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In this message we come to the most pleasant section of the book of Genesis, chapters thirty-seven through fifty. All children like the stories in these chapters. When the writer came to this section, he changed his way of writing. The record of the first thirty-six chapters is brief and emphatic, but the record of the last fourteen chapters is very detailed. Chapter thirty-seven, for example, contains many details. This section is so detailed because it is very practical for our human life. No section in the book of Genesis is more practical than this last section of fourteen chapters.
Before we consider Gen. 37, I would like to call your attention back to the beginning of this book. In the reading of any book we must understand the subject, the purpose, of that book. After reading through the book of Genesis, a book of fifty chapters, you still may not know the subject. What is the subject of this book? When I was young, I was told that Genesis covers two main things — God's creation and man's fall. Genesis begins with the words, "In the beginning God created," and it ends with the words, "He was put in a coffin in Egypt." I was told that because the first verse speaks of God's creation and the last verse speaks about Joseph's being put in a coffin in Egypt, Genesis is a book about God's creation and man's fall. Although this view is not wrong, it is a very inadequate understanding of this book.
It is not easy to understand the Bible. In fact, it is even difficult to understand ourselves. Although we have hair on our heads and ten toes on our feet, do hair and toes make a whole man? Is this a complete person? Certainly not. All the crucial parts and organs, such as the heart and the lungs, are between the hair and the toes. Likewise, the most important parts of Genesis are between the first verse and the last verse of the book.
Genesis 1:26 is a very crucial verse. "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion..." Notice two significant words here — image and dominion. Yes, man was created by God, and he fell. But we must consider in what way and for what purpose man was created. The Bible says that man was made in the image of God. Nothing is higher than God. Thus, man was made in the image of the highest One. Perhaps you have never regarded yourself this highly before. Because we bear the divine image, we should have a high regard for ourselves. We are not low creatures; we were made for the purpose of expressing God and exercising His dominion. The subject of Genesis is man bearing the image of God and exercising God's dominion over all things. We bear God's image that we might express Him, and we have God's dominion that we might represent Him. Therefore, we are God's expression and representation. This is the heart of Genesis.
In order to know this in a progressive way, we need all fifty chapters of this book. All the generations recorded in it — Adam, Abel, Enosh, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph — are for one purpose: to show that God's economy in the universe is to express Himself through man. This is God's purpose, God's goal, and the desire of God's heart. God's purpose and economy are related to man.
The record of all the generations included in this book is a portrait of God's divine economy. In Adam we do not see much of God's expression and dominion. Although Abel believed in God, we do not clearly see in him God's expression and dominion. Enosh realized that he was fragile and weak, and he began to call on the name of the Lord. But in him we scarcely see God's expression or dominion. Enoch walked with God. Therefore, we see in him a little of God's expression; however, we see nothing of God's dominion. Although with Noah we do see a little of God's expression and dominion, it is rather vague; it is not definite, impressive, or clear. In Abraham we see less of God's expression and dominion than we do in Noah. Although many Christians have overly exalted Abraham, he was only on the first level of the doctrine of Christ. Abraham was the father of faith for justification, which is merely the beginning of the doctrine of Christ. Furthermore, we can hardly see God's expression and dominion in Isaac. Isaac, the one who inherited everything from his father, only cared for eating. As long as he was given something good to eat, he would grant his blessing blindly.
It is in Jacob that we see the expression of God. However, prior to the last fourteen chapters of this book, we do not see much of God's expression in Jacob. But in these last chapters we do see in him very much of the expression of God and the dominion of God. Although in this section Jacob was old in years, his spiritual eyes were very keen. Wherever he went, he perceived the real situation and blessed people accordingly. Moreover, his blessing became God's prophecy. Jacob truly bore the image of God and expressed Him. Even Pharaoh, the highest ruler at that time, was under Jacob's blessing. When Jacob was brought into the presence of Pharaoh, Jacob did not say, "Hello, how are you? How old are you?" Rather, he stretched forth his hand and blessed him (47:7, 10). This indicates that Pharaoh was under Jacob, the one who was God's expression.
