Discussion starter
"You have favourites in this family!" Have you seen favoritism in family life, at your place of study or work? What does it look like and what are the consequences of it?
Note: With the birth of Jacob’s 12 sons, there is a change. We no longer look to see which of the sons will inherit the Abrahamic promise, as we did with Isaac and Jacob. Rather, the promises to Abraham will be fulfilled through the brothers as a group. They will become a community, a nation. Therefore, Genesis 37-50 are not only about Joseph, but about all the sons of Jacob who will constitute the nation of Israel.
However, this does not mean that there is no distinction between the sons. With a family that has been so affected by favoritism and competition, we should expect that some or other of the sons will be singled out for special treatment. It is no surprise that Joseph, the oldest son of Jacob’s favorite wife Rachel, is Jacob’s favourite. The ensuing narrative shows also that God has destined him for a special role of service to his brothers, saving them from the famine God sends (Genesis 50:20). Nevertheless, while Joseph is the pre-eminent character in these chapters, the leadership of the brothers will be bequeathed not to Joseph but to Judah (Genesis 49:8-12).
Joseph is born after his 10 older brothers and at least one sister. He is thus the youngest of Jacob’s children born in Nahor. His name is taken from the verb which means ‘add’ or ‘increase’, for his mother Rachel wanted another son (Genesis 30:24). In the fullness of time, when Jacob was living in the land of Canaan, Rachel bore Jacob one last son, the youngest Benjamin. She tragically died in childbirth (Genesis 35:16-21; compare Genesis 35:23-27).
Read Genesis 37:1-36.
Why did Joseph’s brother’s hate him?
What does the response of Joseph’s brothers show about them?
Note: It is probable that the tales Joseph told on his brothers were not true, as the word is used elsewhere of untrue reports (Wenham, 2:350). Also, Joseph’s dreams are a cause of conflict, and even his father thinks he has gone too far (37:10).
However, the two dreams of Joseph are a divine foreshadowing that one day all his family will bow down to him and he will rule over them. All this predicts Joseph’s rise to power in Egypt. There are two dreams because it will surely happen (compare Pharaoh’s dreams and chapter 41 verse 32). The brothers want to kill Joseph to prove his dreams wrong; but by selling him they will become the means by which Joseph’s dreams are fulfilled (37:19).
Read Genesis 39:1-23.
What is the reason for Joseph’s success in both Potiphar’s house and the prison? (39:2-3, 5, 21-23)
What reasons could Joseph have given for succumbing to the temptations of Potiphar’s wife?
What reasons did Joseph give to not sin?
What actions did Joseph take to avoid this sin?
What things can we do to avoid this sin? Look up 1 Corinthians 6:12-7:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-6; 1 Timothy 5:2; Hebrews 13:4.
Note: Joseph continues to be blessed by YHWH, even though he is unjustly treated first by his brothers, then by Potiphar and his family. He spends 13 years either in slavery or in prison. We again see how suffering and blessing live together in our fallen world. However, during this time, Joseph matures
While in prison, Joseph serves by interpreting two dreams of two royal officials. Joseph correctly predicts the outcomes for these two men from the dreams, and gives the credit to God, for to God belongs the interpretation of dreams (Genesis 40:8; compare Genesis 41:16 where Joseph says ‘it is not in me, God will give Pharaoh a favourable answer’). However, even after this success, Joseph spends another two full years of unjust imprisonment before his release.
But eventually in Chapter 41 Joseph is summoned by Pharaoh to do what the pagan magicians fail to do -- interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. The dreams mean that Egypt and indeed the ancient world will experience 7 good years followed by 7 years of terrible famine. Joseph advises Pharaoh to appoint a wise and discerning person to take a fifth of the produce in the good years as reserve for the lean years to save many lives. So Pharaoh appoints Joseph to be second in charge of the kingdom, at age 30, and he collects all the grain during the 7 good years. He has two sons, Manasseh, meaning ‘God has made me forget all my trouble and my father’s house’ and Ephraim, meaning, ‘God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction’ (Genesis 41:50-52).
As the famine sets in, all the world goes to Egypt for food. This brings Joseph into contact with his brothers once again.
Read Genesis 42:1-28.
Why does Joseph treat his brothers so harshly?
How do the brothers interpret Joseph’s harsh treatment of them? (Genesis 42:21-22)
Why does Joseph take Simeon hostage?
Have Joseph’s dreams been fulfilled yet?
