A Coat of Many Colors
By Pastor Jim May
All of you probably remember the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors. This morning, being Father’s Day, I want to speak to you about that coat and what it could signify to every father in the church today.
Genesis 37:1-3, "And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 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. 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 colors."
There is no doubt that we could preach today on any number of subjects that could easily pertain to fathers on this day. We could preach about Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel after he wrestled with the angel all night long and experienced a one-on-one encounter with God that forever changed his life and his heart, and made him a better father as a result. That would be a good sermon, especially in a day when there are so many “dead-beat dads” and fathers who don’t even know who their children are. But that’s not where I feel that God wants us to go this morning.
Then we could very easily preach on the fact that Jacob and his sons dwelt in a land wherein they were strangers and pilgrims. That would preach too considering the fact that, as modern day Christian fathers, we are attempting to raise our children as pilgrims and strangers in the earth too. But that’s not where I feel led to go either.
We could also preach about the favoritism that Israel now showed so openly toward Joseph, the favored son of his old age. That would make a good sermon too. I hope that most of us would know by now that to show favoritism to one child over another is to invite disaster and trouble into the home. But it would make a good sermon nevertheless. However, that’s not the message that I need to give you this morning so you can take a breath now.
There are other sermons that can be gleaned from the this passage of scripture as well but I want to get to the point now and begin to minister what the Lord has laid on my heart for each of you fathers in this church, indeed, this message could be for every father in the worldwide church as well.
The fact is that Jacob, now called Israel, loved all of his children. He had 12 sons and in all, and in time, each of these sons was to be the father of one of the tribes of the nation of Israel. He raised all of them and taught them to be respected citizens. Israel taught them the ways of God and never forgot to keep telling the story of his personal encounter with God at Bethel. Israel was a father who really cared. He provided for his children, and spent time with each of his sons and his daughter, training them to be successful in life.
Israel had two wives, Rachel and Leah, and two concubines named Bilhah and Zilpah. Things were quite different in those days and men were allowed to have multiple wives and concubines. It was actually his two wives who convinced Israel to have the two concubines. All four of these women bore children for Israel and all of their children combined make up the 12 tribes of Israel.
Israel’s favorite wife was Rachel but Rachel died giving birth to Israel’s youngest son, Benjamin. Joseph was a little older than Benjamin, and had been born without much trouble. Since Benjamin had been born under such terrible circumstances and because Israel loved Rachel more than the other women, it would be easy to understand why he loved Joseph more than the other children.
The point that I want you to understand, more than anything else, for the purpose of this message today is this – Israel loved Joseph and the love he had for his son began to show in the things that Israel did. Israel had big dreams for Joseph. His hopes and concerns for his Joseph was manifested in the special coat that he made for Joseph. Even though that coat became a focal point of the hatred that Joseph’s brothers had for him, that coat still presented a message to Joseph, to Israel and in turn to every one of the brothers of Joseph.
A coat of many colors carries a special meaning. It was more than just a gift to show a love that a father has for his son. It was more than just an ordinary coat.
What, is so significant about a coat of many colors? That’s what I wondered too until God began to speak to me about it and I spent some time researching the colors. The fact that it wasn’t just a special coat made of special animal skins, or a coat made of extra fine cloth, but it was a coat of many colors, spoke to me that there must be something about those colors in the coat.
(Display an artwork image of the coat of many colors)
As I began to look at the Word of God to find evidence of different colors in the scriptures I was struck with the message that those colors carried and God began to reveal this message for me to give to you as well.
Each of the colors mentioned in the Bible mean something to us. By looking at those meanings, I believe that we can get a vision of what a father should think of his children, and what his hopes and dreams for each of them would be.
Let’s look at some of the colors that may have been in Joseph’s coat and see what Israel could have seen in Joseph when it was given to him.
First there is the color of AMBER, OR YELLOW – this color is only mentioned in the Book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel 1:4, "And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire." Thus we can see that the color of amber was representative of God’s glory.
