| “Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren … Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children … and he made him a coat of many colors” (Genesis 37:2-3). |
| Most of you are probably familiar with the story of Joseph, for he is one of the most beautiful pictures of the Lord Jesus in the Old Testament. Here in our verses for today we read of him as a teenager, seventeen years old, out feeding the sheep, goats, and cattle with his older brothers. Joseph was one of the younger ones in the family, and according to the record in the Bible, only Benjamin was younger than he. Perhaps some of you who are reading this are seventeen years old. |
| Joseph’s father Israel (Jacob) loved him more than any of his children, and while Israel might have had some reason for this, it is not a good thing for parents to have favorites among their children. It is bound to cause trouble. Also, Joseph was upright and behaved himself well, while it seems that already his brothers were not behaving well. It says in verse 2 that “Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.” Those other brothers probably looked after the flocks and herds well enough, but their attitude and conversation were not good. This was another reason why Israel might have liked Joseph more than he liked his brothers. |
| But then there was another problem. Israel made Joseph a coat of many colors. As a result, Joseph’s brothers actually hated him, and could not speak to him in a peaceful way. This was an awful thing to have happen in a family, and especially a family that knew the Lord. But God was working in all this, and was going to bring blessing out of it. |
| If we remember that Joseph is a picture of the Lord Jesus, then we remember that although the Lord Jesus never did a single sin, yet His own brothers did not care for Him, and did not believe on Him at the beginning. John 7:5 tells us this. Thankfully, after the Lord Jesus had died and risen again, it seems that His brothers repented, and two of them, James and Jude, actually wrote books in the New Testament. |
| Also, many others in the land of Israel did not believe on the Lord Jesus. They were glad for Him to heal their sicknesses, raise dead people up, and feed them when they were hungry, but many did not believe on Him. Tomorrow we will see what happened to Joseph because of the hatred of his brothers. |
