'''CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: JOSEPH, THE FAVORITE SON'''
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
JOSEPH, THE FAVORITE SON
Finally back in Canaan after being away for so many years, Jacob reunited with his father. Isaac was now very old and gray, and living in Mamre, where Abraham and Sarah used to live.
Some time later, Isaac died. He had lived a long, successful life— 180 years’ worth. Jacob and his brother Esau then buried Isaac (Genesis 35:27-29).
Joseph Dreams
Jacob moved his caravan to the valley of Hebron and lived there for quite some time. Because he was growing old and weak, he relied on his grown-up sons to tend to his large numbers of sheep and other livestock.
One day his younger son Joseph, who was 17 at the time, helped his brothers Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher feed the flock. The older brothers got into some mischief, and Joseph told Jacob (Genesis 37:2).
The four brothers came to dislike Joseph. “Who does he think he is—our judge?”
Jacob’s affection toward Joseph made matters worse. Following the same mistake Isaac and Rebekah had made, Jacob showed favour to Joseph. He did not show the same amount of care and concern for his other sons. This caused all of the older brothers to hate Joseph.
Unaware of their growing hatred, Jacob made an expensive coat of many colours and gave it to Joseph. In other families of that time, the father only would have done such a thing for the firstborn son. So when Joseph’s brothers saw his new gift, they knew that it was a sign of how much more their father loved him.
They hated Joseph even more. Whenever they would speak to him, their words were always harsh (Gen 35:3-4).
Some time later, Joseph started having some strange dreams. They seemed to show that he would grow up to be an important person. He would even rule over his father and brothers.
Unfortunately, Joseph was not wise enough to keep the dreams to himself. He told them to his brothers, which inspired them to plot against him (Gen 35:5-11).
Into the Pit
One day, Jacob sent Joseph off to Shechem to bring back a report on his brothers. They were supposed to be feeding the flocks there.
When Joseph arrived at Shechem, he quickly saw that his brothers and the flocks were gone. He asked a man if he had seen them.
The man said, “They left some time ago. I overheard them say that they were going to Dothan.” Dothan was about 15 miles north of Shechem. So Joseph journeyed there and saw his brothers and the flocks in the distance (Genesis 37:12-17).
His brothers were not happy to see him approaching. While Joseph was still off in the distance, they plotted to get rid of him.
Led by the same carnal attitude that led Cain to slay Abel, they said, “Look, here comes the mighty dreamer. What if we took his life and threw his body into this pit over here? I wonder if he ever dreamed that we would do that to him.”
“Why not take his life?” one brother said. “We can say that some wild beast killed him—no one will know the truth but us.”
Foolishly, they did not consider that God was listening to their wicked plan.
Reuben, the oldest of them, defended Joseph. He said, “Let’s not kill him.”
“Why?”
He pointed to the pit and said, “Let’s throw him down in there and pretend to leave him there. It will teach Joseph not to act as though he will rule over us some day.”
Reuben said this because he did not want Joseph to die. He knew that their father loved him deeply. Having shamed his father some years earlier, Reuben did not want Jacob to feel any more heartache (Gen 35:18-22).
When Joseph came to them, his brothers surrounded him and stripped off his coat of many colors. “You won’t be needing this anymore!” they said
Then they threw him down into the deep pit (Gen 35:23-24).
Sold Into Slavery
Deep from within the pit, Joseph tried to jump and climb its walls. He was desperate to escape.
One of his brothers said, “Tell us, little brother, did your dreams tell you about your new home?”
They laughed and teased some more, especially when Joseph screamed, “Let me out! Let me out of here right now!”
“Or what? You’ll dream us to death?”
The brothers laughed and walked away from the pit. When they sat down for a meal, one brother said, “What about Joseph? Should we feed him or give him some water?”
“For what?” said another. “Let him feast on his dreams.”
When Reuben went off to run an errand, the other brothers thought again about killing Joseph. Guided by his carnal nature, Judah stood up and pointed to a company of Midianites, who were coming near them.
They were known for selling many things on their constant travels— spices, oils and other goods. And sometimes they sold slaves.
Judah said, “Why kill our brother and have his blood on our hands?
Where is the profit in that? Let’s sell him to the Midianites instead.
They pay well for slaves.”
“Yes, that’s it!” a brother said. “These slave traders never stay in one place for too long. If we sell Joseph to them, they’ll take him far away. Our brother will never meddle in our affairs again.”
Joseph looks back to his brothers as he is led away into slavery.