Jacob's blessing upon the two sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, was also a prophecy. Isaac, cheated by Jacob, blessed him blindly. However, Jacob's blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh was much different. Joseph brought his two sons to Jacob, expecting that Manasseh, the firstborn, would receive the birthright. But Jacob placed his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, the younger, "guiding his hands wittingly" (48:14). When Joseph attempted to move Jacob's hand from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's, Jacob refused and said, "I know it, my son, I know it" (48:19). Jacob seemed to be saying, "My son, you don't know what I am doing, but I know. I know God's heart. My blessing is God's expression and God's speaking. The word of my blessing is God's prophecy."
Here in Jacob we see a man who was one with God and who expressed God. Jacob's speaking was God's speaking. Do not think that speaking is an insignificant matter. According to the New Testament, the Son expressed the Father mainly by His speaking. The Lord Jesus said, "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words which I speak to you, I do not speak from Myself; but the Father who abides in Me, He does His works"; and, "The word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me" (John 14:10, 24). Thus, to express God is mainly to speak for God and to speak Him forth to others.
We have seen that Jacob, God's expression, bore the image of God. But what about God's dominion? The book of Genesis ends with Joseph exercising dominion over the whole earth. Although Pharaoh was the king, he was merely a figurehead. The acting king was Joseph, who is a part of Jacob in the experience of life. In Jacob with Joseph we see the expression of God with the dominion of God. Never separate Joseph from Jacob. The record of the last fourteen chapters of Genesis mixes the two together. This indicates that Joseph is the reigning part of Jacob, and that Jacob and Joseph should not be considered as separate persons.
In this section Jacob was suffering, and Joseph was reigning. In chapter thirty-seven Joseph gave no impression that he was suffering. This chapter reveals that Jacob, not Joseph, was suffering. Some may argue and say, "When Joseph was cast into the pit, was he not suffering?" This is your interpretation, but this chapter does not tell us this. Jacob, on the contrary, suffered greatly. Although he did not weep at the death of Rachel, he wept sorrowfully when he concluded that Joseph had been devoured by a wild beast (vv. 33-35).
The record in the Bible has a purpose. Genesis, a book of God's image and dominion, shows a complete picture of how human beings can be remade and transformed to express God in His image and to represent Him with His dominion. The last fourteen chapters of Genesis indicate that after Jacob had become Israel, he bore the image of God and exercised the dominion of God. The book of Genesis is complete; it ends the way it begins. It begins and ends with God's image and dominion. In the closing chapters of Genesis, God must have been happy, and He could have said, "Now I have a man on earth expressing Me and representing Me. This man bears My image and exercises My dominion. His words are My prophecy, and his actions are the exercise of My dominion." This is the subject of the book of Genesis.
In chapter thirty-seven Jacob was an old man. With respect to both time and geography, he had journeyed a long way and had finally come to Hebron. Jacob had passed through many things. Probably no one in the Bible has passed through as many intermixed and complicated situations as Jacob did. He was dealt with by God to such an extent that he had lost nearly all he had cared for. At the time of chapter thirty-seven, Rachel had died, and Jacob was living in Hebron, enjoying the fellowship that his forefathers Abraham and Isaac had known there. It seems that Jacob had retired at Hebron. However, there is no retirement in the spiritual life, and God intervened to upset what appeared to be Jacob's retirement.
