Thursday Night Bible Study

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Genesis 35:16-Genesis 37 

"Transitions" • 6.24.10 • Thursday Night Bible Study

Intro.

- Jacob's family story has been one of many ups and downs. There have been more difficult chapters than there have been exemplary ones.

- His family has been called back to Hebron, and they are just about there in the narrative before us. What we see is a family that seems to careen closer and closer to the edge of disaster.

- This chapter continues that slide.

Text

• Genesis 35:16-22 : "Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor. Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, 'Do not fear; you will have this son also.' And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin. So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day. Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. And it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard about it." : Jacob's beloved wife Rachel dies here in childbirth, bearing Jacob's last child.

- As she was dying, Rachel decided to call the baby "Ben-Oni." That name represented Rachel's sorrow, as it literally means "son of my sorrow."

- Jacob would not honor that. He called this final son "Son of the right hand!" Literally, the "son of prosperity!" Benjamin and Joseph were going to be the spoiled ones of the twelve.

- Rachel is buried out on the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. Why did Jacob not take Rachel with them? That is not given to us.

- He gave her a headstone and set up a pillar there to honor the body.

- Now, as the family settles down near this area, Reuben, the oldest, took Jacob's concubine unto himself. Again, Jacob heard about it, but does nothing about it.

- This was a supreme insult to Jacob. It will come back to haunt Reuben later.

• Genesis 35:23-29 : "Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: the sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali; and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram. Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt. Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years. So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him." : When Jacob returned to Hebron, Isaac was still alive.

- Isaac believed that he was going to die many years prior to this. It was his fear and purpose to disobey that helped open the doors for what has transpired over these last several chapters.

- Despite that Isaac was old and full of days. Getting to see his grandkids brought that extra joy to Him. Jacob's sons met and likely learned from Isaac about faith in the Lord in those final days.

• Genesis 36:1 : "Now this is the genealogy of Esau, who is Edom." : We are going to pass this chapter up, in terms of reading through all of these names.

- Esau, it turns out, seemed to be a pretty decent man, graciously greeting Jacob, voluntarily leaving Canaan so that Jacob could dwell there (v.6,7) and returning to bury Isaac.

- God wants the people to know Esau is Edom. That is repeated 4 times in this chapter.

- The reason why this chapter exists is for the people who would later read this book. They needed these details because Edom was a nation that was to be left alone.

- Turn over to Deuteronomy 2. The people had been very near to Mt. Seir for some time.

• Deuteronomy 2:4-6 : "And command the people, saying, 'You are about to pass through the territory of your brethren, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Therefore watch yourselves carefully. Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. You shall buy food from them with money, that you may eat; and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink."

- After this time, Edom, the nation, becames a national enemy to Israel. They refused Israel passage through their land and thoroughly discouraged them. Why were they so hostile?

- Remember that Esau was tied to two condemned groups of Canaanites, as well as a rejected bloodline. He had married a Hivite, a Hittite and an ishmaelite.

- These people had no regard for the things of God and were the perfect breeding ground for one of Israel's most fierce enemies. In verse 12, Esau's concubine gave birth to little Amalek.

- Amalek and his descendants became a violent marauding tribe throughout that region. Their calling card was seen first as the people of God were coming out of Egypt.

- At that time Joshua won a victory over them at Rephidim, but God was not done with them.

- Turn over to Deuteronomy 25. God explains why He decreed their extinction.

• Deuteronomy 25:17-19 : "Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God. Therefore it shall be, when the Lord your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget."

- Esau might have been a decent fellow, but most of what came after him was hostile to God.

• Genesis 37:1-4 : "Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 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. 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. 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." : The story is still tied to Jacob, though Joseph will be our main focus.

- He was a very young man, a son of Jacob's favorite wife. What we see here is the defining moments of his young life.

- Joseph was a shepherd, feeding with Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher. Joseph brought a "bad report of them" to Jacob.

- The sense of this is that he told Jacob some of their evil activities. Think of all that these guys had already done and there is no doubt that more was taking place.

- Joseph had seen their behavior in the past and how it had affected their family and he would not stand by and let it continue.

- Israel favored Joseph over all of his children. This is an interesting thing to say. He probably saw Rachel in Joseph's face. He saw a miracle, in that He was extremely old when Joseph was born.

- Compared his other sons, Joseph was a joy. His heart for righteousness alone continually re-affirmed Joseph to Jacob's heart.

- Joseph was not causing trouble among other tribes like Simeon and Levi had with the Shechemites. He was not trying to steal time with Jacob's concubine as Reuben had.

- And obviously, he was not doing whatever these other boys had been doing out in the field.

- When a child loves what is right and does what is right, that child is loved greatly.

- Jacob's love began to express itself more publicly as time went on, which is always a mistake. Favoritism is the breeding ground for all sorts of evil to transpire.

- Jacob promotes Joseph by making a tunic for him. This might be better considered as a large robe, with overgrown sleeves and ornately designed.

- It is well adorned, not meant for a simple shepherd, but more for a supervisor of shepherds. - This was obvious to the other brothers. They hated Joseph and could say nothing good to him. Literally, they offered him no shalom, which is the common greeting!

