Joseph: Preferred, Predestined, and Despised

JOSEPH: PREFERRED, PREDESTINED, AND DESPISED

An Exposition of Genesis 37:2-11

By Pastor Brian Wilbur

Date: April 21, 2024

Series: The Book of Genesis

Note:   Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard   Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Scriptural Text

Holy Scripture says:

² These are the generations of Jacob.

Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. ³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe 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 peacefully to him.

⁵ Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. ⁶ He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: ⁷ Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”⁸ His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

⁹ Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” ¹⁰ But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” ¹¹ And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind. (Genesis 37:2-11)

Introduction

As we come the beginning of Genesis 37:2, we have come to the final section of the Book of Genesis. This section begins at Genesis 37:2 and runs all the way to Genesis 50:26. The heading for this final section is: “These are the generations of Jacob.” (v. 2) While Jacob continues as a major character, this section is primarily focused on Jacob’s twelve sons, especially Joseph.

We need to be careful not to read our speculations or assumptions into the text. For example, someone (but not me!) might summarize verses 2-11 as follows: Joseph was an arrogant goody two-shoes who had a special bond with his father, liked to tattle on his brothers, and professed his grandiose ambitions for the future – so it is no wonder that his more ordinary brothers hated him! However, there is speculation and distortion injected into a summary like that. The truth of the matter is that the text doesn’t reveal Joseph’s attitude: the text doesn’t say that Joseph was proud or self-righteous or ill-willed. Furthermore, Joseph’s dreams were not dreams that he cooked up in order to make himself the hero of his family. Instead, Joseph’s dreams were prophetic insights from the Lord that accurately foretold the future. We know this because these dreams came to fulfillment later in the Book of Genesis.

We also have to be careful not to turn this passage into a morality tale. If this passage was a morality tale, perhaps we might conclude: don’t have multiple wives (Jacob had four wives, two of whom are named in verse 2); don’t favor one child over your other children; don’t give a special gift to one child unless you give a comparable gift to every other child; or keep your dreams to yourself. Or perhaps we want to sit back in our comfortable recliner and imagine ourselves giving advice to Joseph – our advice might be called, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”.[1]

As interesting as all these threads of thought might be, they are not the point of the text. The point is far grander than that.

If you are familiar with Joseph’s story, then you know that Genesis 37:2-50:26 is fundamentally the gospel of Jesus Christ dramatically previewed for us through the life of Joseph. It could also be called the story of God’s faithful care for His unfaithful people through His chosen servant. So, what we really need to reckon with in verses 2-11 is how these verses introduce God’s chosen servant and how these verses introduce the unfaithful people who stand in need of salvation.

I’ve titled this sermon “Joseph: Preferred, Predestined, and Despised”. When I say that Joseph is preferred, predestined, and despised, what I mean is: Joseph is the preferred son of his earthly father, predestined by God to rule as an exalted prince, and despised by his brothers.Let’s look at each of these three points.

Joseph is the preferred son of his earthly father (v. 2b-3)

First, Joseph is the preferred son of his earthly father. Joseph was the youngest of eleven brothers. I will set aside the question of whether or not Benjamin had been born at this point. I think it is plausible that he hadn’t been born yet, but the timeframe of Benjamin’s birth doesn’t affect the meaning and significance of this passage. Benjamin, of course, was Joseph’s full brother, having the same father (Jacob) and the same mother (Rachel). Joseph’s other ten brothers were half-brothers. But setting Benjamin to the side, of Jacob’s first eleven sons, Joseph was the youngest of the eleven.

We meet Joseph at the age of seventeen years in verse 2: he was a shepherd of the flock alongside his brothers. Joseph and his ten older brothers were all born within a seven-year timeframe back in Genesis 29-30. So, Joseph and his ten older brothers would have all been aged between 17-24 years. Joseph was a shepherd of the flock alongside his other brothers. He spent a considerable amount of time with the four brothers who were “the sons of Bilhah [Dan and Naphtali] and Zilpah [Gad and Asher]”. On one occasion, he brought back a bad report about these brothers.

Joseph seems to have been a trusted source of information for his father. Later, in verse 13-14, Jacob sends Joseph to see how it goes with his brothers who were pasturing the flock, and Jacob tells Joseph, “bring me word” (Genesis 37:14). Back in verse 2, Joseph brought their father a bad word regarding Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. We don’t know the content of this bad report, but it probably reflected on the less than stellar character of the four men. Joseph played the role of inspector general, and it most certainly didn’t endear him to his brothers.

