Genesis 37:1-36

One thing that we observe in the children of Israel is that dysfunctional families have been around for a very long time.  I think that a biblical counselor could have worked full time with this group alone and would still be pressed to deal with all of the issues that are very evident in the hearts of this family.  Unfortunately, the sins that we see so clearly evidenced in this passage are all too common in my own life and I know that they are in my heart; so before we start pointing too many fingers, it would be good for us to examine our own lives for theses sins.

THE SIN OF FAVORITISM: We see this coming up over and over again in the lives of this family Jacob had been the favored son of his mother while Esau was the favorite son of his father.  Then Jacob shows favoritism for Joseph.  Certainly it appears that Joseph had character and loyalty that were worth of praise.  However, the act of giving a special coat to one son and clearly preferring him over his other sons was a clear way of provoking his other children to wrath.  Our children are different from one another and we may be able to relate to the personality of one over the other, but we must be very careful to demonstrate genuine love and affection for all of our children in a manner that is consistent.  Jacob’s favoritism of Joseph did not bring Joseph more joy; rather it brought him conflict, heartache and almost cost him his life.

THE SIN OF JEALOUSY: The brothers were jealous of Joseph’s position and ended up hating him because of the jealousy that raged in their hearts.  As wrong as Jacob’s actions were; that was no excuse for the sin that they allowed to dominate them.  These were grown men who ought to have had the maturity to confront their father and recognize that Joseph was setting an example for them to follow in his character and conduct.  They hated Joseph because Joseph was loyal to his father and honest to report about his brothers poor behavior.  Nobody enjoys being confronted because it is humiliating and makes us feel bad.  However, we should look at confrontation as an opportunity to grow and not take offense at those who have the courage to confront us with our sin.  True love does not wink at sin or tolerate that which is sinful it confronts it because it knows that is what is best for the other person.  We tend to become angry, hateful and jealous at those whose character is higher than ours because their godliness makes us look and feel bad.  We look for ways to tear them down and destroy them because we are convicted by their character.  This is wrong and foolish.  What we should do is be challenged by their example and seek to follow in their footsteps.

THE SIN OF PRIDE: We often say that Joseph is one of only few characters in the Bible about which no sin is recorded.  However, I have to think that he demonstrated the sin of pride in his relationship with his brothers.  He was well aware that he was a favored son and must have known of his brothers feeling towards him.  However, rather than discourage his father from this preferential treatment and trying to treat his brothers as equals, he seems to enjoy his position of honor and even “rubs it in” by telling his brothers about his dreams.  God wanted to reveal to Joseph that one day his brothers would be under his leadership.  It was important for Joseph to know that because of what God knew Joseph would face in the future.  This revelation would give Joseph hope and comfort as he faced the future trials of his life.  There was no reason for him to tell his brothers of this dream.  It seems that Joseph enjoyed “tooting his own horn” and that is certainly a demonstration of pride that we must all try desperately to avoid.  God may bless us, but we should be humbled by God’s undeserved blessings and not look down on or gloat over this in relation to those who are not blessed in the same way.

THE SIN OF VIOLENCE: The brothers decided to be rid of their problem brother by killing him.  Only Ruben defended him and came up with a plan to spare his life with the intention of freeing him later.  Ruben is to be commended for his loyalty to his father and Joseph, but seems cowardly because he tried to do all of this in secret instead of confronting his brothers and convincing them of the error of their way.  Just as Cain sought to be free of Abel’s righteous example, the brothers decide that murder is the only way to be rid of their righteous brother.  We must be careful because when jealousy and hatred are allowed free reign of our hearts; violence will often follow close behind.  We must learn to resolve our conflicts without allowing our hearts to be consumed with bitterness and rage.

THE SIN OF LYING: The brothers are motivated by greed to at least get some money from Joseph instead of killing him so end up selling him as a slave.  Only after the deed to they think about what this will do to their father.  They are not overcome by guilt and do not repent of their actions, instead they decide to hatch a lie that will make their father believe that Joseph was dead do to no fault of their own.  In their minds they could never admit the truth and that a lie was the only way to cover their tracks.  Sin always breeds more sin and serves to complicate our lives even further.  We must not fall into this trap.  We must repent of our sins and not try to cover one sin with another sin.  If we choose this path; the stack of sins in our lives will become so high and complicate our lives so completely that we will be consumed with guilt, sorrow and sin.  No matter what we have done, the best way to resolve that problem is through honest admission of our guilt, humble repentance before God and a readiness to face the consequences of our actions.