Beyond The Basics

Transcript:

Welcome to the Beyond the Basics Bible Study Podcast. My name is Dan Snyder and I am your host. Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of Beyond the Basics where we are exploring the Bible from Genesis to Revelation one chapter at a time.

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Have you ever been wronged by someone for what seems like no reason? Especially when it seemed like you were doing the right thing Well, this is what happens to Joseph and Genesis chapter 37.

So let’s get into the chapter. In verse 1, we’re told that Jacob lived in the land of his father’s sojournings. So he’s still a nomad, just like Abraham and Isaac, just like his fathers were. And what this means is, of course, that God’s promises have not yet been fulfilled, because he’s still wandering. He hasn’t yet taken possession of the land of Canaan, and he won’t. Jacob will die before Israel ever takes possession of the land. So he stayed in the land of Canaan, compared to Esau who in the previous chapter left Canaan and lived in Seir. Jacob here stays in the land of Canaan.

So in verse 2 it says these are the generations of Jacob. So moving on verse 2 it says Joseph being 17 years old was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah his father’s wives. So he was with four of his brothers. Bilhah had two sons and Zilpah had two sons and they were Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.

So Joseph was learning shepherding from these four sons. He was still a boy, and he was learning how to shepherd from his older brothers. And this is when Joseph starts to learn the value of hard work, integrity in his work. It’s when he starts to learn to do the right thing, even when nobody’s looking, even when he gets ridiculed for it. He starts out small. He starts out with small beginnings, shepherding in the field with his older brothers, learning how to shepherd.

He’s with the sons of Bilah and Zilpah, his father’s wives, and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. We already know that Jacob’s sons tended to cause trouble. We found that out in Genesis 34 and 35. We’re not told here what they did, but whatever it was, Joseph clearly felt that it was important to tell his father what they were doing, because, like I said, we already know what these brothers are capable of. Two of them already murdered an entire town. So even though it probably felt to his brothers like he was tattling on them, Joseph clearly had been given the authority to provide a report to his father. His father by this point probably was quite worried what these men were going to do when he wasn’t around to keep an eye on them.

So in verse three, it says, now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons. We can learn from this, because it follows the pattern that we see in these patriarchs. We can learn that children learn dysfunction from their parents. Just like Isaac learned to lie about his wife from his father Abraham, Jacob learned to have favorites among his children, like his father Isaac did. So we need to be careful.

So continuing in verse three, we’re told that Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons because, and this is the reason why, because he was the son of his old age.

And we’re told in verse 3 that he made him a robe of many colors. This also can be translated a robe with long sleeves and it’s used, this phrase is only used in one other verse. So it’s possibly a robe that signified royal blood or royalty rather than a shepherd. Certainly it was a robe that signified privilege status, well elevated above shepherds. This was not a shepherd’s robe. This was a robe of royalty, or a robe of privilege that Joseph was wearing.

So what did it look like? We don’t know. It could have just been a long robe with long sleeves made of one color. Or it could have been a robe of many colors as it’s translated into English. But either way, what it probably meant is that Joseph was meant to be Jacob’s heir. Even though he was the youngest, he’d been elevated to the position of the oldest. He was the favored son. He was wearing a robe of royalty. And this would have been another reason why his brothers hated him. He skipped to the front of the line, essentially.

And in verse 4 we’re told, But when his brothers saw that their father loved him, More than all his brothers, they hated him, And they could not speak peacefully to him.

In verse 5, Joseph had a dream. This is the first dream in the Bible in which God does not speak. And then it says he told it to his brothers, which was probably not the best idea. And it’s not exactly clear if he told it to them to antagonize them or if he was just naive. We don’t know if he told it to them to get them riled up or if he really thought it was the right thing to tell his brothers.

In verse seven, we’re told the dream. It says, Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf. Here is related to binding sheaves of wheat and it’s interesting because that’s connected to the circumstances of the eventual fulfillment of the dream. Here they’re binding sheaves of wheat in the dream but eventually Joseph’s brothers would come to buy grain from Joseph in Egypt. So the dream not only implies that Joseph’s brothers would bow to him but it implies the circumstances around which they would bow to him.

In verse 8, his brothers said to him, are you indeed to reign over us, or are you indeed to rule over us? So this implies royalty and kingship, that Joseph would take a royal position over his brothers. And considering that Joseph had already seemed to receive the authority of the birthright, the question is not whether Jacob’s sons will bow to Joseph. The question is, will they do it willingly? And the dream implies that they will. It also implies that Joseph would be the one to receive the covenant blessing, but as it turns out, it’s actually going to be Judah. And we’ll see that in coming chapters.