In any case, Jacob – who is also named Israel – “loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age.” The statement that Joseph was the son of Jacob’s old age is a bit dramatic, since Jacob didn’t start having kids until he was already old, and his first eleven sons were all born within a seven-year window, with Joseph being the youngest. And that may be the gist of the phrase anyway: Joseph was the youngest, and had an especially tender place in Jacob’s heart. It is worth pointing out that Joseph was also the son of Jacob’s favorite wife Rachel, and while that probably impacted Jacob’s outlook, nothing is said about it here.

Jacob’s preferred love for Joseph was a tangibly expressed reality, most notably expressed in the gift of a special robe. The specialness of the robe is evident from a few vantage points:

• First, Jacob made it for Joseph. Jacob didn’t purchase it, but handcrafted it himself.[2]

• Second, the robe was passim. In our English translations, passim is rendered either ‘long sleeves’ or ‘many colors’. For our purposes, it is enough to say that the robe wasn’t a mere functional robe but a beautiful robe. The only other use of passim in the Old Testament is in 2 Samuel 13:18-19, which tells us that “the virgin daughters of the king” (2 Samuel 13:18) wore a passim robe. Virgin princesses in 2 Samuel 13, and the man destined to be prince in Genesis 37, are the only two instances of a passim robe in the Old Testament. It indicates something beautiful and special.

• Third, the word “robe” itself doesn’t occur frequently in Genesis and Exodus, and when it does, it is special. God made a robe for Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:21 – that’s the first occurrence of this Hebrew word. The second occurrence is here in Genesis 37 – Jacob made a robe for Joseph. The third occurrence is in Exodus 28 describing the priestly garments.

All of this points to the specialness, uniqueness, and significance of the robe that Jacob made for his son. Jacob clothed Joseph in an elegant symbol of his love for Joseph. It is plausible, if not provable, that the robe expressed Jacob’s confidence in Joseph and symbolized an authority that Joseph was to exercise on his father’s behalf among his brothers.[3] The timeline of events is uncertain, but if Reuben had already committed his firstborn-disqualifying sin mentioned in Genesis 35, then it is possible that the special robe signified that Jacob was conferring the right of the firstborn upon Joseph.[4] Those possibilities are worth considering, but what is clear and unmistakable is that Jacob was honoring Joseph above his other sons, and the special robe signified his great and preferential love for Joseph.

We can debate whether or not it was wise for Jacob to honor Joseph above his other sons. But we must remember the context. Abraham conferred his covenant heritage upon Isaac only, and not on his other sons. Isaac conferred his covenant blessing upon Jacob only, and not upon Esau. In both cases, Abraham and Isaac were in sync with the Lord’s plan to extend His covenant through Isaac and through Jacob. Although all of Jacob’s sons are participants in the covenant, nevertheless the Lord did have a special plan for Joseph, and it is reasonable to say that Jacob’s special regard for Joseph may well have been a reflection of the Lord’s special plan for Joseph.

Unfortunately, Jacob’s other sons were not in sync with the Lord’s special plan for Joseph: “But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.” (v. 4) Their relationship with Joseph was totally dysfunctional – and we will return to this shortly.

Joseph is predestined by God to rule as an exalted prince (v. 5-7, 9)

Second, Joseph is predestined by God to rule as an exalted prince. The way that Genesis 37:2-50:26 unfolds, it is clear that God is not simply coming in after the fact to clean up the mess that Jacob’s sons made. Some people might read the storyline this way – Jacob’s sons made a mess, and God cleaned it up – but that way of putting it is very inadequate. Yes, Jacob’s sons did make a mess; and yes, God did clean it up. But there’s a lot more going on. The Lord had a plan before Jacob’s sons made a mess. The Lord had a plan to get Joseph down to Egypt (later verses in Genesis make this clear), and the Lord had a plan to get His people down to Egypt (earlier verses in Genesis make this clear). Further, right here in Genesis 37:5-9, it is evident that the Lord had a plan to exalt Joseph as a prince and ruler. Since Joseph’s two dreams in verses 5-9 come to pass, and since Joseph successfully interprets two dreams in Genesis 40, and since Joseph successfully interprets Pharaoh’s two dreams in Genesis 41, there is every reason to think that Joseph’s two dreams in Genesis 37 are, in fact, from the Lord. The Lord has a good plan for His people, and that good plan involves Joseph being honored above his brothers.