Note: Joseph’s brothers again return to Egypt to buy grain (chapters 43 and 44). This time they bring Benjamin with them. Joseph plays a few mind games with them (like giving Benjamin 5x the food, putting them in age order around his table, making it look like Benjamin stole a cup, and finally bringing Judah to offer himself in place of Benjamin – which we will cover next week), Joseph reveals himself to the brothers.
Read Genesis 45:1-15
What part does Joseph say that God played in his being sold into slavery?
What part did the brothers play? Look up Genesis 50:15-21.
Why did God make Joseph endure the 13 hard years?
How is Joseph contributing to the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham?
Read Genesis 46:1-6.
Why might God need to appear to Jacob to assure him of going down to Egypt?
Why has God led Jacob down to Egypt? (verse 3)
Note: Jacob’s final request to Joseph was that he not be buried in Egypt, but that his body be taken back to Canaan (Genesis 47:29), which Joseph did. Jacob’s blessing of Joseph reflect one who is ‘distinguished among his brothers’ and who is fruitful, despite bitter attacks, for he has received the help and blessing of God (Genesis 49:22-26). Joseph’s death at 110 reflects one who has been blessed by God in this fallen world. He, like his father, asks his family to take his bones from Egypt to the land YHWH promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (50:24-25), which Moses did (Exodus 13:19)
Reading Genesis 49:29-50:21
Let me recount for you the exploits of one family. It is not a pretty sight. The eldest son sleeps with his Father’s wife. The fourth son makes his daughter-in-law pregnant. A much loved sister is raped. The two of her brothers go out and kill not just the rapist, but all his family and the whole suburb. Two brothers are wrongly imprisoned. And in all this, the Father seems either passive or ignorant. What is worse, the father noticeably plays favorites. He loves a particular son, so that all his brothers hate him, and plan to kill him. Where do we find such a family? Underbelly? Long bay jail? In social psyschology text books, as the definition of dysfunctional family life? Is it from a reality TV show, like the Ozbornes, which seems to glory in dysfunction. It definitely is not the Brady Bunch or 7th Heaven!
Where do we find such a family? In the Bible, of course. This is the chosen family that God will use to save the world. For this is Jacob’s family.
Most of the story of Jacob’s family, that is, Genesis 37 to 50, is about Joseph. And Joseph is introduced to us in chapter 37 as a 17 year old dobber and tattle tale. He is a spoilt favorite. There is nothing like favoritism to embitter children, and drive them to anger. Something that we fathers are told never to do (Col 3:21; Eph 6:4). But that is what Jacob does to his 10 older sons. To top it all off, Joseph is a dreamer (37:5-11). Joseph’s dreams are about how great he will be. And many of us know the story. It was actually made into a musical, ‘Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat’. Joseph’s brothers wickedly sell him to traders and he ends up a slave in Egypt.
We’ve heard of rags to riches stories. But this is a riches to rags story. From prince to pauper. It looks like God has abandoned Joseph, doesn’t it. Has he? Has God forgotten his promises to Abraham? Genesis 12:3:
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will cursed, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
Joseph blessed
The answer is no. Even when things are at their worst, as Joseph lay in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, we read:
‘[T]he LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in everything he did (Genesis 39: 23)’ In fact, when Jacob looks back on Joseph’s life to bless him, he says of Joseph: ‘Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. But his bow remained steady … because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb. Your father’s blessing than the blessings of the ancient mountains…’ (Genesis 49:22-26 NIV)
Six times Jacob uses the word blessing to describe Joseph. God blessed Joseph. But does this fact mean that Joseph’s life was easy? No way! It is important that we learn, like Joseph, not to read off whether God is blessing us from the difficult events of our lives. Suffering and difficulty does not mean God is cursing us. We cannot make this deduction from God’s sovereignty. Are things tough? Do people dislike me? Am I unjustly treated or accused? They are not the yardstick of whether God loves us and is blessing us. For we read that at the same time as Joseph was blessed, he suffered, and was tested and tried. And in the story of Joseph, we see that God’s blessing lives with temptation and testing.
Joseph tested with sex and time
Joseph is tested first with sex. Chapter 39 verse 6:
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”
Now, what could Joseph say to this? Unmarried, probably in twenties. He could listen to the ache in his body and say to himself: ‘Surely I deserve this, a little something for me! After all, she wants me! It’s all consensual. We’re all grown up here. It’s good enough for my big brothers! And after all the hardship I’ve suffered! But he doesn’t. Chapter 39 verses 9 to 10:
How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
Joseph, with maturity beyond his years, sees the sin set in front of him as first and foremost an offence against God. And he makes every effort not to leave himself open to temptation. Joseph fled sexual immorality. And so must we. Joseph used his feet, and so must we. Paul warns us:
Flee sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body. (1 Cor 6:18-20 NIV)
Second, Joseph was tested with a long wait. Enslaved at 17 years old, he only emerges from prison at age 30. And even when there was a glimmer of hope, when he sent Pharaoh’s cupbearer out, the cupbearer forgot about him for two years. In other words, Joseph endured 13 years of unjust suffering, as slave, then imprisoned slave.
