Genesis 37
by Pastor David Groendyk

From this point forward in Genesis, the narrative focuses almost solely on Joseph as the main character. Why does Genesis spend so much time on the life of one man? First, from a historical standpoint, these final fourteen chapters describe how it is that an entire nation called Israel came to live in the land of Egypt in the book of Exodus. It all began as one young man being hated and sold into slavery which led to a large extended family moving to a new country which snowballed into an entire nation living within a nation hundreds of years later. Of course, in the book of Exodus, God acts to rescue and deliver his people from their slavery and gives them the freedom they need to worship and serve him through an act of redemption that is second in its greatness and majesty only to the death and resurrection of Christ himself. And how did God set this all up? By one young man being hated by his brothers. Second, notice that this is all part of God’s plan and covenant that he promised to Abraham way back in Genesis 15:13–16. God would give Abraham a people, a place, his protection, and a program to bless the nations, but his descendants wouldn’t possess the place (i.e., Canaan) until after they spent 400 years in a foreign land. God is working out his complex plan of blessing and redemption for the world through this one dysfunctional family. Third, the entirety of Joseph’s life is summarized by Genesis 50:20 when Joseph speaks years later to his brothers: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” Joseph’s life is one huge story of God’s providence, that is, God’s ordaining everything in our lives (even the horrible things) for ultimate good and his glory. Joseph’s life is a mess. But God was planning something much bigger through him. Keep Genesis 50:20 in mind as you read through Joseph’s life over the next two weeks.

As for Genesis 37, we already see God’s hard providence at work. To be fair to Joseph’s brothers, it does appear as though there is some parental favoritism going on. Jacob is no stranger to favoritism, as we saw when it came to his two wives, Leah and Rachel; and the text tells us that he played favorites with his children too. To be fair to Jacob, verse 2 seems to indicate that perhaps the eleven brothers were a little rebellious and not always obedient, and perhaps Joseph’s behavior was more righteous. In any event, the eleven brothers hated Joseph and were jealous of him, especially after revealing his two dreams, and it led them to commit a horrific act. Maybe Joseph could’ve been more tactful, but it doesn’t seem like he’s purposely trying to antagonize his family. Certainly his brothers knew better. Remember that Joseph is 17 years old, and he’s the second youngest of the brothers. These are not adolescent kids running around being dumb; these are grown adults premeditating cold-blooded murder. But even these men’s conspiracy is not enough to thwart God’s sovereign plan. In fact, their conspiracy is part of God’s plan. The very phenomenon they hated and tried to snuff out (the family bowing down to Joseph) was set into motion by sending Joseph to Egypt (on three separate occasions the brothers bow down to Joseph; see Gen. 42:6; 43:26; 44:14). God’s plan to honor Joseph, save many lives in the world, and bring his people to and out of Egypt was accomplished only through tragedy. In a way, this mirrors perfectly Christ’s life. His own fellow Jews, countrymen, and brothers hated him and sought to put him to death because they did not want him to be their king; yet it was through that very act of killing him that God was able to accomplish his great salvation and crown Jesus as Lord of all. Therefore, let us also remember that our great God is providentially watching over us and able to turn even the worst tragedies to his own glory, and let us trust that God’s plan is much bigger than it sometimes appears to us.