Genesis 38:1-11

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1 At that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah. 2 There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He married her and made love to her; 3 she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er. 4 She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan. 5 She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah. It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him. 6 Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death. 8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. 10 What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also. 11 Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s household until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household. ~ Genesis 38:1-11

Today, we begin our study of Genesis 38 which upon first glance seems to be random and unnecessary. But, as we are learning, every word of the Bible is important because it is God’s word. As we are told elsewhere in the Bible it is a treasure which isn’t easily understood without being searched out. It is living and active and ready to transform us as we lay our souls bare to it. When we read the Bible, we can read it as a textbook or we can read it as a treasure book. The approach makes all the difference in the world because when we come to the Word of God as a treasure to be discovered we will be granted the abundant life that it promises. And oh, the horizons await!

This chapter was meant to be understood along with the previous account of Joseph’s life in the previous chapter. At this point in time Joseph was enduring an intense trial which would last for many years and is recorded to show how the Israelites ended up in Egypt. At the same time, the story of Judah and his family is given to show us about the main line which led to the Messiah. The Lord Jesus, the eventual Lion of Judah, came through Judah. Because of this, the story here bears directly on His ancestry.

In v.1 of today’s passage we read, “It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah.”

Judah, like his brothers, was a shepherd and so he would take his flocks and head out for green pastures. For whatever reason, he decided to go out on his own, leaving his brothers, and to visit someone he met named Hirah whose name means “nobility.” He’s noted as an Adullamite. Adullam was a town to the south and west of Jerusalem in the lowlands. Adullam means “righteousness.”

In v.2 of today's passage we read, "Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her and went in to her."

While visiting Hirah in Adullam, Judah married a daughter of Shua, who is identified as a Canaanite. Shua means “wealth.” This verse is one which should tell us about the importance of names that God records in the Bible. Since the name of Judah’s friend is given, the people his friend belongs to is given, and the name of his father’s wife is given. But the wife’s name isn’t. The one person you’d expect to be named isn’t named at all. This tells us to pay attention when names are given. There is a story within the story to be discovered here. Later, in Genesis 46:12 we learn Judah’s family went to Egypt some time after this. This is some important information as we will see later.

In v.3-4 of today's passage we read, “3 So she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. 4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan.”

Er means “watching.” And, with no other commentary about the times and life of Judah, the story jumps straight to the next son to be born, Onan, which means “strong.” But instead of Judah naming him, it says Shua named him.

In v.5 of today’s passage we read, “And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah. He was at Chezib when she bore him.”

And yet again, a third son is recorded by name. His name is Shelah which means “prosperity.” Again the wife names the son and then it notes the he, Judah, was at Chezib when she bore him. Chezib means “false.”

In v.6 of today’s passage we read, “Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.”

Judah got married at a young age and now he finds a wife for his firstborn at a young age as well. The wife he chose was named Tamar, meaning “Palm Tree.” In the Bible, the palm tree has several connotations. It is a symbol of prosperity, the element of an oasis, and it also is a picture of a faithful and righteous person.

In v.7 of todays passage we read, “But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord killed him.”

We are told in Romans 6 that the wages of sin is death. Sin cannot abide in the presence of God, it must be atoned for. Since Er was evil before the Lord it makes sense that before the Lord in his sin death resulted. In an interesting play on “Er” and “wickedness” bear the same letters in the Hebrew for both words. God described Er as completely wicked; it being his very nature. Er’s wickedness was great like the people before the Flood of Noah and the people of Sodom. 

In v.8 of today’s passage we read, “And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.”

Because Er was dead and he left no children, Judah tells his second son Onan, to take Tamar as his wife and raise up an heir for Er. The word used for this marriage is a special word used just for this purpose. It is where a person acts as a husband for the widow of a brother who died without children.
This is something that will actually be mandated under the Law of Moses, but it was a custom which was obviously known at this time. It is also known to have been practiced in many cultures of the mid-east and Africa. It is a way of honoring the name of the dead so that their name doesn’t die out. It will also ensure that the inheritance of the firstborn remains alive.

In v.9 of today’s passage we read, “But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother.”

Due to the custom of the land and Judah’s direction to him, the first child of Onan wouldn’t be recorded as his. It would be listed under Er. And the inheritance for Er would go to this son rather than to his own. This didn’t sit well with Onan and so instead of refusing to have Tamar at all, he committed a worse act. He took her as his wife, but he wouldn’t provide a child for her in the process. The Hebrew word literally says he “destroyed to the ground.” So he treated her shamefully, disgraced the name of his brother, and violated the custom handed down to him by his father.

