Joseph came from a dysfunctional home, yet fully surrendered his life to God. Joseph’s dad had thirteen children from four different women. This caused many problems within the family. Joseph’s mom had been Jacob’s favorite. At this point she had passed away. Joseph did not use the loss of his mother as an excuse to rebel against God. Joseph reminds us again and again that we can rise above our circumstances. Jacob chose Joseph as his favorite son above all the others. (vs. 3) This led to great jealousy among his siblings. This coat signified that Joseph was Jacob’s chosen heir. Sibling rivalry presents a very real and dangerous situation. Compounding this problem was Joseph’s righteous behavior and trust in God versus his brother’s spiritual …show more content…
Joseph’s brothers were in an area many miles (approximately 65) away shepherding. Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers. This was in hill country and Joseph’s brothers viewed him coming from a great distance. While Joseph was coming the brothers devised an evil scheme of premeditated murder. (vs. 18-20) Jealousy and any sin will take you further into evil than you ever imagine. Notice their first action was to strip him of his coat. (vs. 23) Could jealousy ever make you feel like killing someone? Everyday people commit murder for such a reason. In the sermon on the Mount, Jesus reveals that hatred in a person’s heart is the same as the sin of murder in someone’s heart. (Matthew 5:21-24) John wrote, “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer.” (1 John 3:15) No murder or crime was ever committed out of love. All crimes are hate crimes. We need to allow the love of Jesus to control our hearts. “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” (Ephesians …show more content…
(vs. 25) Their consciences were evidently not bothering them. While eating they looked up and saw a group of nomadic merchants. Joseph’s brother, Judah, comes up with an alternative plan. (vs. 25-28) Instead of killing Joseph they sold him into slavery and led their father to believe that a wild animal had killed Joseph. Joseph’s brother sold him as a piece of property. Through it all, Joseph retained a godly attitude. Reuben was absent went this transpired. When he returned, he was very upset. He originally planned to return Joseph to Jacob. His main concern, however, was himself. (vs. 30) Selfishness consumed the brothers. Even Reuben’s apparent kindness was self-motivated. To cover up their transgression they killed a goat kid and dipped Joseph’s coat in it. Then, they showed this coat to Jacob who immediately recognized it and assumed that a wild beast killed Joseph. Jacob mourned his loss until the day that he realized that Joseph was still alive. So heavy was his mourning that the brothers were constantly reminded of their evil deeds. The brothers lived in constant guilt and shame. Sin always leads to misery. Your sins will affect more than just yourself. All of Jacobs family would suffer