What significance could this have for Joseph as Israel prepared the coat? I’m sure that Israel thought of his own vision of God’s glory. His intent was that the yellow in the coat should remind Joseph everyday that God’s glory is real and that the presence of God should never be taken for granted. I wonder if Israel put yellow into that coat because he understood that there would come a day when Joseph would need the presence of God in his life to sustain him through the many dark days ahead.
Next Israel put some BLACK into Joseph’s coat. What was he trying to tell his son with that?
For most of us, when we think of the color black, we associate it with mostly the negative side of life. Black has always been a symbol of death, disease, famine and sorrow – all are the results of sin in your life. The only time in the Bible where the color black is spoken of in a positive manner is when there is a mention of black hair, meaning healthy hair.
Could it be that Israel, by giving Joseph this coat, was trying to tell his son that not only could Joseph enjoy the presence and glory of God, but that unless Joseph were to stay true to God, there would also be many days of “blackness” when his son would wander away from God into the world of darkness and sin.
Another color that would likely have been in Joseph’s coat was BLUE. Blue was used throughout the Book of Exodus to describe the curtains and robes of the High Priest that were to be incorporated into serving the Lord in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle in the wilderness. Blue can also be taught as second lesson upon the things of heaven.
It was as though Isaac gave this coat of many colors to Joseph and put some blue coloring into it to signify that he wanted his son to continue to worship God, and to some day make Heaven his home.
The next color that I found was called CRIMSON. You could also call it RED, or SCARLET. There is so much significance in this color that we probably can’t cover them all this morning, but let me give you a few points to consider.
Why would Israel put some red into the coat of many colors? Israel wanted that coat to remind his son, every time he wore it, that there would always be a need to recognize that God required a sacrifice of blood for the sin that would come into Joseph’s life.
Israel was showing his son Joseph, that there would come a day when blood would be needed to wash his sin away, not the blood of bulls and goats, but the blood of the Messiah, the Deliverer that God would surely send. He knew what we have learned by reading in Hebrews 9:22, "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."
Israel had no way of knowing, other than by divine revelation, that Joseph would one day be a ruler in Egypt that would save his people from death due to the famine. He also could not have known that one day, after several generations had passed, the red in Joseph’s coat would be a symbol of the blood of the lamb that was sprinkled upon the doorposts of each house when the death angel swept through Egypt.
Exodus 12:13, "And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt."
Israel also added some red to ever remind his son that there is an adversary out there whose full intent is to kill, steal and destroy Joseph at the first opportunity.
John saw the devil in the Book of Revelation and this is how he described him. Revelation 12:3, "And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads."
Every time Joseph would put that coat on, he would be reminded that the devil was out to destroy him. It would be a constant reminder to stay close to God and not stray far from the presence of God lest he fall into the hands of the powers of hell.
Israel understood that the color Red also signified the power of temptation to draw us away from God and into a world of sin. We are warned of this in the Book of Proverbs.
Proverbs 23:31-35, "Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again."
Somehow through giving Joseph this coat of many colors that included the color Red, Israel was saying to his son the same thing that the Prophet Isaiah would speak to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah many years later, and the same thing that we must tell our children today.
Isaiah 1:18-20, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."
Next I think that Israel may have put a little bit of GRAY into Joseph’s coat. Why would he put gray into it?
I think that Israel wanted to remind his son, that though he was young now, there would come a day when he would be old and gray headed. Gray stood for age, but also wisdom gained from making a lot of mistakes. It was as though Israel was saying to Joseph, “my son, when you are old and gray, I hope that you will not have to look back at your life and see that you have accomplished nothing and that you have wasted your life with riotous living. I hope that you will grow wise and go to the end of your days and say that you have lived according to God’s Law and that your life has counted for something good.”
Isn’t that the same that all of us would wish for our children?
Next, Israel might have put a few patches of GREEN into that coat of many colors.
Psalms 37:1-2, "Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb."