In the first dream, Joseph and his brothers were “binding sheaves” (v. 7). A sheaf is a bundle of grain bound together. Each brother had a sheaf. As it happened, Joseph’s “sheaf arose and stood upright”, and his brother’s “sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to [Joseph’s] sheaf.” (v. 7) The point is obvious: Joseph is set apart and lifted up, and Joseph’s brothers are in a subservient role: they honor him. The brothers get the point, and don’t like it: “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” Andrew Steinmann makes a helpful comment about the significance of shepherds being cast in the role of grain harvesters: “This… was a hint of what was to come: they would indeed later yield to Joseph in the matter of gathered grain when they came to Egypt (42:5-6).”[5]

In the second dream, “the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars were bowing down to [Joseph].” This is a remarkable picture. In Genesis 1, mankind is given dominion over the earth and everything in it, but mankind is not given dominion over the sun, the moon, and the stars. In fact, the Lord made the sun and moon “to rule over the day and over the night” (Genesis 1:18). So the picture of the sun and moon, along with the stars, bowing down to a man, is bound to get your attention! Of course, the picture is not meant to be taken literally. Jacob rightly understands that the heavenly luminaries represent Jacob’s family: the sun represents Joseph’s father, the moon represents Joseph’s mother, and the eleven stars represent Joseph’s brothers. Here again, Joseph is exalted above his entire family, and all of them bow down to him. Jacob chides his son for suggesting such a thing: “Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” (v. 10) But even though Jacob rebuked Joseph, he didn’t write it off altogether but “kept the saying in mind.” (v. 11)

The three questions point the way forward

Once we have read all of Genesis 37-50, we realize that the three questions posed by Joseph’s father and brothers have a positive answer. Yes, Joseph will indeed reign over his brothers. Yes, Joseph will indeed rule over his brothers. Yes, Joseph’s family will indeed come and bow down before him. Joseph is predestined by God to rule as an exalted prince, and his family will come to recognize that fact and honor him accordingly.  

Joseph is despised by his brothers (v. 4-5, 8, 10-11)

But none of this is helping Joseph to find favor with his brothers at the present time. And this brings us to the third point of consideration: Joseph is despised by his brothers. Joseph bringing a bad report about four of his brothers (in v. 2) surely didn’t go over well. Then we are specifically told that “when his brothers saw that their father loved him [Joseph] more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.” (v. 4)

After Joseph recounted his first dream about the sheaves, “they hated him even more.” (v. 5) The end of verse 8 reiterates their attitude: “So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.” (v. 8)

After Joseph recounted his second dream, “his brothers were jealous of him” (v. 11). It is very interesting that the word “jealous” is used to describe the attitude of Joseph’s brothers. The same Hebrew word is used in Genesis 26:14 – the Philistines envied Isaac because of Isaac’s great wealth; the Philistines desired for themselves the wealth that Isaac had. The same Hebrew word is also used in Genesis 30:1 – Rachel envied Leah (her sister) because Leah had four sons and she had none; Rachel desired for herself the fruitful womb that Leah had. Here in Genesis 37, the brothers envied Joseph.

But the brothers envied Joseph for what? It’s not just their father’s favor, for their jealousy isn’t reported until after the two dreams. Perhaps the simplest way to put it is that the brothers envied Joseph for his privileged status. The entire picture of verses 2-11 is that Joseph is privileged in various ways: he has his father’s trust (implied in v. 2), he has his father’s love (v. 3), he wears a robe of splendor at his father’s pleasure (v. 3), and in his dreams he is exalted over them (v. 5-9). Undergirding all of this is the great probability that Joseph had already demonstrated better character than his brothers: one by one, Joseph’s brothers display bad character in multiple ways in Genesis 35-38, but Joseph consistently displays good character. They may have even had an uncomfortable suspicion that there was truth in Joseph’s dreams. When you put it all together, the brothers envied Joseph’s privileged status: they wanted what he had. They wanted the favor, they wanted the tokens of love and trust, they wanted to be destined for the top of the pecking order.

