This document provides a summary of Genesis 37, which tells the story of Joseph and his relationship with his brothers. It discusses how Joseph was favored by his father Jacob and given a robe of many colors, which made his brothers jealous. It describes Joseph's dreams that predicted his brothers would bow down to him, further angering them. When Jacob sends Joseph to check on his brothers, they conspire to kill him but ultimately throw him into a pit and later sell him into slavery. The document presents Joseph as a "type of Christ", highlighting parallels between Joseph's suffering at the hands of his brothers and Jesus' rejection by his own people.

1. Genesis 37
Joseph
Favored Son and Despised Brother
February 3, 2019
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA
What’s the number one thing?
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The Glory of God!
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1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
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2. References
• ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL, Crossway, 2008).
• Walton & Kenner, NKJV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (Grand Rapids,
Zondervan, 2017).
• Smith, Colin, Snapshots of a Godly Life: Joseph, Genesis 37; January 2015,
UnlockingtheBible.com.
• Swindoll, Charles, Joseph: The Man of Integrity and Forgiveness (Nashville,
Word Publishing, 1998).
Focus of Genesis 37
• Begin painting the picture of Joseph as a “Type of Christ” for the next 4
lessons.
• Study how Joseph was “Loved and Favored” by his father.
• Study how Joseph was “Hated and Despised” by his brothers.
Joseph as a “Type of Christ”
• Biblical typology – a symbol or person in the Old Testament that represents
or foreshadows something in the New Testament.
• Type of Christ – a character in the Old Testament that represents or
foreshadows the life and mission of Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
• Examples: Adam, Isaac, Moses, Joseph.
Guiding your thoughts about Joseph as a “Type of Christ”
• The one who the brothers despised, becomes the one on whom all their
hopes depend.
• Joseph was the favored son and his father was well pleased with him –
same for Jesus Christ.
• Joseph was hated and despised by those he wanted to help – same for
Jesus.
• Listen for the parallels and key words (seek, suffer, conspire, kill) in
Joseph’s life to that of Jesus’.
God’s Promise to Jacob (Israel) in the Dream
Genesis 28:15 NKJV
15 “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you
back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to
you.”
• Jacob’s name was changed by God to “Israel” and the family was living
in the promised land in Genesis 37.

3. Genesis 37:1-2 ESV
1 Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojourning, in the land of Canaan.
2 These are the generations of Jacob.
Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He
was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph
brought a bad report of them to their father.
Joseph was surrounded by brothers who were poor role models.
Genesis 34:30a ESV
30a Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by
making me stink to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
• Story of Dinah and killing Shechemites.
Genesis 35:22a ESV
22a While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's
concubine. And Israel heard of it.
• Reuben lost his claim and rights as the first-born with this act.
• Jacob gave it to Joseph.

4. Joseph was surrounded by brothers who were poor role models.
Genesis 38:15-16a, 18 ESV
15 When Judah saw her, he thought she (Tamar) was a prostitute, for she had
covered her face. 16a He turned to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me
come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.
18 He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, “Your signet and your
cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to
her, and she conceived by him.
• This conception gave birth to Perez who was in the lineage of David and
eventually Jesus (Matthew 1:3).
Genesis 37:3-4 ESV
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the
son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. 4 But when his
brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated
him and could not speak peacefully to him.
Joseph’s Robe (Coat) of Many Colors
• The robe was the outward symbol that Jacob had transferred the rights of
the “first-born” to Joseph and away from Reuben.
• Reuben lost his rights when he slept with Jacob’s concubine.
• Joseph was loved and favored by his father.
• Joseph was the “good child” and probably easier to love than the older
brothers.

5. Genesis 37:5-8 ESV
5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him
even more. 6 He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: 7 Behold,
we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood
upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my
sheaf.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you
indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his
words.
• Joseph’s dreams were God speaking to him about the family’s future.
• He was not bragging but sharing God’s words and prophecy about the
future.
Genesis 37:9 ESV (Another Dream)
9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I
have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars
were bowing down to me.”
• The sun and moon represent his parents, and the eleven stars are his
brothers.
Should Joseph have kept the dreams to himself?
• Joseph’s dream was the word of God for him and his whole family.
• Joseph was not being boastful or arrogant.
• Telling God’s word to his family was costly to him.
• Genesis 37:8b ESV
8b So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
Genesis 37:10-11 ESV
10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and
said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother
and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?”
11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.
• Luke 2:19 ESV
19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
The response of family and friends to the word of God is not always well
received.
John 1:11 ESV
11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
Luke 19:14 ESV (A Parable of Jesus)
14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not
want this man to reign over us.’

6. Isaiah 1:2 ESV
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth;
for the Lord has spoken:
“Children have I reared and brought up,
but they have rebelled against me.”
Responses to Sharing God’s Word:
1. Never underestimate the antagonism toward God that resides in even the
most respectable human heart.
• Romans 8:7 ESV
7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not
submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.
• The cultural response to using the Bible as a reference guide for
decisions in life.
2. Sometimes receiving the word of God will isolate you from your friends.
• Matthew 16:24 ESV
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him
deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
3. Always remember that Christ is loved and favored by God and in Him, that
love and favor extends to you.
4. John 14:3 ESV
3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will
take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
• Philippians 4:19 ESV
19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches
in glory in Christ Jesus.
Genesis 37:12-36 Highlights of Joseph as a “Type of Christ”
• The father sends his favored son into a hostile situation.
• The son agrees to go, even though he is despised.
• The son suffers at the hands of those he went to save.
Genesis 37:12-13 (A Love That Sends)
12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem. 13 And
Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem?
Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.”
• A loving father sends his favorite son on a dangerous journey because of
his love for his other children.