In v.10 of today’s passage we read, “And the thing which he did displeased the Lord; therefore He killed him also.”

Without the operative grace of God, the deaths of Er and Onan would have been the norm. The name "Lord" or "YHWH" is mentioned three times in this chapter and only in the two verses about Er and Onan. What they had done was a violation of the covenant God gave to Abraham and which was passed down to Isaac, then Jacob, and then to the sons of Israel. As Judah is the son in the line of the Messiah, these sons had willfully disgraced the covenant.

In v.11 of today’s passage we read, “Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, ‘Remain a widow in your father’s house till my son Shelah is grown.’”

Tamar had seen two husbands die without bearing children. Judah knew that Shelah was too young to perform his duties by giving her a child in place of those two brothers. And so he says to her to remain a widow in her father’s house until Shelah is old enough to fill the role. 

The point of all of this that seems most random is clearly before us. Even though Joseph was a slave in Egypt, Judah and his posterity were in bondage far more than Joseph. The freedom the Lord Jesus offers us is not a political revolution. His freedom is not about changing our outward circumstances. This is a significant concept because it reveals the Lord Jesus can free us wherever we are. Paul was on the road to Damascus persecuting Christians. The prodigal was in a pig pen. Peter was in a boat fishing. One woman was drawing water from a well. Another woman found freedom when caught in adultery. A thief was on a cross of execution when the Lord Jesus set his soul free! Spiritual freedom is not dependent upon physical circumstances that may have led or contributed to our bondage. The Lord Jesus can set us free when we are overdrawn in our checkbook without making a deposit. He can set us free from past or current failures without having to load a U-haul truck. It is only when we are being defined by the truth that we will know true freedom. And true freedom is bondage to our Creator.

Genesis 37:36

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Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard. ~ Genesis 37:36

Today, we conclude our study of Genesis 37 where the life of a seventeen year old teenager has been moved to center stage. We often see God in the Bible placing seemingly insignificant people at center stage to accomplish incredible things. I think of Ruth the Moabitess who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks but she bowed her will to the God of great miracles and she is noted in the lineage of the Messiah. I think of David who was the last son of Jesse whom God used to fell the frightening giant with one smoothed stone. Then there is Mary Magdalene,  a woman from whom the Lord Jesus cast out seven demons. The name Magdalene reveals that she came from Magdala, a city on the southwest coast of the Sea of Galilee. Those port cities all have some crazy stories that explain how its people end up messing with the wrong stuff. After the Lord Jesus cast seven demons out of Mary, she became one of His most ardent followers. In fact, she was the only one of Christ’s who saw Him last at the cross and first at the tomb. 

Throughout the Bible we see God using imperfect people for the sake of His mission to bring hope to the world. The Lord Jesus wasn't known for choosing individuals who were the most likely to succeed because those types of people usually have their eyes on the wrong man. When we get to the point that we believe God cannot possibly use us, it is then that we are useful to Him. The Lord Jesus used a bunch of flawed people to share His hope with a flawed and broken world. In God, we find newness of life, mending, and purpose. The Lord Jesus didn’t call the equipped, He equipped the called. And no matter what we have been through in life, we must remember that the same power that conquered the grave lives within us. 

The means by which Joseph got to the center of the stage were not ordered by him. He did not want his brothers to hate him but they did and their hatred led them to sell Joseph to Midianite traders who were en route to Egypt. I am sure that when he discovered he had been purchased by Potiphar, Joseph had some reservations. Potiphar was the captain of the Egyptian king's guard. There weren’t many more powerful men around at that time. Interestingly, later we will learn that Potiphar was impressed with Joseph’s intelligence, I bet Joseph didn’t think of how his grade school learning would ever impress the second most important man in the world.

One of the most difficult parts of our personal relationship with God is the fact that He uses the trials of life to increase our confidence in Him. Early on in my Christian life I discovered that life was hard. In fact, even after I married my wife and we had a family, it was hard to make ends meet. Recently I asked Him why He made it so hard. He answered, "You had to be convinced that you needed me." In being convinced that we need Him, our confidence in Him is heightened because through the trials we are positioned to see that He is our only hope.

