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Bob Davis: Joseph is 17 years old. He's been honest, he's done the best he could with what he's got. He's not lying, he's not cheating, he's trying his best to serve. Now his dad puts him in a position that makes his brothers hate him more, but he still has to do the right thing and do the right way because that's Joseph. He is faithful, he is trustworthy, he is righteous. I'm not saying he's not a sinner. He's a sinner, he needs a savior, we all do, but you get the point. You're starting to see some ugly things here.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Apply Within, a verse-by-verse study of the word of God with Pastor Bob Davis of North Country Chapel. We invite you to join with us as we, by the power of God's Holy Spirit, apply His word within our own hearts as we study line upon line, precept upon precept, verse by verse through the Bible. As our study of Genesis 37 continues in verse 5, Joseph has a prophetic dream, and it angers his brothers. Here's Pastor Bob.

Bob Davis: Let me read the verses to remind you of what happened in verses 1 through 4. "And Jacob, he dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob." And remember we looked at it. He doesn't give us the generations, he talks about one, Joseph. "Being 17 years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. 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." Something that they were doing was so out of line, he knew he had to tell his father.

Now Israel, Jacob, 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. We talked about that before. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and they could not speak peaceably unto him. Joseph didn't choose this to happen to him. This happened to Joseph. Verse 5 says, "And Joseph, he dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brethren: and they hated him yet the more."

And he said to them, "Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed." Let me tell you what my dream was. They don't want to hear it. Verse 7: "Behold, we," that's he and his brothers, "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."

And his brethren, verse 8, in anger, said this: "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. His brothers hated him. Why? Because of the special coat that their father made for him and for the special attention their father gives him. They feel cheated. Now I know you've never felt cheated, but some Christians do feel cheated, some people feel cheated, and that's how they're feeling. They got cheated.

If you simply took a look at the way his brothers have acted—remember the murder of all those men? If you'll just take a look at these older brothers, you can see—you hate to say it this way, but let's just say it out loud—Jacob made a good choice in making Joseph his right-hand man. He gave him that coat to represent that he's one of the leaders. The older brothers say, "I'm supposed to be that." But you can see that Jacob knew his sons pretty well, and Joseph's the right guy.

After they understood the dream completely, they said, "Oh yeah, okay. So you think that we're all going to bow down before you?" They are furious. And verse 9 says he dreamed another dream, Joseph did, and told it to his brethren. You'd think he'd get a clue, but he's excited about it and he doesn't know what it means. They interpreted the first dream for him: "We're going to bow down to you? You're nuts."

So he dreams another dream and told it to his brethren. He said, "Behold, I dreamed another dream; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the 11 stars made obeisance to me." And his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream that thou hast dreamed?" And then Jacob, his father, gave him the interpretation of the dream. Listen to this: "Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth," Joseph? And his brethren were envious, but his father observed the saying. He kind of locked that one away in his heart and thought, "Wow, wonder what that's supposed to mean."

Jacob and his wife and his sons—that is the entire nation of Israel right now. Now the nation will get bigger and bigger, but think about it. Israel will bow down. Keep that in mind, because when you get to the book of Revelation, people get a wrong interpretation because they don't know the sun and the moon and the stars, who they represent. We know because we just read it in Genesis chapter 37, verses 9 through 11. So we understand that's talking about Israel itself. Keep that in mind when you get back to the book of Revelation and you're reading through it.

Verse 12 says, "And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem." You remember that place? They had to clear out of there a few years back. "And Israel said unto Joseph," remember Israel is also called Jacob, "Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And Joseph said, Here am I." In other words, "What do you want me to do? I'll do it." And he said to him, verse 14, "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.

Notice that the guys are out working and taking care of the sheep. Joseph is his right-hand guy, keeping the books, keeping an eye on things, watching the servants, helping with this and that. He's kind of like his father's right-hand guy. Well, a certain man found Joseph, verse 15. "Behold, he was wandering in the field." He was looking around. And the man said, "What are you looking for? What do you seek?" And he said, "I'm looking for my brothers." Verse 16. He said, "I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks."

And verse 17, the man said, "They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan." And Joseph went after his brethren, and he found them in Dothan. They're in the area of Shechem right now. They've gone, they've taken the sheep, they've got to get them out there, they've got to get them away. They've got large flocks, large herds. They need some room, so they just have to travel a little bit to get to some fresh grazing ground. Even though Joseph knows that his brothers can't stand him, he still will go and do the will of his father.

Think about Jesus our Lord. So beloved by the Father, Jesus becoming flesh, willingly, come on down, take care of us, see how things are going, and to shed His blood and suffer and die because we're lost without Him, because we have no hope. Now Shechem was quite a ways from the vale of Hebron. It was about 45 miles away. And Dothan was another 15 miles further than that. So they're quite a ways from home, about 60 miles or so. Far away.

