We are beginning a new series today called God In The Midst of Suffering. One of the hardest aspects of trials and suffering is wondering where God is in the moment. It does not look like God is with us. It does not feel like God is with us. So we are going to spend our time in this series looking for God in the midst of suffering. Our source text for this study will be from Genesis as we look at the life of Joseph. Take your copies of God’s word and open it to Genesis 37.
Family Problems (Genesis 37:1-4)
We are quickly introduced to one of the sons of Jacob whose name is Joseph. He is 17 years old and he tending the sheep with his brothers. The implications of verse 2 is that Joseph is with all of his brothers, except Benjamin. Joseph and Benjamin are from a different mother, Rachel, than the other brothers. But we are immediately told that all is not well in this family. This is not a family in harmony or a family of righteousness. In Genesis 37:2 we are told that Joseph brings a bad report about the activities of his brothers as they tend the sheep. Now some people want to blame Joseph for this, calling him a tattletale or a slanderer. But this is not in keeping with the tone of record of Joseph. Joseph is constantly portrayed as innocent of the events that are happening to him. So we should not start off the account of Joseph by presuming that Joseph should not have told his father what his brothers are doing. There is not any reason to put a negative layer on Joseph at this point.
Rather, the problem is told to us in verse 3. Israel (remember Jacob’s name was changed to Israel) loved Joseph more than any other of his sons. Jacob loved Joseph more because he was the son of his old age. We know that Jacob loved Rachel who died in childbirth to Benjamin. We also know the tendency of parents to favor the younger child. Those with siblings know that the baby of the family seem to be able to get away with things that the older children were unable to do. But, if this was not bad enough, Jacob showed that he loved Jacob more. In verse 3 we read that Jacob made Joseph an ornate robe. This is a Hebrew word that we do not know exactly what it means. Some transitions read that this was a multicolored robe, which comes from the Greek translation of the text. Some translations read that this was a long-sleeved robe. Whatever the robe looked like, clothing was expensive at that time and receiving this ornate robe truly showed Jacob’s love toward Joseph over his other children.
This favoritism spilled over to family problems. In verse 4 we read that the brothers hate Joseph when they saw how their father loved Joseph more. Please let the ending of verse 4 sink in. The brothers hated Joseph so much that they could not even speak a kind or peaceful word to him. In short, family life is a disaster. The brothers hate Joseph. You can only imagine what dinner looked like if no one can speak a peaceful word to him. This is not a happy family. This is a broken family.
Fantastic Prophecy (Genesis 37:5-11)
But God is not going to improve Joseph’s life at this point. Now God sends Joseph a dream. Remember that at this time God would speak to people through dreams and visions. The writer of Hebrews makes this point at the open of his sermon.
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…. (Hebrews 1:1-2 ESV)
Joseph’s experience is not a model for us today because God declares that now he has spoken through his Son, not through the many ways and times like he did before. People understood in that day that dreams had prophetic meanings (cf. the butler, baker, and Pharaoh in Genesis 40-41). Now Joseph starts having dreams which he shares with his brothers. Joseph tells them his dream that they were binding sheaves of grain in the field when his sheaf stood up and their sheaves gathered around his and bowed down to it (Genesis 37:5-7).
The meaning of the dream is clear and the brothers plainly understand the meaning of the dream. They challenge Joseph in verse 8. “Are you really going to reign over us?” “Are you really going to rule us?” But notice the result in verse 8. The brothers hate Joseph all the more because of his dream and what he said. But then God gives Joseph another dream which is not going to make things any better. Joseph tells his brothers that this dream was that the sun, moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to Joseph (Genesis 37:9). Now look at what Jacob says to the son that he loves more than the others in verse 10. Jacob rebukes Joseph. “Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” Now the dinner table is really full of animosity. Everyone is upset with Joseph. No one is happy with him. The scene ends with the brothers jealous of Joseph (Genesis 39:11). The tension in the family is building to the point of explosion. But we are also told that Jacob kept what Joseph said in mind.
Finally Sold (Genesis 37:12-38)
Verse 12 begins like it is just another day with the family. The brothers are tending the sheep and Joseph is sent by Jacob to make sure they are doing well. Joseph goes looking for his brothers at Shechem but they are not there. Joseph finds a man wandering in the fields who directs him to go to Dothan. As the brothers see Joseph approaching, they plot to kill this dreamer. The plan was to throw him in a pit and tell everyone that a vicious animal ate him. Notice the point of emphasis in verse 20. “Then we will see what becomes of his dreams!” The brothers are rejecting Joseph’s dreams and actively trying to make sure that what he dreamed does not happen. If we kill him, then his dreams cannot happen. I would further like you to see that these brothers are just consumed by hate. They do not care about Joseph’s life at all. They have no moral conscience at this point. Let’s just kill him and be done with this guy.
