Transcript

A guy once had to take a detour on his way home. It took him through 8 traffic circles. It got him where he was going, just in a roundabout way.

Detours are disruptions from the original intended route that we had planned to take. When we get in our vehicles, we have a destination in mind. Typically, we know how we plan to get there and the roads and highways we intend to take along the way.

But, on some occasions, we run into detours, things that take us off the pre-planned route. Detours are typically unexpected and inconvenient.

Perhaps a police officer redirects traffic down a different road or [a set of signs directs us around a construction area].

To us, a straight line is simple, and an uninterrupted journey is preferable, to a whole lot of stopping and starting and turning this way and that.

Detours take us off our intended route, and as such, it takes us longer than we had expected to get to our final destination.

The life of Joseph was filled with detours. He experienced many unexpected twists and turns and stopping, waiting, and starting again.

Romans 15:4 tells us, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning.” There is much we can learn from the life of Joseph.

God uses the lives of Bible characters to teach, encourage, challenge and to warn us.

God’s Word is full of lives that inspire and instruct. And that is true in the life of Joseph.

Three things become clear in reading about the life of Joseph. The first is that the account is not just about Joseph; it’s not about his brothers, Jacob, Potiphar, or Pharaoh. It is, above all, about God. We see the hand of God in Joseph’s life.

The detours of Joseph’s life were divine, designed by God to contribute to his own maturity, and the trials and waiting he endured all prepared him for what lay ahead.

Joseph’s story is about God’s providence and how God used little things as links in the chain of circumstances by which Joseph ultimately became prime minister of Egypt. To get there Joseph had to travel a road that few of us would have enjoyed.

But as we step back to look at the account of Joseph’s life, we discover that God had a glorious plan for Joseph. It was a plan that took Joseph from riches to rags from rags back to riches, from riches back to rags and ultimately from rags back to riches.

The second thing that we learn from the life of Joseph is the encouragement it gives to lead a life of faith and integrity.

James Montgomery Boice put it well: “He was loved and hated, favored and abused, tempted and trusted, exalted and abased. Yet at no point in the one-hundred-and-ten year life of Joseph did he ever seem to get his eyes off God or cease to trust Him.

“Adversity did not harden his character. Prosperity did not ruin him. He was the same in private as in public. He was a truly great man.”

From Joseph’s example we are also taught how to wait on the Lord, resist temptation, and forgive those who wrong us.

And the third thing we learn from Joseph’s life is that He is one of the richest and most powerful pictures of Jesus Christ found in the Old Testament.

Like Christ, he was beloved of his father, sent by his father to see his brothers, hated and rejected by his own brethren, and sold for pieces of silver.

He was falsely accused and unjustly punished. In prison, Joseph, was the innocent one between two criminals. We see the turning of his brothers’ wicked plot to the salvation of many, even of themselves. He was elevated from the place of suffering to a powerful throne, and he saved his people from death. And in it all, we see the victory of love.

Genesis 37:1-2: “And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.

“These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.”

Although Jacob had trusted for years in the promise of God that he would inherit the land of Canaan, the same as God had promised Abraham and Isaac, he, like they had, continued to live as a “stranger,” or foreigner in the land.

Though it was promised to become a permanent possession of Abraham’s family, they did not yet own the land, but only certain portions that they had purchased. However, they believed that the promise would be fulfilled in God’s time.

Hebrews 11:9 says, “By faith he [Abraham] sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles [tents] with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.”

Verse 2 states, “These are the generations of…” This phrase occurs a number of times in Genesis, and they each mark significant divisions in the book. This is the last time the phrase occurs as it introduces the beginning of the last section of Genesis.

The chief actor in this section of Genesis to the close of the book is Jacob’s son Joseph. Nearly twenty-five percent of the Book of Genesis is dedicated to Joseph’s life.

We are introduced to Joseph at the age of “seventeen years old.” We learn of his birth to Jacob and Rachel earlier in chapter 30, but it’s here we begin to learn about him personally.

