Genesis Chapter 37

¹ And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.

Jacob settled in the same place on land where his father had dwelled as a stranger.

² These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.

17-year-old Joseph would tattle on his brothers, which I’m sure was part of the reason they didn’t like him. They also saw that Jacob loved him in a special way that they weren’t loved, which didn’t help….but when Joseph started sharing his dreams with them… it was more than they were willing to tolerate.

³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.

Israel (Jacob) gave Joseph this coat of many colors “Ketonet passim” which set Joseph apart from his brothers. This was a very expensive coat to make…possibly made of silk or wool. It was very ornate (many colors) and likely had long sleeves and was ankle length. This gift was very special and receiving it was an honor. An interesting article on the coat of many colors can be found here —-> Coat of many Colors

⁴ And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

⁵ And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.

⁶ And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:

⁷ For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.

⁸ And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

⁹ And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.

Joseph is first given a valuable and precious coat by this father, and it was no secret that he was his favorite….he was tattling on them to their father, and now he is having dreams of them bowing down to him…. it was more than the brothers could stand…. they began to really hate him. The brothers didn’t see what God saw at this point, but one day they would.

¹⁰ And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?

¹¹ And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

While his father rebuked him for sharing this dream, he also took note of it. Perhaps he knew God had plans for Joseph.

¹² And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.

¹³ And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.

¹⁴ And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

¹⁵ And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?

¹⁶ And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.

¹⁷ And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.

¹⁸ And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.

The brothers were not where they were supposed to be. I’m thinking they knew their father would not be pleased that they moved the flock from the lush fields of Shechem to hilly Dothan. Knowing their brother was coming to see what they were doing to report back to their father was the final straw. They were ready to kill him.

¹⁹ And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.

mockery

²⁰ Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.

They plotted his death and added “we’ll see what happens with his dreams then.”

²¹ And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.

Reuben, the oldest of Jacob’s sons, tried to save Joseph’s life by presenting an alternative plan that would leave him an opportunity to save Joseph’s life later.

²² And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.

²³ And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;

Stripping him of his coat, a gift from his father, was likely their way of humbling Joseph and causing him anguish.

²⁴ And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

²⁵ And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.

Being sold into slavery doesn’t seem like God’s hand at work… and yet this one event was the beginning of a plan to save Israel from starving during a drought. It also doesn’t seem like the dreams Joseph had were being fulfilled…. but it was being set into motion. God does answer our prayers, but sometimes we aren’t spiritually ready to receive them or to use them according to God’s purposes. Sometimes a great deal of work has to be done in us first… so that when we do get those things we’re praying for, we’re ready to glorify God with it. Often, most of the time…. this path of growth and transition is a hard road that seems impossible….but its designs to teach us to walk with our eyes focused on Jesus and his purposes. On that road, we’ll visit the Cross and die to our own fleshly desires so we can walk in God’s plan instead of our own fleshly ones, and we will learn how to patiently wait on the Lord.
Joseph had many hard years ahead of him before he reached the dreams God had given him.

²⁶ And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?

Judah comes up with an idea to get rid of Joseph, preserve his life and make some money.

²⁷ Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.

²⁸ Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.

Joseph was sold for 20 pieces of silver and ended up saving Israel, and Jesus was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver and ended up saving all mankind.

²⁹ And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.

³⁰ And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?

³¹ And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;

They devised a plan to cover up what they did with their father.

³² And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.

They broke their father’s heart.

³³ And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.

³⁴ And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

³⁵ And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

I’m sure it didn’t take long for these brothers to regret having done this horrible thing to their father, even if they had no compassion on Joseph…. they had to see the toll the loss of Joseph had on Jacob and live with the knowledge that they were responsible for it.

³⁶ And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.

Meanwhile, in Egypt, God who sees the future, is planning their salvation from a coming famine many years before it comes.