We find ourselves asking, "Why would a good and loving God allow us to go through such things as the death of a child, disease and injury to ourselves and our loved ones, financial hardships, rejection and fear?" The Bible clearly teaches that God loves those who are His children, and "He works all things together for our good."  This means our trials He allows so that we might be given the privilege to know Him in an increasingly intimate way. 

Our passage for today reads, "Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard."

This whole chapter starts with a picture of Jacob and his children, specifically Joseph, 17-years-old, the pride of his father. And we see Joseph talking with his brothers about dreams he’s having about him ruling over them. For obvious reasons that didn’t sit too well with his brothers, but it eventually led them to sell Joseph into slavery. At first, they were talking about killing him, but then they decided to sell him into slavery. And by the end of this chapter, this boy with this bright colored coat has been sold into slavery in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard. 

All of this just underscores the providence of God in the life of a yielded teenager. And, even though there would await for Joseph some intense moments of fighting off the advances of  Potiphar's hot wife, God was still sovereign. A careful study of God's word reveals that God uses people who are not always the most qualified. Many times they were the least qualified! But what they did have, the needed depth of realizing that they desperately needed God, positioned them in a place of great usefulness. We learn that God uses people that are yielded and faithful to Him. God uses that man, that woman who is open and ready to be used by Him. He uses the ones who are willing to pay the price of personal sacrifice on behalf of the Lord Jesus. Sacrifice is the foundation to real community.

D. L. Moody, the evangelist, significantly used by God, was convinced that total surrender to God was the key to successful ministry. This was reinforced in the early years of his ministry when he heard the British evangelist Henry Varley say, “The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to him.” Moody asked God to make him that man, and, boy did He. Dwight Moody wasn’t perfect. He was flawed and limited, but he was open to God’s use. Moody was willing to be less so that Christ could be more. In the end, God used the converted shoe salesman to become the leading evangelist of his day. Estimates vary, but Moody is thought to have been used of God  to led as many as a million people to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Genesis 37:31-35

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31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. 32 Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?” 33 And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. 35 And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. ~ Genesis 37:31-35

Today, we almost conclude our study of Genesis 37 where we are being introduced to the subject of forgiveness which has three parts: the injury, the debt created by the injury and the cancellation of the debt. The injury was seen in our last study where the brothers of Joseph stripped him of his robe, shoved him into a pit, and sold him into slavery to some Ishmaelite traders who lived in Midian.

In v.31-33 of today's passage we read, "31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. 32 Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, 'We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?' 33 And he recognized it and said, 'It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.'" 

Joseph's brothers concocted a story to explain the death of Jacob's most precious son. Ironically, the words, "a kid of the goats" was used later in Leviticus 16 for the Day of Atonement rituals. On that day, two goats were selected. One was made a sacrifice for the sins of the people and one was used as a scapegoat. The scapegoat had the sins of the people confessed over it and then it was released alive into the wilderness to carry away the sins of the people. This goat, killed by his brothers was the scapegoat for their deeds, but they killed it to cover what they did, using its blood as a trick against their father. This incident reminds me of the words in Matthew 27:25 of those who chose the murderer Barabbas over the Lord Jesus to be released that day. Speaking of the Lord Jesus, they said, "His blood be on us and on our children." Instead of accepting their King and rejecting Barabbas, they called for Barabbas to be set free and accepted the bloodguilt of Christ.

Joseph's brothers then sent Joseph's tunic to their father by a messenger. They didn’t even take it to him themselves so that they could be there to help their father through his grief. Their actions couldn’t conceal their own guilt. Then, they admitted as much their guilt when they went down to Egypt looking for food. And the leaders of Israel knew it also when they tried to force the apostles to be quiet about the Lord Jesus. 

Jacob, whose name means "deceiver" was once again deceived, and Israel has likewise faced the deception concerning Jesus for two millennia. The scapegoat’s blood has remained and it can only be removed when one turns to the Lord and acknowledges his guilt before Him.

In v.34-35 of today's passage we read, "34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. 35 And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him."

When Jacob tore his clothes and put on sackcloth, he did it as a sign of mourning. This is the first time sackcloth is mentioned in the Bible. Weeping has only happened five times so far in Genesis, this is the sixth time. Hagar wept in Genesis 21:16. Abraham in Genesis 23:2 wept early on. Jacob’s brother Esau wept in sadness when Jacob stole his birthright in Genesis 27:38. Then Jacob wept in joy when he married Rachel, the mother of Joseph in Genesis 29:11. Then Esau wept in joy when he and Jacob were reunited in Genesis 33:4. 

