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1 Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2 This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic 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 peaceably to him. ~ Genesis 37:1-4
Today, we transition into Genesis 37 where the focus turns from Jacob to one of his sons, Joseph, the final patriarch of Israel. As quickly as Abraham and Isaac ceased to be the focus of the narrative, Jacob did the same. Enter the firstborn of Rachel. The entire book of Genesis is structured around four events: Creation, The Fall, The Flood and The Tower of Babel, and, four people: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. The Holy Spirit allotted one-fourth of the Book of Genesis to the subject of this one man named Joseph. One-fourth, 25% of the book of Genesis is dedicated to him.
In v.1-2 of today's passage we read, "1 Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2 This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father."
While Esau’s line had moved to and possessed the land of Seir, the son of the promised line lived as a stranger in the land. Jacob's father, Isaac was indeed a stranger in Canaan much more so than his son Jacob was a stranger. It would seem that if you were to look at Jacob's life, he resembled in his value system the people of Canaan more than Isaac, his father. All who have been born again by the Holy Spirit of God live as strangers in this world. This world will never be the home of the follower of the God of the Bible.
Joseph was a teenaged boy of seventeen years at this point in the narrative. He was a shepherd and he was out with some of his brothers, referred here as the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah. This meant that Joseph was out in the fields with Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher. Joseph was out there with his older brothers to be a servant to them. Actually, he was doing their dirty work for them. It was at this point that we are told that Joseph "brought a bad report of them to his father."
In v.3 of today's passage we read, "Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors."
The name Jacob is used three times in this chapter. The name Israel is used twice. Both times Israel is used, it is in connection with Joseph. Here it says Israel loved Joseph more than all his children. And the reason is given, "he was the son of his old age." This is not a reference to Jacob’s advanced physical age, it was a reference to Joseph’s advanced mental age. Joseph had wisdom and understanding beyond his 17 years and Jacob loved him for this quality.
The irony of this was Jacob of all people should understand how dangerous favoritism can be in a family. Jacob’s dad preferred his brother Esau over him. In response, Jacob's mom cooked up a scheme for him to trick his father and steal his brother's blessing. Not only was Joseph his father’s favorite, but his father gave Joseph "a robe of many colors" which was a symbol of privilege and authority. This robe was a robe of royalty in their culture. Jacob wasn’t just expressing his favoritism, he was elevating Joseph above the other older brothers. When Joseph wore this robe, it meant that he was given the position of overseer and was not expected to do manual labor.
In v.4 of today's passage we read, "But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him."
There is no shortage of irony in these verses because Jacob had been reared by parents who each had their favorites. The favoritism that had spoiled the tranquility of Jacob's childhood home was about to wreck his family, too. One might think that Jacob would have learned of the dangers of favoritism, but this was not the case, for Jacob proved to be a stubborn, impetuous man and a very poor father. Although he had eleven other sons, Jacob’s favor clearly rested upon the second-youngest son, Joseph. Jacob's overt favoritism created a dangerous schism among the brothers. The older boys hated Joseph because he received his father’s undivided attention and affection. The older sons resented Joseph, and this open contempt created a common bond that eventually resulted in a family mutiny and Joseph’s hostile banishment into Egyptian slavery.
The Christian life is an ongoing civil war whereby we are meant to learn the wisdom of feeding the Spirit. Sin is an ever-present threat that requires believers to be on our constant guard against our most prominent enemy, ourselves. The greatest danger isn’t posed by the "big sins," like murder and adultery. It is the obscure sins that pose the greatest hazard because they’re simply not on our radar and they don’t yield immediate consequences. The sin of favoritism is one example. We are so naturally inclined to play favorites that we can do it without even knowing it. And the consequences simmer like a resentful volcano, waiting to erupt when we least expect.
The answer to this is that we may be defined by God. This is what it means to walk in the Spirit. Rather than what our flesh naturally desires which is always sin, the Spirit will lead us to be defined by God. This is why it is so important that we obey God, especially when we lack the wisdom to see its value in the moment. As we will see, Joseph had to go through some intense moments before he could be used of God in some mighty ways. When we allow God to meet with us in obscurity and makes us in secret into what He wants us to be, it will be then that He will use us in very powerful ways in the lives of others.