Verse 9, he dreamed another dream, a second dream. And the purpose of the second dream is to emphasize that these two dreams, or that the message of the dreams have been established by God. This is the same reason that God gave Pharaoh two dreams that meant the same thing later on. In Genesis 41 verse 32, it says, and the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God and God will shortly bring it about. Where did Joseph get that when he was interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams? He probably got it from his own dreams, realizing that the two dreams were the same, the same message, and it was repeated to show that the message is fixed by God. The message is determined by God to be brought about.

So he told his brothers the second dream, and the first time he told them his dream it could have been a mistake, as I mentioned, but now we’re going to see a trend. Now this is the second time. His brothers already hated him when he told him the first dream. So why would he tell him the second dream? This is where we see Joseph’s pride. Joseph is starting to feel pride regarding his elevated status. I mean, what 17-year-old wouldn’t?

So in the dream, the sun, the moon, and the 11 stars were bowing down to me. So these bodies, these heavenly bodies, the sun, the moon, and the stars in Genesis chapter 1, were created to rule the heavens. But now these heavenly bodies created to rule the heavens are bowing down to Joseph, giving Joseph elevated status even over the heavens. So you can see why Joseph’s brothers would hate him so much after hearing this dream.

Joseph is basically saying you’re gonna bow down to me as if I’m God. Now was that the intended message of the dream? Probably not. I don’t think that’s what he was supposed to get out of the dream. But that’s what his brothers seem to have gotten out of the dream. Even his father rebuked him in verse 10. Even Jacob couldn’t see how his favorite son could be elevated over his own father and mother. He could see how his favorite son could be elevated over his brothers, but not over his father and mother. So he rebuked him. He said what is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?

In verse 11 and his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind. So Jacob considered it. Jacob pondered it. Jacob didn’t it to turn into hatred for his son.

So then the story shifts in verse 12. Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem, which is where Jacob had been living in compromise. So this is a dangerous town and now his brothers are there alone without Jacob around where they had already committed murder before.

And so Jacob calls Joseph to him and in verse 14 it says, so he said to him go now. See if it is well with your brothers and with the flock and bring me word. Because Joseph had previously brought Jacob a bad report and so now Jacob is gonna have Joseph check in on his brothers again, and this is not gonna sit well with his brothers because Jacob is essentially making Joseph the foreman even though he’s the youngest and probably knows the least about shepherding.

Joseph leaves Hebron, goes up to Shechem, can’t find his brothers and so he meets a man who says, what are you seeking? And in verse 16 Joseph says, I am seeking my brothers, tell me please where they are pasturing the flock. So this is interesting and we’re going to start to see a lot of parallels between this and a certain story. So what this is implying here is that first of all Joseph’s brothers were keepers of sheep. We know that Joseph is being portrayed as a keeper of brothers, the opposite of Cain.

So in verse 17, the man said, they have gone away for I heard them say, let us go to Dothan. Dothan was about 10 to 15 miles west of Shechem and it was on a major trade highway between Egypt and the Near East. So it was a very popular area, very high traffic. So in verse 18, Joseph’s brothers saw him from afar and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him.

So in verse 20, they come up with a plan. They say, come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. And another word for pits there could be cisterns, which was a very deep pit with narrow openings. It would have water in it often, but it would make it nearly impossible for a prisoner to escape without a rope, because they were so deep and narrow. And they say, then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him.

They say, we will see what will become of his dreams at the end of verse 20. That tells us that Joseph’s dreams are the motive for wanting to kill him. But of course they’re unaware that their plot is gonna lead to the fulfillment of his dreams. So what that tells us is that they didn’t oppose Joseph’s dreams for his own life. They weren’t opposed to Joseph having plans or dreams for his life. That’s not what they were jealous of. They were trying to keep God’s plans for Joseph’s life from happening. They were opposed to God. They weren’t opposed to Joseph.

In verse 22, Ruben said to them, Shed no blood, throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. So in verse 24, they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it. It’s a good thing because Joseph would have drowned if there was.

And in verse 25, they sat down to eat. This reveals the extreme hardness of their hearts. Imagine your brother approaches, you take him, you throw him into a pit that he can’t escape from, and then you sit there and eat while he cries out for help.

Because we’re told that they could hear Joseph from where they ate in Genesis 42:21, says they said to one another, in truth we are guilty concerning our brother in that we saw the distress of his soul when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us. Imagine how hard a heart needs to be in order to sit there and listen to the cries of your own brother.

