Genesis 37:1-17 NKJV
37 Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2 This is the history of Jacob.
Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.
5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. 6 So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”
8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”
10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
12 Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.”
So he said to him, “Here I am.”
14 Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.
15 Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?”
16 So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.”
17 And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.
We noted that God was not mentioned in Genesis 34, and God-less activities ensued. His name is understandably omitted from chapter 36, where Esau’s descendants are named. Chapter 37 is the third and final chapter in Genesis where God is not mentioned, and the reason is again apparent, for God-lessness always results in wicked behavior.
The more we’re shown of Joseph, and the more we’re shown of his older brothers, the easier it is to understand, at least from a practical perspective, why Jacob would have loved him more. Joseph was, by far, the godliest and most obedient son of Israel. But Jacob’s reasons seem to have been more self-centered, and the foolishness of parental favoritism is evident in this chapter, as it always breeds envy and contempt.
God, on the other hand, is always right when He favors the righteous, as He did in showing Joseph how he would one day rule over his brothers (as revealed in the first dream) and even over his parents (as revealed in the second dream). Both the dreams and the telling of them were from God. But the brothers’ reaction to them was from the devil.
Still, as we see in the coming chapters, God is able to use even devil-inspired works to accomplish His good purposes. As for the righteous, we should learn from what follows that, when we are mistreated by men, it is not necessarily a sign of God’s disapproval. Joseph gladly obeyed his father and committed no sin against his brothers, and yet he would suffer their hatred, and far worse. So must all the righteous patiently and obediently walk the path of suffering before they are finally exalted, for even the suffering is governed and restrained by the hand of the One who sits enthroned at the right hand of the Father. Indeed, Christ Himself was the truly righteous, truly obedient, truly favored Son of God the Father, yet even He walked the path of suffering before being exalted, enabling Him to sympathize with us when we, like Joseph, and like Jesus, suffer for doing good. Let us pray: O Lord Jesus, keep us from bitter envy and ugly hatred, and, even if we suffer at the hands of others, help us not to hate them in return, but to endure all things with patience, trusting in Your mercy and help. Amen.