The sorrow and grief displayed here yet again underscores the second step involved in the process of forgiveness and that is the debt incurred by the injury. The debt that Joseph's brothers' actions produced was an echo of the greatest debt ever created and that is man's separation from the God of the Bible. This is what the Lord Jesus came to this earth to deal with once and for all. When we were separated from God by our rebellion against Him and His culture, we were corralled into the sin pen of Satan himself. It was there that we lived at the mercy of a false view of life. We had chosen sin and death over obedience to God and life. And, we didn't even know it. This is why the Lord Jesus came to us, to be separated from God and life so that we could be separated from sin and reunited to life with God. 

As we will see in our next study of the life of Joseph, all of these events were either caused by or allowed by God in order to position Joseph to know God most intimately and to be used by God to help others out of the sin pool of Satan. The God of the Bible is a Master Designer and we can truly trust Him to do the absolute best for us. The role we play in all of this is to trust Him as we encounter Him through our trials. I close with an incredible quote from C.S. Lewis, "God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man."

Genesis 37:23-30

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23 So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. 24 Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25 And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. 26 So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt. 29 Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. 30 And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?” ~ Genesis 37:23-30

Today, we continue our study of Genesis 37 where the hatred of Joseph's brothers is rising. The problem that Joseph's brother had was not with Joseph; their problem was their reaction to Joseph. They did not realize that they could not prevent the fulfillment of the dream that God gave to Joseph from coming true. What God had planned would be fulfilled. Strangely, their hate actually accomplished God’s will. 

Man can never frustrate God’s will. It is foolish to try. He is God and we are not. But, the remainder of this story also includes the steps that are involved in forgiveness which are: the injury, the debt created by that injury and the cancellation of that debt. We will look at these three steps as we matriculate through the remainder of the book of Genesis.

Throughout our study of Genesis, we have found a ton of pictures which find their fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 10:11 we read, "Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come." In order for these pictures or parallels to be such, they had to align with something God later instructs us on, either implicitly or explicitly. They must be directed properly to the plan of redemption as the Bible reveals it. If this is so, then these pictures explain the seemingly unnecessary nature of some things the Bible includes such as the hatred of Joseph's brothers. Joseph's brothers' problem was that they were not being defined by the God of the Bible. No, they were being defined by their flesh which are the evil desires that we find in all of us. It is these desires which bring death and destruction into our lives.

In v.23 of today's passage we read, "So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him."

Joseph’s coat was a sign of the favor that his father had given to him resulting in him having authority over his brothers. Since they hated him so, they wanted Joseph to feel the effects of the loss of the robe, so when he was sent by his father to check up on them, they stripped him of his special robe. This was the first of three things his brothers did to Joseph which created possibility of the first step involved in forgiving another. And of course, what his brothers meant for evil the Lord navigated to produce good for Joseph because Joseph fairly consistently was being defined by God. This is primarily what enabled him to discover that even their mistreatment of him would produce God's purpose and plan in his life. The only way that Joseph could do this was to be careful that He was following the Lord and the Lord was defining him.

In v.24-28 of today's passage we read, "24 Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25 And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. 26 So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt."

With the first description of the injury exacted upon Joseph clearly spelled out, specifically that his brothers had stripped him of his robe, they secondly shoved him into a pit which was empty and without water. They initially intended to leave Joseph that day in that pit but their plans changed as we will see in a moment.

It was after Joseph's brothers ate a meal that they decided to sell him to some Ishmaelites from Gilead who were enroute to Egypt. It was at that point that Judah realized that there was an alternative to leaving his brother in the pit, something tantamount to killing him. Instead they could profit off the sale of him. When his brothers sold Joseph to the Ishmaelite traders, they gave us the third part of the injury that they exacted upon Joseph that day: they stripped him of his robe, the shoved him into the pit and they sold him into slavery. 

In v.29-30 in today's passage we read, "29 Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. 30 And he returned to his brothers and said, 'The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?'"

