JOSEPH SEEKING HIS BRETHREN Genesis 37:12-36
Genesis 37:16 And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
The father sent the son to seek his brethren.He was sent, and he was to return:
Genesis 37:14 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.
So our Lord Jesus Christ was sent on a mission, and He was to return to the Father Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
First notice,
I. HIS BRETHREN WERE BIASED 18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. 19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. (a) THE PROBLEM Jealousy
Genesis 37:8 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.
He was loved by his father, but he was hated by his brethren. They hated:
A. His Purity 2 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.
B. His Preference Genesis 37:3-4 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. 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.
C. His Prophecies 5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
John 8:40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. (b) THE PLAN 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: They Planned His : - Death, Disposal, Their Defence (c) THE PRETENCE Genesis 37:29-33 False witnesses lied about Jesus.
A. They lied about the danger - The danger was not some evil beast, but some evil brethren!
B. They lied about the death - The lie of the "swoon theory" about Jesus
C. They lied about the deliverance -They brought him out of the pit, but said that Joseph was devoured.
(d) THE PURPOSE and we shall see what will become of his dreams. Hebrews 11: 22 By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones. 1. God Trusted Him with Ability! 2. God Tested Him with Adversity!
A. He Faced Unforeseen Abandonment!
B. He Fought Unexpected Allurement!
C. He Found Unrivalled Advancement! 3. God Triumphed Him with Authority!
A. His Confidence in the Promise of God!
B. His Comparison with the Person of God! 2. HIS BRETHREN WERE BAD
Genesis 37:2 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.
Romans 3:9-10 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
A. Their attitude was bad - envious
B. Their affections were bad - unnatural Not natural to not love your own brother
C. Their actions were bad
1. They planned a murder
2. They plotted a sale THE PRICE Genesis 37: 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.
What was Joseph's life worth?
A. It was the price of a servant
1. Christ died as the suffering servant of God.
B. It was the price of sin
1. Not the sin of Joseph, but of his accusers.
2. Christ died not for His own sin, but for the sin of His accusers.
C. It was the price of salvation
1. The betrayal of Joseph was instrumental in providing future salvation for his brethren during the coming famine.
2. Christ's death provided redemption for us.
3. They punished their father D. Their aims were bad Mt 27:22 Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
3. HIS BRETHREN WERE BLINDED
Genesis 37:6-8 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?
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
They were blinded
A. To their faults John 8:39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
B. To their foolishness 1Co 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
C. To their future - John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
4. HIS BRETHREN WERE BITTER
Genesis 37:11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
Matthew 27:18 For he (Pilate)knew that for envy they had delivered him.
Luke 19:14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
They Rejected His :- Person Father's Son Position Younger Son Possession Beloved Son (Coat of many colours)
5. HIS BRETHREN WERE BELOVED
Romans 11:28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.
Likewise, the Jews are beloved by God, as evidenced by
A. The starting of the nation
B. The sending of the Son of God
C. The suppling of the scriptures
D. The security of the nation (world wars)
E. The salvation of the nation in the future Ro 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. :26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