And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired. They came up with a plot, they came up with a plan right off the top of their heads here, just talking among themselves. They conspired against him to murder him. This is their 17-year-old brother. They said to one another, "Behold, this dreamer's coming." If we translate it literally, "Here comes the master of dreams. Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now therefore," verse 20, "and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit."

That's a loving family right there. "Let's cast him into a pit, and we will say, Some evil wild beast has devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams." And Reuben heard that. Reuben's the oldest. In theory, the oldest is in charge of the group. Reuben heard it, and he delivered Joseph out of their hands, and he said, "No, no, let's not kill him." Reuben said, "Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him." That he might be rid out of our hands, to deliver him to his father again.

It came to pass, verse 23, "when Joseph was come unto his brethren, they stript Joseph out of his coat," they grabbed it and took it off him, "his coat of many colors that was on him; and they took him, and they cast him into a pit." It would be a cistern. They make them very deep because it's kind of desert-y out there. And so when the rains come, they just have these deep, deep pits and they hold lots of water so you can continue feeding flocks and herds. So they took him and they cast him into a big cistern, and the cistern was empty. There was no water. In other words, it hadn't rained for a while. This is a big, empty, deep hole. Once you're in, you can't get out by yourself.

Reuben, the oldest, heard what they were planning and he speaks up to save Joseph's life. He says, "No, don't kill him. Don't murder Joseph. Don't shed his blood." We don't want that on our hands. Just throw him into a pit and leave him there. Well, he's still going to die. No, well, he's got a plan. They sat down to eat food. What a great bunch of guys. I'm sure they probably had to move a little further away from the cistern because you could hear him yelling, "Come on guys, this isn't funny. Let me out of here." They plan to leave him there to die. He doesn't understand that.

They sat down to eat. They lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold, a company of Ishmeelites—we would also call them Midianites. Ishmeelites, they came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, and they were going down to Egypt. They were traders. And Judah has a brilliant idea. He says, "What profit is it if we just kill our brother? Get nothing out of that. What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? We have to keep it a secret."

He goes, "Good idea. What a brilliant plan. Come and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, for he is our brother and our flesh." You know, it's tacky to kill him, so let's sell him. Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen, and they drew and they lifted up Joseph out of the pit and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for 20 pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.

Joseph is 17 years old. He's been honest, he's done the best he could with what he's got. He's not lying, he's not cheating, he's trying his best to serve. Now his dad puts him in a position that makes his brothers hate him more, but he still has to do the right thing and do the right way because that's Joseph. He is faithful, he is trustworthy, he is righteous. I'm not saying he's not a sinner. He's a sinner, he needs a savior, we all do, but you get the point.

You're starting to see some ugly, ugly things here. They sold their brother Joseph for 20 pieces of silver. That would be about eight ounces of silver. Where does that come from? Envy, jealousy, hatred, and it builds up in you. And you say, "I love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength." That's how we're supposed to love the Lord. Yet, I hate what's-her-face, I hate old what's-his-name, I don't want them around. I hope they don't come back to our church. I hope some people we just don't want in our fellowship. Yes, we do. We want everybody because remember we love them.

We may not understand them. They may be so different than you and me, but we love every one of them. You know why we do? Because Jesus loves every one of them. Where does His beautiful idea come from? "I got it, you know what? We'd feel bad. If we leave him there he's going to die. And so we'd have his blood on our hands. We'd have to hide it. We'd have to keep it a secret. It'd be miserable. Who needs that? We still want to get the guy out of here, he's a dope, so let's sell him. We'll make a little money, and everybody will be happy."

You know where that comes from? My heart and yours. And yes, we're no different than his brothers. When you look at this picture, where do you see you? Do you see you as Jacob? Do you see you as Joseph? Or do you see you as the brothers? Jeremiah 17 verses 9 and 10, you've heard these so many times. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" The only one that can know it is in verse 10. Jeremiah 17:10: "I the LORD search the heart, I test the inner being, even to give every individual according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."

Only God knows what's going on in Joseph's heart. Only God knows what's going on in Jacob's heart. Only God knows what's going on in those boys' hearts. They don't even know. You don't know like you think you do. We like to pretend we know, but you can't explain why some people just—you just don't like them because you looked at them and you decided "I don't like them." You don't have any idea why that is. And so naturally you say "I don't want any part of this," but by the power of God's Holy Spirit, God's Spirit says share Jesus with them.

Tell them, tell them that they're loved. "I love them," Jesus says. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Christians, we are so guilty of carrying hatred and jealousy and envy and all those things when from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, God says no. You're mine, no. That's not what we do.

So they got rid of Joseph and they made a little money on the side. As far as the brothers are concerned, it's been a good day for everybody all around. Now, look at verse 29. Reuben returned to the pit—I don't know where he was, shopping or doing whatever he was doing—and behold, Joseph was not in the pit, and he tore his clothing, a sign of utter despair. He returned to his brothers and said, "The child is not." In other words, he's gone, he's not in there. "And I, where do I go? I'm going to have to leave home. I can't go home."