Reuben hadn’t consented to the sale, nor did he know of it. But when he discovered that his brother was gone, he tore his clothes, a sign of intense grief and pain. Then Reuben literally asked, "What shall I do now?" This was the very same question that the people of Israel who had gathered to hear the Apostle Peter's first recorded sermon in Acts 2 verbalized after hearing his message which was nothing less than the Gospel. Peter had explained what had happened, how the Lord Jesus had been crucified for our sin, how His tomb was empty on the morning of the third day, and that the Lord Jesus had risen. 

Those Jews on the day of Pentecost who heard Peter's message whose hearts were softened to the plight of the Lord Jesus their brother responded just as Reuben did. For those who repented, they were given the right to be called children of God. When we have come to know the meaning of the name Reuben we discover that this question asked so long ago by Reuben and reiterated by the Jews in Jerusalem on the day Pentecost, we find its fulfillment in the hearts of those who repent from the way of the flesh or those who repent from depending on themselves for their salvation to those who depend solely upon the Lord Jesus Christ for their eternal life.

Genesis 37:15-22

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15 Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?” 16 So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.” 17 And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan. 18 Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. 19 Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! 20 Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!” 21 But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father. ~ Genesis 37:15-22

Today, we continue our study of Genesis 37 where the spotlight has firmly been placed on the fourth patriarch of Israel, Joseph who was Jacob's most favored son causing Joseph's brothers to hate him. Due to his favoritism, Jacob did not require Joseph to work as his brothers did as shepherds. Jacob made Jospeh the overseer of his brothers. In our last study, Jacob sent Joseph to the fields to make sure that his brothers were doing well.

In v.15-17 of today's passage we read, "15 Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, 'What are you seeking?' 16 So he said, 'I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.' 17 And the man said, 'They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.' So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan."

Joseph arrived at his father’s field in Shechem which was about 60 miles away. It was then that Joseph discovered his brothers weren’t there. As he wandered the area, a man asked him what he’s seeking. Whoever the man was, the Lord had him there when Joseph’s brothers were there, and he was there when Joseph arrived as well. The brothers may not have felt lost, but to Joseph they were. Joseph, not sure where his brothers were at that point, asked the man where they have gone. 

The man then told Joseph that his brothers had gone to Dothan which was about 12 miles due north of Shechem. Dothan means "two wells." As we learn in John 4 the piece of land where they were in Shechem contained Jacob’s well, but Dothan has two wells. The message that emanates from these two wells is we always have the choice to partake of the true waters of life or the false. In Jeremiah 2:13 we read, "For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns broken cisterns that can hold no water."

There are wells which nourish and there are those which disappoint. We are told again and again in the Bible, people either forsake the true water of life and hewn for themselves broken cisterns. In the Bible, the well is the place of spiritual nourishment and the true well is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ. Instead of turning back home to his father, Joseph went on to Dothan in order to find his brothers and he found them there. 

In v.18-20 of today's passage we read, "18 Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. 19 Then they said to one another, 'Look, this dreamer is coming! 20 Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!'"

Even from a long distance, the brothers identified Joseph, probably due to his coat of many colors. They hated him so much due to his favored position and his dreams, his brothers drew up a plan to kill him. The book of Matthew is 28 chapters long and each of those chapters has one or several links, or hidden connections, to the first 28 books of the Bible. In Genesis, there are no less than four of these links. One of them is in the dreams of Joseph. In Genesis, Joseph the son of Jacob, is shown to have dreams. In Matthew 1, Joseph the legal father of Jesus was given dreams as well. There is a difference here though. The dreams of Joseph, the father of Jesus, were intended to save Jesus, but the dreams of Joseph here were used as an excuse to kill him.

Throughout the Bible, God the Father is the One who directs man’s dreams, both in the giving and interpretation of them. And so even though the title is meant one way when spoken by his brothers about Joseph, it is intended in its fullest sense in another way when picturing for us the Lord Jesus.

At Dothan, the place of the two pits, the brothers intended to kill Joseph and cast him into one of the pits. The word for "pit" is used symbolically in the Bible for the place where the dead go. There is Sheol, the place of the dead, but there is also the pit. In Psalm 30:3 we read, "O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit."

Jealousy, murder, conspiracy, and lying in one story. Not only did his brothers hate Joseph, but they had no regard at all for their father. All they could think of was doing away with Joseph. As was the case with Genesis 34 in the incident with their sister Dinah, the Lord is never mentioned in this entire chapter. Not in general and not specifically, the Lord was entirely left out of the picture.