Reuben, the oldest brother, steps in and says to not kill him. Go ahead and throw him in the pit but do not kill him. You will notice in verse 22 we are told what Reuben was thinking. He is planning on coming back to the pit and rescue him. Reuben might be trying to win some favor with his father. The text says that he would rescue Joseph from his brothers and restore him to his father. So this is the new plan. They strip Joseph of his ornate robe and threw him into a waterless pit. Now I want you to see the callousness of these brothers even more. While Joseph is in the pit, the brothers are sitting, eating a meal. We are told later that Joseph was crying out to his brothers while he was in the pit and while they were enjoying their lunch (cf. Genesis 42:21). While they are eating, a caravan of Ishmaelite traders come on their way to Egypt. Judah comes up with the new plan. Why kill him and cover up the murder? We can sell him to the Ishmaelites. After all, he is our own flesh and blood (Genesis 37:27). Let’s not kill him. Let’s make money off of him by selling him for 20 pieces of silver. Now imagine the crying that Joseph is wailing at this moment. Genesis 38 occurs in the life of Joseph sequence to show us what a terrible person Judah is. He sleeps with prostitutes and has no concern for Joseph. Judah’s conscience does not say that Joseph is flesh and blood. He is has suffered enough. Let’s send him home. No, his conscience is seared that he will make money off of him and let someone else kill him. Remember that later in the Joseph account that the brothers think Joseph is dead. We won’t kill him. He won’t survive at the hands of these Midianites who are going to Egypt. So Joseph is sold into slavery. Reuben is outraged when he comes back and finds Joseph missing. His plan for Joseph is ruined. The new plan is to take the ornate robe given to Joseph, dip it in blood, and show it their father. Listen to their callousness again. “We found this. Examine it to see if it is your son’s robe” (Genesis 37:32). Jacob recognizes that this is the robe he gave to Joseph. He assumes that a fierce animal has been torn in pieces. There was no consoling Jacob, no matter what the brothers did. Meanwhile, Joseph ends up in Egypt.
God’s Hand, God’s Plan
Now I want us to think about where God was in all of this. In fact, I want you to think about how God contributed to this problem by giving Joseph these dreams and proclaiming that his family will bow down to him in the future. God’s revelation is what brings this to its critical, sinful end. Remember that when the brothers see Joseph, the action is taken against him because he is the dreamer. They are actively resisting the dreams sent by God about him. God seems to just have ruined Joseph’s life. God does not give Joseph a warning dream. God does not give Joseph a dream about how he should not trust his brothers or go to Dothan or to go check on his brothers. God does not tell Joseph what was coming.
Further, I want you to see that we have a completely fractured family. The brothers are full of jealousy and envy. They are consumed with hate. But here is the amazing thing. God can be at work in a fractured family. God is using the wickedness of the brothers to set in motion their salvation. Please think about the power and gravity of this truth. God will use the wickedness that is occurring in the family to save them. You can experience evil for trying to do good and for circumstances outside of your control. This does not mean that God is not at work. But why didn’t God protect Joseph from his brothers? Where was God in Dothan and why did God stop this from happening? Why is God putting Joseph through this? There are two reasons that we will be taught in the life of Joseph.
First, God is going to transform the life of Joseph. Joseph, like every human on earth, needs suffering and trials to refine his faith to become the person God wants him to be (cf. James 1; 1 Peter 1). God is always at work in suffering. God did not protect Joseph because God was going to use hardships of life to transform him.
Second, God had a bigger plan. Where was God and why didn’t he protect Joseph? The answer that this account will give is that God had a bigger plan at work. But please notice this: no one knew this. Joseph does not understand his dream. The brothers actively resisted the dream. His father rebuked him for the dream. No one thinks that God can have a bigger plan. This is our struggle in trials. We cannot see how God is at work. We cannot believe that God is moving pieces. We cannot understand what God is doing and how any of this makes sense. If Joseph’s family is going to bow down to him, then how could the brothers hate him? It doesn’t make sense. How could the brothers want to kill him? It doesn’t make sense. How could Jacob rebuke him? It does not make sense. None of what is happening to Joseph seems right. But I want us to see that God can work through fractured families. Sometimes the reason for the fractured family is because you are trying to stand for God, stand for truth, and stand for righteousness. A mess may come because of this. We will be tempted to avoid doing and saying what is right because we don’t want to have a fractured family. But we have to say what is right and do what is right because God is at work. Even in the envy, jealousy, and hatred God can be at work through fractured families. So we put our faith in God to accomplish his purposes when our families are a mess for God’s sake.
Jesus Understands
Do not miss something. Jesus understands as this opening for Joseph is foreshadowing what Jesus will experience. Jesus was rejected by his flesh and blood brothers (cf. John 7:5). They did not believe in him. Further, his brothers, the people of Israel rejected him. They will actively resist the revelation of God that Jesus is the Christ who has come to save them, plotting to kill him instead. They push the blame of the Romans to try to be free of the blood of Jesus. He came to his own but his own did not receive him (John 1:11). They rejected that Jesus had authority over them and need to receive him as their king. So they killed him instead. Even one of his own disciples rejected Jesus, selling him for pieces of silver like Joseph was.
But notice how the theme of this chapter carries through to Jesus and to us. God was at work through the rejection of Jesus. God would use their jealousy and hatred as the way to save them and the whole world. Why didn’t God protect his own Son? Where was God when the brothers plot to kill him? The answer is that God had a bigger plan. God will use the wickedness to set in motion their salvation. We often think about how can this be the way to accomplish God’s work. But God works through brokenness to accomplish his purposes. Jesus had a difficult life to understand your difficult life. Jesus understands fractured families. Jesus understands rejection from family and close companions because of your faith and love for God. Jesus went seeking his brothers for their well-being only to be rejected and sent away. You may be seeking the well-being of your family or friends, hoping for their souls to be saved, only to be rejected and sent away. God is with you when you have a fractured family. God is working through the fracture. We must keep standing strong in faithfulness and righteousness knowing that God is working to save even more than we are because God loves every person and does not want any to perish.