Thank You Lord, thank you for revealing the depth of character Joseph walked in during our study this week. I pray that You will open Your Word to us in even deeper levels, bringing forth the understanding we need to fully grasp the sovereignty of God. In Your precious and holy name. Amen.

As you read through this teaching, consider what Paul teaches in Romans 8:28

Joseph is often one of those Bible stories that we’ve heard about from the time we were children. It is a common story but as we mature in Christ, we come to learn that there is a richness in Joseph’s story, a richness that goes much deeper than we realize.

I poured over the scriptures in Genesis (Gen 37, 39-45) this week and I saw our focal point—the sovereignty of God. Understanding the sovereignty of God is crucial in our walk with God. When we are doing our Bible study, reading our scriptures and seeking something deeper out of the Word of God, especially when it is topical like the “sovereignty of God”, we need to keep that at the forefront of our mind. Why? Because doing so allows us to pull out the treasures we need for the days ahead, the treasures that we need in order to be able to see God and view God’s hand in our own lives.

Understanding the sovereignty of God is not only essential for the days ahead, but it’s essential for the times we live in now. It is no less important than what Joseph went through. We know the story—Joseph was the favored son and his brothers were incredibly jealous of him because he was the favored son. Is it right that he was the favored son and that so much favor was poured upon him? No, of course not. Yet, Jacob was clearly showing favoritism to Joseph by handing him the coat of many colors.

I have seen many, many different reenactments of this, everything from a fancy coat to one with a rainbow of colors, to an elaborate lacey coat, but the reality of it is that it symbolized the priesthood of the family which was to be bestowed on the eldest child. It is something that they did in Jewish families. The eldest child received the heritage of being the high priest of the family. When Jacob handed this coat to his favored son Joseph, it only stirred up more strife and jealousy between the brothers. However, God’s hand was upon Joseph.

Joseph was only 17 years old when we start into his story. He was very young and immature. He had his dreams which he shared with his family—innocently, most likely because he was only 17 and was immature. These two dreams indicated that his family would bow down to him, submitting to him in the days ahead. After hearing this, his brothers made a mockery of his dreams. His father rebuked Joseph, but note that the Bible says his Jacob “observed the saying,” meaning he held that dream close to him. He understood there was significance to his son’s dreams (Genesis 37). Of course, we learn that in the days ahead they would surely see his dreams come to pass.

Joseph, being so young, would often be sent by Jacob to check on his brothers. He was a boy of integrity who sought to please his father and do what was right. So, his father would send him out to check on his brothers. He was not being a tattletale; he was simply doing as his father asked. Admittedly, there was a time in my life where I thought, Man, what a tattletale, no wonder they threw you into the pit! However as I matured, my perception of Joseph matured and I saw him as one who sought to submit to the instructions of his father.

This was a very large family, a family of incredible wealth, requiring them to travel far and wide to sufficiently feed their flocks. They couldn’t have huge flocks of sheep grazing in just one area. Instead, they transported them here and there, allowing the grass to replenish itself. Joseph was sent to search for his brothers and see how they (and their flocks) were doing, with strict instructions to return to provide an account to his father. This time, the brothers had gone quite a distance and when Joseph went to go search for them, he had to travel for a several days before finding them. (They were about 75 miles away from their home; depending upon the terrain this could take 4-5 days.)

Joseph obeyed his father, while his brothers responded to him with a heart of rebellion. “Oh, here comes the dreamer!” is not the response of men walking in true integrity. The brothers were in trouble because they were embittered. But Joseph was a boy of integrity and so he was entrusted with getting word back to their father about what they were doing.

When the brothers saw Joseph coming, they set in motion a plan to kill him and rid themselves of this “dreamer” and his dreams, once and for all. I read through this many times and as I did, I wondered, How in the world can you seek to kill another human being, much less your brother? How much bitterness, jealousy and anger must you have in your heart to want to end the life of another?

Jealousy can make us do terrible things, but how much bitterness must have been in their hearts that they would seek to destroy their own brother? Did they stop to think about the consequences of this for their father? How deeply would it grieve him if his son were killed? Their love did not go beyond themselves. It would be great if we all came to a place where we always considered how our actions would affect the people around us; this would certainly indicate someone who has matured.

As the brothers put a plan in place, Reuben—the eldest—the one who should have received the “coat of many colors” and been assigned the priesthood of the family, is the one who rose to protect his brother. He suggested a pit nearby so Joseph’s blood wouldn’t be upon their hands. Yet, secretly, his plan was to come back and get him later and somehow deliver him back to his father. I would like to know how that conversation would have gone as Reuben walked Joseph back up to the house. Joseph would’ve likely either been traumatized or infuriated over what just took place. Reuben would want to prevent this from happening again, but his bottom line would have had to be along the lines of “Please do not send him back out here Dad; do not send him back out to check on us because my brothers have ill intentions in their hearts for him.” I don’t think anyone was thinking beyond the moment. While Reuben was off, the other brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites. Joseph’s journey had just begun as he was loaded up and on his way to Egypt.

To be continued next week…

Blessings & Love,
Ricci Wilson