So they all agreed.
When Joseph was pulled from the pit, he thought that his troubles were over. But they were only just beginning.
His brothers waved the Midianites over to them and sold Joseph to them for twenty shekels (about eight ounces) of silver.
Shocked, Joseph could scarcely believe that his brothers had betrayed him, as his new masters led him away (Genesis 37:25-28).
Jacob Grieves
When Reuben finally returned and saw that Joseph was no longer in the pit, he began to panic. “What have you done with Joseph?”
“Don’t worry, Reuben. The dreamer is still alive…though not well,” they laughed and grinned.
Then they explained what they had done with Joseph.
Reuben’s heart pounded faster and faster. He said, “What are we going to tell father? He’ll be heartbroken.”
The other brothers were no longer smiling. They knew that they had to come up with a plan in order to cover the truth of their betrayal.
So they took Joseph’s coat of many colors, killed a small goat, and smeared its blood on the coat. Then they ripped the coat in several places.
When they got home, they brought the coat to Jacob and said, “We have some bad news. Joseph is missing. When we went looking for him, we found this. Is this the coat you gave him, father?”
Jacob stared at it and softly said, “Yes, it is.” The brothers led him to believe that a wild animal had killed Joseph and taken his body away, leaving only his coat.
As was the custom in ancient times, Jacob tore his clothes and wore sackcloth, which was coarse and uncomfortable. This was a sign to all of his deep mourning. Though his family tried their best to comfort him, Jacob mourned and wept for many days (Genesis 37:29-35).
A Slave in Egypt
The Midianite traders brought Joseph all the way down into Egypt and sold him to Potiphar. He was an Egyptian officer and captain of the guard.
Just as He had done with Jacob, God protected and guided Joseph, making him successful in everything that he did. Potiphar noticed this.
He understood that his new servant was different from his other slaves.
Over time, when Joseph proved his worth through his hard work and giving attitude, Potiphar gave him higher duties.
He said to Joseph, “From now on, you will be in charge of my entire household. All of the business affairs that are in my house are now under your control. No one will be over you, except for me.”
Joseph was stunned. Though he was still a slave, he gained more responsibility than did almost all men who were free. He worked even harder for his master, making sure that everything in his household ran smoothly. All the other servants obeyed Joseph’s every command.
It did not take long for Potiphar to learn that he had made the right choice. Joseph prospered at everything he did. He proved to Potiphar that he could be trusted with anything. In time, Potiphar only concerned himself with eating; he let Joseph take care of the bigger affairs of the household (Genesis 39:1-6).
Cast Into Prison
Joseph had grown to become a handsome young man. And Potiphar’s wife began to take notice. Her carnal nature led her to desire Joseph in the same way she desired her husband. This was wrong. When God made Adam and Eve, He intended that husbands and wives desire and only be intimate with each other—and no one else.
Whenever her husband was away from home, Potiphar’s wife would try to be intimate with Joseph, but he always refused. Joseph feared and obeyed God.
One day, when Potiphar’s wife caught Joseph by his cloak and tried to tempt him, he shouted, “No!” As he ran from her, she held on to his cloak and it pulled away from him.
The wife was tired of Joseph turning her down. So she took the cloak and told others in the household that Joseph had tried to mistreat her.
“And when I started to scream, he ran away and left his cloak!” she lied.
As soon as her husband came home, the wife told him her lie, sobbing and weeping.
Potiphar was angry. He even thought about putting Joseph to death!
But God put it into his mind to send Joseph to prison (Genesis 39:6-20).
Prison Dreams
God was still with Joseph. Even in prison, the Eternal caused him to prosper and succeed in everything he did. The keeper of the prison saw that Joseph was not an ordinary prisoner. Since Joseph was trustworthy and very capable in his duties, the keeper of the prison made him second in command of the entire prison. He did not have to worry about anything that was under Joseph’s power. The keeper of the prison knew that Joseph would take care of it.
And God prospered Joseph even more (Genesis 39:21-23).
One day, the prison received two new prisoners—the chief butler and chief baker for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh had been angry with them because he had heard of a plot to poison his food and drink. The chief baker was in charge of Pharaoh’s food. The chief butler was in charge of serving Pharaoh his drinks. The duties of both officers demanded that the men be trustworthy. But Pharaoh, not knowing which one he could trust, threw both men into prison.
One day, Joseph asked them why they seemed to be sadder than usual.
“Last night, we each had a strange dream. We want to know their meanings, but there is no one here who can tell us.”