7. “Here I am.” in the Bible – God calls
Genesis 22:1 ESV
1 After these things God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he
said, “Here I am.”
Exodus 3:4 ESV
4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the
bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
1 Samuel 3:4 ESV
4 Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!”
Isaiah 6:8 ESV
8 And I (Isaiah) heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who
will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
Genesis 37:14-15 ESV
14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the
flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he
came to Shechem. 15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the
man asked him, “What are you seeking?”
• Shechem was a dangerous area for this family because of the incidents in
Genesis 34 with Simeon and Levi.
Genesis 37:16-17 ESV
16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are
pasturing the flock.” 17 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard
them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found
them at Dothan.
• Dothan was 64 miles away - a 3-day journey from Shechem.
Genesis 37:18-20 ESV
18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired
against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer.
20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say
that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his
dreams.”
• They planned his murder before he even arrived.

8. Genesis 37:21-25a ESV
21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us
not take his life.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this
pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue
him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his
brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore.
24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no
water in it.
25a Then they sat down to eat.
The brothers later discuss how they ignored Joseph’s cries for help.
Genesis 42:21 ESV
21 Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in
that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen.
That is why this distress has come upon us.”
• They just sat down and ate as Joseph cried and begged for help from the
pit.
• The brothers’ hearts had become hardened and insensitive from their sins.
The erosive effects of sin make it easier for the sinner over time.
Ephesians 4:19 ESV
19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality,
greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
Ephesians 4:19 NIV
19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as
to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
Ephesians 4:19 NKJV
19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all
uncleanness with greediness.
The Sin of Joseph’s Brothers – Envy (jealousy)
• Covet vs. Envy:
• There is a difference.
• Covet:
• You want what another person has.
• You want to gain it for yourself.
• Envy:
• You don’t want another person to have what they have been given.
• You want to deny something to someone else.

9. Terrorism:
An extreme example of envy.
• Terrorists are not coveting the freedom of others, they do not want others
to have the freedom they cannot enjoy.
• Terrorists are envious of others’ freedom.
• There is a meanness of spirit in envy.
• Envy wants to deny another person what is rightfully theirs.
Bible Verses on Envy
• Proverbs 14:30 NKJV
30 A sound heart is life to the body,
But envy is rottenness to the bones.
• James 3:16 ESV
16 For where jealousy (envy) and selfish ambition exist, there will be
disorder and every vile practice.
The Response of a Christian.
• Romans 12:15 ESV
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
• If a friend comes into some money (inheritance, bonus, etc.), how should
you respond?
• The godly response is to rejoice with them.
• Rejoicing with those who rejoice is a rare grace in a selfish world.
• The tendency is to covet or to envy.
Joseph’s brothers as the example of the sinful human heart:
• God has a one and only favored Son who has been exalted and will rule
over us.
• The sinful human heart says, “I will not have this Son rule over me.”
• Joseph’s brothers would not have him, the favored son, rule over them as
the dreams prophesied.
Every Person Will Acknowledge Jesus – One Day.
Philippians 2:9-11 ESV
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is
above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in
heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

10. Summary of Genesis 37:26-34
• Joseph is sold as a slave to the Ishmaelites who take him to Egypt.
• Joseph’s robe is coated with goat’s blood and presented to his father to
fake his death.
• The brothers lie to their father about Joseph.
• Jacob goes into great mourning.
Genesis 37:34-36 ESV (Jacob’s Response)
34 Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for
his son many days. 35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him,
but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my
son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. 36 Meanwhile the Midianites had
sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.
Joseph’s Brothers – Living a Lie.
• They tried to comfort their father and they were the source of his misery.
• They were living daily with the lie and in fear that someone would find out.
• What a difficult homelife and dysfunctional family.
• Their father refuses to get over the supposed death of Joseph.
Quote by Matthew Henry on Genesis 37:35
“We must never say ‘we will go to our grave mourning’ because we know not
what joyful days God may yet have reserved for us.”
• Jacob thought hope had died with Joseph, and he did not know that God
had a purpose and a plan.
Comfort for the Believer in Sorrow.
• Our comfort in sorrow is that God’s favored Son was raised from the dead
and is alive.
• We will see Jesus face to face.
• Our grief is different in that there is hope for the believing heart.
• Psalm 30:5b ESV
5b Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
Praying for Comfort in Sorrow:
• Ask God to strengthen you through the comfort of His Son who lives.
• Sorrow does not have the final word for the believer.
• Revelation 21:4 ESV
4 “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no
more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for
the former things have passed away.”

11. Closing thoughts on Joseph and his brothers:
• The one who the brothers despised, later became the one on whom all
their hopes depended.
• The One who was despised and rejected by men, is the One on whom all
our hopes depend.
• Isaiah 53:3 ESV
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
• That One is Jesus!
Next Sunday
Genesis 39
Joseph and Temptation
February 10, 2019
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA
The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
John 3:16 ESV
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes
in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 14:6 ESV
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through Me.”
Romans 3:23 ESV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23a ESV
23a For the wages of sin is death,
• Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.
• Even Jesus, the one who doesn’t deserve death, died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sin.
• The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the “second death” explained in
Revelation 21:8.

12. Revelation 21:8 ESV
8 “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the
sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
• Anyone who’s lifestyle is one or more of the sins listed in Revelation 21:8,
will experience the “second death” if they do not repent.
• To Repent means to turn around, to go in the opposite direction, to turn
away from sin and to come to Jesus.
Romans 5:8 ESV
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for
us.
Romans 6:23b ESV
23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Revelation 21:7 ESV
7 “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will
be my son.”
• Romans 10:9-10 explains to us how to be conquerors.
Romans 10:9-10 ESV
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Romans 10:13 ESV
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Do you have questions?
Would you like to know more?
Please, contact First Baptist Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or
http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/