Joseph’s rise
But when Joseph was vindicated, what a meteoric rise. From Pharaoh’s slave in prison to Pharaoh’s Prime Minister in the palace, all in a day. Joseph’s God-given ability to interpret dreams, his wise advice in the impending crisis, showed that no one was as wise has him. And when his first Son ‘Manasseh’ was born, he called him something like ‘quite forgotten’. Because he forgot all his trouble and his father’s household. (41:51).
But almost as soon as Joseph forgets his worthless brothers, they perversely come back into his life. 20 years after they sold him into slavery, they are hungry and in search of food. And little do they know that Joseph is the only one selling. Joseph recognises them instantly. But they don’t recognise him at all. And in unknowing fulfilment of Joseph’s boyhood dreams, the ones that made them so angry, they bow before him (42:6,9; compare 37:5-11). Indeed, that becomes their typical position in their meetings with Joseph (Genesis 43:26,28; 44:14). Genesis 42 verse 6-7, 9:
‘Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the one who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. … Then he remembered his dreams about them…’ (Genesis 42:6-7, 9 NIV)
So now Joseph’s brothers are at his mercy. And now he can pay them back. And at first glance, it looks exactly like that is what he is doing. It looks like Joseph is like a cat with its mouse, playing games with them. But lets think again about what Joseph is doing.
Test 1: Have the brothers repented?
In the first test, the ten brother’s are imprisoned for 3 days. And they also see Simeon bound (42:7,9). This undoubtedly reminded them of what they did to Joseph, for they say in response: ‘Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come upon us.’ (Genesis 42:21 NIV) Joseph wisely, with tough love, is bringing his brothers to repentance. They are brought to a realisation of their sin.
Test 2: Is a brother better than silver?
In the second test, Joseph returned their silver into their bags (42:25-35). Why? Well, again it seems like a test. The brothers were happy to give up Joseph for 20 pieces of silver. They profited from that transaction, though they lost a brother. Have they repented? Would they again prefer the profit of the extra silver, or would they come back for their brother, Simeon, and bring back the silver that was mysteriously returned?
Test 3: Will they protect the favourite for his father?
Joseph’s third test occurs on his brothers’ second visit to Egypt. This time, Joseph uses his beloved kid brother, Benjamin as the test. For these tests will determine whether the brothers have moved beyond jealousy? Will they protect favoured Benjamin, though he is clearly being spoiled? Or will they give up the remaining son of Rachel as a slave like they did Joseph?
These three tests, his brothers pass. They do think what they did to Joseph is sin. They do care for Simeon more than silver. They will protect Benjamin, even if he is favoured.
And when Joseph reveals his true identity, he also reveals God’s purpose behind all of his hardship and suffering. Chapter 45 verses 4 to 8:
‘[H]e said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you … But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.” (Genesis 45:4-8 NIV)
Here is God’s providential working. A reality that gives all of Joseph’s suffering meaning. Joseph’s brothers did an evil act. They are responsible for what they did. But behind their real evil act, stands a good God, who sovereignly uses that same evil act for good, for salvation, even for their own salvation. In all things, Joseph is teaching his brothers, God works for the good of those who love him. As he says to his brothers 17 years later, after Jacob’s death.
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Gen 50:20-21).
His brother’s human will was malicious, seeking evil. But God willed and intended it for good, for salvation. Both sit together. Human responsibility for sinful choices. And God’s sovereign will to take those sinful choices and use them to wonderfully, miraculously, bring about salvation. That is the way God works. This is the way God worked in Jacob’s family. Through their own sinful acts, God saves them, so that they survive the famine and live in Egypt. And we see the same thing supremely in the death of Jesus Christ. That through human beings sinful slaying of God’s son, God was bringing humanity’s salvation.
‘This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.’ (Acts 2:23 NIV)
The death of Jesus was a wicked act. From the point of view of men. Evil men unjustly condemned him. But the death of Jesus was a good, kind and loving act, from the point of view of God. God planned and predestined it before the foundation of the world for the salvation of his people.
