father
    1. They killed a kid goat, ripped up Joseph’s coat, and dipped it in the blood of the goat (v.31).
    2. They sent the torn, bloodstained coat to Jacob with the message that they found the coat (v.32).
    3. Jacob believed the lie and grieved many days (v.33-35).
  2. They did not deceive God
    1. God knew their plot. They did not hide their sin from God. This was certainly true of Joseph’s brothers. For years, they lived with the guilt of selling their brother. About twenty-two years later when they went to Egypt to buy grain, Joseph accused them of being spies and they immediately thought of their guilt.V (Genesis 42:21) “And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.”
    2. God knows all about our secret sins.V (Jeremiah 23:24) “Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.”

      V (Psalms 44:21) “Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.”

      V (Romans 2:16) “In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.”

    3. God went with Joseph down into Egypt (v.36).O When we have sinned and hidden it, the best thing we can do is to admit our guilt to God. Then we must deal with it in a biblical manner.

Conclusion

This is a sad story of how Joseph went from pampered to prisoner. Let’s not forget the principles we can learn from this. We must not spoil our children. Make it your passion to develop biblical character and godliness in the life of each of your children. Remember, “Character is what you are in the dark.” Moody Beware of bitterness and hate creeping into your life. If you do not confess and forsake them, you are likely to do or say things that you will live to regret. If you are trying to hide sin, remember that God knows all about it. You will never have peace with God until you get right with God.

If you are not a true Christian, that is your greatest need today.

Song: Nothing Between – 321
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From Pampered to Prisoner
4 January 2015 am – Genesis 37:36 – Gen 14 – Scott Childs