So as they were eating, a caravan of Ishmaelites approached and Judah noticed and said to his brothers, what profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? So Judah now is going to propose that instead of killing Joseph, that they sell him to slavery. This sounds like Judah is maybe having a change of heart and wanting to save his brother and not shed his blood. Seems like this is maybe a better plan, but it’s actually worse.

Not worse in the sense that Joseph is better off dead. Of course he certainly isn’t, but it’s worse regarding Judah’s motives. Because Judah knew that they were going to ruin Joseph’s and Jacob’s lives no matter what. Whether they kill him or whether they sell him. But he decided that if they’re gonna ruin these two lives anyway, might as well make some profit off of it. That way they’re not just ridding themselves of an annoying brother, they’re making a little bit of cash as well. So they gain two things in their minds. They get rid of their brother and they make some money. And Jacob is gonna be absolutely devastated no matter what.

So in verse 27, his brothers listen to him, unlike Reuben. Reuben was the firstborn and his brothers didn’t really seem to listen to him much and clearly his brothers just don’t really have a whole lot of respect for Reuben, but they do have respect for Judah because he’s the one that they listen to.

So in verse 28 we’re told the Midianite traitors passed by. They drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit. Imagine being Joseph right now. Imagine what he’s thinking. He’s thinking that his brothers just played a cruel joke on him. Or maybe they changed their minds about wanting to kill him. Maybe he was even apologizing as they are pulling him up for telling him the dreams and saying, guys, I’m sorry, I should have never told you those dreams. Just don’t ever do that to me again. I’m really sorry. And then his brothers turn around and sell him into slavery immediately. Anyway, imagine being pulled out of that cistern, out of that pit, thinking your life was saved and that your brothers changed their mind, that it was going to be okay, and then you’re sold into slavery.

So verse 29, when Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes, which is an expression of extreme grief and despair. And he said in verse 30, the boy is gone and I, where shall I go?

So in verse 31, they took Joseph’s robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. Earlier in Jacob’s life, he killed a goat to make a stew to deceive his father, Isaac, into thinking that Jacob was Esau to receive the birthright. Now his sons are doing the same thing to him. They’re killing a goat to deceive his father, to deceive Jacob into thinking that Joseph was dead.

So they took the robe, they dipped it in the goat’s blood, they brought it to Jacob, and Jacob identified it and said, it is my son’s robe, in verse 33. A fierce animal has devoured him. So Jacob was convinced that Joseph was dead, and in fact, the way his brothers presented it, they found the coat without finding Joseph’s bones. So that’s why Jacob didn’t even try to find him. He assumed that Jacob had been completely, not just attacked and killed by an animal, but eaten as well.

So Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on, and in verse 35, all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning. Sheol is a Hebrew word for the grave or death.

So in verse 36, we’re told that meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard. So this foreshadows what is going to happen to the rest of his brothers in a few generations. They’re going to be sold in slavery to the Egyptians. And we’re told that Potiphar is the captain of the guard, which is Pharaoh’s personal bodyguard, like his secret service, essentially. And he would have been in charge of executions. So this is Potiphar’s role.

And the story’s gonna leave off there. And in the next episode, we’re gonna take a break from the story of Joseph, and we’re gonna talk about the story of Judah, which is gonna take place simultaneously to the next several chapters of Joseph’s life.

Let’s talk about how this chapter points to Jesus. So as I mentioned earlier, Joseph is a picture of Jesus in this chapter. All sorts of ways. First, he was loved by his father. In John 3:35 it says the Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. So both Joseph and Jesus were loved by their father.

Joseph was obedient to his father just like Jesus was obedient to his father. John 6:38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.”

Joseph wore a royal robe, just like Jesus wore a royal robe. In Mark 15:17, it says, “‘And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him.’”

Joseph was destined to be worshiped by Israel just like Jesus is destined to be worshiped by Israel. In Romans 11:26 it says and in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, the Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob. So all Israel one day the entire nation of Israel is gonna be saved and will worship Jesus. That’s what that chapter in Romans is talking about.

All Israel would bow to Joseph willingly. We’re going to see that in a few chapters and that’s going to be the case for Jesus as well. In Ezekiel 20 verse 40 it says, For on my holy mountain, the mountain height of Israel declares the Lord God, there all the house of Israel, all of them shall serve me in the land. There I will accept them and there I will require your contributions and the choicest of your gifts with all your sacred offerings.