But it wasn’t just Egypt that Joseph saved. And it wasn't just the family of Israel that Joseph saved. It was all who came to Joseph, people from far away lands. And here we see a foretaste of what Jesus would do.
Joseph, the descendant of Abraham, brought blessing to the world by saving them from famine when they came to him. Jesus, the descendant of Abraham, brought blessing to the world by saving them from sin, death and hell, when they come to him.
So Joseph’s favoured son status, his temptations, his suffering, and the salvation that he brings through that suffering for all the world, all point toward Jesus. Jesus was the unique one and only Son, who the Father loved. Jesus was the favourite of his Father. Yet he was tempted, he suffered, he was unjustly arrested, like Joseph. And at the lowest point of his sufferings, his death, he was saving many lives. And so just as Pharaoh raised Joseph to the highest place in Egypt, so God the Father raised Jesus to the highest place in the universe. And just as Joseph could save everyone who comes to him, so Jesus will save everyone who comes to him. Will you? Jesus does not just have a stockpile of 7 years worth of grain to feed the world. He has given his own flesh and blood for the life of the world. So come to Jesus Christ to have your spiritual hunger met, just as the world came to Joseph in their famine.
Now, Jacob, Joseph, indeed all the sons of Israel, died in Egypt. But as far Egypt was concerned, Jacob and Joseph were only ever passing through. They were merely refugees under a temporary protection visa.
Jacob was taken back to Canaan and buried in Abraham’s tomb. And Joseph’s bones remained with the people of Israel in Egypt 400 years (Gen 50:26; Ex 13:19; Joshua 24:32). Joseph lived almost his whole life as an exile out of the promised land. But he was a man of faith, like his fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and looked forward to the exodus. He looked forward to a land that was not his. As the author to the Hebrews says:
‘By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.’ (Hebrews 11:22 NIV).
And this is what every Christian looks forward to. Their exodus to heaven. That is the hope in which we are saved. But a hope that is seen is no hope at all. But if we hope for what we do not have, we wait for it patiently.
Undoubtedly, Joseph under God is the hero of Genesis 37-50. He is used by God to rescue his brothers. He is 'separated' from among his brothers’, head and shoulders above the rest (49:23-26). Joseph is 'the brother of distinction', But he is not King amongst his brothers. No. This honour is not his. Mountains of blessings, yes. But he is not the leader of his brothers, the leader of Israel. For this privilege falls to an unlikely older half brother. Judah. And when we read Genesis 49, we realise that the story of Judah, which has been there all along, is perhaps more important to the story of Genesis than even the story of Joseph. For it is to the line of Judah we must look to find the seed of the woman who will bruise the serpent's head. But that is a little teaser for next week, when we look at 'Judah, the brother of dynasty'.
Let’s pray.
Note on Joseph being 'separated from among his brothers' (Genesis 49:26), the nə-zîr of his brothers. While the first definition of nə-zîr in BDB is ‘prince, ruler, as consecrated’ (translated ‘prince among his brothers in the NIV = Deut 33:1 and cf Lam 4:7, so taken by Wenham, 2:487), a more common usage means ‘Nazarite’, that is, one separated or consecrated from his people. Craigie takes it as ‘the foremost among his brethren’: Craigie, Deuteronomy, 397. It is translated ‘him that was separate from his brothers’ in AV, RV, ‘set apart from his brothes’ in ESV and ‘distinguished among his brothers’ in NASB. The NASB captures both notions of separation and exaltation. With the idea of separation it is used in, eg, Nu 6:2,13,21, also Am 2:11-12. It is thus used of Samson (Judges 13:5,7,16:7). The verb from which the noun is derived ‘nə-zîr’ means dedicate, consecrate, separate in a religious and ceremonial sense: BDB. The LXX translates the phrase using a verb, ‘of whose brothers he was chief’. Calvin helpfully comments on Genesis 49:26, ‘At length he calls Joseph [nazir] among his brethren, either because he was their crown, on account of the common glory which redounds from him to them all, or because on account of the dignify by which excels, he was separated from them all. It may be understood in both senses. Yet we must now that this excellency was temporal, because Joseph, together with the others, was required to take his proper place, and to submit himself to the scepter of Judah’: Calvin, Comm Gen, 2:470, and note translation given in the footnote, ‘one separated from his brothers’. Kidner comment ‘The final phrase, separate from his brothers, speaks of one singled out, not left out: the word is later used of the Nazirite, set apart for God.’: Kidner, Genesis, 222.