• Genesis 37:5-8 : "Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. So he said to them, 'Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 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.' 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." : Things only got worse for Joseph, as he spoke of this dream that he had about his life.

- Something was special about him and he was not afraid to talk about it. I will say, if I had older brothers the likes of Simeon and Levi, I might have passed on telling this dream!

- Sometimes it is wise to let the Lord's personal words for our lives be just that: Personal!

- The dream was of wheat bundles tied together. These bundles representing each of the brothers, bowed to Joseph's. The brothers' jealousy spiked.

- The thought of God elevating this teen to a place of authority over them brought even greater hatred toward Joseph.

• Genesis 37:9-11 : "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.' 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?' And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind." : This second dream was even more difficult for the brothers to swallow. Joseph dreamt of his brothers, as well as his parents bowing down to him.

- Jacob rebuked Joseph for his dream. His brothers went from being unable to speak peacably to him, to hating him, to envying him.

- Jacob tucked this thought away: Could this mean something? Could this be of the Lord? Unfortunately, Jacob again fails to say anything about it!

- His affirmation of God's potential activities might have helped here.

• Genesis 37:12-17 : "Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. 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.' 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. Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, 'What are you seeking?' So he said, 'I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.' 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." : The brothers had gone out, but Joseph had remained at home with Israel. Their relationship was growing closer. Jacob's desire was to groom Joseph for power.

- Joseph's job was to oversee the flocks of Israel. Israel is about to send Joseph to check upon his brothers, which was going to be a difficult assignment. I might have said, "Dad, hows about no!"

- Joseph says "Here I am." Each time I see this response, I sense total obedience, total willingness to do whatever was asked.

- Abraham said this before going up to Mt. Moriah. Isaiah will say this when he accepts God's commission to go. Here, Joseph says it, in the middle of certain difficulty.

- The boys were in Shechem, which was a curious place to be hanging out. It was a place where they had been previously influenced. It was a place of failure. It was a place of desolation.

- Israel sent Joseph, who came to find that the boys were no longer at Shechem, but had moved over to Dothan, which means "Double sickness."

- The Father had send Joseph to find his sons, who had gone from bad to worse. Joseph, after some more traveling found his brothers in Dothan.

• Genesis 37:18-22 : "Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. Then they said to one another, 'Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!' But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, 'Let us not kill him.' And Reuben said to them, 'Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him'—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father." : Joseph became visible to the other sons of Israel. His unique coat gave him away.

- Their digression has led them to this exact situation. They could not speak peaceably, they hated and envied him. Now, they want to act on their anger.

- They want to act on their anger and use their deceptive nature. Each of these guys stood to lose even more of Israel's favor for Joseph's report of them.

- Interesting, remember that this is the family that God was going to bring the Messiah through and hate, envy and anger are all alive and well.

- Reuben alone stands to defend Joseph, in terms of trying to keep Joseph alive.

- He does not mind the plan to humble Joseph, but he did not want to murder his half-brother.

- At this point it, seems that Reuben left the scene. He leaves and Joseph comes.

• Genesis 37:23-28 : "So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. So Judah said to his brothers, 'What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.' And his brothers listened. Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt." : The boys stripped the tunic first. What did they tunic represent to them? It was Jacob's authority over them through Joseph.

- The first thing they did was to remove that from Joseph, in an attempt to bring him down to their level. His garments separated him from them.

- They put Joseph down into the pit and then sat down to eat! These guys were heartless! Their hatred for him was deep enough to allow them to eat while Joseph screamed for mercy.

- Seeing these Ishmaelite traders woke up an enterprising opportunity to their minds. Judah conceived this idea, presumably for the profit, but possibly to keep his brothers from killing.

- Later on some Midianites came by and Joseph was sold in Egypt for 20 shekels.

• Genesis 37:29-36 : "Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. And he returned to his brothers and said, 'The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?' So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, 'We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?' And he recognized it and said, 'It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.' Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, 'For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.' Thus his father wept for him. Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard." : Reuben came back and was grieved. This would have been his second sin, the first being his relationship with Israel's concubine.

- Now, they went with a plan to deceive Jacob with his son's coat. Being ultimate deceivers like their father, they let Jacob fill in the details.

- It is Jacob who speaks out his worst fears and put the pieces together: It was a wild animal that did this! One might have wondered at his deductive reasoning.

- Was he really fooled or just so unwilling to see the brothers obvious play? Either way, the boys were temporarily off the hook, done with Joseph and life would now go on.

- Jacob mourned for many days, refusing to be comforted. There was nothing that could be said. He was deeply grieved and his heart was torn out. In the meantime, Joseph was very alive.

- It's sad to say that Joseph, though likely incapable of seeing this as a blessing, was being brought to a place of safety that he could not have had in his own home!

- He was brought into the very house of one of the men in charge of executions. Potiphar was in charge of political prisoners. Joseph would be placed there in his service.

Conclusion

- Joseph was a pattern breaker. He was the one member in Jacob's family that would not be influenced or swayed by his brother's rebellion.

- Joseph is an excellent type of Jesus Christ, who also was sent to His brothers, the Jewish people. Like Jacob's literal sons, they despised and rejected Jesus and delivered Him to death.

- But as we know, they too thought Him dead! Jesus was alive and one day, all will stand before Him and bow the knee.