Joseph came from a home with one father, four different mothers, which produced twelve sons: 6 from Leah, 2 from Rachel, 2 from Bilhah, and 2 from Zilpah.

In a family situation like this you have all the ingredients for problems and strife, and there was much rivalry and competition.

The sons of Leah were: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. The sons of Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali. The sons of Zilpah were Gad and Asher. Joseph was the eleventh of the 12 sons of Jacob.

Most of the sons of Leah were older and mature men by this time, and had families of their own with its duties and responsibilities which kept them away from Joseph.

Joseph’s companions and who he spent more time with were the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, who were nearer his own age. Benjamin would’ve still been quite young and at home with Jacob.

Verse 2 tells us that Joseph, with Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher, were working as shepherds over their father’s flocks.

But the way of life and moral standards of Joseph’s half-brothers all were different from his. He was very unlike his brothers in character and attitude.

Being out in the fields tending the flocks, far from the paternal eye and their father’s oversight, Joseph’s half-brothers were engaged in some sort of misconduct.

We don’t know what these brothers were doing, but whatever it was, Joseph felt that their father needed to know about it. And Joseph began to bring Jacob disturbing reports of bad behavior about his four sons.

It is questionable whether Joseph should have been a nosy parker or talebearer. Joseph had no authority over his brothers and wasn’t accountable for their behavior. But depending on the circumstances, sometimes staying silent is just as wrong.

Joseph had been raised amid the more godly influences of Jacob’s later years. And as he observed the wickedness of his brothers away from home it was a shock to him.

He was sensitive to what was right and to what was wrong, and likely reported the conduct of his brothers, with the hopes that his father could deal with it for their good.

Or it could be, as later in this chapter in verse 14, when Jacob sent Joseph to find his brothers and to report back to him about how they were doing, that Joseph’s report to his father in verse 2 was the result of his father asking him to do so.

But in either case, Joseph didn’t endear himself to his brothers by bringing his reports to their father.

What’s important to note here though is that older brothers often have a big influence on younger brothers. But Joseph refused to allow the bad character and behavior of his older brothers to influence him to follow their example.

Genesis 37:3-4: “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.

“And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.”

Jacob’s other name was “Israel,” a name given to him after he wrestled with the preincarnate Lord Jesus Christ, and clung to Him for a blessing.

The name of “Israel” given to Jacob is a significant improvement over his original name, which means “deceiver.”

Being a deceiver had been Jacob’s nature from the time he was a young man, deceiving Esau out of his birthright, and deceiving Isaac into giving him the blessing.

It’s not too surprising then, that deception was part of an ongoing problem in his family later in his life. They learned it from the example of their father.

Jacob was an aging man when Joseph was born. Joseph was “the son of his old age” verse 3 tells us. Because Jacob was up in years at this time, he loved Joseph to the utmost. After Joseph was born, he honored him above the others.

And his great love and favoritism toward Joseph also had to do with the fact that he was the child of Jacob’s favored, beloved wife, Rachel.

But he unwisely “loved Joseph more than all his children,” and all his other children knew it. Joseph’s brothers observed their father’s partiality with a slow burn.

Jacob had come from a home where favoritism was shown, as Esau had been the favorite of his father Isaac, and Jacob was the favorite of his mother, Rebekah. Likely as a result of this, he lived later in life what he had learned from his childhood, showing preference to Rachel as his favorite wife and Joseph as his favorite son.

This is an example of the dangers of showing favoritism in the home. Parents are to show the same love to each of their children.

There is a human tendency to give preferential treatment to one child over the other. But this is readily detected by the other siblings, and it is hurtful.

Ephesians 6:4 instructs fathers to not provoke their children to wrath. And favoritism is definitely one way this can be done, because we see the WRATH of Joseph’s brothers here because of the favoritism shown to him.

For 17 years, the other sons of Jacob watched their father show favoritism with Joseph. Not only did Jacob love Joseph more than his older brothers but he demonstrated this favoritism openly and in a dramatic way.

