Genesis 37:1-241And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. 3Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors. 4And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. 5And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. 6And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: 7For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. 8And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. 9And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. 10And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? 11And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying. 12And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. 13And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. 14And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? 16And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks. 17And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. 18And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. 19And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. 20Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. 21And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. 22And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again. 23And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colors that was on him; 24And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. (Genesis 37:1‑24)
JACOB saw his old father, Isaac, again; and then Isaac died and Jacob and Esau buried him in that same cave where Abraham and Sarah had been put; they will all rise together at the last day; for Isaac wished to live in the country that is better than Canaan; that is, in heaven.
Esau, you know, did not live in the land of Canaan; but Jacob chose to live in Canaan, with his children and his cattle.
All the sons were grown up to be men, when Benjamin; Arm still a little baby. Joseph was next youngest to Benjamin. He was a big boy, and he was the best of all the children. The ten eldest were wicked men. They used to take care of the sheer and goats; and when Joseph was with them, they grieved him by their wicked behavior; they were also very unkind to him, and always spoke roughly to him. Jacob loved Joseph the best; and this made the others envious. They hated him, because he was the pet and the darling.
Jacob loved Joseph too much. He gave him a very pretty coat made of many colors, yellow, blue, green, pink, red, purple; and Joseph used to wear it.
It is Satan that makes people envious. We should pray to God to keep us from being envious. You will hear what wicked things these brothers did, because they were envious of dear, good Joseph.
One night Joseph had a very strange dream. He thought he was in a field of corn with all his brothers, and that they were making up large bundles of corn, called sheaves. He thought that each of his brothers made a sheaf, and that all his brothers' sheaves bowed down to his sheaf. Joseph thought this a very strange dream, and he told it to his brothers.
But when they heard it, they were very angry, and said, "We suppose you mean that we shall bow down to you, though you are the youngest." And so they hated him more than they had done before.
Soon afterward, Joseph had another strange dream. He thought he saw the sun, moon, and eleven stars in the sky, and that they bowed down to him. This dream was more strange than the other; and he told it to his father, as well as to his brothers.
His father was surprised, and said, "Does the sun mean me, and the moon your mother, and the stars your brothers, and shall we bow down to you?" Yet Jacob thought that God had sent the dream to Joseph, and would make it come true; but the brothers were more and more angry.
Now, Joseph's brethren had a great many sheep and goats to take care of; and there was not enough of grass for them all, round the tents; so they took their flocks a great way off, that they might eat fresh grass. Joseph stayed at home with his old father; and Benjamin stayed at home, because he was quite a little child.
At last Jacob wished to know how his sons were; so he said to Joseph, "Go and see your brothers, and come back and tell me how they are, and how the flocks are.”
Joseph was always ready to do what his father wished; so he set out on his way. He took no ass to ride upon, and no servant; but, putting on his pretty coat, he wished his dear father good-bye. He little thought how long it would be before he should see again that dear father's face.
Joseph went a great way, but could not find his brothers. At last a man saw him, and said, "Whom are you looking for?”
And Joseph answered, "I am looking for my brothers—can you tell me where they are feeding their flocks?" Then the man told him which way they were gone.
Joseph took a great deal of pains to find his brothers.
Now, the brothers saw Joseph coming when he was very far off. They knew that it was Joseph: and they said to each other, "Here this dreamer comes, let us kill him, and throw him into a deep hole; and tell our father that a lion or a bear has eaten him up.”
So when Joseph came up to them, they seized hold of him. He came to them full of love and kindness; but they looked fiercely upon him; and he was indeed like a gentle lamb in the midst of lions and tigers. He was like the Lord Jesus when the wicked Jews seized Him in the garden.
The brothers were going to kill him, when one of the brothers, named Reuben, said, "Do not kill him, but only throw him into a pit." This brother was a little kinder than the rest, and meant to take him out of the pit and bring him back to Jacob. The brothers agreed not to kill him. But they first took off his pretty coat.
Oh, how bitterly he cried when he saw what they were going to do to him! How he begged them to spare him, and to let him return to his father! But they would not hear; for their hearts were harder than stone.
They threw him into the deep, dark pit; and there he lay hungry and thirsty and weary, without one drop of water to quench his thirst. How it must have grieved Joseph to think that he should not return to his dear father, and that his father perhaps would think that he was dead!
The wicked brothers cared not for his groans, but they sat down and began to eat their dinner.
God saw them from His throne in heaven, and was much displeased.