They took Joseph's coat and they butchered a baby goat and dipped that coat of many colors in the blood. And these cowards didn't even take it home themselves. They sent it with a servant. They sent the coat of many colors, they brought it to their father and said, "This we have found. Know now whether it is thy son's coat or not." In American: "We found this. It kind of looks like Joseph's coat, but we're not sure. Is this Joseph's coat?" They are lying.

And Jacob knew it right away and said, "It is my son's coat, and an evil, a wild animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces." In other words, Joseph's as good as dead. I'm sure he is. A wild animal's got him. And Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his loins, and he mourned for his son. He was in sorrow for his son many days. And all of his sons and his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, "I will go down to the grave unto my son mourning." I will mourn till the day I die. Thus his father wept for him.

What a cruel thing to do to your father. Every one of those boys, all the 10 that are left. Now little Benjamin is clueless, he's too little. Those 10 boys, look what they've done, and they don't even care. How could they do this to them? Easy. Jeremiah chapter 17, 9 and 10: "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked," and not one of us can know it.

Reuben is upset when he gets back that Joseph's gone. And he goes, "I'm as good as dead, basically," is his language. Why? Because he's the oldest and he has to take responsibility for everything that happened now. He's the oldest and he's going to have to be answering for it. They butchered a baby goat, dipped Joseph's coat in the blood, ripped the coat up so it would look like a wild animal attacked. Sent the coat back to their father Jacob. One of the servants must have taken it. And naturally, Jacob assumed that Joseph was attacked by a wild animal. That's what they wanted him to think, they lied to him and tricked him into thinking it, and that's what he thinks. And that's all he's going to know now for the next 13 to 14 years.

There's one more verse before we're done, verse 36. "Meanwhile, over in Egypt, the Midianites," Ishmeelites, "sold Joseph into slavery in Egypt. Sold him to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard." 17 years old, in a strange land, out of his own element, goes from being someone who is a leader or at least taking responsibilities to now becoming a slave. And as far as he knows, for the rest of his days. Once you're a slave, you're a slave. That's how it worked.

Now the Midianites, they're not bad guys necessarily. They're probably cheaters and weasels like all the rest of us, but they're not necessarily bad guys. They don't know they're doing something necessarily wrong. They think they got a slave here, they bought this slave and they're going to go sell him as a slave. They probably don't ask questions, just let's do the money here and here we go. They bought Joseph at a certain price and of course they're going to sell him a little higher to make a little bit of profit. That's how you run a business.

Midianites are being used by who? God. Think about it. The Midianites are being used by the Lord God for His purposes and for His promises. They sold Joseph as a slave into the house of Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, officer that worked directly with Pharaoh. Oh, even better, not just any old officer, but the captain of the guard. He was the overseer of Pharaoh's bodyguards. He was in charge, he was right with Pharaoh all the time. Head of Pharaoh's personal bodyguards and in charge of official executions. He holds a very powerful position in Pharaoh's government and Joseph is going to serve at his house, a rich place.

Why? Because God has big plans for Joseph. Joseph will save the entire nation of Israel. There will only be 70 at the time when he does it, but he's going to save the entire nation. Joseph is a type of Jesus Christ who learned obedience, we're told, Jesus learned obedience through the things He suffered. What am I talking about? God's working in Joseph's life right now at 17. God knew that Joseph could never be a ruler until he was first a servant.

What did Jesus say? "If you want to be great in God's kingdom," guy or girl doesn't matter, "if you want to be great in God's kingdom, learn to be the servant of everyone else." Isn't that what we're learning today? That's what Joseph is learning to do. He's been with his dad now and he's been given authority. He's honest, he's trustworthy, he's good at what he does. He takes care of detail. He's a good guy, perfect guy for the job. But God says, "I want him for something bigger." God knew that Joseph could never be a ruler until he was a servant himself.

So Christian, you get it? God is working in your life right now just like he's working in Joseph's. Why is Joseph at Potiphar's house? Because God is going to teach him something that He's going to use for God's glory and it will save all of Israel. God's going to use you now and you're learning and growing and you will serve Him in positions that He's already set up for you for all eternity, and they're big. I just don't know what they are for you, what they are for me. Not worried about it.

Christian, God is working in your life right now, He's working in mine. If we truly belong to Him, He is working in our lives. You may not understand it at all, but He's working. I know Joseph doesn't. Joseph will understand it about 20 years from now.

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening to Apply Within with Pastor Bob Davis. Apply Within is a radio outreach ministry of North Country Chapel. Our Sunday morning Bible studies are at 9:00 and 11:00 AM. We also have a Friday evening Bible study at 7:00 PM and a Monday evening Bible study at 7:00 PM. You can download today's message in its entirety at NorthCountryChapel.com/studies. That's NorthCountryChapel.com/studies.

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