Beware of sympathizing too much with Joseph’s brothers. They are not good men. In the future, they will need to be saved from famine. But what they really need to be saved from is themselves: they need to be saved from their sin, their hate, their jealousy. By this time in the narrative, Jacob has been established as a godly man – not a perfect man, but a godly man who knows his God and walks with Him. To hate the son that your godly father favors puts you at odds with your father. Moreover, it is even worse to despise and envy the man that God Almighty has predestined to rule as an exalted prince. It is one thing to be at odds with your imperfect earthly father. It is far worse to be totally at odds with the all-wise and omnipotent God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The brothers are in a bad way, and things are only going to get worse.

An important pattern in Genesis

Now at this point I want to zoom out and show you a pattern that is found in the Book of Genesis, for the narrative about Joseph in Genesis 37:2-11 fits and extends this pattern. The pattern is simply this: those who have God’s special favor are hated by those who don’t.

The first example is in Genesis 4:1-8. There were two brothers: Cain the firstborn, and Abel the younger. Abel, the man of faith, had God’s favor, but his brother Cain didn’t. Cain’s dysfunctional relationship with God bore bad fruit: he hated and killed his brother Abel. The New Testament tells us: “We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.” (1 John 3:12-13) The world hates those who walk in righteousness.

The second example is in Genesis 21:1-14. There were two half-brothers (same father, different mothers): Ishmael the firstborn, and Isaac the younger. Isaac was the son of promise who would walk in the blessings of the covenant, but his brother Ishmael wasn’t. Instead of honoring the covenant son, Ishmael laughed at him (Genesis 21:9), and this got Ishmael and his mother kicked out of the household. The New Testament tells us: “Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh [Ishmael] persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit [Isaac], so also it is now.” (Galatians 4:28-29) Those who remain in bondage to the flesh persecute those who have been set free by the Holy Spirit.

The third example is in Genesis 27:1-41. There were two brothers: Esau the firstborn, and Jacob the younger. Jacob received the covenant blessing, but his brother Esau didn’t. Here again, Esau’s dysfunctional relationship with God bore bad fruit: he hated his brother and wanted to kill him.

Genesis 37:2-11 fits this pattern

So there is a clear pattern going into Genesis 37. The pattern is that the firstborn who doesn’t have God’s favor hates the younger sibling who has God’s favor. What we see in Genesis 37:2-11 fits this pattern, although there is also a variation that must be mentioned.

Notice how Genesis 37:2-11 fits the pattern. Excluding Benjamin, who may or may not have been born yet, Joseph is the youngest of Jacob’s sons. Though the youngest, he has his father’s favor, and more importantly he has God’s special favor. In the case of Joseph, the antagonist is not the firstborn but all ten of his older brothers, who are disposed to a variety of sins: Simeon and Levi, to violent rage (Genesis 34); Reuben the firstborn, to sexual immorality (Genesis 35:22); Judah, to sexual immorality (Genesis 38); and all of them to heinous cruelty (in Genesis 37:12-36); and all of them to hatred and jealousy (here in Genesis 37:2-11). These brothers respond to Joseph in the same basic way that Cain responded to Abel, that Ishmael responded to Isaac, and that Esau responded to Jacob – with hatred and jealousy. When God predestines a man to rule as an exalted prince, my job is to humbly bow before the sovereign hand of God, and to render honor to whom honor is due. That the brothers respond to a prophetic vision from the Lord with such disdain reveals to us how far their hearts are from God.

Notice that Jacob, who also enjoys God’s special favor, does not put himself at odds with Joseph on account of his dreams. Yes, his first reaction to Joseph’s second dream is disbelief and rebuke, but in the end the father was willing to “[keep] the saying in mind.” This shows humility on Jacob’s part – and perhaps Jacob remembered that he himself had received a significant dream from the Lord many years earlier. But Joseph’s brothers had no such humility, and they were ready to take violent action as a remedy for their own wounded pride.

Hatred inside the covenant community

Now I said that though Genesis 37:2-11 fits the earlier pattern involving Cain and Abel, Ishmael and Isaac, and Esau and Jacob, there is also a variation. Though all of these examples involve brothers and tensions within the same family, the variation is that unlike Cain, Ishmael, and Esau, all of Jacob’s sons are included in the covenant promises. Cain, Ishmael, and Esau were outside of the covenant promises, but all of Jacob’s sons are included in the covenant promises. All of Jacob’s sons are building blocks in the great nation that God promised to bring about from Abraham. So what we have in Genesis 37:2-11 is hatred, jealousy, and hostility within the covenant community. Don’t miss the lesson: it’s not just that we face hatred and persecution from outside the covenant community; all too often we face hatred and persecution from inside the covenant community.

