Jacob lived in Canaan where his father, Isaac, was a stranger. Verse 2 states, “This is the history of Jacob”, then it proceeds to talk about Joseph. One day when Joseph was 17 years old, he was feeding the flock with his brothers. He was with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. These are Rachel and Leah’s maidservants that they gave to Jacob when they were having the “baby wars” in Genesis 30. So, that means Joseph was with Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher. Joseph gave his father a bad report about his brothers. That makes me wonder, what did they do? Joseph seems to be a snitch. As the saying goes, “Snitches get stitches”.

Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Parents having favorites among their children is asking for nothing but trouble and strife among siblings. Israel also made Joseph a tunic of many colors. When his brothers saw that Israel loved Joseph more than any of them, they hated Joseph and did not speak to him kindly.

Joseph told his brothers about a dream that made them hate him even more. The dream was that they all were binding sheaves (bundles of grain stalks) in the field. Joseph said that his sheaf arose and stood upright. His brothers’ sheaves also stood upright, but their sheaves bowed down all around his sheaf. So his brothers asked him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” They hated Joseph even more because of the dream and what he said.

Joseph had another dream and told it to his brothers. In this dream, the sun, moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to him. This time Joseph told his father and his brothers. Israel rebuked him by asking, “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?” Joseph’s brothers envied him, but Israel kept the matter in mind. Have you ever shared a dream or your life’s dream (goals) with someone and all you got back was negativity? Unfortunately, just as with Joseph, some of the biggest “dream killers” in your life will be those who are closest to you – family and friends. Why? Because they feel that “they know you” and you can’t possibly achieve that dream or there could even be some jealousy. When God has given you a dream, vision, assignment (whatever you wish to call it), don’t let the haters discourage you from pursuing your dreams and/or fulfilling God’s call on your life. Sometimes, it might be wise to not share it and let the manifestation come from God. Next, why did Israel ask Joseph “Shall your mother and I…bow down to the earth before you?” Rachel, his mother is already dead. She died in childbirth when Benjamin was born (Genesis 35). So, I googled. One source indicated that the sun and the moon were Israel and (possibly) Leah, because she probably took on the role of raising Joseph after Rachel’s death. Or, the reference to his mother by Israel was abstract in nature, hinting that Joseph’s dream indicated that Rachel will rise from the dead to bow down to him. Of course, the suggestion is that the eleven stars represented his brothers.

Joseph’s brothers went to Shechem to feed their father’s flock. Israel sent Joseph to go check on them and bring back word to him about their welfare. So Joseph left the Valley of Hebron and went to Shechem. Joseph met a man while he was wandering in the field. The man asked Joseph, “What are you seeking?” Joseph told him that he was looking for his brothers and asked the man to tell him where they were feeding their flocks. That was a great assumption on Joseph’s part to expect this stranger to even know who his brothers were and to know where they were headed. This goes to show that when God is orchestrating your destiny, He will put the right people along your path. The man told Joseph that he overheard them say that they were going to Dothan. It was, indeed, in Dothan where Joseph found them. When they saw Joseph coming from afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired to kill him. Maybe they knew it was him because of the brightly colored tunic Israel gave him. They said to each other, “Look, this dreamer is coming!” They decided that they would kill Joseph and toss his body into a pit. Then they would say that a wild beast devoured him. They said, “We shall see what will become of his dreams!” Be careful, your haters will even try to kill you because of your dreams. It may not necessarily be a physical death as Joseph’s brothers were plotting, but they may try to kill you by the harsh and derogatory words they speak. Reuben heard them and was not in agreement with the plan to kill Joseph. He suggested that they not kill Joseph, but to cast him into a pit in the wilderness. Reuben’s plan was to rescue him from the pit and take him back to Israel. When Joseph reached them, they took off his tunic of many colors and cast him into a pit. The pit was empty and had no water in it. Afterwards, they sat down to eat. They saw a company of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead with their camels, spices, balm and myrrh. The Ishmaelites were on their way to Egypt. These Ishmaelites would have been “distant” relatives to Israel and his sons, because Ishmael and Isaac (Jacob’s father) were brothers. Judah asked his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?” He suggested that they sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites rather than kill him. The other brothers listened to Judah. The Midianite traders passed by and they pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver and they took Joseph to Egypt. Verse 28 refers to the people to whom Joseph was sold as Midianites and Ishmaelites. So, were they the same people? So, yes, I googled. One source, said that they are the same and cited Judges 8:24, which upon reading, I questioned the accuracy of the statement. Another source shows the Midianites as the descendants from Abraham and Keturah (Genesis 25:1-2), which would also make them relatives of Jacob. Reuben returned to the pit and Joseph was not there and in anguish, Reuben tore his clothes and cried out that Joseph was gone and now what was he going to do? I’m guessing that since Reuben was the oldest son, he felt a sense of responsibility for Joseph. My question is, “In the midst of all of the conspiring to get rid of Joseph, where in the world did Reuben go?” They decided to kill a kid of the goats and dipped Joseph’s tunic in it. Then they took the “blood-dipped” tunic to their father and said that they found it and asked him if he thought it belonged to Joseph. Israel recognized the tunic and formed the conclusion that Joseph was devoured and torn to pieces by a wild animal. In anguish Jacob tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his waist and mourned for Joseph many days. Obviously, after the brothers told Reuben that they sold Joseph, he must have agreed with his brothers to present this lie to their father. These are some cruel brothers! Israel refused to be comforted by anybody, including all of his sons and daughters, which seems to indicate that he eventually had more daughters in addition to Dinah. Israel stated that he would go to his grave mourning for Joseph. Thus he wept for Joseph.

The Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.

We’re headed to Genesis 38 for the next stop on this Biblical Journey.

To God Be The Glory!