I believe that at Hebron Jacob tried his best to have a calm life. As Jacob was in fellowship there he may have had many memories. In the stillness he may have thought, "I shouldn't have grabbed Esau's heel. I shouldn't have cheated Esau or my father. Also, there was no need for me to lose my mother and to flee to my uncle Laban. Moreover, I didn't have to love Rachel so much. My, what trouble loving her caused me! Why was I so foolish? I shouldn't have been cheated by Laban. Why did I promise to work all those years to get Rachel? During the years I was with Laban, I had to suffer the heat and the cold." If you had been Jacob, what would you have done in your retirement? You might have said, "From now on, I simply want to lead a quiet life. There will be no more supplanting, no more heel-holding. Esau, Laban, and Rachel are all gone. Now is the time for me to be quiet and to enjoy life." Surely Jacob must have been enjoying a calm life there in Hebron.
Jacob loved Joseph more than all his other sons, and he made for him a coat of many colors (v. 3). If Jacob had not been in retirement, he would not have been able to make such a coat for Joseph. A busy father could not spend the time to do this. But Jacob was enjoying life and he had plenty of time to make the coat for his favorite son. This is a proof that he had retired. The mention of the coat of many colors is a little window through which we can see Jacob's character, desire, intention, goal, and disposition.
After having had so many dealings under God's hand, Jacob was undoubtedly tired of human life. He was weary of supplanting, cheating, struggling, and fighting. His life was calm and he had a favorite son who was the treasure of his heart. Because of the partiality of his love for Joseph, he made him a coat of many colors. Was Jacob right in doing this? Why did he not make such a coat for Reuben, the oldest, or for Benjamin, the youngest? Although Reuben had defiled himself by committing adultery with Jacob's concubine, Benjamin was the baby of the family and was too young to have done anything wrong. Nevertheless, Jacob's heart was set firstly on Joseph and secondly on Benjamin. Jacob was partial. As we shall see, Jacob's partiality toward Joseph caused him to suffer.
Everything in this chapter is under the sovereign hand of God; nothing is coincidental. For example, immediately after Joseph's brothers had cast him into the pit, a company of Ishmaelites appeared on the scene, and his brothers decided to sell him to them. Then Joseph was taken to Egypt and sold to Potiphar, Pharaoh's chamberlain. All this was under God's sovereignty. In fact, even Jacob's partiality toward Joseph was under God's sovereignty. In chapter thirty-seven God exercised His sovereignty to deal with this partiality so that Jacob might mature.
Prior to this chapter, Jacob was a transformed person; however, he was not yet mature. To be transformed is to be changed in our natural life, whereas to be matured is to be filled with the divine life that changes us. We may be transformed in our natural life, yet not be filled with the divine life. Chapters thirty-seven through forty-five are a record of the process of Jacob's maturity. This process began in 37:1, and it lasted until 45:28. In the last five chapters of this book we see a Jacob who has fully matured. Probably in all his life Jacob never suffered as much as he did in these nine chapters. They are truly a story of Jacob's suffering. In these chapters we have the dealings in the last stage of Jacob's life. The sufferings he underwent here deeply touched his personal feelings. After these chapters, Jacob had no further dealings. Rather, he was fully matured, he was filled with the divine life, and he had the expression of God and the dominion of God.
For God's expression and dominion there is the need of maturity. Only a mature life can bear God's image and exercise His dominion. Even in chapter thirty-seven Jacob could not bear God's image or exercise God's dominion. Although he was transformed, he was not yet mature. His partiality toward Joseph proves that he was not mature. This partial love was a weak point. Do not think that a transformed person cannot be partial in his love or have other weak points. Therefore, God sovereignly placed Jacob under His hand that he might become mature.
In order to become mature, Jacob firstly had to suffer the loss of Joseph, the treasure of his heart. It seems impossible that Joseph could have been lost. He could easily have died of a certain illness, but how could Jacob have lost him? Although he was not to die, because he was still very useful, he had to be taken away from Jacob. Now we need to consider by what way Jacob's loss of Joseph took place.