In v.21-22 of today's passage we read, "21 But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, 'Let us not kill him.' 22 And Reuben said to them, 'Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him'—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father."

Reuben was the oldest son, the firstborn. He was in charge, and he was the one their father would hold responsible. Reuben tried to exercise his leadership by talking his brothers into a different plan to which they end up agreeing, for now. The Bible doesn’t specifically tell us why Reuben protested his brothers' plan, but scholars generally attribute it to his heart being more tender than the other brothers. The explanation is hinted at in Genesis 42 when they all stood in Joseph’s presence in Egypt, not knowing it was him and Reuben said, "Did I not speak to you, saying, 'Do not sin against the boy and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us.'"

Genesis 40:5-15

 5 Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream, both of them, each man’s dream in one night and each man’s dream with its own interpretation.

Again we see God’s hand working in the story. These weren’t ordinary dreams that pass away when you wake up. They were dreams they both remembered and could sit up and compare with each other. They will be found to be prophetic. Each has his own individual dream which would each have an individual interpretation.

And however many people there were in the prison, only these two are given the memorable dreams. Even Joseph doesn’t have one. It all points to God’s superintendence over the situation which is intended for us to understand that what is happening was planned by Him to meet His purposes.

6 And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they weresad.

Here we see that Joseph isn’t bound in the prison, but he was bound in prison. In other words, he did had freedom to move around. In the morning, he came to them and saw their faces. The Hebrew word here is zoaphim. It indicates being enraged.

They had these dreams and they were angry that they had no way of knowing what they meant. If they weren’t in prison, but rather still in Pharaoh’s court, they could have a magician interpret them.

7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?”

Madua penkhem raim – Why are your faces evil? For Joseph –

Just one look; that’s all it took, yes, just one look
He could tell that things weren’t right
There was something bothering the cupbearer and the cook
Something had changed about them during the night

He knew something was wrong by the change in their faces.

8 And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.”

They tell him that together they had dreams. Their answer shows that they were angry because “there is no interpreter of it.” If only they weren’t in this prison, then they could get an answer. But if God is going to give them a dream which should be interpreted, Hewill give an interpreter for the dream he has given.

It would make no sense otherwise. A dream from God with no interpretation would be a contradictory concept and so Joseph responds accordingly…

8 (con’t) So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.”

Why would God give a dream and not tell you what it meant
This doesn’t make sense, so please tell it to me
Maybe this is the reason why to prison I have been sent
Interpretations belong to God, surely you must agree

If the dream is from God, then it is given to be interpreted because “interpretations belong to God.” The Source of the dream will be the Source of the interpretation. If Joseph interprets the dream, it is because God has so used him. He’s not claiming to be God’s appointed interpreter, but he is saying the he could be God’s appointed interpreter.

Daniel explained this when he stood in the presence of King Nebuchadnezzar –

“Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. 28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days.” Daniel 2:27-28

And so, like Daniel, Joseph says that God is the interpreter. He doesn’t say “the Lord” but simply God. A pagan would have no reference as to who Jehovah is, but everybody realizes who God is, whether they admit it or not. If someone has a dream from God, then there must be God who gave the dream.

II. The Resurrection of Life

9 Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine was before me,

The chief cupbearer speaks first. It doesn’t say why, but when we get to the baker, it will say that he spoke when he saw that the first interpretation was good. I’d suggest that he was scared of speaking up first as his dream disturbed him. When you see what this is pointing to, you will understand why he was afraid.

We might ask, “What are we afraid of?” Are you afraid of a bump in the night? Maybe of financial ruin? Are you afraid of losing a loved one? What about death? Death is pretty permanent and it is 100% guaranteed. Are you ready for yours?

Lord, I don’t think about it often, but I know I will die
Everyone before me has, and in me it will happen too
Only Jesus came back from that place, and so I must ask, “Why?”
What can make me rise again? What is it that I must do?

There is a way to be freed from that fear. Stay tuned and I’ll explain it. In the dream, the cupbearer says that he saw a vine. This is an obvious connection to his office. He is the cupbearer and there is a vine. In Hebrew, the word is gephen and comes from an unused root which means to bend, just as a vine bends as it grows.

In Hosea 10:1, Israel is likened to a vine and in John 15:5, 6 Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”

The symbolism is given for us to see Jesus if we can think the picture through clearly. There is an immediate fulfillment which we’ll see in this chapter, but there is an ultimate fulfillment in what will come about in Christ. Stay tuned for the exciting details…

10 and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes.