Not trying to hide his partiality, Jacob “made him a coat of many colours.” This coat then became a continual visual reminder to the brother’s of Joseph’s favored status.

The coat of many colors speaks of a richly ornamented robe. Based on the meaning of the original Hebrew, it would have been a long-sleeved tunic that extended to the ankles.

This isn’t the garment for a working man. You can’t work very well in a garment that has sleeves and extends down to your ankles, especially when it’s a costly ornamented robe.

It’s been said that it would be like “sending a welder to a construction site wearing a full-length mink coat,” or “like wearing a tuxedo to work in the garden.”

In Joseph’s day, work clothes were sleeveless tunics which came down to the knees. This left the arms and legs free so they could maneuver and move about.

With such garments, shepherds were able to clamber up hills, wade through swampy areas, and carry sheep on their shoulders.

And the fact also that the long coat was ornamented indicates that he was not expected to get dirty or have it soiled from hard work. In essence, Joseph’s robe declared that he was exempt from manual labor.

And this elaborate, costly, full-length coat, was also a sign of nobility in that day. The sons of nobles wore long robes with long sleeves and ornamentation. It was a garment of privilege and status.

And it even seems to be a garment symbolizing the privilege of the firstborn, saying he was the son to receive the birthright, signifying that Jacob favored Joseph above the rest with the intent of granting him all or a larger portion of the inheritance.

And as you might imagine, Jacob’s decision to make him this coat and give it to him did not please the other brothers. It only served to increase their resentment and hatred.

Jacob loved Joseph into a family feud, sibling rivalry, and to a house divided. Joseph’s brothers “hated him,” and had come to despise their younger brother so severely that they could not even speak “peaceably,” or speak a kind word to him.

They could not address him in such a way as to wish him well; they could not offer him the customary salutation of Shalom, or Peace. And that shows you the extreme to which their hatred went that they could not even be civil towards him.

Later, Jacob gave a prophecy about his sons on his deathbed and spoke of Joseph’s true feelings at this time, stating: “The archers have sorely grieved him [Joseph], and shot at him, and hated him” (49:23). The hatred of Joseph’s brothers bitterly grieved Joseph.

He wasn’t unaffected by their feelings toward him. It hurt and upset him, as it would anyone when you are the object of someone’s hate, especially when it comes to family.

Genesis 37:5-8: “And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.

“And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.

“And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.”

A guy said to his doctor, “Doc, you gotta help me. I‘m having strange, recurring dreams that I’m either a teepee or a wigwam. Every night, teepee, wigwam, teepee, wigwam! Please, make it stop!” The doctor said, “Relax, you’re two tents.”

Everyone dreams. They shouldn’t be taken too seriously, as they are generally meaningless, strange, or frightening.

Today, God speaks to us through His completed Word, but in the past under God’s prophetic program with Israel, you learn about divine communications through visions and dreams.

The Lord had earlier spoken to Joseph’s father, Jacob, in a dream when he saw a ladder set up on earth, reaching into heaven, with angels descending and ascending on it.

The Lord spoke to him in that dream and said, “the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”

Joseph’s dreams here were revelations from God for the purpose of revealing prophetic truth about his family’s future and to predict that Joseph would rule over his family.

The first dream was an agricultural scene. Joseph dreamed that he and his brothers were in a grain field at harvest, each with a bound bunch of wheat stalks, or sheaves.

The bound sheaf which Joseph had suddenly rose and stood up. The sheaves his brothers had bound also stood and gathered around and surrounded Joseph’s sheaf and then their sheaves bowed down to his sheaf.

The dream’s meaning was very clear, that at some future time, all the brothers would bow down to Joseph.

By the dream God was revealing the manner in which Joseph’s authority over his brothers would be achieved, that they would come to him for bread or food, symbolized by the sheaves of grain. And years later, his brothers did come to buy the grain Joseph had stored in Egypt for the seven year famine (42:1-3).

