W. Graham Scroggie, the widely known preacher and author, wrote of Joseph, “…Of all Hebrew characters, he is the most perfect type of Christ. We see him in three aspects: first, as the princely son; second, as the patient sufferer; and third, as the people’s saviour. Was not Christ all this?”1
More is told about Joseph than any of the patriarchs, the Holy Spirit’s biography of him being one of the greatest accounts of divine sovereignty.
W. H. Griffith Thomas has commented on the value and importance of the story of Joseph from a fourfold standpoint:
1. It throws light on divine providence;
2. It supplies the reader with important historical information about the Hebrews;
3. It affords a splendid example of personal character in its portrayal of Joseph;
4. It provides a striking series of typical pictures of the Lord Jesus Christ.2
Regarding Thomas’ fourth point, the Bible never describes Joseph as a type. However, it is noteworthy that Arthur W. Pink lists 101 correspondences between Joseph and the Lord Jesus, and Ada Habershon lists 121.3
In our Scripture passage of Genesis 37:1-17, two main things are brought before us regarding Joseph. He was loved by his father and hated by his brothers.
Joseph Beloved of His Father (37:1-3)
Genesis 36, which concerns the generations of Esau, is something of a parenthesis in the overall story. Scroggie points out that “At the beginning of this chapter Joseph is in Canaan; at the end he is in Egypt, and in this way preparation is made for the transformation of the household and tribe into a nation.”4
The account opens when Joseph was seventeen years old (v. 2), always an age of great importance in a young person’s life. We also note from verse 2 that Joseph was shepherding the flock with his brothers. The sons with whom he was particularly associated were Bilhah’s sons, Dan and Naphtali (30:5-8), and Zilpah’s sons, Gad and Asher ( 30:9-13).
Just what the “evil report” was about, we don’t know, nor do we know whether Joseph’s action was right or wrong, although it would seem that his first responsibility was to his father, and in this light he acted properly. It may be that Joseph brought in the evil report about his brothers because of the glory of God, being ashamed that God’s name was being blasphemed among the inhabitants of the land by reason of their wickedness, or perhaps he was just jealous for the family name, which had already been disgraced (34:30).
Jacob’s experience of favoritism in his youth seems to have taught him nothing. He doted on Joseph, the son of his old age, and he showed his favoritism by the “varicolored tunic” he gave to his next to youngest son, marking him out as superior and expressing Jacob’s intention to make him pre-eminent above his brothers. A similar garment is described in 2 Samuel 13:18, a dress of Tamar, King David’s daughter, thus referring to royal apparel. At any rate, we are not surprised at the unhappiness registered by Joseph’s brothers.
This brings us to the second thing in our passage:
Joseph Hated by His Brethren (37:4-17)
Why did Joseph’s brothers hate him? Three reasons are given:
1. Because of his evil report of them;
2. Because of his father’s favoritism;
3. Because of his dreams.
For all this they hated him with a growing hatred (see vv. 4, 5, 8).
At this point we need to focus on two factors:
Joseph’s revelation of his dreams (37:5-10). Joseph was already hated (v. 4). Now his brothers’ hatred of him was further fueled by his two related dreams. The first dream clearly affirmed that Joseph was to have the right to rule over his brothers. The second dream affirmed his supremacy over the entire family. Jacob had no problem understanding the meaning of this second dream (cf. v. 10).
Would Joseph have been better to have kept quiet about his second dream in particular? Was he possessed of a secret pride at this time?*
The family’s reaction to his dreams (37:11). Joseph’s brothers not only hated him; now they were envious of him. Jacob, however, reminds us of Mary who, concerning the things she heard about her child Jesus, “kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart” (Lk. 2:19). He began to suspect that some divine purpose was involved in Joseph’s unusual dreams.
Evidently, Jacob was not at ease about his sons who were shepherding the flock at Shechem, where they had already disgraced his name (cf. 34:30). Thus he sent Joseph to check on them. Was this a wise decision? Joseph immediately obeyed his father and traveled from Hebron to Shechem, a distance of over 50 miles. There he failed to find his brothers, but with the help of a stranger he eventually located them at Dothan.
In connection with Joseph’s prompt obedience, Griffith Thomas has said, “It has often and truly been pointed out that Joseph seems to have combined all the best qualities of his ancestors–the capacity of Abraham, the quietness of Isaac, the ability of Jacob, and the personal beauty of his mother’s family. It is interesting to note that the same word is used of the mother and the son (29:17 and 39:6).”5
What should we learn from this passage of Scripture? Among other things, it clearly illustrates the sin of man and the grace of God, the sin of envy being particularly stressed (cf. Ps. 37:1; 73:3; Rom. 13:13). Envy is “the rottenness of the bones” (Prov. 14:30; see Jas. 3:16), and there can be no peace when it is present. It is the root of many of our sins against our brethren in Christ. Remember, it was “for envy” that the chief priests and elders of Israel delivered the Lord Jesus Christ to Pilate to be tried (Mt. 27:18).
If God were first in our lives, there would be no envy (cf. Ps. 37:3-7; 1 Cor. 13:4). Only the grace of God in one’s heart and life is truly able to overcome this sin.
1. W. Graham Scroggie, The Scripture Union, May-June 1955.
2. W. H. Griffith Thomas, Genesis: A Devotional Commentary, p. 354.
3. William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary, Old Testament, p. 71.
4. W. Graham Scroggie, op. cit., May-June 1955.
5. W. H. Griffith Thomas, op. cit., p. 358.
*Editor’s Note: It has been long debated whether Joseph was right or wrong in telling his brothers and parents about his dreams. We must be careful to not creatively explain away the flaws and failures of Old Testament characters, especially when they are there to warn us: “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (1 Cor. 10:11). But was Joseph wrong here?
There is a similar situation in the life of the Lord Jesus when He told the Jewish leaders that they would see Him next in the glory of His Father, escorted by heaven’s angels. It made the rulers apoplectic! Was it necessary? Obviously so, in the case of our Saviour. But what of Israel’s “saviour”?
How else would it be seen that the meteoric rise of Jacob’s shepherd son from prison to palace was not an act of political caprice but of divine will? As Joseph put it to his brothers, “Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good” (Gen. 50:20). So it was with the Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep, whom God has made “both Lord and Christ.”
And in the same way Peter pleads with the grief-stricken Jews: “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it” (Acts 2:23-24). All the world will see, as it was with Joseph, that the suffering and the glory were all in the plan of God (see Acts 26:23).