Focal Passages: Genesis 37:1-4, 18-24, 31-34
The greatest family dynamic in the Book of Genesis must be Joseph and his brothers. God demonstrates His faithfulness even through betrayal, setbacks and suffering. This story also illustrates that family reconciliation is possible, even in the most extreme cases, when the love and grace of the Lord God comes into play. That happy ending for Joseph and his brothers is for next week’s lesson. This week we see what caused Joseph’s brothers to go from jealousy to hatred, leading them to violently seek Joseph’s downfall and deceive their father to intense grief.
Parental favoritism leads to fraternal discord. Jacob had 12 sons. Most of the sons were blessings of God through Leah, or the handmaids Bilhah and Zilpah. Israel had only two sons with his beloved Rachel — Joseph and Benjamin. He loved Joseph more than any other as the oldest of Rachel’s sons.
Jacob expressed his love for his son through the gifts he presented only to him, such as the “long-sleeved robe,” the garment more famously known as the coat of many colors. Jacob’s favoritism caused Joseph to take his status for granted. In the subsequent verses, the Lord gave him visions of his family bowing down to him in the future. Joseph should have humbly meditated on this privately. Rather, he blabbed these dreams to his family in pride. In this passage, Joseph is quick to tattle on his brothers to his father. Favoritism can cause the favored child to think he or she can do no wrong. This can lead siblings to resentment, bitterness and hatred.
Moore
Family jealousy can often tragically escalate. The bitterness of jealousy often escalates into family conflict. Joseph’s prideful boasting of future glory and his bad report on his brothers drove them to seek vengeance on the young lad. The relationship between Joseph and his brothers had deteriorated to the extent that they wanted to violently kill their brother in cold blood.
The vast majority of family conflicts do not result in open violence, yet Jesus teaches us that hatred in the heart can be just as destructive to a relationship (Matthew 5:21-26).
In anger we may not actually harm our siblings, but we often wish evil to befall them and quietly rejoice in their suffering and shame. This root of bitterness can also lead to an indifference and alienation, creating an unbridgeable chasm and destroying a once loving relationship. Even though Reuben spared Joseph’s life, the brothers wished Joseph dead resulting in an almost irreparable break in their relationship.
Family hatred builds callous, deceitful hearts. Along with the desire to dispose of their brother, Judah saw an opportunity to make a profit when Ishmaelite traders came their way. They sold their own brother into slavery and believed they were finally rid of the prideful dreamer. To make matters worse, they told their father Jacob that a “vicious animal” killed Joseph. Jacob descended into inconsolable grief.
While Jacob’s intense mourning heaped guilt and turmoil onto the brothers, they did not confess of their deception and seek to restore the situation. They stewed in their sin and justified their actions. To them, the “positive” of Joseph’s debasement outweighed the collateral damage that came as a result.
Family jealousy and hatred often cause us to rationalize scheming, deception, and family subterfuge in order to get what we want from our relationships. In the end, this causes us to revel in the dysfunction rather than glorify God by seeking reconciliation. B&R