Just as today, many people think that their dreams have hidden messages in them. But most dreams do not.
Wanting to comfort them, Joseph said, “Tell me your dreams. If they do have hidden messages in them, I won’t be able to tell you what they are—but my God can.”
The butler and baker agreed (Genesis 40:1-8).
The butler said to Joseph, “In my dream, I stood before a vine with three branches. Each branch budded and blossomed and produced clusters of ripe grapes. I then took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup until it was filled with fresh wine. Then I placed the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.”
Joseph thought about the butler’s dream until God revealed its real meaning.
Joseph said, “The three branches are three days. In three days, Pharaoh will release you from prison and place you back in his palace as his butler.”
The butler smiled at the news.
Joseph then said, “When you are released, do not forget me. Tell my cause to Pharaoh. I am from the land of the Hebrews. I don’t belong here. I’ve done nothing to deserve being in prison.”
The butler promised Joseph that he would not forget him.
Encouraged, the baker told Joseph what he had dreamed about: “In my dream, there were three baskets of bread on my head. In the top baskets were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds kept eating them. Tell me, Joseph, what does this dream mean?”
Joseph thought about the baker’s dream. When God revealed its true meaning, he felt sorry for the man.
He said, “The three baskets are also three days. Within three days, Pharaoh will release you from prison…”
“Yes, yes, go on,” said the baker.
“You will be released from prison and Pharaoh will hang you on a tree. Birds will come to eat the flesh off your body.”
Three days later, Pharaoh celebrated his birthday (a pagan custom that God hates) by having a great feast for all his servants. Then, as was his custom, he decided to release some prisoners. The chief butler was let out of prison and returned to his duties. But the chief baker was let out of prison only to be hanged.
Because everything had happened according to what he had said, Joseph thought the chief butler would speak to Pharaoh for him. He thought he would soon be released from prison and on his way home.
That was not to be. The chief butler forgot about Joseph (Gen 40:9-23).
Revealing Pharaoh’s Dreams
Two years later, Pharaoh had two strange dreams. They disturbed him so much that he wanted to know what they meant. So he ordered his court magicians and seers to tell him. But they could not reveal their true meaning. Since the dreams came from God, only He could reveal what they meant.
The chief butler remembered Joseph and told Pharaoh about him.
“He revealed what would happen to me and the baker. Here I am, alive and well; the baker was hanged.”
Pharaoh called for his guards and told them to bring Joseph out from prison.
Before bringing him into the king’s royal presence, the guards made Joseph shave his beard and put on clean and expensive clothing.
Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had two strange dreams. None of my magicians or seers can tell me what they mean. Can you?”
“No,” said Joseph. “I do not have such power. But the Eternal God of the universe can. In the past, He has used me to speak for Him.”
Impressed with his answer, Pharaoh told Joseph what he had dreamed: “In my dream, I was standing on the bank of the Nile, when seven cows suddenly came up out of the river. They were fat and well-fed.
They left the river and started eating in the meadow. Then seven other cows came out of the Nile. These were sickly, ugly, and starving for food. These cows ate up the seven fat cows. Yet after they had eaten them, these cows still looked sickly and starved. Then I awoke. In my second dream, I saw seven heads of grain grow fat on one stalk. Then seven heads of thin, dried up grain suddenly sprang up and ate the fat ones. Tell me, Joseph, what do my dreams mean?”
Joseph did not rely upon himself. He waited for God to give him the answers.
Once He did, Joseph said, “The two dreams share the same meaning.
God wants you to know what He is about to do. The seven fat cows and seven fat heads of grain are seven years of rich, fertile growth. Your farms will produce more grains, vegetables and fruits than you will know what to do with. But the seven thin cows and seven thin heads of grain are seven years of severe famine. Farmlands throughout Egypt, Canaan and other lands will almost dry up. Fresh water will be hard to find. The seven bad years will be so horrible that everyone will forget the fatness of the seven good years.”
Pharaoh was amazed at the deep understanding and wisdom behind God’s answer. And he respected Joseph.
He asked him, “Tell me, what should I do?”
“Select a wise and discerning man and set him over Egypt. During the seven good years, he will appoint officers to collect one-fifth—one out of five—of the grain, vegetables and fruit that Egypt will produce.
That food will be stored away to be used during the seven bad years of the famine that will surely come. Do this, and Egypt will not perish.”
Pharaoh was very impressed by Joseph’s wisdom. And he also knew who the right person to carry out Joseph’s plan would be.
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