Right before the cupbearer’s eyes, the vine showed three branches which budded, made blossoms, and clusters of ripe grapes. It was as if he were looking at a time-lapse scene on a movie. From vine to grape before his eyes.

Something similar happens overnight after the exodus. When there was a challenge to the priesthood of Levi, the Lord told Moses to have each tribe bring a rod forward with its name inscribed on it. When they did, the following happens as is seen in Numbers 17 –

“And Moses placed the rods before the Lord in the tabernacle of witness. 8 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds.” (7:8)

The almond has its significance (shaqed) and the vine has its own. God uses the natural, including agricultural themes, to show us how He works out his plan of redemption. There is never a detail which isn’t exciting in how it fits into the larger themes of the Bible. The more you read this book, the more the themes fit together and the more they reveal of the wisdom of God.

numbers, colors, dust, almonds, wheat, barley, etc. water, types of metal, directions, different animals, incense,

He uses created things to make spiritual applications. Because He created these things, the applications will always fit perfectly with the picture He wants to show us. This book has an unlimited supply of intelligence mixed with love, all put together so that we can understand Him better.

11 Then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”

No sooner had the vine budded, blossomed, and put out grapes than the cupbearer was pressing them into Pharaoh’s cup and the cup was being handed to him.

You can learn something about commentators from reviewing their commentaries on this verse. You can see which scholars were teetotalers and which weren’t. Those who are opposed to any hint of drinking alcohol will invariably say that the ripe grapes being brought in and squeezed into the cup was grape juice, not wine.

And then there are those who look at these verses in the context of the whole dream. If the cupbearer saw the vine spread, blossom, bud, and put forth fruit in a single day, then the obvious connotation concerning the pressing of the grapes is that it was his job – whether fermented or not; he was in charge of the process.

This verse has nothing to do with whether the cup had alcohol or not, but rather it is speaking of the process of supplying the king with the fruit of the vine. Little distractions like these among scholars diminish the importance of the passage through petty peeves. And they cause me to grind my teeth…

12 And Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days.

The dream is obvious and yet at the same time it requires a spark of divine interpretation to understand that the branches are three days. Seeing that, the rest falls into place. The term he uses is sheloshet yamim hem – “yet three days.” Before the third day is over, it will come to pass, not at all unlike the death of Christ who was resurrected on the third day.

In the Hebrew way of saying this, we get a sense of what other passages in the Bible mean as well. “The three branches are three days”, “this bread is my body”, “this cup is my blood.” In the Hebrew language a one to one comparison is often used to say something represents something else.

This is why when we take communion, we don’t believe that the bread is literally Jesus’ body, nor is the cup literally Jesus’ blood. That was never the intent of His words, though many attempt to justify this in their theology. DISCUSS trans/con/spiritual/symbolic

13 Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler.

The explanation is complete with this verse. Within three days the cupbearer will be brought back into favor with the Pharaoh. One commentator says that each year the Pharaoh would make a new list of his high officials. On or after the previous birthday they were removed from the list and now the list was being updated.

This would be similar then to the president appointing cabinet officers each term and it would make sense as to why this comes about on his birthday. All in all, it’s good news for the cupbearer.

14 But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house.

When Joseph speaks, there is no hint that his interpretation could be incorrect. He is so confident in it that he says to the cupbearer that “when it is well with you….” This shows with certainty that he knew what would occur. Which brings us back to his own dreams.

He already knew that his brothers would bow down to him, but he didn’t know how. To ask the cupbearer to intercede for him would be a stretch on even a good day, but he may believe that this was his divinely appointed path to freedom.

15 For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.”

Joseph says gunab ganabthi – “Stolen! I was stolen.” I was taken away from the land of the Hebrews, and I’ve done nothing here to be thrown into this dungeon. The word for “dungeon” is bowr. The same word used to describe the pit his brothers threw him into.

We simply can’t miss the usage of the words which have been given in order to understand what is being pictured. The term ha’sohar or “round room” was used twice. The term bowr, or “pit” is used here. The symbolism is that of a round pit, like a tomb.

Jesus was in the tomb, having done nothing deserving of death. And He was “stolen away from the land of the Hebrews.” Instead, His message has gone to the gentiles… just like Joseph. Keep thinking as we go, it will all make sense.