Psalms 23:1-2, " The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures…"
Green could have stood for so many things that Israel wanted to teach Joseph and remind him of with that coat of many colors. He could have been trying to tell Joseph of the great rest in knowing God and lying down in those green pastures. It could have been that God is Joseph’s source of fruitfulness and growth in life just as Green was there in every plant that God had given in the earth from the time of the creation.
It could also have served as reminder that no matter how great the things of this life can be, and no matter how much you might enjoy them, never forget that the green things will some day be gone forever.
Psalms 37:2, "For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb."
Would we not want to tell our children to count only on those things that are eternal and not upon the riches, beauty and things of this present world for they shall all soon pass away.
There are a lot of other colors that Israel could have put into Joseph’s coat of many colors but the last one I want to talk about is WHITE.
White is the color of purity, holiness and righteousness. Israel wanted Joseph to ever remember that only those who live a life filled with White will enter into Heaven’s gates.
He wanted Joseph to put on righteousness, live a holy live and keep himself pure before God. It was a lesson that Joseph would not forget, even when Potiphar’s wife would try to seduce him, Joseph would not grieve the Lord. He learned to flee from temptation and trust in the Lord for what was best for his life.
That coat of many colors would serve Joseph well, even though he didn’t have it for very long. His brothers covered the coat of many colors with the blood of a lamb to make Israel think that a wild beast had killed Joseph after they had sold into slavery.
But the lessons of the colors of the coat stayed with Joseph all of his life and, in the end, Joseph went to his grave with the hope of salvation and deliverance, looking forward to the day of freedom from this world of sin, and to the day when he would enter into Heaven along with all of the faithful.
Fathers, Israel had a lot of high hopes and dreams for his children, especially for Joseph. He desired only the best for his sons and his daughter. Israel’s desire was that all of them should have a wonderful life, filled with only the good things that life has to offer, and in the end, that all of them would make Heaven their home. That’s the same thing that we all want for our children. We want them to have it better and easier than we did.
But Israel was to see many sad and dark days ahead, both for himself and his son Joseph. You see, as far as he knew, he had lost his son forever. He had seen the coat of many colors covered in blood and he lost hope for a while. Life had to go on for him, but there was always something missing now. It was the son that he loved so much.
Fathers here this morning, what hopes and dreams have you had for your children?
Have you wished only the best for them, only to see those dreams shattered by the mistakes your children have made? Have you prayed for your children, cried bitter tears over them, agonized over them, because they have forsaken the ways of God and gone after the things of this world? Have you tried to go on living but there is an emptiness inside because that child for whom you hoped and prayed so much, is dead in sin, and now that close relationship that you once knew, and that you still desire, is gone forever?
Have you given them a “coat of many colors” in the way that tried to teach them to live and to teach them the ways of the Lord so that they could make Heaven their home only to see that coat thrown aside and seemingly forgotten.
Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
That’s exactly what Israel was doing for Joseph with the coat of many colors, and that’s exactly what you are doing by giving your children the knowledge of God and His Word.
Though it may seem that your children have lost, or cast aside that “coat of many colors” that you have given to them for now, it will never really leave them alone. Those wayward children, lost in sin, and dead unto Christ, will never forget the “coat of many colors” that you have given to them.
I believe that, like Joseph, one day they will wake up and realize that they are a slave in Egypt, living in a world of sin, and then the things that you have taught them will bring them home again.
Joseph went a long way from the coat of many colors but he never forgot it or the lessons that it taught to him. He counted on that coat, even after it was gone, to bring him through the hard times and the lonely times.
Then there came that great day when he was finally reunited with his father Israel and his brothers. That was a happy day.
Let me tell you Fathers; don’t give up on your children. Keep on praying for them. Keep on giving them that coat of many colors. Keep telling them about Jesus. No matter how far they roam, those colors will bring them home again.
There will come a day soon when we shall all be reunited in Heaven. I pray that all of our children will remember the coat of many colors that we gave to them. My hope, and my trust, is in the Lord and His Word. I believe that all of our children will come home. That will be a glad reunion day.