Verse 2 says that Joseph brought to his father evil reports regarding his brothers. Of all the twelve sons of Jacob, only two were good — Joseph, who was seventeen years of age, and his younger brother, Benjamin, who was still a small child. The other ten brothers were dirty and evil, and Joseph constantly brought to his father evil reports about them. The first of these ten brothers, Reuben, committed adultery with his father's concubine (Gen. 35:22); and the fourth, Judah, committed fornication with his daughter-in-law, who was disguised as a harlot (Gen. 38:12-26). Levi and Simeon were cruel, having avenged the defilement of their sister, Dinah, by slaying Hamor and Shechem and plundering their city (Gen. 34:25-29). The fact that these brothers conspired to slay their own brother in the flesh indicates how sinful they were. It is difficult to believe that they were the sons of a chosen, holy family and that they were to become the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel chosen of God. However, had his brothers been good instead of evil, Joseph would never have been lost.
As we have seen, "Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors" (v. 3, Heb.). Because of the partiality of Jacob's love for Joseph, he had to lose him in order to mature. The loss of Joseph was mainly due to Jacob's partial love for him.
Verse 4 says, "And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him." Jacob's partial love for Joseph caused his other sons to hate Joseph. Because a partial love for a child creates hatred among the other children, parents should avoid it. Our love must be equal and impartial. Joseph's brothers also hated him because he was good and because he gave evil reports about them to their father.
Joseph had two dreams that caused his brothers to hate him even more (vv. 5-11). These dreams came from God. There were two dreams because two is the number of confirmation and testimony. Both dreams refer to one thing, for both the sheaves and the stars bowed down to Joseph. In our eyes Joseph's brothers, being adulterers, fornicators, murderers, and haters, should have been condemned to hell. But Joseph did not dream about thorns and robbers surrounding a gentle teenager. Rather, he dreamed of sheaves and stars. A sheaf is a bundle into which wheat is bound after reaping. This indicates that, in God's eyes, Jacob's sons were His crop on earth. Moreover, they were not a green crop; they were a ripened and harvested crop that had been bound into sheaves. In the second dream the members of Joseph's family are signified by the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars. They were bright lights shining in the heavens. We have pointed out in the life-study of Revelation that the sun, the moon, and the stars in Revelation 12 and Genesis 37 represent the totality of God's people. During Joseph's time, his family was the totality of God's people on earth. According to our view, they were evil and dirty, but according to God's view, they were bright and heavenly. Likewise, according to our human nature, we are ugly, evil, and unclean. Nevertheless, we have been chosen, redeemed, forgiven, regenerated, and transformed. Thus, we are God's farm, God's crop. Eventually, we shall be God's harvest; we shall be reaped by Him and become sheaves. Furthermore, we are heavenly lights. What a vision this is!
God was sovereign in giving Joseph these dreams, for they reveal the nature, the position, the function, and the goal of God's people on earth. God's people are His harvest and His lights. As the harvest, they have life, and as the heavenly hosts, they have light. In the first dream there is life, and in the second, light. Life and light are two characteristics of God's people.
In the first dream the sheaves bowed down to Joseph's sheaf, and in the second, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to him. When Joseph told his father and brothers about his second dream, Jacob rebuked him and said, "What is this dream that thou has dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?" (v. 10). Joseph was not political; rather, he was genuine, frank, faithful, and straight. If he had not frankly told them about his dreams, there would have been no problem with this. In the church life we should be like Joseph, not like politicians. However, not many among us are frank, straight Josephs; instead, most of us are "wise" politicians. You may have a dream, but you would never tell others about it. Joseph on the contrary was genuine, frank, open, and transparent; he was happy to tell his brothers about his dreams. But this provoked their hatred even more, and Joseph's transparency caused him to be "crucified." Many times I also have been "crucified" for my transparency. However, if I become political, I shall no longer be like Joseph. Humanly speaking, Joseph was wrong in telling his brothers about his dreams. If we had been Joseph, many of us probably would have said, "You know, I had a good dream last night." When others asked us about the dream, we would say, "Forgive me, I can't tell you about it." This is the political "wisdom" of today's Christians. Will you be a politician or a Joseph? If you are a Joseph, you will be "crucified" for your frankness. Because of Joseph's dreams, his brothers hated him more than ever.