Joseph was hated and rejected by his brothers, as was Jesus in Isaiah 53:3. Very popular verse, very well known verse. It says, he was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Joseph’s rejection would lead to Israel’s exile from the land of Canaan. The same with Jesus. Jesus’ rejection would lead to Israel’s exile from the land of Canaan several thousand years later. In Matthew 24, verse 1 through 2, Jesus left the temple and was going away when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple, but he answered them, You see all these, do you not? Truly I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. So Jesus was giving a prophecy there of what would turn out to be the fulfillment in 70 AD, where the temple in the city of Jerusalem was destroyed by Rome and the people of Israel were exiled to the nations because they rejected their Messiah who had come to them.

However, the dispersion of Israel would result in the salvation of the Gentiles. Just like Joseph being exiled resulting in the salvation of the Egyptians, Jesus and Israel rejecting Jesus and being dispersed would result in the salvation of the Gentiles as well. Romans 11:11 says, so I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? Talking about Israel, he says, by no means, rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles so as to make Israel jealous.

Joseph was wandering alone, all by himself. Jesus also wandered alone by himself. Luke 9:57-58 says, as they were going along the road someone said to him, I will follow you wherever you go. Jesus said to him foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. He is saying that you want to follow me you got to be like me meaning I don’t have a home. I wander from place to place you got to be willing to do the same thing.

Joseph’s brothers conspired against him same with Jesus. Jesus brothers conspired against him in the sense that Israel or his brothers his disciples Luke 22 verses 3 through 6 Then Satan entered into Judas, called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them, and they were glad and agreed to give him money. So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd.

Joseph was placed where he could never be rescued, in that cistern, in that pit where he couldn’t climb out of it. Same with Jesus, he was placed where he couldn’t ever be rescued, up on a cross. In Matthew 27:41-42 it says, So also the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him, saying, He saved others he cannot save himself. He is the king of Israel, let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe him.

Joseph descended below the earth when he was thrown into that pit and Jesus also descended below the earth. In Ephesians 4:8-10 Therefore it says, when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. In saying, He ascended, what does it mean, but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. And in Matthew 12.40 it says, For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Joseph was sold by his brothers as was Jesus. Matthew 26:14-16 says, Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, What will you give me if I do deliver him over to you? And they paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. Obviously, that’s the same story that I read just a couple points ago, but the point previously was to highlight the betrayal. Here is to highlight the money that was given in exchange for Jesus.

Joseph was as good as dead. His father Jacob believed that he was dead. And Jesus, of course, died in Luke 23:46. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, into your hands I commit my spirit. And having said this he breathed his last.”

And the last one here, Joseph was sent to Egypt as a child. Jesus was also sent to Egypt as a child. In Matthew 2, verses 13-15 it says, Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, and said, Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him. And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, out of Egypt, I called my son. So many, many parallels between Joseph and Jesus.

This chapter is full of references to the coming Messiah, to the promised seed that would eventually be Jesus.

So a question I have for you to reflect on for the next week is this. Why did God choose to use Israel’s sin instead of confronting it and stopping it? Why do you think God didn’t confront Joseph’s brothers and instead allowed them to continue down this murderous path and use their sin for good later instead? Why didn’t God choose a different way? Why didn’t God confront their sin and stop them from doing it and then find a different way to get Joseph down to Egypt?

I touched on this a bit earlier, but I want you to meditate on that. I want you to think about that because the way that you answer this question is going to reveal how you view God. That’s not a bad thing. That just tells us how we see God. So meditate on that question over the next week and let’s pray.

Lord. Thank you so much for everything that you’ve spoken to us in your word. Thank you that we have difficult stories like this that challenge our understanding of who you are and how you work through human circumstances. I pray that you would reveal yourself to us as we continue to meditate and think about this chapter over the next week. Pray that you would reveal to us your goodness and your mercy and your great plan as you work through circumstances and we may not always understand and I ask that you would give us the peace to be okay with not understanding. And to also recognize that you are sovereign and you are God and you are almighty and you are all-powerful. Bless those who are listening. Thank you for each one of them in Jesus name. Amen

Well thanks for listening. Don’t forget, always want to hear your feedback so go ahead and leave a comment on social media, leave a comment on the website, beyondthebasics.blog, click that like button, the subscribe button, give this show a five star rating. Tell your friends, tell your family, love to be able to reach as many people as possible with this study and hopefully bless as many people as possible.

Thanks once again. I will talk to you on the next episode and we’re going to get into the life of Judah in Genesis chapter 38.

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