We see the same thing in the Book of Exodus, when the children of Israel resist Moses’ leadership at various times.

We see the same thing in the ministry of the prophets: “The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arise against his people, until there was no remedy.” (2 Chronicles 36:15-16)

The ultimate expression of hatred, jealousy, and hostility within the covenant community took place in response to the coming of Jesus. “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” (John 1:11) In the parable about the tenants working the master’s vineyard, the master’s son pays a visit to the vineyard, but the tenants hate him and envy the son’s inheritance, and so they “[throw] him out of the vineyard and [kill] him.” (Matthew 21:39)

We must discover the riches of God’s grace

Last week I had the opportunity to declare the Lord’s judgment against Edom, and I included words of judgment that Amos spoke against Edom (Amos 1:11-12). But I should tell you that the words of judgment spoken against Edom are a very small part of that book. Most of the Book of Amos is a word of judgment against Israel for Israel’s sin. Our greatest need is not to be saved from our enemies; our greatest need is to be saved from ourselves, from our own sins, and from the righteous judgment of God that we so richly deserve. The Book of Amos includes this well-known rebuke:

“I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5:21-24)

If our personal lives and relationships with each other are characterized by injustice and unrighteousness, then our worship services and our songs are a sham. Joseph’s brothers need to hear the same instruction that the apostle Peter gives to us in the first verse of 1 Peter 2: “So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.” (1 Peter 2:1) Of course, we cannot successfully put away these sins unless we first discover the riches of God’s grace for sinners, as 1 Peter 1 makes clear.

Joseph’s brothers will discover the riches of God’s grace for sinners in subsequent chapters, but only after they have made a complete mess of their lives. Do you know how the story goes? The beloved son who is predestined to rule as an exalted prince, gets hated and rejected by his brothers and sold into slavery. Then through the course of many sufferings, the beloved son becomes the prince of Egypt who provides life-giving grain for, and proclaims sin-forgiving grace to, his brothers. The beloved son must suffer many things and be rejected, before he enters into the glory of his dominion. Does this sound familiar? That’s the gospel story. That’s the Joseph story. And it is in this story that we can discover or rediscover the riches of God’s grace for sinners like us.

Let’s humbly put ourselves in the position of Joseph’s brothers

When we read a passage like this one, it is best not to put ourselves too quickly into Joseph’s position, as if you or I are the one that God has predestined to rule as an exalted prince. We can get there eventually, since that is part of our high calling in Christ, to be glorified with Him and to reign alongside Him. But we shouldn’t start there. We should start by putting ourselves into the position of Joseph’s brothers, who don’t know what’s good for them, and who are unruly in their opposition to the man of God’s choosing. Here’s the thing: Joseph was predestined to reign over them for their good. Joseph was predestined to rule over them for their provision and preservation in a time of severe famine. And so, they hated the very one who had been appointed to bring about their deliverance.

Thanks be to God, that He doesn’t withdraw His plan because of our opposition to it! Remarkably, He actually incorporates our opposition into His good plan for us, and He carries through His project of grace for insecure, hateful, unpeaceful, jealous, and self-absorbed people like Joseph’s brothers and like us. Be assured: this is very good news!

So, like Jacob, keep all of this in mind, and watch God’s mysterious grace unfold before your very eyes.

ENDNOTES

[1] I refer to the title of the famous book How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

[2] Of course, it is possible that Jacob employed the agency of someone else to make it, but the basic point remains: Jacob didn’t merely purchase the robe, but proactively saw to it that it was made for Joseph.

[3] See Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record, p. 535-536 (full bibliographic information below).

[4] See Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Book of Genesis, p. 480-481 (full bibliogrphaic information below).

[5] Andrew E. Steinmann, Genesis, p. 350 (full bibliographic information below).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fruchtenbaum, Arnold G. The Book of Genesis (Ariel’s Bible Commentary). Fourth Edition. San Antonio: Ariel Ministries, 2020.

Morris, Henry M. The Genesis Record: A Scientific and Devotional Commentary on the Book of Beginnings. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1976.

Steinmann, Andrew E. Genesis (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries). Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2019.