Joseph's brothers went to feed their father's flock in Shechem (v. 12). Shepherding was their means of making a living. Through this livelihood of theirs they sovereignly had the opportunity to put Joseph away from Jacob.
Later Joseph was sent by his father to see his brothers (vv. 13-17). This also was sovereign of the Lord. The fact that Jacob sent Joseph to see his brothers is another indication that Jacob was enjoying life. If he had been busy, he would not have thought of sending Joseph to do this. But because he had nothing to do, he suddenly thought about his sons and was concerned for them. When Joseph was asked to go to his brothers, he was obedient. He did not gossip or speak idle words. Rather, he took his father's word and went to find his brothers.
When Joseph's brothers "saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him" (v. 18). They gave Joseph a title, saying to one another, "Behold, this master of dreams cometh" (v. 19, Heb.). They conspired together to slay Joseph and then to deceive their father about what had happened (v. 20).
Reuben, the eldest brother, wanted to deliver Joseph out of their hands. When he heard of their plot, "he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him....Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him" (vv. 21-22). Reuben's intention was to take him out of their hands and to deliver him to his father.
In Reuben's absence Judah, the fourth brother, proposed that instead of slaying Joseph, they sell him to the Ishmaelites (vv. 25-27). Judah said, "What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? 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." (vv. 26-27).
Joseph was sold to Ishmaelites from Midian (v. 28). Ishmael was the son of Abraham by Hagar, and Midian was the son of Abraham by his last wife, Keturah. Both the Ishmaelites and the Midianites represent the flesh. Hatred is related to the flesh, and the flesh is connected to the world represented by Egypt. Due to his brothers' hatred, Joseph was handed over to the flesh, and the flesh brought him down to Egypt. But God is sovereign over all. In His sovereignty, He used everything, including the flesh and the hatred of Joseph's brothers. Every negative thing in this chapter — the hatred, the flesh, Pharaoh, and Pharaoh's chamberlain, Potiphar — was sovereignly used by God to fulfill His purpose.
Through God's sovereignty, which was exercised in all these seemingly coincidental matters, Jacob lost the treasure of his heart (vv. 31-35). After the death of Rachel, Jacob's heart was wholly set upon Joseph. Suddenly and much to his surprise, Joseph was snatched away. Jacob's sons deceived him into believing that Joseph had been devoured by an evil beast (vv. 32-33). When Jacob heard this news, he "rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days" (v. 34). To Jacob, there was nothing more on earth. He was not only broken; he had been robbed to the point where he had nothing left. Although his children tried to comfort him, he refused to be comforted and said, "I will go down into Sheol unto my son mourning" (v. 35, Heb.). Jacob was utterly despondent, and nothing could comfort him. He had lost his heart treasure. How deep and personal was this dealing!
In principle, sooner or later we all shall pass through such a dealing. Do not be frightened at the prospect of this. Praise the Lord that we not only have chapter thirty-seven, but also chapter forty-seven, where we see a glorious result. Chapter thirty-seven is simply a narrow underpass. Jacob had to walk this narrow underpass and experience a suffering that touched his heart profoundly that he might mature. Nothing in his entire life touched him as personally and as deeply as the loss of Joseph.
Joseph, however, was not lost. God was preserving him in Egypt. Joseph's being brought to Egypt was actually his transfer from "high school" to the "university." In Egypt he would receive his higher education, the education which would prepare him for kingship. Jacob, of course, did not know this. In Jacob's eyes, Joseph had been devoured by a beast. But in God's eyes Joseph was being prepared for kingship. Therefore, God could say, "Jacob, there is no need to mourn. Instead, you must rejoice because your son is in Egypt being prepared to be a king."