It’s been said that “Joseph was more of a prophet than a politician, else he would have kept this dream to himself.” But Joseph regarded his dreams as important, however, and therefore did not hesitate to make them known to his family.

And hearing the dream, his brother’s response was predictable. His brothers did not fail to note and understand Joseph’s position of superiority over them in the dream, and they fiercely resented the dream. It added fuel to the fire and further fanned the flames of their animosity toward him.

And out of a mingled indignation and contempt, they then assured Joseph, in no uncertain terms, that he would never have reign or have dominion and authority over them! The brothers hated the dreams as much as they hated Joseph for telling it to them.

Three times it says here that Joseph’s brother’s hated him, and you see their hatred of Joseph growing. In verse 4, it says, “they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.” In verse 5, it says, “they hated him yet the more.” In verse 8, we read, “And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.”

Their hatred and bitterness toward Joseph grew in their hearts. And so hatred and bitterness can grow in our lives too if we allow it.

But, by grace, God would have us live out Ephesians 4:31-32 which says to “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

Genesis 37:9-11: “And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.

“And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.”

Then Joseph has another remarkable dream. The scene of the first dream was agricultural. The scene of this second dream was celestial.

This dream was like the first, but this time Joseph is in the dream without a figure, and he sees the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowing down to him.

The sun and the moon signified his father and mother, and the eleven stars, like the sheaves of the former dream, applied to his eleven brothers.

But this time it was not only his brothers, but his father and mother also, who were bowing down to him. Though his mother, Rachel, was dead she was represented in his dream. Or the moon in his dream might be representing Jacob’s wife, Leah, the mother of six of Jacob’s sons, and who likely had become a mother to her sister’s children.

The dream was meant to be understood that Joseph was to be preeminent and elevated over his entire family. Both dreams pointed in an unmistakable way to the supremacy of Joseph, the first to supremacy over his brothers, the second supreme over the whole house of Israel.

And the repetition of the main point of the dream was designed to indicate its certainty. The dreams showed that God had a plan for Joseph’s life, a destiny in his future.

There’s a lot of speculation about whether Joseph was wise or unwise or sinful, immature or arrogant to tell his family his dreams.

But I think Joseph believed his dream to be a divine revelation, and this is why he boldly and bravely related them to his family. It indicated his faith.

Joseph sensed a responsibility to make a revelation from God such as this known regardless of the fallout from his family, because it concerned them all.

The same symbols of the sun, moon and stars appear in the book of Revelation (12:1), and they again represent Israel and the tribes of Israel.

In Revelation 12:1, the apostle John saw and wrote: “There appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.”

Notwithstanding his partiality, this time even his father Jacob was a bit offended by Joseph’s dream and he rebuked him for saying that they would all bow to him. He couldn’t understand how Joseph could be exalted higher than his own father and mother.

The result of Joseph sharing this dream was that his brothers, not only hated Joseph, but now they also “envied him” in their hearts. Now they had a jealous hatred for him.

Envy is not just wanting what another person has, but resenting that person for having it. Joseph’s brothers envied him because of what he had in his favored relationship with their father. They envied his ornamented robe. And they even envied these dreams which Joseph had which pictured him being elevated to prominence over them.

Verse 11 says that Joseph’s “father observed the saying,” or that he marked what Joseph had said, and kept the matter in mind and in his memory and pondered its meaning.

Having his own experience with dreams from the Lord, and also in knowing that God could select the younger to rule over the older, as had been prophesied in his own life with he and Esau, Jacob took Joseph’s dream more serious.

Warren Wiersbe rightly states, “Had the brothers paid attention to these 2 dreams, they might’ve been better prepared for what happened to them 20 years later. If Jacob had grasped the significance of the dreams, he might’ve had the faith to believe that Joseph was still alive and that he would see him again. Of course, since we know the end of the story, it’s easy for us to say.”

Join us next time, when we will look at Joseph being sold into slavery and carried off into Egypt and the unfolding of God’s plan that ultimately led to the fulfillment of Joseph’s dreams.